More than a month after Tufts students joined citizens nationwide to vote for their Presidential candidate, the 2000 election may finally come to an end later this week after the US Supreme Court hears a case regarding the continued recounts of ballots in Florida today.
The case, appealed to the US Supreme Court by lawyers for Texas Governor George W. Bush after a victory for Vice President Al Gore in Florida, could lead to an immediate Gore concession if the US Supreme Court rules that votes should not be recounted.
"If no votes are counted, then I think that's the end of the road," Gore's lead lawyer David Boies told Fox News.
Many saw the Supreme Court's decision to temporarily halt recounts over the weekend as a mild victory for Bush, but the real test will come when the nine justices issue their decision, probably not earlier than tomorrow.
Both candidates filed briefs yesterday previewing what they will say in oral arguments today. The Bush team claims that the current recounts are unconstitutional and will undermine confidence in the electoral system. Gore's attorneys say that they are necessary to the Democratic process.
The candidates are committed to fighting until the end in Florida because of an Electoral College system detailed in the US Constitution. In each presidential election, votes are tallied by state and the candidate with the plurality of votes in each state is awarded all of the electoral votes for that state. Florida's 25 electoral votes will determine the winner of the Presidential Election, deadlocked since Nov. 7.
Nationwide, Gore leads Bush by 328,576 votes overall, not including the Florida totals. In Florida, though, the latest numbers from the Associated Press show Bush leading by only 177 votes right before the US Supreme Court ordered the manual recounts to stop. Gore leads Bush 255-246 in Electoral College votes, but Florida's 25 votes will put either candidate over the necessary 270 mark.
The issue has been the topic of much discussion on the Tufts campus in recent weeks, and Tufts students on both sides of the political spectrum continue to advocate support for their candidate.
"I feel it's clear that the Florida Supreme Court acted beyond the power of the judiciary branch," Tufts Republicans President Sam Dangremond said. "The Florida Supreme Court's actions have clearly hurt the election process."
"I think that Gore should keep fighting until all the votes are correctly counted. Everyone says that Gore is going to fight until he gets what he wants, but he has said a number of times that he will stop once the votes have been counted by hand correctly," Tufts Democrats Vice-President Sarah Molenkamp said.
The case comes after a month of legal battles that have left many individuals of both political affiliations disillusioned with America's electoral system. However, Tufts students who support both parties have expressed confidence in the Electoral College.
"The Electoral College is very important because it effectively increases the power that each vote has, because it makes equal representation across the United States more feasible," Dangremond. "It makes the size of the voter pool smaller because it breaks it down to the state level."
"It was developed to have the elite be able to vote, but it also gives a voice to smaller states that they wouldn't have otherwise," Molenkamp said. "But, I definitely think there needs to be a reform of the voting process. There should be a universal ballot and a universal voting measure. The federal government. should give money to all municipalities so that there is a uniform voting machine.
Tufts students took an active role in this election since campaigning for the primaries began over a year ago. Both the Tufts Democrats and Republicans planned numerous events including rallies, discussion groups, debate-watching sessions, and campaigning. Democratic Presidential nominee candidate Bill Bradley visited the University last fall to unveil his foreign policy, and likely Bush-Secretary of State pick Colin Powell spoke at Tufts just a few weeks ago.
"It was exciting for me to be a college student during this election, and it was great to see students get involved with both sides from the beginning," Molenkamp said. "Now that it's dragged out a little bit more, the only people who really care are people like me who are fascinated by politics."
Molenkamp feels that the closeness of this election will serve to increase voter turnout in future elections. "Most Tufts students are going to think twice about not voting or not asking for an absentee ballot next time. I think people realize the importance of voting now," she said.
