George W. Bush's First Term As President of The United States - Election Controversy

Election Controversy

In President Bush's first few months in office, the administration's focus was largely on matters concerning the economy, relations with North Korea and their nuclear efforts, stem cell research, and the job of uniting a nation still bitter over the controversy that surrounded the 2000 presidential election. In that election, Bush had lost the nationwide popular vote to Vice President Al Gore, yet narrowly defeated Gore in the Electoral College by the narrow margin of 271–266. A five-week-long battle over extremely close results in Florida ended when the Supreme Court abruptly terminated the state's month-long recounts on December 13, 2000. As a result of this, Bush won the state by 537 votes, the result of a November 27 recount that had been certified by Florida's Secretary of State, Katharine Harris. This judicial resolution was disputed by the Gore campaign and many other Democrats, since even the narrowest win for Gore in Florida would have been enough to make him President. Recounts following the November 27 certification by Harris had narrowed Bush's lead to just 125 votes when the U.S. Supreme Court declared George W Bush the winner in their December 13 ruling.

Bush's first few months were dominated by public disenchantment at this controversial and unusual election outcome, something reflected in his rainy inauguration ceremony in Washington DC, where 10,000 protesters rallied against the president.