By Phillip Rawls
Associated Press Writer

MONTGOMERY

Gov. Don Siegelman, undecided how to challenge a 3,117-vote deficit after his request for a
recount was blocked, is acting like governor-elect, discussing his proposed state lottery plan and visiting with victims of a killer tornado.

After Tuesday's election, the Democratic governor proclaimed himself the winner and started going about his business as if he were set for a second four-year term. But the flurry of attorneys around his office demonstrates everything is not normal.

So does the delayed celebration that Republican Rep. Bob Riley threw Saturday evening at his campaign headquarters in Hoover.

"The results today are conclusive. You are looking at the next governor of Alabama," Riley told the cheering crowd of supporters.

Election certifications completed by Alabama's 67 counties on Friday showed Riley with 672,222 votes and Siegelman with 669,105. In a normal election, the certification would have been a routine government function that attracted little notice, but it was watched closely by dozens of attorneys for both sides.

If Riley's vote stands, Republicans will hold the governor's office in 26 states and Democrats in 24 states. That would give the GOP control of the White House, Congress and statehouses. Riley would join Republican governors in the Southern states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Alabama has no provision for an automatic recount in close elections, but Siegelman's legal team filed petitions for recounts in every Alabama county Friday. Republican Attorney General Bill Pryor quickly blocked a statewide recount by issuing a legal opinion.

Pryor said state law prohibits the opening of ballots that were sealed after being counted Tuesday night unless Siegelman gets a court order or files an election contest with the Legislature.

Siegelman attorney Joe Espy said the governor won't give up, but he hasn't decided on his next move.

"They know the votes are in favor of Governor Don Siegelman and they are not going to let them be counted," Espy said.

Espy said he is uncertain when the governor will decide, but with state offices and the courts closed until Tuesday, there is no rush.

Riley said Saturday it's time for Siegelman to stop. "There reaches a point where all of us have to stand up and say enough is enough. We've reached it," he said.

Siegelman was leading in the vote count after Tuesday's election until a switch of nearly 7,000 votes, blamed on a computer glitch in Baldwin County, put Riley in the lead. Both politicians made victory speeches and both have been proceeding as if they won.

Riley, 58, appointed a transition chairman, started accepting applications for posts in his
administration, and visited trustees at the University of Alabama, where the governor serves on the board.

Siegelman, 56, kept to his official schedule, talking with legislators about a special session to try to enact a campaign-promised state lottery, meeting with executives about locating plants in the state, and comforting tornado victims in Abbeville.

The first change in Siegelman's routine schedule occurred Saturday, when he canceled plans to attend Auburn University's homecoming football game to crown the queen. His spokesman, Mike Kanarick, blamed the last-minute cancellation on a schedule conflict caused by a personal matter, which he would not disclose.

The university, in the heart of the 3rd Congressional District that Riley represented for six years, turned out thousands on Oct. 24 to see President Bush campaign for Riley.

"Bob Riley won fair and square, and shame on Siegelman for being a sore loser," said John H. Campbell, an Auburn chiropractor.

Auburn fan Mike Pearson of Montgomery said he doesn't blame Siegelman for fighting the
results, but doesn't think he will succeed. "It was a close election, but the numbers are pretty exact," Pearson said during the game.

Political scientist Natalie Davis at Birmingham-Southern College said Siegelman's and Riley's actions since the election are predictable: "They are sending the message I won and because I won, it's time to get this administration going."

But no one is fooled by it, she said. "Everybody knows what the issue is: Who's governor?"

Election disputes are nothing new to Alabama. In 1994, the Republican candidate for state chief justice led by 262 votes, but it took a yearlong court battle before he could take office.

Alabama's new dispute is drawing comparisons to the Florida's hanging chads in the 2000
presidential election.

"The public will not be supportive of a long struggle to overturn those returns because it is
reminiscent of Florida," said William Stewart, professor emeritus of political science at the
University of Alabama.

Jess Brown, a political scientist at Athens State University, said a drawn-out battle in the governor's election will make it hard for either man to govern in a state where the Legislature is split between 89 Democrats and 51 Republicans.

"All a prolonged fight will do is make partisanship intensify and make bipartisan efforts in the Legislature difficult," he said.

Davis, a former member of the Democratic National Committee, said a long, unsuccessful fight by Siegelman could prevent him from making a political comeback in four years.

"It would be devastating to him and it would set the Democratic Party back," she said.