# Other than getting the most votes legally, how can Trump become POTUS?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-getting-the-most-votes-legally-how-can-trump-become-potus/1005910
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Tags:** trump
**Created:** [August 19, 2024, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-getting-the-most-votes-legally-how-can-trump-become-potus/1005910 "2024-08-19T18:15:11Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2024, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-getting-the-most-votes-legally-how-can-trump-become-potus/1005910/21 "2024-08-22T02:23:49Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#):
>
> We don’t know that do we since a recount never happened?
I believe a news organization actually did a full recount and Bush would have still won.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2024, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-getting-the-most-votes-legally-how-can-trump-become-potus/1005910/22 "2024-08-22T02:34:41Z")
That’s a nice belief.
What news organization?
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2024, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-getting-the-most-votes-legally-how-can-trump-become-potus/1005910/23 "2024-08-22T02:42:55Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> What news organization?
CNN.
> **[So, who really won? What the Bush v. Gore studies showed | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2015/10/31/politics/bush-gore-2000-election-results-studies/index.html)**
>
> After the grueling 36-day Florida recount battle, Al Gore conceded the presidency to George W. Bush on December 13, 2000.
> Months after the United States Supreme Court delivered its ruling to stop the statewide hand recount in the Sunshine State, media and academic organizations conducted their own studies of the disputed ballots in Florida.
>
> Taken as a whole, the recount studies show Bush would have most likely won the Florida statewide hand recount of all undervotes. Undervotes are ballots that did not register a vote in the presidential race.
>
> This goes against the belief that the U.S. Supreme Court handed the presidency to Bush, or took it away from Gore.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2024, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-getting-the-most-votes-legally-how-can-trump-become-potus/1005910/24 "2024-08-22T02:44:08Z")
No. I am asking for the news organization that did a full recount.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2024, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-getting-the-most-votes-legally-how-can-trump-become-potus/1005910/25 "2024-08-22T02:47:03Z")
You could, you know, read the CNN article.
> **The players:** A group of newspapers including the USA Today, Miami Herald, and Knight Ridder newspapers conducted the first major review of the Florida ballots.
But CNN is the one standing by the results or they wouldn’t have published that article.
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### Author:  [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2024, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-getting-the-most-votes-legally-how-can-trump-become-potus/1005910/26 "2024-08-22T02:47:09Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> I believe a news organization actually did a full recount and Bush would have still won.
That was when using the legally correct criteria.
But if the criteria was the intent of the voter, Gore would win. And my recollection (sorry, no link) was that some of those doing the recounts, even some of the Republicans, could not resist applying the more obvious and fair intent of the voter standard. So no one can know for sure what would have happened if the recount had been allowed to continue.
The answer to the thread question is — impossible. It was easier to cheat last time, when the GOP already in physical possession of the White House. Now, with Harris presiding during the count, it will be much harder to throw the election.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2024, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-getting-the-most-votes-legally-how-can-trump-become-potus/1005910/27 "2024-08-22T02:48:44Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#):
>
> That was when using the legally correct criteria.
>
> But if the criteria was the intent of the voter, Gore would win.
Yes, per the article I posted:
> The studies also show that Gore likely would have won a statewide recount of all undervotes and overvotes, which are ballots that included multiple votes for president and were thus not counted at all. However, his legal team never pursued this action.
I hesitate to quote anymore from the article or it might violate free use limitations.
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