Vista Online

Fall/Winter 2001

Showdown 2000

The Presidential Election

Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush, son of former President Bush, have both lived in the shadow of the presidency for years. While some contend that the presidential election is less important than the Congressional election, since the latter holds legislative power, the former will have influence beyond his executive sphere. Since at least three Supreme Court Justices will soon be looking towards retirement, the President will have opportunity to appoint new justices. In turn, those justices could conceivably shape the future of the United States for decades to come.

Despite all the hype, no one expected the election of 2000 to turn out the way it did. The third party candidates, especially Ralph Nader of the Green Party, became a contending factor in the election. Gore and Nader had similar liberal platforms, and the Democrats feared Nader would take away crucial votes that Gore needed to get elected.

Those crucial votes rested within the Sunshine State. By November 8, the day after the election, the entire outcome of the election hinged on the state of Florida. Whoever claimed Florida’s crucial 25 electoral votes would win the presidency.

Less than a day after networks prematurely introduced the country to President-elect George W. Bush, the nation realized that the election was far from over. Florida state law mandates an automatic recount if the margin of votes between two candidates is smaller than a half of one percent. So, as the people of the United States of America held their breath, the votes were retallied. At the end of that recount, Bush was ahead by less than 1,000 votes. Ironically, Ralph Nader received approximately 200,000 votes in the state of Florida, proving true the dire predictions about his involvement. Had Nader dropped out of the race as Democrats urged, the outcome might have been quite different. Although Bush won the recount, the election was far from over.

A resolution would not come for over a month as both candidates fought for what they viewed as a fair election. In response to Gore’s request that the votes should again be counted, Bush’s legal team took up a case in the 11th Circuit Court, arguing that further recounts were pointless and that the first should stand. While Bush was the first to go to court, Gore’s team fought to have three counties—Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, and Nassau—recount their votes (Gore won all three counties by a significant margin).

Along with the Bush/Gore fight, several individuals filed suits to have a revote because of the butterfly ballot. They argued the ballot was illegal because of a Florida state law that requires the candidates to be on the left side of the hole. Florida law also requires nine pieces of personal identification on an absentee ballot, including a voter identification number. However, because of an error, the absentee ballots didn’t request a voter identification number.

After the absentee ballots were cast, voter identification numbers were added to them so they would count in the election. Gore’s legal team alleged that these votes were improper and should be thrown out, while Bush’s team insisted that these votes should count. These cases were ultimately thrown out, but the ballot fiasco was just another act in the unending circus of Florida’s handling of the presidential election. More was to come as both candidates fought a bitter battle for the head of our nation.

To break it down, it came to five Florida and United States Supreme Court decisions. The first decision came from the Florida Supreme Court (FSC) ruling that Miami-Dade, Nassau and Palm Beach Counties had to recount contested ballots. Bush then filed suit in the U.S. Supreme Court (USSC), who did not rule on the case, but instead sent it back to the FSC for another ruling. The FSC set a November 26 deadline for all ballots to be recounted and certified by Secretary of State Katherine Harris and the canvassing board. When this day came, only two counties turned in a recount, and Bush was still in the lead.

The following day, Gore addressed the nation stating, “I have decided to contest this inaccurate and incomplete count, in order to ensure the greatest possible credibility for the outcome.” He also pled a case under Judge N. Sanders Sauls, that he ultimately lost and then appealed to the FSC. This brings us to our fourth major court battle.

The FSC overruled Judge Sauls’ ruling calling for yet another recount (the third one). Bush’s legal team then appealed this decision to the USSC, asking first for a stay or a stoppage of the recount. They ruled five to four to stop the recount and on December 11, oral arguments were heard. The next day the USSC ruled that the FSC violated equal rights, under the fourteenth amendment, and that a recount was not feasible because of time restraints.

While the battle for the presidency was raging in the weeks following the election, the media changed what they had originally called “Election 2000” first to “Recount 2000,” and then to “Showdown 2000.” As the office of the presidency was being decided in the courtroom, Bush was quietly making plans for his presidency. Camera-shy and not especially eager to talk to the media, Bush spent the majority of his time as far away from the public eye as possible. Gore did just the opposite. Appearing nearly every day on television and speaking candidly with the media, he sought to gain the approval of the public while his legal team continued the battle in court.

Amazingly, the fate of the White House rested in the Court’s decisions regarding what is and is not a vote, whether “dimpled, but not fully punched ballots” should be counted, and whether ballots should be cast out because of a printing error. A British radio personality commented satirically that if this election had taken place in an unstable third world country, the United States would have already sent in troops and started bombing. However absurd this statement may be, its message rings true. The irony of the fact that the fate of The United States of America, one of the most powerful nations in the world, relies on a court decision regarding an absentee ballot printing error is disturbing at best.

Obviously, the American people are now aware that their votes do make a difference. Those who are considering not voting in 2004 need only remember that just 1,000 people—just over the number of people at Greenville College—can determine who leads the free world.

David Wollen
Evan Johan Mathiasen

Last updated: July 9, 2001