Bush v. Gore
elections! recounts! intrigue! drama!
background information
GEORGE W. BUSH
REPUBLICAN
FORMER GOVERNOR
ALBERT GORE
DEMOCRAT
VICE PRESIDENT
background information
Once upon a time, George Bush won the electoral election. Al Gore won the
popular vote. Due to the policy established by the founders, George Bush was
proclaimed the 43rd president of the United States. Al Gore was sad. He
demanded a recount in Florida, because that vote was 48.8% for Bush, which
called for an automatic machine recount of the votes. The gap between Bush and
Gore was then close enough that a manual recount was begun. Bush then argued
that violated the Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution. The case began
in the Florida Circuit, then went to the Florida Supreme Court, and finally to the
Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decided that the machine count was close
enough and stayed the manual recount on December 9, 2000.
how would you decide?
George Bush argued that because the votes
were being recounted in different counties in
different ways, it was a violation of the Equal
Protection Clause. Al Gore felt that every
vote should be counted, no matter the
means.
What role should the Electoral College play in
elections?
Is the Constitution truly democratic?
Is the Supreme Court too influenced by the
bipartisan system?
the ruling
Seven justices agreed with Bush-- there was a
violation of the Equal Protection Clause. They
said that even if the recount was fair in theory, it
was unfair in practice. Due to hanging chads, the
machines were not entirely accurate and voter
intent was harder than usual to judge.
importance
Bush v. Gore established the relevance of the Electoral
College. The most recent election clearly mirrored the issues
tackled in this case. The people felt that their right to elect the
president was compromised because of the filter that the
Electoral College provides. Since the case, automatic voting
machines have been streamlined so that a similar situation will
not arise.
a recap!
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What year did this take place in?
What did the Supreme Court decide?
Why does this case matter?
Which party was each man associated with?
How is this case similar to this past election?
works cited
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush
http://www.common-place-archives.org/vol-02/no-04/roundtable/smith.shtml
https://www.oyez.org/cases/2000/00-949
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/George-W-Bush.jpeg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Al_Gore,_Vice_Pr
esident_of_the_United_States,_official_portrait_1994.jpg/220px-Al_Gore,_Vice
_President_of_the_United_States,_official_portrait_1994.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_v._Gore