Bush v. Gore and the State of U.S. Elections

For a generation, presidential races were blowouts. Every winner between 1980 and 1996 won by at least 37 Electoral College votes. These landslides relegated conspiracy theories about contested elections to the political fringes.

Then came 2000. The last polls showed a dead heat. On election night, the networks called it for Al Gore, then retracted their calls, then called it for George W. Bush, and retracted again.

Ultimately, five Supreme Court justices, all appointed by Republican presidents, put an end to the recount underway in Florida and effectively declared Bush the winner. The fractured opinions were a maze of disagreements, with the majority warning that the opinion should not be cited as precedent. Their reasoning flummoxed legal scholars — even those who agreed with the outcome. 

Listen as experts involved in the case discuss how it changed the relationship between Americans and elections and between elections and the courts.

Speakers:

• David Boies, Founding Partner, Boies Schiller Flexner

• Benjamin Ginsberg, Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution; National Counsel, Bush-Cheney Presidential Campaign

• Barbara Pariente, Justice (retired), Florida Supreme Court

• Wendy Weiser, Vice President, Democracy, Brennan Center for Justice

• Moderator: Michael Waldman, President and CEO, Brennan Center

Recorded on December 9, 2025.

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The Brennan Center is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to repair, revitalize, and defend our systems of democracy and justice so they work for all Americans. The Brennan Center cannot support or oppose any candidate for office.