Gore Declared Winner in N.M.
Dec. 1 -- With Al Gore’s victory in New Mexico, Florida is the only hole left on the electoral map.
If Republican candidate Gov. George W. Bush doesn’t challenge the results — although he has six days to do so, there are no signs that he will — Gore’s win in New Mexico gives him 267 electoral votes to Bush’s 246, with Florida’s 25 not-yet-assigned votes deciding the election.
New Mexico certified Gore as the winner shortly after 5:30 p.m. MT Thursday night. A last-minute recount in Roosevelt County trimmed Gore’s lead over Bush by 115 votes — unofficial results had Gore ahead by 483 votes. In all, the recount added 324 votes to Bush’s total in the county, and 209 to Gore’s.
Republicans requested the latest recount when Roosevelt County officials discovered that 569 ballots were apparently misread because of a programming error in the county’s voting machines. The machines had not fully counted several “straight-ticket ballots,” which refers to ballots on which voters check a single box to cast choices for all the candidates of a single party.
Meanwhile, in Oregon, the state Elections Division Tuesday released official results confirming Gore defeated Bush there.
The final tally showed the vice president winning by 6,765 votes, well beyond the 2,800-vote margin that would have triggered an automatic recount.
Under state law, Bush could ask for a recount of at least a portion of the Oregon votes within 50 days.
Numerous Close Calls
Though the ultimate outcome of the presidential race hinges on the legal battle for Florida’s 25 Electoral College votes, the Sunshine State is not the only place that has seen controversy, court challenges, and a remarkably close margin between the major-party candidates.
The week after the election, the New Mexico secretary of state’s official tally listed Bush as having a four-vote margin over Gore. But then officials corrected a tabulation error that had cost Gore 500 votes, putting the Democrat more clearly back in the lead.
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