Election Indecision 101
Here's background on the contested election tally and a timeline on what to expect next.
What's the latest in the contested election?
Though George W. Bush is the certified winner in Florida, Al Gore is contesting the result.
On Dec. 8, the Florida Supreme Court gave Al Gore a crucial victory in ordering a recount of thousands of disputed ballots in Miami-Dade County and a satewide recount of all so-called undervotes – ballots in which machines counted no vote for president. However, a stay issued Dec. 9 by the United States Supreme Court temporarily halted this recount, until the Bush appeal can be heard by the high court itself.
Florida's Republican-controlled legislature, meanwhile, is gearing up to select its own slate of delegates to the Electoral College Dec. 12. Florida lawmakers have this power under federal law, but Gore's lawyers have filed a brief with the US Supreme Court to stop this from happening.
What are "chads" and why are they important?
Chads are the pieces of cardboard voters punch out of ballots using a stylus. A legal ruling on whether to allow partially punched (or merely indented) ballots may make a major difference for Al Gore, who is expected to pick up additional votes if dangling or hanging chads are counted as legal votes - and still more if ballots with dimpled or pregnant chads are considered legal.
Dimpled or pregnant chads show evidence of pressure, but have not become detached from their perforations.
Dangling or hanging chads have been partially detached, but have not yet fallen from the ballot.
Punched chads have been completely punched out from the ballot by the voter.
What's next?
Here's a timeline with key dates of the election process so far and what lies ahead:
Nov. 7 – Election day: Polling surveys showed a tight race, but as midnight passed, the TV networks had not declared a winner.
Nov. 8: After first declaring Florida for Gore, then retracting, then awarding the presidency for Bush, then retracting, news organizations were left with a race "too close to call" early Wednesday. Florida began a recount, and the Gore campaign criticized ballots in Palm Beach County as confusing.
Nov. 9: Recount underway in Florida. Several lawsuits were filed in the state and four Florida counties were approved for hand recounts.
Nov. 10: Gore won Oregon's seven electoral votes, bringing his tally to 262 – a 16 point advantage over Bush's 246 electoral votes. New Mexico judged "too close to call."
Nov. 11: Bush filed a federal lawsuit in Florida to block the hand count of votes in four counties. Palm Beach County officials began a sample manual recount to determine if an entire county recount was merited.
Nov. 13: Broward County officials voted against a recount Gore had sought. Democrats planned an appeal. Palm Beach County officials said they'd begin a hand count of more than 400,000 ballots – a process that would not conclude until after the Nov. 14, 5 p.m. deadline. U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks rejected the Bush campaign's plea to stop the hand counting.
Nov. 14: Leon County Circuit Judge Terry Lewis let stand the Nov. 14, 5 p.m. deadline to certify all non-overseas votes in Florida. Former Secretary of State and Bush campaign official James Baker offered the Gore campaign a plan to resolve the election: accept as final the latest voting figures as of 5 p.m. Nov. 15, count all of the overseas ballots, and then declare a winner. William Daley of the Gore campaign did not accept the offer. The Bush campaign also filed a federal notice of appeal over the manual recount.
Nov. 15: The Florida Supreme Court denied a motion by Florida secretary of state Katherine Harris to stop any hand counting of ballots. Harris said she won't accept hand recount results at certification time Nov. 18. Broward county decided to conduct a full manual recount.
Nov. 16: The Florida Supreme Court rules Palm Beach County can proceed with a manual recount.
Nov. 17: With an impending midnight deadline for overseas absentee ballots, Judge Terry Lewis upheld Harris's decision to exclude hand recounts in the certification, but the Florida Supreme Court blocked Harris from conducting any certification until it could rule on the validity of hand recounts. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a GOP request to stop the recounts. Meanwhile, the Bush campaign decided against legal action to challenge the election in Iowa, where unofficial returns indicate Gore won by fewer than 5,000 votes.
Nov. 18: Unofficial results with new overseas absentee ballots tallied showed Bush with a 930-vote lead over Gore.
Nov. 20: The Florida Supreme Court heard arguments on the validity of manually recounted ballots. The Bush campaign opted not to request a recount in Wisconsin, where Gore won by fewer than 6,000 votes.
Nov. 21: In a positive development for the Gore campaign, the Florida Supreme Court ruled unanimously that manual recounts must be included in the state's vote certification.
Nov. 22: Miami-Dade County, where Gore had hoped to pick up votes, stopped its recount.
Nov. 23: The Florida Supreme Court refused to order Miami-Dade County to resume its recount.
Nov. 24: The US Supreme Court agreed to hear Bush's appeal of the Florida Supreme Court's decision to uphold hand recounts.
Nov. 26: Deadline for all manual recounts in Florida counties, as ruled by the Florida Supreme Court. Harris certified George W. Bush the winner over Al Gore by a margin of 537 votes. Bush claimed victory and said he was preparing a White House transition team.
Nov. 27: Gore officially contested the Florida election results. In a televised address, Gore made his case for challenging Florida's results.
Nov. 28: Lawyers for both campaigns filed briefs with the US Supreme Court.
Nov. 29: Gore made appeals for patience while his laywers worked to have the Florida Supreme Court mandate a new recount of disputed votes in two Florida counties. Bush continued work with his White House transition team.
Dec. 1: The US Supreme Court heard arguments on whether to overturn a Florida Supreme Court ruling allowing manual recounts to be added to the state's vote total.
Dec. 4: The US Supreme Court vacated the Florida Supreme Court ruling, asking the state justices to clarify their ruling. Leon Country Circuit Judge N. Sanders Sauls denied Gore's request for manual recounts of 14,000 disputed ballots in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties.
Dec. 8: The Florida Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, overruled Judge Sauls and ordered a recount of disputed ballots and a statewide recount of all undervotes. Democratic request to dismiss Republican-dominated absentee ballots in two counties were denied. Appeals were made in all three decisions.
Dec. 9: The US Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, issued an order that halted the Florida recount.
Dec. 10: The US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the Florida statewide recount appeal.
Dec. 12: Deadline for the selection of Florida's 25 electors. Republicans in the Florida state legislature have said they will call a special session to choose the state's electors if a hand recount puts Gore over the top, or no final recount results have been obtained by Dec. 12.
Dec. 18: Federal law requires electors to gather in their respective state capitols to cast their ballots. Electors are chosen with the understanding that they've pledged to vote for the candidate chosen by the majority of the population in each state. But they're not legally required to do so, and a so-called "faithless elector" could alter the electoral vote picture.
Jan. 5: The House and Senate gather to witness the counting of the electoral votes from each state. Though this is usually a ceremonial act presided over by the vice president, the contested election may prompt legislators to use a federal law that allows objections to any electoral vote. These objections are approved or rejected by majority vote in both the House and Senate. If Bush or Gore failed to win 270 votes, the House of Representatives would convene to choose the president. The rules governing this vote would likely give award the presidency to Bush since 29 state delegations are Republican-controlled. |
