Mr. Baker argued repeatedly that recounting punch-card ballots by hand was less accurate than machine counts.

Texas election law, as it happens, provides for recounting punch-card ballots by hand.

A few seemed troubled by the Republican argument that in a statewide race it was not fair to recount ballots only in a few counties.

After having agreed unanimously to recount ballots only from disputed precincts (all hand marked) the subcommittee spent many hours counting votes.

The council, which includes some of the most outspoken opponents of the reform movement, has been recounting ballots for more than a month.

By contrast, the Bush campaign today dispatched supporters to make the case, relentlessly, that recounting ballots by hand is an imprecise process.

But the conservative council is still recounting ballots in Tehran, where reformers won 29 of 30 seats outright in the first round.

In addition, an election official is unable to manually recount ballots in the event of a dispute.

Across the state, election workers began recounting ballots they had first counted on Tuesday night.

The suit seeks to block the officials from recounting presidential ballots in Florida by hand.