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US Supreme Court Hears Recount Appeal | |
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If the Court Rules for
Bush
If the U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of George W. Bush, no further vote
recounting will be allowed in Florida. Florida's presidential vote totals, as
certified on November 26, showing Bush leading Gore by 537 votes, will stand and
Florida's 25 electoral votes will be cast for Bush on December 18.
Florida's
25 electoral votes will give Bush 271 electoral votes, one vote more than the
270 needed to win a majority of the Electoral College's
538 total votes.
While Vice President Gore won the nationwide popular vote by approximately 337,000 votes, the president is elected by winning a majority of the electoral votes allotted to each state. According to their constitution and laws, each state casts is electoral votes for the candidate wining the statewide popular vote. All states will cast their electoral votes on December 18.
On January 5, 2001, the electoral votes cast by the sates will be reported to a joint session of the new (107th) U.s. Congress. (By law, Jan. 6 would normally be the date for this to happen. However, since that is a Saturday, Congress is considering a this joint resolution changing the date to Friday, Jan. 5)
Unless at least one Senator and one Representative object to the electoral votes reported, George W. Bush will be declared president-elect and sworn in as 43rd president on January 20, 2001.
• Who are your state's electors? Here's where to look.
If the Court Rules
for Gore
Should the Supreme Court deny Bush's appeal, in effect ruling for Gore,
manual vote recounts in Florida could resume. The outcome of the presidential
election would then depend on the outcome of the recounts.
No
Matter How the Court Rules
Courts and recounts aside, the U.S. Congress under Title
3, chapter 1, section 15 of the United States Code must still approve the
votes cast by the electors. This law also provides for objections to the
electoral vote by members of Congress, and explains how objections must be dealt
with.
While congressional objections to electoral votes are rare, this is a rare election. What could happen if objections to the electoral vote arise? Just about anything. For example, in his article "A Bush/Lieberman Presidency?" Political Guide John Aravosis explains how we could end up with a Republican president and a Democratic vice-president.
Read the law on congressional objections to the electoral vote. Let your mind play with the possibilities. Remember that when Congress considers the electoral votes: The Senate will be made up of 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats. One of those Democrats will be Senator Joe Lieberman. The President of the Senate, the person who votes to break ties, will be Vice President Al Gore.
Only one thing is certain. On January 20, 2001, when Chief Justice William Rehnquist says, "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," somebody will say, "I do."
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