Florida secretary of state says Palm Beach ballot legal

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (CNN) -- Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris said Friday a controversial ballot used in Palm Beach County "fully conforms to Florida law" despite complaints that it confused some voters.

"The Department of State has now reviewed the Palm Beach County ballot. Clay Roberts, director of the Division of Elections, and Deborah Kearney, general counsel for the Department of State, have determined that the design and layout of the ballot does conform to the law of the state of Florida," Harris said in a statement.

Voters in the county have been complaining that the ballot's "butterfly" layout, with the candidates' names on both the right and left pages and the voting squares in the middle. Some voters said the layout caused them to mistakenly vote for Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan when they meant to vote for Democrat Al Gore.

The winner in Florida gets 25 electoral votes, which will determine who wins the White House. Only 327 votes separate Gore and Republican nominee George W. Bush, according to unofficial returns reported by the Associated Press from Florida's recount in the presidential race, and many Democrats are urging Florida officials to allow a revote in Palm Beach County.

RESOURCES Click here to see an image of the contested Palm Beach County ballot     MESSAGE BOARD Presidential race 2000     ALSO Judge grants injunction to freeze Palm Beach vote certification

A circuit court judge has issued an injunction freezing the certification of ballots there until she can hear arguments in a civil suit filed by two voters.

Harris said there had been a misconception that Florida law requires voting squares to be to the right of the candidate's name. She said the statute allows that, but does not require it.

According to Harris, the statute says: "Voting squares may be placed in front of or back of the names of candidates and ballot information shall be printed in a size and style of type as plain and clear as the ballot spaces reasonably permits." She said the Palm Beach County ballot also conforms to regulations about the way candidates are listed.

"Thus it is the position of the Department of State that the form of the presidential ballot in Palm Beach County conforms in all respects to the requirements of the Florida law," she said.

William Daley, Gore's campaign manager, said the Democratic Party's legal team continues to believe the ballot violates Florida law.