Facts of the Case
Chronology of the Florida Vote Challenge
On November 8, 2000, the day following the presidential election, the Florida Division of Elections reported that Governor Bush had received 2,909,135 votes, and 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 "onehalf of a percent … of the votes cast," an automatic machine recount was conducted under Section 102.141(4) of the election code, the results of which showed Governor Bush still winning the race but by a diminished margin. Vice President Gore then sought manual recounts in Volusia, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties,…
