Political Participation - 2000 Presidential Election

The presidential election of 2000 between Republican candidate and Texas governor George W. Bush and Democratic candidate and Vice President Al Gore was one of the most controversial presidential elections in history. The election remained undecided for five weeks, after the vote was too close to call and hinged on the number of ballots each candidate received in the state of Florida. In several precincts, ballots were recounted by hand, a project that sparked even more controversy as hole-punched ballots that were only partially punched through were viewed differently by different people. The election was eventually decided when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the recount would stop, and the election went to Bush, who was leading the recount vote in Florida at the time.

There were many accusations made throughout the state of Florida of voting problems and irregularities in precincts that had large numbers of African-American voters. Following the election, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held hearings in which African-American residents of Florida testified about voter intimidation and such irregularities as polling places being moved and registered voters being told that they could not vote. Since African-Americans tend to vote for the Democratic party, many groups charged that Gore would have won the election had the minority vote not been compromised. The complaints led the NAACP to file a lawsuit against the state of Florida over the election, and resulted in widespread calls for election reform. Settling the lawsuit out of court in 2002, FIGURE 9.2
Reasons given for not voting, 2000
(Percent of registered non-voters) the state agreed to change voter registration procedures, improve maintenance of the list of eligible voters, better train poll workers, and improve communication between precincts and election headquarters.