West and Murphy campaigns to face off in court

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Palm Beach County elections officials say granting Congressman Allen West's legal request is "an invitation to chaos."

In a court filing made late Thursday, the Palm Beach County Canvassing Board says there is no reason to impound ballots and voting machines when they haven't even finished counting votes.

They say to do so would "throw the entire system in disarray."

In a separate filing, Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy says West's court papers were riddled with errors and that the Republican has failed to give a single reason his request is valid.

Murphy has enough of a lead in unofficial vote counts to avoid an automatic recount. West's campaign says one is necessary anyway due to improprieties at the polls.

Both sides are due in court at noon Friday.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)