Excerpt from the Supreme Court Decision in Bush v. Gore, 2000
On December 8, 2000, the Supreme Court of Florida ordered that the Circuit Court of Leon County tabulate by hand 9,000 ballots in Miami-Dade County. It also ordered the inclusion in the certified vote totals of 215 votes identified in Palm Beach County and 168 votes identified in Miami-Dade County for Vice President Albert Gore, Jr., and Senator Joseph Lieberman, Democratic Candidates for President and Vice President. The Supreme Court noted that petitioner, Governor George W. Bush asserted that the net gain for Vice President Gore in Palm Beach County was 176 votes, and directed the Circuit Court to resolve that dispute on remand.
. . .
The court ordered all manual recounts to begin at once. Governor Bush and Richard Cheney, Republican Candidates for the Presidency and Vice Presidency, filed an emergency application for a stay of this mandate. On December 9, we granted the application, treated the application as a petition for a writ of certiorari, and granted certiorari. Post, p. ___.
The proceedings leading to the present controversy are discussed in some detail in our opinion in Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Bd., ante, p. ____ (per curiam) (Bush I). On November 8, 2000, the day following the Presidential election, the Florida Division of Elections reported that petitioner, Governor Bush, had received 2,909,135 votes, and respondent, Vice President Gore, had received 2,907,351 votes, a margin of 1,784 for Governor Bush. Because Governor Bush’s margin of victory was less than “one-half of a percent . . . of the votes cast,” an automatic machine recount was conducted under §102.141(4) of the election code, the results of which showed Governor Bush still winning the race but by a diminished margin.
Use the excerpt to answer the question.
Why did the election of 2000 hinge on the state of Florida and end up in the United States Supreme Court?
The election of 2000 hinged on the state of Florida because the margin of victory was less than "one-half of a percent . . . of the votes cast," triggering an automatic machine recount under §102.141(4) of the election code. The election results showed Governor Bush winning by a diminished margin. The controversy then arose due to disagreements over the manual recounts in certain counties, including Palm Beach and Miami-Dade, which were ordered by the Supreme Court of Florida. This led to an emergency application for a stay by Governor Bush and Richard Cheney, which was granted by the U.S. Supreme Court, and ultimately to the decision in Bush v. Gore.
The election of 2000 hinged on the state of Florida and ended up in the United States Supreme Court because of the very close margin of victory between Governor George W. Bush and Vice President Albert Gore, Jr. in Florida. Initially, Governor Bush had a margin of victory of 1,784 votes, which triggered an automatic machine recount under Florida's election code. However, during the recount process, there were disputes over the validity of certain ballots in Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade County. The Supreme Court of Florida ordered a manual recount of 9,000 ballots in Miami-Dade County and the inclusion of additional votes for Vice President Gore in Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade County.
Governor Bush and his running mate Richard Cheney filed an emergency application for a stay of the manual recount order, which was granted by the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court then accepted the application as a petition for a writ of certiorari and granted certiorari, indicating that they agreed to hear the case.
Essentially, the election ended up in the Supreme Court because of the disputed recount process in Florida, which had the potential to change the outcome of the election and determine the winner of the presidency.
The election of 2000 hinged on the state of Florida and ended up in the United States Supreme Court due to a combination of factors outlined in the excerpt. The Supreme Court of Florida had ordered the manual tabulation of 9,000 ballots in Miami-Dade County and the inclusion of additional votes in Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade County for Vice President Al Gore and Senator Joe Lieberman, the Democratic candidates for President and Vice President. Governor George W. Bush, the Republican candidate for President, disputed the net gain of votes for Gore in Palm Beach County.
As a result, the Florida Supreme Court ordered all manual recounts to begin immediately. Governor Bush and his running mate, Richard Cheney, filed an emergency application for a stay of this order, which was eventually granted by the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court then treated the application as a petition for a writ of certiorari and granted certiorari, which allowed them to review the case.
The Supreme Court's involvement in the election came after a series of legal proceedings and controversies surrounding the counting and recounting of votes in Florida. Due to the extremely close margin between Bush and Gore in Florida, with a difference of only 1,784 votes, the outcome in Florida would ultimately determine the winner of the presidential election. These circumstances led to the case being brought before the United States Supreme Court.