# ACTUALLY, the diff in FL is down to 500 votes!!!!! bush might lose.. gore might win.. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 8, 2000, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actually-the-diff-in-fl-is-down-to-500-votes-bush-might-lose-gore-might-win/40272 "2000-11-08T08:41:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Palmyra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/57b2e6/32.png) [@Palmyra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palmyra)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actually-the-diff-in-fl-is-down-to-500-votes-bush-might-lose-gore-might-win/40272/1 "2000-11-08T08:41:50Z")
like the title says, i just heard that the margin between gore and bush os down to 500 votes, and precincts are still reporting votes!!! hope might not be lost quite yet!!! ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actually-the-diff-in-fl-is-down-to-500-votes-bush-might-lose-gore-might-win/40272/2 "2000-11-08T12:58:18Z")
They said it could possibly come down to mail-in ballots. Whouda thunk it? Out of 6,000,000 voters in Florida, the difference comes down to those people who really take voting seriously enough to fill out a mail-in ballot. ---
**Author:** ![Tally-Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@Tally-Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tally-Ho)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actually-the-diff-in-fl-is-down-to-500-votes-bush-might-lose-gore-might-win/40272/3 "2000-11-08T13:17:00Z")
The recount for Florida has started. Man, this race has turned into a real nail biter. Who would have thought that everything would hing on my home state? Officials hope to have the recount finished by this afternoon and then we’ll see… ---
**Author:** ![Spider\_Woman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Spider\_Woman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spider_Woman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actually-the-diff-in-fl-is-down-to-500-votes-bush-might-lose-gore-might-win/40272/4 "2000-11-08T13:22:41Z")
Has anyone heard what the turnout was for percentage of people actually voting? The election judges in our precinct said it was absolutely wild all day. They didn’t get a chance to eat lunch. I voted in the morning, and went back to vouch for my daughter and SO (turned out I didn’t need to do that; they’ll accept a utility bill with your name and address plus a picture ID). ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actually-the-diff-in-fl-is-down-to-500-votes-bush-might-lose-gore-might-win/40272/5 "2000-11-08T13:26:11Z")
In Clay County, where I live, turnout was around 66%. Duval county (Jacksonville) had 69% turnout. Those numbers amaze me!! ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actually-the-diff-in-fl-is-down-to-500-votes-bush-might-lose-gore-might-win/40272/6 "2000-11-08T13:26:30Z")
One of the Bush campaign’s strategists said last night (when all the networks were still projecting a Gore victory in Florida) that they (meaning Bush) still expected to take Florida on the strength of absentee ballots, which, they expected, would lean toward Bush. I have the impression (and it’s only an impression) that absentee ballots have a better chance of being challenged in a recount. In addition, the Dems are sending a team of lawyers to Florida to keep tabs on the counting. What do you suppose the chances are of the election hinging on a few hundred absentee ballots that might or might not be incorrectly filled out/fraudulent? Pretty good, I’d say. We might not know who won for a week. You heard it here first. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actually-the-diff-in-fl-is-down-to-500-votes-bush-might-lose-gore-might-win/40272/7 "2000-11-08T13:41:39Z")
Well, CNN has Bush up by 2,000. The only absentee ballots still coming in are the military ones, expected to be heavily Bush, as the military is rather more conservative than the population as a whole. As of now, it’s not going to be a deciding factor, and the Gore camp is going to look pretty dumb if they try to challenge the election on the basis that those votes would be 80% in their favor (last election 2,300 came in after election day). Since they had to be postmarked election day, most will be in in the next couple days. ---
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actually-the-diff-in-fl-is-down-to-500-votes-bush-might-lose-gore-might-win/40272/8 "2000-11-08T13:46:58Z")
Last estimates I heard was 5000-10000 absentees, mostly military. Margin was ~1700. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actually-the-diff-in-fl-is-down-to-500-votes-bush-might-lose-gore-might-win/40272/9 "2000-11-08T13:53:29Z")
It’s killing me–I moved here too late to register in Florida, and now I find that it might actually have made a difference! AAARRRGGGHHHH!!! ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actually-the-diff-in-fl-is-down-to-500-votes-bush-might-lose-gore-might-win/40272/10 "2000-11-08T14:49:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by waterj2 \* > \*\*The only absentee ballots still coming in are the military ones, expected to be heavily Bush, as the military is rather more conservative than the population as a whole…Since they had to be postmarked election day, most will be in in the next couple days. \*\* They’re not _necessarily_ all military ballots, are they? If absentee ballots didn’t have to be postmarked until election day, couldn’t joe shmo college student also be included in those absentee ballots? Travellers? People who recently moved? How do you know they’re all military? ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actually-the-diff-in-fl-is-down-to-500-votes-bush-might-lose-gore-might-win/40272/11 "2000-11-08T14:59:53Z")
C3 - The ballots in question are international absentee ballots. These are, naturally, mostly from folks in the armed forces. “Regular” absentee ballots in Florida, IIRC, have to be received on or before election day. Only international ballots go by postmark date due to the inconsistency of international mail delivery. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actually-the-diff-in-fl-is-down-to-500-votes-bush-might-lose-gore-might-win/40272/12 "2000-11-08T15:32:29Z")
Frankly, I think Bush is going to get it. One, I tend to think that the re-count will keep Bush ahead by a bit. My numbers have it at 1,655 difference favouring Bush. Here, look: Bush: 2,909,199 Gore: 2,907,544 Interestingly enough, Pat Buchanan pulled 20,294 so he could have ruined it for Bush. If he didn’t run, we wouldn’t be recounting. Nader took a whopping 96,896. I believe you can say that Nader ruined the election for Gore…if Bush wins. Yeah, the absentee ballots coming in from over seas tend to favour Bush, probably. In 1996, these types of absentee ballots went about 75% to DOLE. So if they went to Dole, I imagine they are pretty die hard republicans. There we have it. But then again, I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Estrella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Estrella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estrella)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actually-the-diff-in-fl-is-down-to-500-votes-bush-might-lose-gore-might-win/40272/13 "2000-11-08T15:52:50Z")
I’m keeping an eye on [CNN.com](http://CNN.com) all day. Oh! My heart!..A girl can’t handle this much stress over such long hours. On a lighter note, The Daily Show’s election coverage last night was hilarious. _going back to biting my nails and attempting to do some work_ ---
**Author:** ![RalfCoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@RalfCoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RalfCoder)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actually-the-diff-in-fl-is-down-to-500-votes-bush-might-lose-gore-might-win/40272/14 "2000-11-08T16:13:29Z")
I’ll jump in here with a pro-Bush vote. Here’s hoping that Florida goes his way!