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In the most pivotal of the day's rulings thus far, a Florida judge this afternoon denied a motion to block a 5 p.m. EST deadline for reporting election results to the Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, leaving lawyers for both Bush and Gore ready for last-minute legal actions in the state's disputed election.

Harris subsequently said she anticipates election results being filed by all 67 counties by 5 p.m. EST today. And Paul Beach County Circuit Judge Jorge Labarge ruled the county's canvassing board can certify election results.

The deadline rulng from Leon County, Florida, Circuit Judge Terry Lewis appears to throw a wrench in the plans of Palm Beach County, Florida, to count ballots by hand, a process that would take several days -- well past today's deadline. But it does not mean that county canvassing boards cannot submit tallies after the deadline.

The ruling says Harris must use "sound discretion" in deciding whether to accept or reject any counts that are submitted following the Tuesday deadline. Those might include "any pending manual recounts" or "corrective returns," Lewis wrote in his decision.

"The secretary of state may ignore such late-filed returns, but may not do so arbitrarily," the decision read.

Attorney Donna Blanton, speaking for Harris, said in reaction to the ruling that Harris "was not surprised."

"As judge Lewis indicated in his opinion, the secretary will evaluate that request on applicable facts and circumstances," Blanton said. "From this point forward, it is the intention of the secretary to perform her duties in connection with the certification of this election.

Gore's legal point man in Tallahassee, former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, said Lewis' assessment that Harris would have to exercise discretion when considering late filings was tantamount to the results the Gore campaign had sought, despite the ruling.

"The court has held that the secretary of state cannot arbitrarily declare that she will not permit votes to be counted after 5 p.m.," Christopher said. "The court holds that she must receive and be prepared to consider those counts that are recorded after that time.

"That was our principal objective in bringing the case," Christopher said. "The court's opinion on this point is tantamount to the injunction that we sought."

"The Bush campaign disagrees with that," Bush spokeswoman Mindy Tucker said, adding that the Gore people were looking for "any glimmer of light" to keep the process open.

Volusia County, one of the counties which had sought an extension of the 5 p.m. deadline, authorized the county attorney to file an immediate appeal. Representatives of Gore's presidential campaign then told CNN they might appeal as soon as possible.