2000 US presidential election

Overview
The 2000 US presidential election was the culmination of the 2000 US presidential race. Had all votes in the 2000 presidential election been properly counted, the winner would have been Al Gore; due to a technicality exacerbated by Republican guerrilla tactics, George W. Bush was awarded the presidency before a recount of the compromised Florida vote was complete. There was also strong evidence of election fraud during both this election and the next one.

some points

 * "Although it was reported – in The New York Times, no less – that Al Gore got more votes than George W. Bush in a statewide recount of Florida 'no matter what standard was chosen to judge voter intent,' most Americans don't know to this day that Gore actually won the 2000 election. The reason is a small percentage of Republican spin and a large percentage of journalistic cowardice in the mainstream media following 9/11. (This cowardice is limited to the USA, by the way – the story was extensively covered in most of the rest of the world.)" Interestingly, the original article leaves the reader with the opposite impression; the AlterNet article points this out and concludes that the Times did not want to undermine Bush's authority in a time of crisis (the article having been published not long after 9/11).
 * The Florida recount that was stopped by the U.S. Supreme Court wasn't a statewide recount, which is why that particular recount wouldn't have affected the outcome.
 * This is actually two claims:
 * The Florida recount that was stopped by the U.S. Supreme Court wasn't a statewide recount. (True.)
 * The Florida recount could not have affected the outcome.
 * There is no evidence to support this. Bush's national lead was extremely narrow, within the margin of error for machine-based voting; if the precincts being recounted could not have influenced the election, then surely (1) there would have been no question about needing a recount and Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris would have certified the election for Bush much earlier, rather than waiting until the recount was already in progress, and (2) Gore wouldn't have bothered going to the trouble of suing Bush and Harris, as the outcome of the trial could not have affected the final election results.
 * The Fall of the Athenian Republic at Snopes debunks some inaccurate Internet-rumors about the 2000 election

Related Pages

 * US presidential elections
 * Parts of the 2000 US Republican Party Platform now stand in stark contradiction to the official Republican position on the US invasion of Iraq, which was initiated by the Republican majority and president, over stiff objections from many non-Republicans and under false pretenses.

Reference

 * no equivalent page (as of 2008-05-18)
 * no equivalent page (as of 2008-05-18)
 * 4LawSchool: Bush v. Gore: a fairly detailed description and analysis of the events leading to the final decision
 * no equivalent page (as of 2008-05-18)
 * 4LawSchool: Bush v. Gore: a fairly detailed description and analysis of the events leading to the final decision