PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Florida’s history of election woes dates back to 2000, when it took more than five weeks for the state to declare Republican Texas Gov. George W. Bush the victor over Vice President Al Gore, Democrat, by 537 votes, thus giving Bush the presidency.
Back then, punch-card ballots were punch lines. Photos of election workers using magnifying glasses to search for hanging chads and pregnant chads symbolized the painstaking process.
Post-election analysis has found that Palm Beach County's "butterfly ballot," designed by then-Supervisor of Elections Theresa LePore, may have misdirected several votes from Gore to third-party candidate Pat Buchanan, tipping Florida—and the election—to Bush.
Many voters in Palm Beach County were worried they may have cast a wrong vote, saying, they had intended to support Gore but might have instead mistakenly voted for Buchanan out of confusion with the way the ballot was constructed.
"I was trying to make the ballot so that it would be easier to read. If I were to put all the names on one page, the type font would have been small," LePore told WPTV's Tania Rogers back in 2018, reflecting on the 2000 election.
As we near the 25th anniversary of what has been described as the most notable debacle in voting history in Palm Beach County, we want to hear from you about your experience voting in the 2000 United States presidential election.
WPTV is working on a special that will air in November.
Fill out the form below to send us your thoughts and share your experience during the 2000 U.S. presidential election.
