1. The Republican Return
The Election of 2000

2. The Clinton Years
Longest period of sustained economic growth in American History
Dow Jones Industrial Average :
Dow Jones Industrial Average : 11,722.98
Low Inflation and Unemployment
Whitewater Scandal
Fraudulent loans and land deals
Abuse of the power of the Governorship
Clinton associates were convicted, but no evidence was found linking the President to the crimes

3. The Clinton Years The Monica Lewinsky Scandal
The President was accused of having and extramarital affair with 19 year old White House intern Monica Lewinsky
Not the first time he’d been accused of such relationships
Denied to Federal prosecutor Kenneth Starr and The Grand Jury that he’d been involved with Lewinsky
Eventually the evidence proved otherwise
Clinton is impeached by the House of representatives for “High Crimes and Misdemeanors”

4. The End of the Clinton Era
Although Clinton was guilty of being dishonest, the Senate voted to acquit the President on February 12, 1999
Clinton remained popular for the duration of his term
The American people were tired of scandal, which would prove difficult for Vice-President Al Gore, who would run to replace Clinton in the 2000 Election

5. The Election of 2000 - Democrats
Vice-President Albert Gore
Former Senator Bill Bradley

6. Election of 2000 - Republicans
Dan Quayle
Former Vice President of the United States
George W. Bush
Governor of Texas
John McCain
Senator from Arizona
Steve Forbes
Businessman
Six other Republican candidates

7. The Nominees Governor George W. Bush (R-TX) Vice President Albert Gore
(D-TN)

8. The Campaign
Bush focused on the negatives of the Clinton foreign policy and scandals
Somalia
“Nation building”
Compassionate Conservatism – tax cuts, returning the surplus
Gore focused on Bush lack of experience to be President
Speaking gaffes
Lack of job experience
Use surplus to protect social security and pay down the deficit
Gore sought to distance himself from Clinton
Bush’s focus was to restore dignity to the White House
Clinton did not campaign with Gore

9. Election night Very close race
Counting went late into the evening
Florida’s 25 electoral votes would determine the outcome
Too close to call
Both candidates remained optimistic about the outcome of the election
Gore was optimistic that the numbers were trending in his favor
Bush was convinced that his brother Jeb Bush, Florida’s Governor, had helped to secure the state with vigorous campaigning

10. Florida
Before the polls closed in Florida, some television networks had declared the Gore had won the state’s electoral votes
Exit polling: poll taken of voters immediately after voting
Early exit polls favored Gore, so it was determined based on those polls that Gore had won the states
The exit polls did not figure in the results from Florida’s panhandle
Different time zones
Heavily Republicans

11. Florida by County
Florida’s electoral map with a line showing approximately where the time zone difference occurs

12. Retraction
As the votes from Florida’s panhandle came in, it became clear that this race was closer than anyone had imagined
News networks all over the country were forced to retract their prediction of a win for Gore and say instead that Florida was “too close to call”.
Counting went on through the night, and by morning, no one knew yet who had won

13. Recount
Florida law demands a recount in an election that is close votes of this nature
Gore requested hand counts of three large counties
Both sides built their legal teams
Ballot irregularities
Butterfly ballots in some counties may have made it unclear to the voter who they were choosing
Punch card ballot machines malfunctioned, creating “hanging chads”

15. Florida Secretary of State Katharine Harris
As per Florida law, Harris was responsible for certifying the election winner
Certified Mr. Bush after an initial recount
Fought to have that certification upheld
Involved in several controversies throughout the recount process
Florida Secretary of State Katharine Harris

16. Additional controversies
Scrub list
List of eligible voters in the state of Florida
Many eligible voters were left off and therefore unable to vote
88% of those left off were African Americans’ who primarily vote Democratic
List had recently been updated by Katherine Harris, Florida’s Secretary of State
Roadblocks blocking access to polls in heavily Democratic voting counties

17. Additional Controversies
Vote Pairing was suppressed
Vote pairing: the exchange of votes for a particular candidate in a “lost cause” state for votes for a legitimate competitor in a swing state
Lawsuits against vote pairing web sites, eventually ruled unconstitutional, were instigated by the Florida government
The Volusia Error
A voting machine in the small precinct malfunctioned
Of 412 votes, the machine gave Mr. Bush 2813 votes and Mr. Gore -16,022

18. The Legal process
At the end of the official recount, Mr. Bush led the race by 537 votes (.009%)
Gore demanded more hand recounts
Several Florida counties sued to have their deadline for official results extended to accommodate the recount
Bush sued to stop more recounts
The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the recounts should go on

19. The Supreme Court of the United States
George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney, petitioners v. Albert Gore, Jr. et al.
Bush’s lawsuit to end the Florida recounts appealing to the United States Supreme Court
The Court’s ruling would effectively decide the race
In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that the Florida Supreme Court decision violated Mr. Bush’s 14th Amendment Rights
Equal protection clause
No time to organize a fair and equal recount process
This allowed Katharine Harris to certify George Bush as the winner of the Florida electoral votes.

20. Interesting Recount Statistics
Review of all ballots statewide (never undertaken) •
Standard as set by each county canvassing board during their survey: Gore by 171
Fully punched chad and limited marks on optical ballots: Gore by 115
Any dimples or optical mark: Gore by 107 
One corner of chad detached or optical mark: Gore by 60
Review of limited sets of ballots (initiated but not completed) 
Gore request for recounts of all ballots in Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Volusia counties: Bush by 225 
Florida Supreme Court of all undervotes statewide: Bush by 430
Florida Supreme Court as being implemented by the counties, some of whom refused and some counted overvotes as well as undervotes: Bush by 493
Unofficial recount totals 
Incomplete result when the Supreme Court stayed the recount (December 9, 2000): Bush by 154
Certified Result (official final count) 
 Recounts included from Volusia and Broward only: Bush by 537