Bush v. Gore

Introduction & Top Questions
Background
Majority opinion
Concurring opinion
Dissenting opinions

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images, Videos & Interactives

Sample “butterfly ballot” from Florida, 2000

How Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court

A tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Supreme Court legacy

Quizzes

Washington Monument. Washington Monument and fireworks, Washington DC. The Monument was built as an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington.

All-American History Quiz

A 1912 poster shows Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and William Howard Taft, all working at desks, superimposed on a map of the United States. The three were candidates in the 1912 election.

U.S. Presidential Elections Quiz

Related Questions

How close was the vote count between George W. Bush and Al Gore in Florida?
How did Article II of the Constitution figure in Chief Justice William Rehnquist's concurrence?
How did George W. Bush win the Electoral College while Al Gore won the popular vote?
How did Justice David Souter criticize the Supreme Court's stay of the Florida recount?
How did Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg challenge the majority opinion in Bush v. Gore?
How did different recount standards among Florida counties raise an equal protection issue?
How did dimpled ballots complicate Florida's 2000 presidential vote count?
How did hanging chads create problems in the 2000 Florida election recount?
How did the Bush v. Gore dissenters use federalism in their arguments?
How did the dissenting justices interpret the safe-harbor deadline differently from the majority?
How did the safe-harbor deadline influence the decision in Bush v. Gore?
How long did the 2000 presidential election remain unresolved after Election Day?
How many electoral votes did Florida have in the 2000 presidential election?
How many votes was George W. Bush ahead after Florida's machine recount?
What did Al Gore say when he conceded after Bush v. Gore?
What did the U.S. Supreme Court's December 9, 2000, stay do to the Florida recount?
What happened during Florida's mandatory machine recount after the 2000 election?
What were overvotes in the Florida recount dispute?
What were undervotes in the Florida recount dispute?
When did Al Gore officially concede the 2000 presidential election?
When did the U.S. Supreme Court decide Bush v. Gore?
When was the Electoral College scheduled to meet in 2000?
When were oral arguments heard in Bush v. Gore?
Which Supreme Court justices wrote dissenting opinions in Bush v. Gore?
Which justices joined Chief Justice William Rehnquist's concurring opinion in Bush v. Gore?
Which part of the Fourteenth Amendment was central to Bush v. Gore?
Why did Al Gore withdraw his election-night concession to George W. Bush?
Why did Chief Justice William Rehnquist argue that the Florida Supreme Court had created new election law?
Why did Florida become decisive in the 2000 presidential election?
Why did George W. Bush need Florida's electoral votes to win the presidency?
Why did Justice John Paul Stevens disagree with the Bush v. Gore majority?
Why did Justice Stephen Breyer argue that the Florida recount should continue?
Why did some Palm Beach County voters accidentally vote for Pat Buchanan?
Why did the Florida Supreme Court order a manual recount of undervotes?
Why did the Supreme Court rule that Florida's recount methods violated equal protection?
What is Bush v. Gore?
What did the U.S. Supreme Court decide in Bush v. Gore?
What was the outcome of Bush v. Gore?
Why was Roe v. Wade overturned?
What was the outcome of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization?
What was the main issue in United States v. Wong Kim Ark?
What was the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark?
What argument did Wong Kim Ark’s lawyers use in the case United States v. Wong Kim Ark?
How did United States v. Wong Kim Ark impact Asian American history?
What modern political debate is related to United States v. Wong Kim Ark?

Politics, Law & Government Law, Crime & Punishment

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External Websites

CNN Politics - So, who really won? What the Bush v. Gore studies showed
Justia US Supreme Court - Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000)
Ohio State University - Origins - Bush v. Gore Twenty-Five Years Later
Scholarly Commons at UNLV Boyd Law - Bush v. Gore: The Worst (or at least second-to-the-worst) Supreme Court Decision Ever
TU Law Digital Commons - Bush v. Gore--A Critique of Critiques (PDF)
Cornell University Law School - Bush Versus Gore
BBC - Witness History - Bush v Gore: The 'hanging chads' US election of 2000
Oyez - Bush v. Gore
Carolina Law Scholarship Repository - The Supreme Court, Bush v. Gore, and Rough Justice (PDF)
Chicago Unbound - Bush v. Gore: What Were They Thinking? (PDF)
Miller Center - Bush v. Gore
National Constitution Center - Bush v. Gore
Teach Democracy - Bush v. Gore (2000)
UF Law Scholarship Repository - The History and Future of Bush v. Gore (PDF)

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Bush v. Gore - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Bush v. Gore

law case

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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

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History

Bush v. Gore, legal case, decided on December 12, 2000, in which the Supreme Court of the United States reversed an order by the Florida Supreme Court for a selective manual recount of that state’s U.S. presidential election ballots. The 5–4 per curiam (unsigned) decision effectively awarded Florida’s 25 Electoral College votes to Republican candidate George W. Bush, thereby ensuring his victory over Democratic candidate Al Gore. On the evening of election day—November 7, 2000—a...

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