"It's not just recount, it's about investigation," Jackson told reporters in Nashville. Jackson said that missing ballot boxes and voter intimidation kept some minority members from voting, and some others who did vote were not counted. CNN has reported that a locked ballot box was discovered in Dade County, Fla., Wednesday morning, the voting location for a primarily minority community.

But while Jackson alleges that mistakes in voting procedure led to an undercount of minority voters, there was a substantial black turnout in Florida. According to exit polls, while African-Americans account for 15.1 percent of the state's voters, they represented 16 percent of voters Tuesday. And, according to those polls, Gore won 93 percent of the African-American vote.

"People whose votes have not been counted need to have their votes counted and their voices heard," Jackson said. He cautioned that the press and the American people should not be impatient or push for a decision in Florida that could ultimately be proved invalid. "There is no time limit on justice," he said. "The media talks about this like it's a horse race, but this isn't just about Gore and his staff and Bush and his staff. It's about the American people."

Clay Roberts, director of the Florida state division of elections, could not immediately be reached for comment.

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