2000 U.S. presidential election
Main article: United States presidential election in Florida, 2000
As Secretary of State for the State of Florida (and co-chair of George W. Bush's election efforts in Florida), Harris was a central figure in the 2000 US presidential election in Florida. She was involved in purging 173,000 individuals from the state's voter rolls,[15] the results of hiring a firm, "Choice Point," that provided Florida with an extremely inaccurate list of those supposed felons who became disenfranchised via misidentification. The list was derived from, for instance a Texas felons' list which included common names that were used to strike Florida voters from the rolls. [15] Thousands, including a disproportionate number of Blacks, were prevented from casting ballots.[15][16]
The Florida election between Al Gore and George W. Bush was so close, separated by only 537 votes, that a recount of the votes was demanded.
After several recounts were inconclusive, Harris halted the recounting process, arguing that the laws governing recounts were unclear. The official vote totals showed the Republican candidate, Texas Governor George W. Bush, as the narrow winner of the statewide popular vote in Florida, so Harris certified the Republican slate of electors. This victory in Florida allowed Bush to obtain a narrow majority in the Electoral College and thereby prevail in the election. Her certification was upheld in the state circuit court, but subsequently overturned on appeal by the Florida Supreme Court. The Florida Supreme Court decision was reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore (2000). In a per curiam decision, by a 7–2 vote, the Court held that the Florida Supreme Court's method for recounting ballots was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Furthermore, it held, by a 5–4 vote, that no alternative method for a recount could be established within the time limits set by the State of Florida. Sandra Day O'Connor's vote to stop the recount was crucial.[17] This decision allowed Harris' previous certification of Bush as the winner of Florida's electoral votes to stand. Florida's 25 electoral votes gave Bush, the Republican candidate, 271 electoral votes, thus defeating Gore, who ended up with 266 electoral votes (one D.C. elector abstained). Although O'Connor much preferred George W. Bush to Al Gore as president,[17] she later expressed regrets that the court had overruled the Florida Supreme Court, rather than letting their decision stand.[18]
Harris later published Center of the Storm, her memoir of the 2000 election controversy. It was later revealed that, unimpressed with her performance in the media spotlight of the recount, the Bush Campaign had assigned a staff member to her, essentially as a handler.[19]
