Nov. 7

Election day. By late evening, each of the major presidential candidates--Gov. George Bush of Texas (Republican) and Vice President Albert Gore Jr. (Democrat)--has close to an Electoral College majority.

Nov. 8

Shortly after 2 a.m., the major television networks call Florida and the election for Bush. Gore telephones Bush to concede. Less than an hour later, learning that Bush's slim margin of victory in Florida will trigger an automatic recount, he retracts his concession. By 4:15 a.m., the major networks withdraw their declaration that Bush has won. In Palm Beach County an unexpectedly large vote for third-party candidates leads to questions about the "butterfly ballot" used there.

Nov. 9

An incomplete count in Florida puts Bush's lead at 1,784 votes (Bush-- 2,909,135; Gore--2,907,351). Because of the narrow margin, a machine recount is mandated by state law is ordered in all 67 counties. Rev. Jesse Jackson calls for a Justice Department investigation into alleged irregularities, including denial of rights to minority voters, in the presidential election in Flordia.

Nov. 10

Democrats request hand recounts in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Volusia counties, where ballots are in dispute.

Nov. 11

Palm Beach County announces that it will recount by hand all ballots cast there. Bush sues in the United States district court in Miami to block such recounts.

Nov. 13

A federal judge in Miami rejects Bush's request for an order barring hand recounts of ballots.

Nov. 14

Deadline for the automatic recount. After a full machine recount and Volusia County's hand recount, Bush has a lead of 300 votes out of nearly 6 million cast in Florida. Florida's Republican secretary of state, Katherine Harris, gives counties until 2 p.m. on Nov. 15 to justify including further recounts in the final certified statewide tally.

Nov. 15

Harris refuses requests that hand recounts in Broward and Palm Beach counties be included in the statewide certification.

Nov. 16

The Florida Supreme Court permits hand recounts in Palm Beach and Broward counties but allows a Leon County Circuit Court judge to decide whether Harris must include those votes in the final tally.

Nov. 17

A Leon County Circuit Court judge permits Harris to certify the election results and declare a winner without including the hand recounts. But the Florida Supreme Court prohibits Harris from certifying the results until it can hear a Gore appeal. The United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta refuses Bush's request that it block hand recounts in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Miami-Dade County officials decide to conduct a recount.

Nov. 18

Overseas absentee ballots raise Bush's statewide lead to 930 votes.

Nov. 20

The Florida Supreme Court hears arguments on whether Harris must include hand-recounted ballots in the certified results.

Nov. 21

The Florida Supreme Court rules unanimously that hand recounts may continue and that the totals must be included in the final results. The court rules that Harris may not certify the election results until 5 p.m. on Nov. 26.

Nov. 22

Bush's lawyers appeal to the United States Supreme Court, arguing that the state supreme court decision effectively rewrote state election statutes after the vote. Bush's lawyers file suit in Leon County Circuit Court to compel 13 Florida counties to count a larger percentage of absentee ballots from overseas military personnel.

Nov. 23

Miami-Dade County officials stop the hand recount, saying they cannot complete it by the Nov. 26 deadline. The Florida Supreme Court refuses Gore's request to require the hand recount to continue there.

Nov. 24

The United States Supreme Court agrees to hear Bush's appeal on the legality of the Florida Supreme Court's Nov. 21 decision.

Nov. 26

Deadline for certification set by Florida Supreme Court. Harris certifies the election results, giving Bush a 537-vote victory over Gore.

Nov. 27

Gore, arguing that the certified result wrongly failed to tally thousands of votes, sues to contest the election in Florida.

Nov. 28

Judge N. Sanders Sauls of the Leon County Circuit Court rejects Gore's request for immediate hand recount of disputed ballots from Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, pending a hearing.

Nov. 29

Gore appeals the ruling by Sauls to the Florida Supreme Court.

Nov. 30

A committee of the Republican-dominated Florida legislature recommends a special session to name the state's 25 representatives to the Electoral College.

Dec. 1

The United States Supreme Court hears arguments on Bush's appeal. The Florida Supreme Court refuses Gore's appeal to start an immediate recount of ballots and rules the "butterfly ballot" constitutional. Local Democrats file suit accusing the Martin County canvassing board of mishandling absentee ballot applications.

Dec. 3

The Washington Post's precinct-by-precinct analysis of the Florida vote finds that the higher the percentage of black voters in a district, the higher the rate of rejected ballots.

Dec. 4

After a two-day trial, Sauls rejects Gore's challenge, finding that he had failed to show that hand recounts would have affected the results. The United States Supreme Court returns the case brought by Bush to the Florida Supreme Court with questions regarding that court's decision on recount deadlines.

Dec. 6

Separate trials on the Martin County absentee ballot case and a similar Seminole County case begin in Leon County Circuit Court.

Dec. 8

In a 4-3 vote, the Florida Supreme Court agrees with Gore's lawyers that Sauls was wrong to uphold Harris's certification of Florida's election results. The court orders hand recounts to begin immediately in Miami-Dade County and other counties. Two Leon County Circuit Court judges rule against the Democratic challenges to absentee ballots in Martin and Seminole counties. The Florida legislature meets in special session to begin choosing electors. The United States Commission on Civil Rights votes unanimously to hold hearings in Florida and possibly other states to determine whether the rights of minority voters were violated.

Dec. 9

The United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta denies Bush's emergency motion to stop the recount, but it orders Florida officials not to change his previously certified 537-vote lead. The United States Supreme Court, divided 5-4, orders the hand recounts stopped, pending a hearing.

Dec. 10

Bush's lawyers file briefs with the United States Supreme Court saying that the hand recount violates the United States Constitution's guarantee of equal protection. Gore's lawyers say the issue is the importance of counting every vote.

Dec. 12

The United States Supreme Court rules 5-4 that there may be no further counting of Florida's disputed presidential votes. In Miami, hundreds of demonstrators gather downtown to protest the Court's decision.

Dec. 13

Gore concedes; Bush claims victory and becomes president-elect.

Dec. 18

In a final tally, Gore wins the national popular vote, receiving 48.39 percent; Bush receives 47.88 percent. Bush receives 271 electoral votes; Gore 266. Electoral College representatives meet in state capitals to choose the nation's forty-third president. Jackson and more than 40 Los Angeles religious and labor leaders call for a week of "moral outrage and indignation" in response to what they call the disenfranchisement of thousands of Florida voters during the election and its aftermath.

Dec. 27

A Washington Post analysis reveals that in many African American precincts in Chicago, one of every six ballots was thrown out, while almost every vote was counted in some of the city's outer suburbs.

Jan. 9

A group of news organizations retains the National Opinion Research Center, a nonprofit group affiliated with the University of Chicago, to review disputed presidential ballots in Florida.

Jan. 20

Inauguration Day.

Jan. 29

"Television's Performance on Election Night 2000: A Report for CNN" concludes that the way television networks reported the election improperly interfered with the election process.⁽¹⁾

Apr. 25

The Florida House of Representatives votes 114-3 to do away with the state's punch-card voting system.

June 8

The United States Commission on Civil Rights approves a draft report on the voting irregularities in Florida. It states that local officials failed to act in a way that would prevent voter disfranchisement and urges further investigations by the Justice Department.⁽²⁾