Quickwrite

1
Quickwrite

• What do you know about the election of 2000 (Bush
  vs. Gore)?
• Who do you think should have won? Is there any
  particular reason you think so?

2
Introduction

• Electoral College
• Ballots
• News Reports/ Public Opinion
• Supreme Court

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The Electoral College
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• Voters
• Vote for electors/delegates
• Electors/Delegates
• Vote for President
• Vote based on votes from specifically assigned
  regions in the state

5
States Electoral Voting Powers

• Population
• Determines of electoral votes
• California has highest population, most electoral
  votes (55)

6
Winner Take All Format

• How it Works (Basically)
• California, for example
• 28 27 55

Republican Votes
Democratic Votes
Democratic Votes
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Electoral Map of 2000
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FLORIDA

• Very tight race
• About 1000 votes separating candidates
• Bush barely wins Florida votes
• Despite close finish, all votes go to Bush

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Controversies

• Gore comfortably wins popular vote, but barely
  loses electoral vote
• First time in US history
• Debate ensues over democratic value and
  representation of electoral college system
• Florida State Executives
• Katherine Harris (Secretary of State)
• Jeb Bush (Governor, George Bushs brother)
• Racism
• Allegedly some counties did not allow minorities
  to vote or did not count their votes

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Butterfly Ballots

• Used in many states (including Florida)
• Cited by some as faulty

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Hanging Chad

• Punched holes still hanging from the ballot
• Made some votes not count
• Votes allegedly mostly for Gore

12
Gores Reaction

• Recount
• Lawsuit

13
Media Coverage
14
Election Day 2000 Media Coverage

• Television stations stage a collective race to
  report the goings-on of the election.
• ltinsert video heregt
• ltFoxs Declaration of Bushs Victorygt

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What They Did

• Declared the winner of each state, as fast as
  possible
• Stations cut corners in order to be the first to
  report the winner of the election.
• CNN and others did not always wait until all
  polls were closed in those states before calling
  a winner
• Used exit polls in order to see who won

16
Exit Polls

• Election exit poll-taken immediately after
• An exit poll asks whom the voter actually voted
  for.
• There are problems with this method of seeing who
  won.

17
The Effects

• The weeks following the election led to criticism
  of media outlets
• Helped set an angry tone in the country

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Public Response

• People felt disenfranchised
• The internet was set ablaze
• Started of Bushs presidency with a lot of anger
  across the nation

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Supreme Court

• Gore calls Bush at approximately 3 A.M. to
  concede
• disputes over the county's Butterfly Ballots
• Katherine Harris, Florida secretary of state,
  announces she will not extend the deadline

22
Supreme Court Cont.

• Gore asks for Recounts
• The Florida Supreme Court blocks Harris from
  certifying election

23
Supreme Court Cont.

• The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Bush v. Gore 72
  
• The Court contends that the recount was not
  treating all ballots equally
• Too late to recount
• Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
• the Courts conclusion that a constitutionally
  adequate recount is impractical is a prophecy the
  Courts own judgment will not allow to be tested.
  Such an untested prophecy should not decide the
  Presidency of the United States.

24
Closing

• The Ifs
• Fixing the voting system
• -Help America Vote Act (HAVA)
• Importance of the Election of 2000
• Bushs work