Political Science

The American Presidential Elections of November 7, 2002 got George W. Bush into his second term in the highest post of the land, but not without the ensuing court rulings that would be landmark decisions in the political history of the United States.

In the hotly contested election, the Democrat standard bearer, Al Gore got 50,999,897 popular votes over Bushs 50,456,002 but the latter was declared winner and subsequently sworn in as the 43rd president of America.  The votes in Florida would prove pivotal in the outcome of the election.  In an Electoral College system, state legislatures are empowered by the US Constitution to decide on how to choose their electors.  Different states have different laws by which to select their electors.  In most states, like Florida, candidates with the highest popular votes, which may or may not be a majority, get the electoral votes.  Other states like Maine and Nebraska give the electoral votes to the candidates who win the majority, which are 271.

In Florida, Bush got 48.8 of the vote, 0.5 less of the total votes casted.  An automated recount was mandated by law.  With the recount, Bushs lead decreased.  Florida election laws allow candidates to request manual recounts, which Gore did for four counties that traditionally vote for Democrats.  On the possibility of uncounted votes by tabulating machines, Gore found it necessary to ask for recounts, the complexity of the election laws in Florida made it easy for Gore.  With Bush, he would want to freeze his lead and Florida law that appoints a week after the election as deadline for certifying the vote appears tight enough to gives him the chance.

Gore chose the votes in Volusia, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade for manual recounting.  The four counties agreed to the recount and as required by Florida law had to certify the returns within 7 days after the election to the Florida Secretary of State, which was November 14, but as ruled by the Florida Circuit Court these counties could amend their returns at a later date.  However, the Secretary of State was given the discretion to include them in the statewide returns, having considered all pertinent facts and circumstances.  All 67 counties were with certified returns by 500pm of November 14, except for Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade.  The Secretary would determine if she would accept the late filings based on a set of criteria which she issued to the counties wanting to submit late filings.  She required them to justify the late filing with written statements of the facts and circumstances.  All four counties submitted statements, but the Secretary found none of them justified the late filing.  She announced that as soon as she gets the certified returns of the absentee votes from each county, she would certify the presidential election results on November 26.  Bush was certified winner.

On December 8, the Florida Supreme Court ordered a manual recount on the whole state of Florida.  The US Supreme Court voting 5-4 stayed the Florida recount.  Several legal and moral issues were highlighted.  First the issue of stay suggested that petitioner (Bush) has a good chance of success.  The question was not so much as whether the votes ordered recounted were legally cast but that the counting of the legally questionable votes may bring irreparable harm to the petitioner by casting doubts on his legitimacy.  Dissenting opinion has it that preventing the completion of the recount will cast the cloud of legitimacy.

Judicial restraint on the part of the state supreme court should have been exercised.  A branch of the Federal Government has more legal stature to resolve the issue.  The Equal Protection Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment was cited to apply only in the current circumstance when in the absence of standards, the ballot is accepted as valid indication of intent of voter and w here dissenting argument said that the law was violated when similar ballots may be accepted in some counties but rejected in others.  There was also the matter of the safe harbor provision where states are allowed to appoint their electors within a deadline specified without intervention by Congress.

Bush had 271 votes, 1 vote over the 270 needed to win a presidency in the Electoral College.  The 25 electoral votes of Florida handed the victory over to George W. Bush of Texas, defeating Democratic candidate Gore with 266 electoral votes.