November 17, 2000
World & Nation
Election, cont. from page 1
there, trying to win the Sun
shine State's 25 electoral votes. Pre
election polls indicated that the state was
leaning slightly in the Republican di
rection, but that the race would be a
close one.
No one knew how close.
Before the polls had even closed
on Election Day, the media an
nounced that, based on exit polls and
early returns, and despite the expec
tations, Gore had won in Florida.
Several hours later, they took
it back.
When all the ballots were
counted, Bush led the state by 1, 784
votes. Out of the six million Florid
ians who voted, 1,784 votes is less
than one half of one percent.
The narrow margin kicked
off an automatic computer recount.
When the recount was complete,
Bush led by a mere 327 votes, accord
ing to the Associated Press. 327 votes
is less than .015% of the state's total.
And still, the saga continues
Florida voters and Gore cam
paign officials have both expressed
doubts about the validity of the to
tals. Gore's campaign has called for
a hand recount of votes in four
Florida counties, counties in which
the Democrat already has a strong
lead. In each of these counties, offi
cials recorded six to ten thousand
"under-votes"-ballots on which no
markings were detectable by ma
chine count. Gore's hope is that
many of these ballots will, when ex
amined by hand, be countable. In
Democratic counties, the majority of
the additional votes should be his.
And then there is the issue of
the so-called "butterfly ballots." Used
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Thousands of protesters took to the streerewnen newsoFine
botched election was announced.
only in West Palm Beach county, this
new style of ballot apparently con
fused many voters into casting their
votes for Reform Candidate Pat
Buchanan rather than Gore.
Despite the fact that the ballot
was designed to make voting easier
for elderly voters by increasing the
size of the print, and despite the fact
that representatives of both major
parties approved it, many voters ex
pressed complaints.
"The very thought that I might
have voted for Buchanan is enough
to make me lose sleep for weeks,"
said voter Holly Howell. "I'd rather
vote for Attila the Hun...l can't tell
you how I feel. I can't think of any
words that are permissible to say and
still be called a lady."
Even Buchanan admits that his
total in West Palm Beach, 3400 votes,
was inordinately high. Having never
campaigned in the area, Buchanan did
not expect many votes at all.
In addition, the "butterfly bal
lot," so called, because it lists candi
dates on either side of a central mar
gin, does not conform to two Florida
state ballot laws.
Several West Palm Beach vot
ers have filed for a re-vote, but no court
action can be taken until the totals are
final and certified, after absentee bal
lots are counted on Friday.
In addition to the questionable
ballot, others are calling for a revote
for different reasons.
"While there is, over and over
again, a call for a recount, in West
Palm there must be a first count,"
Jesse Jackson said of reports that
many black voters in Florida were
denied access to polls.
Jackson and NAACP president
Kweisi Mfume received reports that,
in Florida, many African American,
Haitian American and Cuban voters
were turned away at the polls, being
told either there were no more bal
lots or the polls were closed.
Roadblocks were set up in
many predominantly black neighbor
hoods to prevent and intimidate
black voters from going to the polls,
reports say. "Haitian Americans
were denied assistance in the voting
booth, which they can expect and
accept by law," Jackson said. Many
Mexican Americans and Cubans re
ceived similar treatment. Haitian
American Jude Esperance (who did
not vote for
president for
fear of acci
dentally
punching the
wrong box)
said, "I am
very frus
trated and I
feel cheated.
I wanted to
participate
in democ
racy, but no
one was will
ing to show
me how."
The Democratic National Com
mittee has set up a hotline for voter
complaints and received 6,000 calls in
Palm Beach County alone. The NAACP
is currently holding public hearings and
plans to take legal action.
The Electoral College
Despite the millions of votes
cast every four years, only 538 people
actually elect the president of the
United States.
In the vast majority of elections,
the 538 people who make up the Elec
toral College choose the same candi
date as the entire population of vot
ers. However, because even a small
The Guilfordian
majority of each
state's popular vote
can win the entire
slate of Electoral
College votes in most
states, it is possible
for one candidate to
win the popular vote
and another to win
the Electoral College
and the presidency
This year
could be the fourth
time in the history
of the country that
the Electoral College vote and the
popular vote have been at odds.
As it has in the past, this situa
tion is leading some voters to doubt
the effectiveness of the Electoral Col
lege. "The result of this election, if it
holds, would mean that a quarter of
a million vote surplus for Mr. Gore
nationally is worth less than [327
votes] in Florida. Why?' asked Neal
Pierce, co-author of The Electoral
College Primer 2000.
"Why?" is the question that
many have been prompted to ask
since November 7th. Why is it that
Vice President Gore got more votes
than Governor Bush, and yet Bush
may still win the election? Why do
we have an electoral college at all?
"Many see the system as a
creaky anachronism, a last minute
deal that perversely endured and is
ill-suited to modern politics," said
Robin Toner of the New York Times.
And yet, in 1969, when the
House of Representatives and Presi
dent Nixon attempted to overthrow
the system, the Senate voted to keep
the College just that way it was.
Many smaller states count on
the Electoral College to increase their
influence in choosing the president.
Votes are assigned based on how
many delegates each state has in the
House of Representatives and the
Senate combined. While represen
tation in the House is based on popu
lation, in the Senate each state is
equal. Thus, the Electoral College
allows smaller states to have more
of an impact than they would if the
popular vote were the only factor.
'The Electoral College is a train
wreck waiting to happen," said
Lawrence A. Tribe, Harvard Law
School's expert on Constitutional law.
Although the system has lasted for over
200years, through 42 presidential elec
tions, it seems as though the wreck may
have just occurred.
The Third Party
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The issue of the third party was
central in this election. Green Party
candidate Ralph Nader is thought to
have been a major influence, although
he did not acheive his goal of 5% (of
the popular vote) which would have
ensured government campaign fund
ing in the 2004 election. Nader, how
ever, still feels successful. "Whatever
happens to third partiesin terms of win
ning or not wining elections, this is the
beginning of the end of the end of the
two-party duopoly," Nader said.
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misleading ballots that caused thousands to vote for
Buchanan instead of Gore.
Nader's presence in the election
has come under fire from Democratic
supporters. "His standing has been se
verely diminished by his actions. People
basically view him as having been on a
narcissistic, self-serving, Sancho Panza,
windmill tilting excursion," said Amy
Isaacs, national director of Americans
for Democratic Action.
Just how big was Nader's influ
ence? In states that might have gone
to Gore, such as Colorado, Nevada,
New Hampshire, Oregon, Washing
ton state, and Wisconsin, Nader
made a strong showing. Democratic
supporters claim many of these
states went to Bush as a result of
Nader's influence. In Florida, where
the margin between Gore and Bush
is just over 300 votes, Nader gar
nered 96,900 votes.
Nader dismisses all attacks on
his campaign, refusing to apologize.
"I did not run for president to help
elect on or the other of the two ma
jor candidates," Nader said.
This is exactly the scenario
many Democratic supporters
warned against before the election,
attempting to entice many Nader
supporters to vote for Gore, claim
ing "a vote for Nader is a vote for
Bush." Nader supporter John Gehan,
51, of St.Paul, Minnesota was un
daunted by such claims. "Those sort
of attacks on him (Nader) and me so
lidified my vote for Nader. If Gore
loses, it's because Gore is a lousy can
didate, not because I voted Nader,"
Gehan said.
While it is not certain how this
election will influence the future of
American democracy, there will defi
nitely be repercussions. In addition
to the electoral college and third
party issues, the closeness of this
race has solidified the truth in the
statement that every vote counts. '1
have two children in college...having
lived through this election, I am abso
lutely certain that neither of them will
not vote in any election as long as they
live," said Chris Griffin, West Central
Florida chair for the Gore campaign.
Instead of a new administra
tion, Election Day 2000 brought
chaos, protests, and lawsuits. But
amid the controversy, the President
himself has remained calm. As the
whole country anxiously awaits a
decision, Clinton, whose presidential
worries will soon be over, assures us:
"America will be just fine."
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