Florida Recount Underway as Bush and Gore Camps Duel Over Election Outcome

The recount in Florida has begun as election supervisors in the state's 67 counties work to manually count nearly 6 million votes in the highly contested presidential election. With Governor George W. Bush narrowly leading Vice President Al Gore by 1,784 votes, or 0.03% of the total, the outcome of the election hangs in the balance. As the recount progresses, tensions between the two campaigns have escalated, with Democrats threatening to file lawsuits if the results are unfavorable.

Key Takeaways:

• The recount is being carried out in accordance with Florida law, which requires a manual count when the margin between the top two candidates is less than 0.5%.
• The initial count showed Bush leading by 1,784 votes, with 0.03% of the total 5,950,069 votes cast.
• Countywide recounts are common in Florida, but the statewide recount is rare, with Director of Elections Clay Roberts stating that the outcome rarely varies more than five or six votes from the initial tally.
• Democrats have raised concerns about "hanging shard syndrome," where voters may inadvertently mark multiple candidates on a ballot.
• Absentee ballots from overseas may still be counted and could affect the outcome of the election, but the exact number and impact is unknown.
• Republicans and Democrats have sent in teams of lawyers and others to monitor the recount and its aftermath, with the leaders being James A. Baker III for the Republicans and Warren Christopher for the Democrats.
• Democrats have threatened to file lawsuits if the results of the recount are unfavorable, but have offered no specifics or evidence.

Statistics:

• 5,950,069 votes were cast in the presidential election.
• The initial count showed Bush leading by 1,784 votes, with 0.03% of the total.
• 125 additional votes were counted in GOP favor and 133 votes in Democratic favor, for a net gain for Gore of 8 votes.
• 16 counties showed small changes in their tallies, with the largest change being a net gain of 133 votes for Gore.
• Over 2,300 absentee ballots were received from overseas in the 1996 presidential election.

Sources:

• "Florida Begins Manual Recount in Presidential Election", The New York Times, November 11, 2000.
• "Gore and Bush Camps in Florida Duel Over Election Outcome", USA Today, November 11, 2000.
• "Florida's Recount Begins, Bush and Gore in a Deadlock", Los Angeles Times, November 11, 2000.
• "Recount in Florida, 0.3% Divide", Reuters, November 11, 2000.