Bush v. Gore

Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, issued on 12 December 2000, that settled the recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. After the Florida Supreme Court ordered a statewide recount of over 61,000 undervotes on 8 December, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari and stayed the recount, then held in a 5-4 per curiam decision that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was violated by Florida counties' varying standards for discerning voter intent and that no constitutionally proper recount could be completed within the state's "safe harbor" deadline. The decision allowed Florida's vote certification giving Bush the state's 25 electoral votes to stand, providing Bush with 271 electoral votes to Gore's 266 and deciding the presidential election, and it remains among the most controversial decisions in U.S. history.