The Florida Recount Controversy From the Public's Perspective: 25 Insights

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

The Gallup Poll conducted over 7,000 interviews with Americans between November 7th, the day of the election, and December 18th, the weekend after the election controversy in Florida was finally resolved and George W. Bush became the president-elect. During that period, Gallup kept close tabs on the American public's reaction to the situation, including not only measures of what Americans thought should be done in Florida, but also measures of how the public felt the situation was affecting the basic fabric of American democracy and the legitimacy of the presidency.

In general, Americans remained remarkably calm during the entire situation. Americans essentially viewed the Florida situation as an extension of the election itself rather than as the beginnings of a constitutional crisis. Thus, although most Americans' opinions about what should happen in Florida aligned sharply with their own personal political views, most also appeared quite willing to accept the outcome once it was resolved and to get on with the business of the country. Few Americans think that permanent harm has been done to the country and most accept Bush as the legitimate president.

A review of the polling Gallup conducted since the election leads to 25 specific insights into how the American public perceived and reacted to the extraordinary events which unfolded in Florida, and at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. A summary review of the actual questions used in the surveys, the precise results, and the dates of interviewing follow at the back.

Legitimacy of the Presidency

1. Americans were always ready to accept either Bush or Gore as legitimate, depending on who officially won the election.

2. Indeed, after Bush was effectively declared the victor by the U.S. Supreme Court decision that stopped the recount in Florida, the vast majority of Americans – including the majority of Democrats -- said they accepted Bush as the legitimate president.

Supreme Court

3. By a two-to-one margin, Americans said the Supreme Court's decision had not caused them to lose confidence in the Supreme Court.

4. Americans also felt that the Supreme Court was the best institution to make a final decision to resolve the controversy in Florida – much more so than that the Florida Supreme Court, the Florida legislature, or even the U.S. Congress.

5. Americans' rating of their confidence in the Supreme Court after the Court's electoral decision was virtually the same as the rating Americans gave the Supreme Court last summer.

6. Willingness to accept Bush as president as a result of the Supreme Court decision appeared to be distinct from the public’s perception that the Court’s decision was the correct one. Only slight majorities of Americans agreed with the Supreme Court decision and felt that it was fair.

7. While Americans said they believed the Court was more influenced by the legal issues before them than by their own desires to see Bush as president, at the same time a slight majority of Americans also said they believed the Supreme Court Justices were influenced by their own personal feelings in the matter.

Effect of Uncertainty of Presidential Election Results

8. Americans never felt that the post-election controversy reached the level of being a Constitutional crisis, although most did believe the country was facing at least a serious problem.

9. Most Americans never believed at any time during the post-election uncertainty that permanent harm was being inflicted on the country as a result of the challenge to the Florida vote.

10. Toward the end of the period, Americans were becoming impatient, tending to view Gore more negatively than they had earlier, with a majority saying he should concede the election.

11. After Gore conceded the election, his personal popularity regained its previous level, and Gore was perceived as a man of principle rather than a sore loser. And in a hypothetical match-up with Bush for the presidency in 2004, Gore led by a 9-point margin among all national adults.

Florida Recount/Results

12. A majority of Americans supported a hand recount of the ballots in Florida.

13. After the official announcement by the Florida Secretary of State on November 26 certifying Bush as the winner in Florida, about half of all Americans did not necessarily believe that Bush had won.

14. Americans were also about evenly divided over who would have won had the hand recount of ballots been conducted, as Gore requested.

Electoral Reform

15. Americans were aware that Gore had won the popular vote nationally, but a majority of Americans said it was "fair" that Bush became president because he won Florida and hence the national electoral vote.

16. Still, most Americans support a Constitutional amendment that would abolish the electoral college and provide for direct election of the President, as they have for over 50 years.

17. Americans also express widespread support for the federal government to standardize ballots and voting procedures across the country.

Public Perceptions of the News Media

18. Early on in the controversy, Americans were evenly divided over whether they approved or disapproved of the way the media handled the situation in Florida.

19. Americans were also evenly divided as to whether there was too much, or the right amount, of coverage.

20. Most Americans say there was little or no bias in the coverage of the Florida recount, but those who did see bias saw more of it in favor of Gore than Bush. This is consistent with a more general pattern, where the public tends to think of the news media as having a liberal bias. Public perceptions of the accuracy of the news media in general dropped significantly in a survey conducted in the middle of the Florida crisis.

Partisan and Racial Divisions Related to the Florida Situation

21. Americans’ views of the Florida election controversy were highly partisan. Strong majorities of Gore supporters took the vice-president's side on all recount issues, and strong majorities of Bush supporters expressed the opposite point of view.

22. On the issue of whether either candidate would be accepted as the "legitimate" president, Gore supporters said they would accept Bush by about a two-to-one margin, while a slight majority of Bush supporters said they would not accept Gore as legitimate.

23. Over a third of black Americans say they are "angry" and "bitter" about the election -- the most of any subgroup to express those feelings -- while two-thirds say that they feel "cheated" by the election outcome, that black voters were less likely to be counted fairly than white votes and that the vote count in Florida entailed fraud, not just errors.

24. Despite these negative feelings, blacks say they accept Bush as legitimate by a 58% to 40% margin.

25. Still, blacks are pessimistic about a Bush presidency, feeling by a three-to-one margin that he will not work hard to represent their interests.  

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

Legitimacy of the Presidency

Now that George W. Bush has been declared the winner and will be inaugurated next January, will you accept him as the legitimate president, or not?

If Al Gore is declared the winner and is inaugurated next January, would you accept him as the legitimate president, or not?

Supreme Court

Does this decision make you lose confidence in the US Supreme Court, or does it not have an effect on your view of the Court?

If it comes down to a choice of these four, which of the following would you most trust to make the final decision on the selection of the next president -- [ROTATED: the US Congress, the Florida legislature, the Supreme Court of Florida, (or) the Supreme Court of the United States]?

CONFIDENCE IN INSTITUTIONS TREND

(COMBINES "GREAT DEAL" AND "QUITE A LOT")

Do you think the US Supreme Court was fair or unfair in deciding this case?

Do you think the Justices of the US Supreme Court who voted to end the recount in Florida did so -- [ROTATED: mostly based on the legal merits of the case (or) mostly based on their own desire to have Bush as the next president]?

Overall, do you think the Justices on the US Supreme Court were influenced by their personal political views when deciding this case, or don’t you think so?

Effect of Uncertainty of Presidential Election Results

Which of these statements do you think best describes the situation that has occurred since the election for president -- [ROTATED: it is a constitutional crisis, it is a major problem for the country but is not a crisis, it is a minor problem for the country, (or) it is not a problem for the country at all]?

Which comes closer to your view -- [ROTATED: there has been permanent harm done to the United States as a result of the election process this year, (or) there has been no permanent harm done to the United States as a result of the election process this year]?

Which comes closer to your view -- [ROTATED: you are willing to wait at least a little while longer for a final resolution to the presidential election situation (or) the presidential election situation has gone on too long already]?

As of today, do you think Al Gore should concede the election, or should he not concede?

Next, we'd like to get your overall opinion of some people in the news. As I read each name, please say if you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of this person -- or if you have never heard of him. How about... [Random order]

A. Al Gore

Which comes closer to your view of Al Gore -- [ROTATED: he is a man of principle, who fought for what he believed in, (or) he is a sore loser, who should have conceded earlier]?

Now, suppose that the presidential election of 2004 were being held today, and it included Al Gore as the Democratic candidate and George W. Bush as the Republican candidate. Would you vote for -- [ROTATED: Al Gore, the Democrat (or) George W. Bush, the Republican]?

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

Florida Recount/Results

Would you favor or oppose having Florida officials recount the votes in certain counties by hand, as the Gore campaign requested?

In your opinion, should these vote recounts by hand be included in the final vote total in Florida, or not?

Do you approve or disapprove of the Gore campaign’s legal action to require that the results of the hand recounts in three Florida counties be included in the state’s final vote count?

Who do you consider to be the real winner of the election in Florida -- [ROTATED: Al Gore (or) George W. Bush], or are you unsure?

Regardless of the figures which have been announced by the Florida Secretary of State or any other election official in Florida, who do you think would have won the election in Florida if every voter had properly cast his or her vote and all valid votes were accurately counted? Do you think -- [ROTATED: Al Gore (or) George W. Bush]--would have won, or are you unsure?

Just your best guess, if the Supreme Court of the United States had allowed the vote recount to continue in Florida, who do you think would have ended up with the most votes in Florida -- [ROTATED: Al Gore (or) George W. Bush]?

Electoral Reform

From what you have heard or read, who won the national popular vote this year -- that is, the most votes in the country overall -- [ROTATED: Al Gore (or) George W. Bush], or are you unsure?

As you may know, more people across the country voted for Al Gore than George W. Bush, but Bush has been declared the next president because he won more votes in the Electoral College. Do you think this was a fair or unfair outcome of the presidential election?

Thinking for a moment about the way in which the president is elected in this country, which would you prefer -- [ROTATED: to amend the constitution so the candidate who receives the most total votes nationwide wins the election, (or) to keep the current system, in which the candidate who wins the most votes in the Electoral College wins the election]?

Which comes closer to your point of view -- [ROTATED: the federal government should pass laws that would establish the same ballots and voting procedures in all states for all presidential elections, (or) decisions on ballot and voting procedures should be left to state and local officials, as is currently the case]?

Public Perceptions of the News Media

Would you say that you strongly approve, approve, disapprove, or strongly disapprove of the way each of the following has handled the situation surrounding the results of the election for president? How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?

The news media

Do you think the media have been paying too much attention or the right amount of attention to the election situation in Florida?

Thinking about the media's coverage of the Florida recount, do you think the media have been -- [ROTATED: biased in favor of Al Gore (or) biased in favor of George W. Bush], or has it not been biased toward either candidate?

Partisan and Racial Divisions Related to the Florida Situation

If Al Gore is declared the winner and is inaugurated next January, would you accept him as the legitimate president, or not?

SUMMARY TABLE: "DESCRIBES" REACTION TO BUSH AS NEXT PRESIDENT

Do you think black voters were -- or were not -- less likely to have their votes counted fairly in Florida than whites?

What is your view on voting in this year’s presidential election in Florida? Do you think -- [ROTATED: there was fraud involved, (or do you think) there were errors, but no fraud involved]?

Now that George W. Bush has been declared the winner and will be inaugurated next January, will you accept him as the legitimate president, or not?

Do you think that George W. Bush will or will not work hard to represent the interests of black Americans?