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Introduction
 On Tuesday, November 7, 2000, Americans went to the polls to elect the next president of the United States. Within hours after the polls closed, they expected to learn from the media who had won the contest. They expected to see the loser concede and the winner declare victory. But events did not turn out as they expected. More than a week after the polls closed, in a country that prides itself on the swift and peaceful turnover of political power every four years, Americans still do not know who their next president will be. The vote was too close to call. The 2000 Presidential election was the first to be contested in the judiciary. In a five-four decision, which included six opinions, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the Florida Supreme Court, stopping a manual recount of disputed ballots in that state. After the concession of Al Gore on Dec.13, 2000, George W. Bush became president-elect.
Objectives
In this study guide you will:
- Explain why the election was so close.
- Identify and list the Constitution's rules for electing the president.
- Investigate the outcome of similar close elections in the past.
- Understand the meaning of the Keyword Terms.
- Debate whether the Electoral College should be abolished.
Keyword Terms
Absentee ballot, Butterfly ballot, Electoral College, Majority rule, Overseas ballot, Political party, Recount, Rule of law, Third parties, Two-party system, "Winner take all"
Activities
- Examine the map of Electoral College votes won by each presidential candidate in 2000. Which candidate won your state's electoral vote? Which states are still undecided? How many electoral votes did each candidate win? Which candidate won the popular vote? What do you think is the difference between electoral and popular votes?
- Recall what you have learned about major issues raised during the presidential campaign and discuss with a partner why the election was so close. Were candidates too similar on the issues or too far apart? What effect, if any, did third-party candidates, media coverage and ballot design have on the election?
- Go to Quick Search in SIRS Knowledge Source (SKS). Using the Keyword Terms, look up articles relating to the presidential election 2000 [View Examples]. Read the article summaries and relevant articles to identify the media's opinion as to why the election results were so close. Compare the media's position with yours.
- View the U.S. Constitution. Read Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution and revisions to it in the Twelfth Amendment. List the steps to be taken in electing the president. Your steps should include the role of state legislatures, the composition and role of the Electoral College and, in the case of a tie vote, the role of the U.S. House of Representatives.
- Read "A Procedural Guide to the Electoral College" explaining the functions of the Electoral College. Compare/revise your list from Activity 4 with the information found in the article.
- Optional: Ask your teacher or parent to help you role-play an electoral vote for president, using your list from Activity 5 as a guide.
- Several presidential elections in the past have been as close as the 2000 election. They include the elections of 1800, 1824, 1876, 1888 and 1960. View the Electoral College Box Scores from the Federal Register and look up the names of candidates who ran in those elections. Using SIRS Knowledge Source (SKS), use both candidates' last names and the word "election" to conduct a Boolean search in Advanced Search of articles on past election outcomes. Form small groups. Assign each to investigate and summarize a specific election, reporting their findings to the class.
- Hold a roundtable discussion to compare results of close presidential elections from the past to the results of the 2000 election. Note how constitutional guidelines were interpreted and applied in these close elections.
Assessment
- Use each of the Keyword Terms in a sentence to demonstrate an understanding of their meaning.
- Read Federalist Paper # 68 to find out why the authors of the Constitution designed the Electoral College. Using that explanation, and all that you have learned in this unit, debate the pros and cons of abolishing the Electoral College.
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