Bush v. gore (2000) - sustany/dvg GitHub Wiki

Bush v. Gore (2000)�is the Supreme Court�case regarding Florida�s recount of the presidential�election�ballots in the year 2000.�

Petitioner,�George W. Bush,�won the 25 electoral votes in Florida (and thus the presidential election) by a narrow margin against respondent, Al Gore.�The narrow margin triggered an automatic recount of votes under Florida�s election laws. The machine recount narrowed the margin further as it excluded many votes.�Gore then sought a manual recount of the votes and challenged the election results under a Florida statute.�The�Supreme Court of Florida�accepted Gore�s challenge to the election results by holding that a manual recount was required.�However, Florida law did not establish uniform guidelines for manually re-assessing ballots.�Bush requested a stay on the recount and petitioned for a�writ of certiorari�to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court in a�per curiam�opinion held that the lack of uniform guidelines rendered the recounting of votes in Florida a violation of the�Equal Protection Clause.�Furthermore, the Court held that the Florida Supreme Court cannot fashion new election law, a power reserved for state legislature, and therefore the previous outcome of the election (with Bush as the winner) stands.�A few other justices wrote separately, stating that either a separate remedy could have been fashioned or that�federalism�concerns required Florida Supreme Court�s decision be respected.

The larger impact of this case was an increased distrust in the voting processes.�Some scholars say that the decision affected the Supreme Court�s image as an independent judicial body and exposed it to accusations of partisanship.