Bush v. Gore

531 U.S. 98 (2000)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

(We give detailed facts because many of you may not have lived through this debacle). On November 8, 2000, the Florida Division of Elections reported that Governor Bush, had received 2,909,135 votes, and respondent, Vice President Gore, had received 2,907,351 votes, a margin of 1,784 for Governor Bush. Because the margin of victory was less than 'one-half of a percent . . . of the votes cast,' an automatic machine recount was conducted which showed Bush still winning the race but by a diminished margin. Gore then sought manual recounts in Volusia, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties, pursuant to Florida's election protest provisions. A dispute arose concerning the deadline for local county canvassing boards to submit their returns to the Secretary of State (Secretary). The Secretary declined to waive the November 14 deadline imposed by statute. The Florida Supreme Court set the deadline at November 26. The Supreme Court granted certiorari and vacated the Florida Supreme Court's decision, finding considerable uncertainty as to the grounds on which it was based. On December 11, the Florida Supreme Court issued a decision on remand reinstating that date. On November 26, the Florida Elections Canvassing Commission certified the results of the election and declared Bush the winner of Florida's 25 electoral votes. On November 27, Gore, pursuant to Florida's contest provisions, filed a complaint in Leon County Circuit Court contesting the certification. He sought relief pursuant to §102.168(3)(c), which provides that 'receipt of a number of illegal votes or rejection of a number of legal votes sufficient to change or place in doubt the result of the election' shall be grounds for a contest. The Circuit Court denied relief, stating that Gore failed to meet his burden of proof. He appealed to the First District which certified the matter to the Florida Supreme Court. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part. It held that the Circuit Court had been correct to reject Gore's challenge to the results certified in Nassau County and his challenge to the Palm Beach County Canvassing Board's determination that 3,300 ballots cast in that county were not, in the statutory phrase, 'legal votes.' The Supreme Court held that Vice President Gore had satisfied his burden of proof under §102.168(3)(c) with respect to his challenge to Miami-Dade County's failure to tabulate, by manual count, 9,000 ballots on which the machines had failed to detect a vote for President. Noting the closeness of the election, the Court explained that 'on this record, there can be no question that there are legal votes within the 9,000 uncounted votes sufficient to place the results of this election in doubt.' A 'legal vote,' as determined by the Supreme Court, is 'one in which there is a 'clear indication of the intent of the voter.' ' The court, therefore, ordered a hand recount of the 9,000 ballots in Miami-Dade County. Observing that the contest provisions vest broad discretion in the circuit judge to 'provide any relief appropriate under such circumstances,' it further held that the Circuit Court could order 'the Supervisor of Elections and the Canvassing Boards, as well as the necessary public officials, in all counties that have not conducted a manual recount or tabulation of the undervotes ... to do so forthwith, said tabulation to take place in the individual counties where the ballots are located.' Rejecting the Circuit Court's conclusion that Palm Beach County lacked the authority to include the 215 net votes submitted past the November 26 deadline, the Supreme Court explained that the deadline was not intended to exclude votes identified after that date through ongoing manual recounts. As to Miami-Dade County, the Court concluded that although the 168 votes identified were the result of a partial recount, they were 'legal votes [that] could change the outcome of the election.' The Supreme Court, therefore, directed the Circuit Court to include those totals in the certified results, subject to resolution of the actual vote total from the Miami-Dade partial recount.