Editing Bush v. Gore (section)

==Background==
{{see also|2000 United States presidential election|United States Electoral College|United States presidential election}}
In the United States, each state conducts its own popular vote election for president and vice president. The voters are actually voting for a slate of electors, each of whom pledges to vote for a particular candidate for each office in the Electoral College. [[Article Two of the United States Constitution#Clause 2: Method of choosing electors|Article II, § 1, cl. 2]] of the U.S. Constitution provides that each state legislature decides how electors are chosen. Referring to an earlier Supreme Court case, ''[[McPherson v. Blacker]]'', the Court noted that early in U.S. history, most state legislatures [[Electoral College (United States)#Appointment by state legislature|directly appointed]] their slates of electors.<ref>{{cite web |title=McPherson v Blacker |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/146/1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814001711/https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/146/1 |archive-date=2024-08-14 |access-date=18 July 2021 |website=McPherson et al v Blacker |publisher=Cornell Law School}}</ref>

In the 21st century, state legislatures have enacted laws to provide for the selection of electors by popular vote within each state. While these laws vary, most states, including Florida, award all electoral votes to the candidate for either office who receives a [[Plurality voting|plurality]] of the state's popular vote. Any candidate who receives an absolute majority of all electoral votes nationally (270 since 1963) wins the presidential or vice-presidential election.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Electoral College {{!}} USAGov |url=https://www.usa.gov/electoral-college |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822171025/https://www.usa.gov/electoral-college |archive-date=2024-08-22 |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=www.usa.gov |language=en}}</ref>

On November 8, 2000, the Florida Division of Elections reported that Bush won with 48.8% of the vote in Florida, a margin of victory of 1,784 votes.<ref name="fsc1"/> The margin of victory was less than 0.5% of the votes cast, so a statutorily mandated<ref>''See'' Fla. Stat. § 102.141(4). {{cite web |url=http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0102/SEC141.HTM&Title=-%3e2000-%3eCh0102-%3eSection+141 |title=The 2000 Florida Statutes, Title IX, Chapter 102, Section 141 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050401131503/http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0102%2FSEC141.HTM&Title=-%3E2000-%3ECh0102-%3ESection%20141 |archive-date=April 1, 2005 |url-status=dead }} (This archived version of the Florida statute is dated July 2, 2001, and is from Archive.org.)</ref> automatic machine recount occurred. On November 10, with the machine recount apparently finished in all but one county, Bush's margin of victory had decreased to 327 votes.<ref name="timeline">{{cite news |date=December 17, 2000 |title=Election 2000 Timeline |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/election/20001217pztimeline.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122071807/https://www.post-gazette.com/election/20001217pztimeline.asp |archive-date=2011-11-22 |access-date=October 28, 2006 |publisher=PG Publishing Co., Inc.}}</ref>

According to legal analyst [[Jeffrey Toobin]], later analysis showed that 18 counties—accounting for a quarter of all votes cast in Florida—did not carry out the legally mandated machine recount, but "No one from the Gore campaign ever challenged this view" that the machine recount had been completed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Toobin |first=Jeffrey |url=https://archive.org/details/tooclosetocallth0000toob_x7z5 |title=Too close to call : the thirty-six-day battle to decide the 2000 election |date=2002 |publisher=New York : Random House |page=66|others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-375-76107-2}}</ref> Florida's election laws<ref>''See'' Fla. Stat. § 102.166. {{cite web|url=http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0102/SEC166.HTM&Title=-%3e2000-%3eCh0102-%3eSection+166|title=The 2000 Florida Statutes, Title IX, Chapter 102, Section 166|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050401131530/http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0102%2FSEC166.HTM&Title=-%3E2000-%3ECh0102-%3ESection%20166|archive-date=April 1, 2005|url-status=dead}} (This archived version of the Florida statute is dated July 2, 2001, and is from Archive.org.)</ref> allow a candidate to request a county to conduct a manual recount, and Gore requested manual recounts in four Florida counties—[[Volusia County, Florida|Volusia]], [[Palm Beach County, Florida|Palm Beach]], [[Broward County, Florida|Broward]], and [[Miami-Dade County, Florida|Miami-Dade]]—that generally vote Democratic and would be expected to find more votes for Gore. Gore did not request any recounts in counties that generally vote Republican. The four counties granted the request and began manual recounts. Florida law also required all counties to certify their election returns to the Florida secretary of state within seven days of the election,<ref>''See'' Fla. Stat. § 102.112. {{cite web|url=http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0102/SEC112.HTM&Title=-%3e2000-%3eCh0102-%3eSection+112|title=The 2000 Florida Statutes, Title IX, Chapter 102, Section 112|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010421220910/http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0102%2FSEC112.HTM&Title=-%3E2000-%3ECh0102-%3ESection+112|archive-date=April 21, 2001|url-status=dead}} (This archived version of the Florida statute is dated April 21, 2001, and is from Archive.org.)</ref> and several of the counties conducting manual recounts did not believe they could meet this deadline.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

On November 14, the statutory deadline, the [[Circuit court (Florida)|Florida Circuit Court]] ruled that the seven-day deadline was mandatory but that the counties could amend their returns at a later date. The court also ruled that the secretary of state, after "considering all attendant facts and circumstances", had discretion to include any late amended returns in the statewide certification.<ref name="l1114">{{cite web |title=Leon County Judge Rules on Certification |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/docs/florida2000/11-14_leonruling.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318220916/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/docs/florida2000/11-14_leonruling.pdf |archive-date=2009-03-18 |access-date=October 28, 2006}}</ref> Before the 5 p.m. deadline on November 14, Volusia County completed its manual recount and certified its results. At 5 p.m. on November 14, Florida Secretary of State [[Katherine Harris]] announced that she had received the certified returns from all 67 counties, while Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties were still conducting manual recounts.<ref name="ap1114">{{cite web |title=Text: Florida Recount Results |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showflorida2000.php?fileid=harris11-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119095447/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showflorida2000.php?fileid=harris11-14 |archive-date=2008-01-19 |access-date=October 28, 2006}}</ref>

Harris issued a set of criteria<ref name="fsc1">''Palm Beach County Canvassing Bd. v. Harris'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20050418112319/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/docs/florida2000/11-21_fla_opinion.pdf 772 So.2d 1220] (November 21, 2000). Late-filing criteria are at note 5. See [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/florida2000.php The American Presidency Project] for other documents related to the 2000 election dispute.</ref> by which she would determine whether to allow late filings, and she required any county seeking to make a late filing to submit to her, by 2&nbsp;p.m. the following day, a written statement of the facts and circumstances justifying the late filing. Four counties, including the three that missed the deadline, submitted statements, and after reviewing the submissions, Harris determined that none justified an extension of the deadline. She further announced that after she received the certified returns of the overseas absentee ballots from each county, she would certify the results of the presidential election on November 18.<ref name="fsc1"/> On November 17, the Florida Supreme Court enjoined Harris from certifying the election while it heard appeals from the various cases in progress.<ref name="fsc1" /> On November 21, it allowed continuation of the manual recounts and delayed certification until November 26.<ref name="fsc1" />