Attorneys for 2000 presidential candidates weigh in on recounts

In the 2000 presidential race, Former Vice President Al Gore (D) selected four counties of his choice in Florida for a recount. Counties he won at a wide margin.

The attorney who represented Former President George W. Bush said it quickly turned into a mess.

“As a result of that, the Florida legislature made significant changes in the Florida statues to make things more consistent and more efficient,” Attorney Barry Richards said.

Now, there is an automatic machine recount across the state if there is less than a half-percent margin. A candidate can still sue if they can prove there is misconduct by an election official.

“In 2000, there was a drop-dead deadline because the president has to be inaugurated on inauguration day,” Richards said. “And the way that the case ended is the United States Supreme Court issued its decision on December 12. And it said this is the final date, and it’s here, and it’s over, and so that was the end of it. In the Governor’s race or the senate race, you don’t have that kind of an absolute termination date, so in theory it could go on longer.”

In order to do that, campaigns have been asking for volunteers to come in and help with ballot checks, raising concern among some voters. But, the attorney who represented Al Gore in 2000 said that is common.

“I don’t think there are any limitations on asking,” Attorney Stephen Zack said. “And there’s a necessity for them because people have to you have provisional ballots that people need help in verifying their signatures. You want to make sure that people get their ballots counted.”

Zack said it’s important to remember from the 2000 election that even after a court decision is made in a lawsuit, it can be followed by more. And, he believes that will be the case this time around.