AP Gov't. & Politics

Hanging chads

When the punch hole in the center of a butterfly ballot did not detach completely, which creates controversy on whether or not the vote should be counted.

2000 Presidential Race

Election between Republican Texas governor George W. Bush and Democratic VP Albert "Al" Gore. This ended with a recount in Florida's popular vote because it was the modt closely contested election in decades. Bush won, although he had less of a popular vote than Al Gore (but he won the Electoral vote).

Albert "Al" Gore

Gore served as the 45th president under Bill Clinton. He lost the 2000 election to President George W. Bush, however he had more popular votes than Bush.

Katherine Harris

Harris was elected in 1998 as Secretary of State of Florida and in 2002 to the United States House of Representatives from Florida. She was the co-chair of the Bush campaign in Florida, creating controversy amongst Democrats when a recount was ordered in Florida.

Constitutional Congress

It was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1787. It was initially intended to address the problems of the weak central government in the Articles of Confederation. Its outcome was the US Consitution. The Electoral College was created at the convention.

Majority

More than 50% of the votes

Electoral College

The Electoral College consists of 538 electors who are actually the ones who elect the President and VP. There is 1 elector for every US representative and senator (+3 for Washington, D.C.) It was constructed by the Founding Fathers as a fair process for the voting system.

plurality

The biggest percentage of voted

Ballot design

There are 1000s of different ballot designs, and the most common one now are DREs (direct recording electronic voting machines). Ballot design is often controversial, like in the 2000 Presidential election when a butterfly ballot was used.

electors

There are 538 electors of the Electoral College who elect the President and the VP. They appear on the ballot next to the candidates's names, and many are unaware they vote for the electors when they vote for President or VP.

Bush vs. Gore

A Supreme Court ruling that said the recounting of Florida's votes was unconsitutional, violated the 14th amendment, and was too time consuming. Many said the decision was partisan and that confirming the intentions of the voters wasn't wrong.

butterfly ballot

A ballot paper with names down both sides and punch holes in the center. It made it easy to vote for another candidate than was intended for, and created the term "hanging chads."

Jeb Bush

Bush served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He was George Bush's brother and Katherine Harris's boss.

George W. Bush

Bush was the 43rd President, serving from 2001-2009. He was elected president after a close and controversial win against Al Gore. He received fewer popular vote to his runner-up.

Help America Vote Act (HAVA)

Congress passed this in 2002 to make a lot of reforms to the U.S's voting process, which was clearly needed after the 2000 presidential election. It wanted to establish votig standards and fix the punch-card system. It also helped to improve the administration involved with voting.