The recorded popular vote gave Gore the advantage, by a fraction of a percentage point. However, not all contests were challenged, despite substantial allegations in various jurisdictions, including Wisconsin and Missouri. Thus, the true vote count is a matter of speculation.
In any event, the Supreme Court did not give Dubya the election. According to the rules, Bush won the electoral vote. The Gore campaign attempted to overturn that result with multiple allegations, but did not succeed. The Florida Supreme Court, in a split decision opposed by the Chief Justice, overrode a trial court judge in calling for yet one more recount. The Bush campaign applied to the US Supreme Court for relief, mainly on the grounds that there were no clear standards established to discern voter intent on ballots that had not been readable electronically. By a vote of 7 to 2, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed with the equity concerns of the Bush campaign. The wrinkle was that the Florida legislature has absolute Constitutional authority to end the contest period in the presidential election, and it was clear that they intended to submit a slate of electors by the safe harbor in December. Since the Florida Supreme Court could not satisfactorily remedy the faults in their decision, and proceed with the recount, within the time allotted for contests by the legislature, the USSC refused to remand the issue back to the Florida Supreme Court for a cure. By a split decision, they, in effect, declared the period of contest terminated, and advised the legislature to rely on the last available count, which meant that Bush was president....... |
