On this day, December the 12th, in the year of 2000, Bush v. Gore, a legal case brought to the Supreme Court which decided the winner of the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election, was ruled in the favor of George W. Bush, leading him to be the forty-third President of the United States of America.

The 2000 Presidential Election saw then Texas Governor George W. Bush (Republican) ran against the then Vice President Al Gore (Democrat) in a race which polling suggested would be a close one. The days following election night saw no winner, as neither Gore or Bush met the 270 point electoral vote criteria to win.

To break the stalemate, the results from Florida would deliver enough electoral votes for either candidate to win, but the race in Florida was too close to call, with the difference in votes between Gore and Bush being less than one thousand. A recount was held that barely put Bush ahead of Gore, but legal challenges ensued.

The Florida election came under nationwide scrutiny due to the method in which some had to vote with. The controversy was caused by the punch paper voters used to vote. Come to be known as “chads”, paper that were partially punched and or had multiple punched holes, leading to confusion in the process of recounting the votes.

With such troubles, the Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of a recount of around 45,000 votes which had discrepancies. With each recount, Bush lost more votes, so, in an attempt to end further recounts, the Bush campaign brought the case of whether another recount should be held to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The court ruled in two separate votes that a recount could not be held in time for the electoral votes to be certified by the December eight-tenth deadline and to cancel the recount order from the Florida Supreme Court, giving Bush Florida by roughly 500 votes, making him the winner of the Election.

Bush won with 271 electoral votes compared to Gores 266, even though Gore had more votes in the popular vote (around 500,00 more), being the fourth of five out of fifty-nine elections with such a result.

Bush would go on to win reelection in 2004, with him being the leader of America during such events as the September 11th attacks, the Invasion of Iraq, and Hurricane Katrina, while Gore would concede the election, going on to continue raising awareness of climate change and its effects (Oyez) (Miller Center) (270toWin) (Britannica) (270toWin) (Climate One).

To read more daily facts and tidbits and about other U.S. Presidential Election, see the Barron Perspectives “On this Day Archives” webpage and such articles as “On This Day – November 5th (Franklin D. Roosevelt Third Term)” and “On This Day – November 2nd (Jimmy Carter)”.