HomeMy WebLinkAbout0126 ° * Decision 2000
It was 4:23 pm on Tuesday November 7, 2000
when I pulled up to my voting precinct to — for
the first time — exercise my right to vote. I was a
little confused at first and searched for a sign
telling me I was in the right place, otherwise I = =
might have thought I was at a shuffleboard tour-
nament.
The process seemed so simple I was dumbfounded `
by the number of people who do not vote. Little did I, or the rest of the country, know the
course of events that would come to pass in the following weeks.
Coming home from work around 9:30 P.M., not surprisingly, many of the states had yet to
give their final popular vote since the West Coast polls were still open. Florida had reported
Democratic. On my way to bed my father informed me that Florida had pulled their
Democratic projection as George W. Bush was quickly gaining votes.
Wednesday morning the country was in an uproar. Florida and Oregon had yet to give their
final projections for many reasons. The margin was so narrow that Florida law required a
recount. Many citizens in Palm Beach county were complaining that they voted for Pat
Buchanon (Reform Party) when they supposedly intended to vote for Democrat Al Gore.
The days passed and many politicians such as Jesse Jackson and James Baker came to
Florida to oversee the recount and to lobby for their interests to the state. Ten days later and
the votes were still out. The entire country was hinged on the projection of Florida's twenty-
five electoral votes. As the country anticipated November 18, the day the state gave its
official count including absentee ballots, watching and reading the myriad debates made me
wonder where the fate of American Democracy is headed. Thank God for the Electoral
College.
— Mia Billetdeaux
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