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Who Wants To Be A President?

© Tony Lacey

First it was Al Gore. Then it was anybody’s guess. Now it’s George Bush. Or is it?

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Election 2000 was never meant to be like this. Voters marched to the polling booths in impressive numbers ("http://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stor...") to register their choice. It was all going so well. And then one small detail reared its head. The electoral college ("http://www.nara.gov/fedreg/elctcoll/").

Why is this important? It’s important because Al Gore has 255 confirmed electoral votes to George Bush’s 246. A total of 270 is needed to become President-elect. And only Florida can tip the balance for either man. On November 7th, Bush led Gore 1,725 votes ("http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/results/")

After consecutive recounts, on December 9th that lead had shrunk to a projected 154. CNN’s Bill Schneider said, “The quicker the votes start being counted, the quicker the victory for Al Gore”. His theory seemed to be ringing true. If the recounts all continued without any more interruptions Albert Gore would have been walking around, coffee-for-reporters in hand("http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/p/ap/200012...") calling himself President-elect.

However, following Gore’s (http://www.gore2000.com) Eleventh-hour, 11th Circuit Court reprieve a new spanner has been thrown into the works. The US Supreme Court ("http://www.supremecourtus.gov/") has halted recounts until Monday, when it will hear arguments - again - from Gore and Bush’s lawyers ("http://www.msnbc.com/news/491164.asp?cp1...").

Despite the continuing impasse, one element of the Florida quagmire has persisted. Allegations of political manoeuvring ("http://www.independent.co.uk/news/World/..."), racial discrimination at the polls ("http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1055000/au...") and an in-depth, highly legaslitic explanation of ‘dimpled chads’ ("http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/resourc...") have never gone away.

Problems have been rife suggesting something murky happening in the heartland of Florida. Katherine Harris, the Secretary of State ("http://www.dos.state.fl.us/") has been accused of being partisan and shutting her ears to Democrat pleas.

The allegations have however proved unfounded, especially regarding rigged and/or incapable voting machines. Judge N. Sanders Sauls, who initially ruled against any more recounts rattled off his speech saying that the evidence put forward by Gore’s lawyers of voting irregularities “does not establish any illegality, dishonesty, gross negligence, improper influence, coercion or fraud in the balloting and counting processes” ("http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onp..."). This was a major blow to Gore’s chances. But in the pantomime tradition of this year’s election Sauls’ verdict was then over-turned 4-3 in favour of recounts in the Florida Supreme Court ("http://www.flcourts.org/pubinfo/sct.html").

At the time of writing this article that is where this backwards-forwards-backwards tennis match of an election is residing. The court is hearing arguments Monday 11th December for and against continuing the recounts. The deadline for a final vote tally from which Florida’s electoral college votes are decided is the next day; Tuesday 12th.

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