Citizens Keep Talking About Election
Nov. 9, 2000 -- The sun rose today as it always has every morning in America and people went about their lives. Truckers drove the interstates delivering produce. Plumbers fixed leaky pipes. Insurance claims departments processed forms.
On the surface, the United States appeared the same two days after Election Day as it did two days prior, but the unresolved presidential election was the talk in nursing homes, at gasoline stations and in offices.
Watching and Waiting
The country is awaiting the result of a vote recount in Florida. While the recount of the ballots cast on Tuesday is expected to be completed by 5 p.m. today, the final outcome may have to await a count of overseas ballots, which have until 10 days after the election to arrive.
Whoever wins Florida’s 25 electoral votes wins the presidency. Oregon also is still up in the air, but that state’s seven electoral votes wouldn’t push either candidate to the 270 electoral votes needed to win.As of this morning, Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic candidate, held 260 electoral votes, and Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the Republican, held 246. A recount was mandatory because the margin was less than one-half of 1 percentage point of total Florida votes.
Meanwhile, residents are expressing their opinions about our country’s democratic process. Some are suspicious of possible shenanigans in Florida with allegations of confusing ballots and black voters being turned away from polls. Others are saying our system of choosing a president by Electoral College rather than popular vote makes no sense. A few felt angry with the press for miscalling the election.
But, generally, Americans interviewed by ABCNEWS.com were not terribly anxious that the transfer of power in our country would suffer because of possible legal disputes between the two parties regarding the vote count in Florida. Rather, they believed our democratic system would prevail.
‘A Farce’
Regardless of their optimism for the ultimate outcome, the so-called voter fraud issue in Florida raised concern.
“I think the whole thing is a farce,” said Janet Bauer, 55, a ceramics teacher from Miami who says she is a registered Republican but voted for Gore on Tuesday.
“As far as I’m concerned, every day that Jeb Bush [George Bush’s brother who is the governor of Florida] was working to promote his brother was on my time and money. He should have taken sick days. I believe there is hanky-panky going on somewhere. I think they ought to throw out every one of those ballots in Florida and redo it.”
“People are not sure what went on in Florida,” said William Dubord, 54, a lawyer in Waterville, Maine, who is a registered Democrat and who voted for Gore. “Who people wanted to vote for did not get reflected in the some ballots it seems.”
Skepticism About Ballot Problems, Too
Others expressed skepticism about potential problems with the ballot.
“People are doing what they are supposed to do [in recounting]” said John Guillory, 30, an architectural designer in Baton Rouge, La., who is a registered Republican and who voted for Bush. He thinks complaints that some Florida voters may have been confused by their voting ballots are ridiculous.
John Rieder, 49, a restaurant owner in LaCrosse, Wis., who voted for Bush, agrees with Guillory and believes voters had enough time to read the ballot before the election. “If you are old enough to vote, you are old enough to read the ballot,” he said.
Richard Stein, 66, a retiree from Providence, R.I., is registered independent who says he voted for Gore. He does not think Floridians should get to recast their ballots. “Where was the Democratic supervisor [when the supposedly confusing ballots were created]?” Stein asked.
But Paulette Coleman, a 38-year-old paralegal and registered independent from Dallas who voted for Bush, believes there is something suspicious on one side or the other. Someone is not playing fair, she said.
Popular Vote Should Rule?
Given the confusion in Florida, many residents feel moving toward a popular vote rather than relying on the Electoral College in the next presidential election makes sense.
“I just don’t understand the Electoral College and neither do most of my friends,” said Cindy Brown, 44, who works as a dispatcher for animal rescue center in Santa Rosa, Fla. She voted for Gore. “Everyone’s individual vote should count equally.”
Maynard Bouchard, 57, a potato farmer from Caribou, Maine, and a registered Republican who voted for Bush, also believes the popular vote makes more sense, even though Bush currently is behind in the nationwide popular vote.
Similarly, Jeff Hanna, 47, a percussion teacher and repairman from Mount Vernon, Maine, said he disliked the Electoral College process. “I voted for [Ralph] Nader, [the Green Party candidate] because I am tired of the same thing going on,” Hanna said.
“I think the entire democratic process needs to be reviewed,” said Bauer, who also believes the popular vote should determine the winner. “This is not 1776.”
Press Faulted
The media, which flip-flopped over calling the election, also upset residents.
“The press made fools of themselves,” Nader supporter Hanna said. “They should just be patient and wait until they know for sure to announce.”
“Just because the press is so competitive does not mean they should have so much power in calling in the election,” said Bush supporter Rieder.
Democracy Will Prevail
No one wanted the sense of a sore loser hanging over the presidency. Most hoped resolution would come quickly and believed the leadership of whoever wins would prevail.
“I don’t think it will create a crisis for whoever wins,” Rieder said. “When it is finally figured out, [Bush] will take office and from then on life will continue.”
“It won’t be a stumbling block for the future president,” Gore supporter Dubord said. “We have a two-party system, there will be partisan politics as usual after a short period of time of adjustment. But this is causing everyone to look more closely at the whole process.”
ABCNEWS.com’s Ephrat Livni contributed to this report.