Bush v. Gore

Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court on December 12, 2000, that settled a recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. On December 8, 2000, the Florida Supreme Court had ordered a statewide recount of all undervotes, over 61,000 ballots that the vote tabulation machines had missed. The Bush campaign immediately asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the decision and halt the recount. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari and, in its December 12 ruling, held that no constitutional recount could be completed by the federal "safe harbor" deadline for electors and that Florida's counties' varying standards for discerning voter intent violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.