Mona Ross, Concordia Parish’s Republican Executive Committee chairperson, had an immediate reaction when she heard George W. Bush’s lead in Florida had widened due to absentee ballots.

&uot;I thought there would have been more&uot; ballots for Bush, Ross said Saturday. &uot;The way they were talking about the sheer number of ballots they expected to come in, I would have expected more.&uot;

But Ross isn’t complaining about the way it turned out. &uot;I’m satisfied with the outcome,&uot;&160;she said.

Eleven days after America voted, the final tally of overseas absentee ballots showed Bush lengthening his lead from an almost invisible 300 votes to a still-minuscule 930.

&uot;Things have changed so during the last few days that … I didn’t make any predictions&uot; regarding how the absentee ballot count, or any Florida count, would go, said Mack Moore, the parish’s Democratic Executive Committee chairman. &uot;I’m bumfuzzled.&uot;

Also on Saturday, Bush’s campaign fiercely attacked the hand-recounting of votes in Florida’s overtime presidential election Saturday, depicting a process riddled with human error and Democratic bias.

Al Gore’s lawyers defended the effort in papers filed with the state Supreme Court.

&uot;I like it that they’re calling (the Democrats’) hand on how partisan the election has been,&uot; Ross said.

&uot;Personally, I think (the Republicans) haven’t been aggressive enough in … sending people down there to make sure the counts were watched properly,&uot; she added. &uot;They should have asked me. I would have gone.&uot;

Moore didn’t have much to say about the accusations of fraud and partisanship in the Florida vote counts.

&uot;That’s their opinion, and they’re entitled to it, … but I&160;think it was fair and done in the proper way,&uot;&160;Moore said.

&uot;I just wish they’d hurry up and resolve this.&uot;

Audrey Seale, chairman of Adams County Democratic Executive Committee, would not comment.

Pat Dickens, chairperson of the Adams County Republican Executive Committee, could not be reached for comment Saturday afternoon.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.