Which case held that Florida's recount scheme was unconstitutional due to inconsistent standards across ballots, precincts, and counties?

Which case held that Florida's recount scheme was unconstitutional due to inconsistent standards across ballots, precincts, and counties?

• A. Roe v. Wade
• B. Bush v. Gore
• C. Kelo v. City of New London
• D. Brown v. Board of Education

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that voting rights require equal protection through uniform standards for counting ballots. In Florida’s recount, different counties and even different ballots were counted using varying rules to determine voter intent, so two voters’ ballots could be treated very differently simply because of where their ballot was cast. That kind of nonuniform treatment violates the Equal Protection Clause because it means votes aren’t weighed equally. Because there was no statewide, uniform method that could be applied in time to resolve the election, the court concluded the recount scheme could not stand under constitutional requirements. The decision effectively ended the recount and determined the outcome. Roe v. Wade is about abortion rights; Kelo v. City of New London concerns eminent domain; Brown v. Board of Education addresses desegregation in schools. None of those cases deal with how a state counts ballots or equal protection in voting, so they’re not about this issue.

The main idea is that voting rights require equal protection through uniform standards for counting ballots. In Florida’s recount, different counties and even different ballots were counted using varying rules to determine voter intent, so two voters’ ballots could be treated very differently simply because of where their ballot was cast. That kind of nonuniform treatment violates the Equal Protection Clause because it means votes aren’t weighed equally.

Because there was no statewide, uniform method that could be applied in time to resolve the election, the court concluded the recount scheme could not stand under constitutional requirements. The decision effectively ended the recount and determined the outcome.

Roe v. Wade is about abortion rights; Kelo v. City of New London concerns eminent domain; Brown v. Board of Education addresses desegregation in schools. None of those cases deal with how a state counts ballots or equal protection in voting, so they’re not about this issue.