Presidential Election 2000 Presidential Election 2000 It is hard to believe that it will be a year since the Bush vs.
Gore campaign was in its final stages, or so we thought. The Bush vs. Gore campaign was at its climax in late October of 2000. The people of the nation were casting their votes and the two leading Candidates were neck and neck.The tension was sky high on Election Day, November 7th, 2000. Behold, we were to have a new president; well, possibly.
Election experts have called evolution instead of a revolution in changing the way the country goes about its elections. Never in history has such controversy risen as in Election 2000: Bush vs. Gore.Election 200 has raised serious concerns over the integrity of the voting system. Filled with demonstrations of voting machines and oversized punch card ballots. The election was ultimately made complicated due to the counting of ballots which were now being re-counted on a local level because of what we now call Dimples and Chads Dimples and Chads are funny names to be given to election ballots; but then again, what wasnt funny about this election as a whole? Election ballots are set up to be like punch-in cards.
A person casts their vote and a hole is punched into a ballot where the space for the candidate is provided. It seems to be easy enough.However, that was not the case in this presidential election. For some reason, ballots went up the walls in malfunctions. These bogus ballots were given the names Dimples and Chads. Dimples are the given name to ballots in which the vote seemed to be intended but were not quite punched through but sort of made to look like a dimple.
Chads, on the other hand, are votes in which a part of the punched vote has gone through, but the whole thing is not punched out. It is called a Chad when the vote is punched but still attached to the ballot in some way.As a result of these complications in votes, debate was brought about as which votes were going to be counted and which were not. Yet more complications of Pregnant Chads added fuel to the fire. A pregnant chad is where an indentation, but not a perforation appears. Making the spot look rounded or pregnant.
Also, it arose to who was trying or attempting to vote for who.Thus, the debate over dimples and chads began. However, experts such as Doug Lewis, executive director of the Election Center in Houston, Texas, said we shouldnt be too alarmed. He says that the founders of the Constitution purposely designed the process to be flawed because they didnt trust in a centralized authority. He also says that a perfect election is one where none of the imperfections go into the eyes or ears of the public. He believes that ballot design and voting equipment should be re-examined and changed so that there should be more legal precision about what is constituted a vote.
In due course, the candidates, nor the nation were satisfied with the way things were turning out. There was debate here and controversy there, surrounded by confusion and disorganization. Thus, the vote re-counts began. Recounts of the votes began in every state necessary. People were sat down to examine and count every vote in question by hand for hours, days and weeks at a time. Bush had received 2,909,135 votes and Gore received 2,907,351 votes, a winning advantage of 1,784 for Bush.
We all know those numbers would change a few more times. You would figure Bush would win victoriously win. However, Gore would not accept this outcome. His disappointment would be backed up by the misunderstanding of votes in the nation. Im sure there must have been many recounts in several if not all states.
Conversely, things did not heat up or get as difficult as they did in the state of Florida.In the end, after all the appeals introduced by Gore and all the recounts done in Florida as well as many other states. It all came down to the Electoral votes of the nation, which favored George W. Bush. Our new President was officially announced in January of 2001.
All of the agonizing bickering among candidates and political parties and all the recounting of votes among Florida and other states.Not to mention all the court hearings concerned with whether dimples and chads were to be counted as votes or under votes. All of these consequences, resulted in the longest election process the nation has ever had to endure. What does that say about the same process for the many years to come? Change for the better is never without consideration. With technology today, why cant the voting process be done over the secure internet? The butterfly ballots were confusing and especially to the elderly.
Many have poor eyesight and no help when voting.Do Americans believe that Florida Secretary of State, Katherine Harris and George W. Bushs own brother have nothing to do with the votes in Florida? Ms. Harris has been attempting to get on with the Bush Administration for a long time now, in fact it was said that she will be or has already ran for Congress. This woman declared Bush the President before the votes were even completed.
Although, I am registered to vote, I did not vote in this election. For one reason, I work for the U.S.Government and I did not want to show a bias for either candidate being that I had to accompany both on their campaigns as part of their security teams. For the other reason, who is to say that one of the uncounted voted would not have been mine anyway? Or any other American.
The media had a lot to do with this confusing time. First they report Gore has won then Bush then Gore again then finally Bush. Maybe the media should have stated that Gore did win fact win but the only thing he did win was the popular vote not the electoral vote. An elector is one who is entitled to participate and vote in the election.An electoral relates to an elector or an election and finally an electoral college is a body of electors; especially : one that elects the president and vice president of the U.
S. So, why is it that Americans even vote when all in all it comes down to the electoral vote? Political Issues.
