• Bush received more votes than Al Gore in Florida.
  George Bush never trailed by a single vote - ever!  Florida had over 6 million voters in the 2000 election.  George Bush received almost 50%, while Al Gore received nearly the same.

• Why were some ballots disqualified?
  In every election (in every city, every county, every state) there are ballots that are improperly marked and therefore rendered invalid.  This is usually due to voter error.  In Florida, 2.9% of the total ballots cast were disqualified.  This on par with the national results.  Floridians were not particularly bad at voting.
  
  Overvotes - Selecting two candidates for the same position.
  Undervotes - Not clearly selecting a candidate.
   

• Why did Gore go after the disqualified ballots?
  Gore thought he could find new votes among the disqualified ballots and overcome Bush's victory.  On Thursday, November 9, he submitted a request to the highest Democrat-voting counties (Miami Dade, Palm Beach, and Broward) for a manual recount.

• Why do so many people believe Al Gore won?
  Because he and the networks said so.  George Bush won and there is no reason to believe otherwise.  Unfortunately, the myth remains that Gore was the true winner of the election.  It is perpetuated by Democrat loyalists, some of whom were simply duped by the Gore effort.  Others were simply confused by the totality of it all.  I believe there are a number of psychological factors at play.  Group Thinking.  Hysteria.  Tunnel Vision.  Blind political passion.
  
  Consider the following quotes:

• George W. Bush and his brother the Governor STOLE THIS ELECTION...
  U.S. Congressman Robert Wexler, D-FL (March 8, 2004)
   

• ...we know that more Floridians intended to vote for Al Gore than George Bush on November 7, 2000.
  Vincent Bugliosi, author
   

• In 2000, the Supreme Court declared that George Bush had defeated Al Gore, but his Code Orange warnings continue to remind us Bush has not defeated al Qaeda.
  Senator Bill Bradley, New Jersey (January 6, 2004)
   

• Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year’s Presidential election...
  (Supreme Court Justice Stevens)

• ... Such a recount performed properly would have revealed a Gore victory.
  John Nichols, author
   

• Wasn't Gore entitled to a manual recount?
  No.  Florida overwhelmingly used machines to tabulate votes.  Florida law (2000) instructed canvassing boards to use machine tabulation in nearly all circumstances.  Manual recounting was used only as on option under very limited scenarios.  More importantly, candidates were NOT entitled to manual recounts.  Only counties had the option to manually recount if they found an error in their tabulation.  But counties were never concerned about errors in tabulation.  Rather, they were helping Gore fix errors on ballots that were created by voters.  These errors are typical.  They are found in every precinct, in every city, in every election.
  
  Even in cases where an error in tabulation was found, counties still had the option to use the machines to recount the votes.  2000 election laws
   

• Where there errors in tabulation?
  Al Gore managed to create an "Error in Tabulation".  Once the Democrat counties began to manually recount, they began applying subjective interpretation on the ambiguous ballots.  As a result, a discrepancy was automatically created between the newest (manual) tabulations and the original machine tallies, thus supplying the "error in tabulation" that Gore was looking for.  This was all part of Gore's plan to work around the meaning and intent of the law that was in place on election day.
   

• Isn't manual tabulation better than machine tabulation?
  No.  Manual tabulation invites serious problems (what better evidence is there than Florida?)  States have long seen the wisdom of having unbiased standardized machines tabulate votes.  In fact, laws insists upon a uniformity so that each ballot is given equal and fair weight.   Florida had prescribed machine tabulation as the standard.
  
  Once manual recounting was implement standards shifted a multitude of times, creating a reckless and inconsistent process.  Ultimately, the Florida Supreme Court violated basic equal protection standards when they, in essence, legislated a new manual recount for the state of Florida.  One person's dimpled ballot may have been counted as a vote, while another's dimple would not.  Supreme Court Decision.  Related Article
   

• Isn't Katherine Harris evil?
  Democrats waged a campaign to discredit Katherine Harris.  They didn't like here steadfast adherence to the law.  They wanted her to bend the rules so that Gore could have his way. 
  
  While Democrats waged a campaign to destroy the character of Katherine Harris, their own officials were strong-arming canvassing boards and county Judges.  They pressured county officials into manual recounting and making decisions that would be in favor of Gore.  One such operative was Florida's Attorney General, Bob Butterworth, who served as Al Gore's campaign Chairman for Florida.
   

• Wasn't Palm Beach County the real problem because of the Butterfly Ballot?
  The case of the butterfly ballot never made it to court and Gore never sought direct relief on the issue, partly because it had no merit. 
  
  The butterfly ballot was a legal ballot that was created by a Democrat.  The ballot didn't impede voters from selecting any candidates and Democrats have exaggerated the situation in order to justify Gore's quest.  They thought they could invalidate the election and somehow save the Presidency for Gore.
  
  Despite the so-called problem, Gore won overwhelmingly in Palm Beach County, making it a prime county for his manual recounting plan.  Over 460,000 people voted in the county and Gore received over 268,000 votes.  10,000 ballots were undervotes, where no candidate was selected at all (did the ballot prevent them from selecting a candidate?)  19,000 ballots were overvotes, where two candidates were selected for President (did the ballot make people vote twice?)
  
  16 counties had a higher rate of disqualified ballots than Palm Beach County.  Gore challenged none of them.  Gore didn't seek recounts in these other counties because it may have led to more Bush votes.
   

• How did the Democrats create hysteria?
  Before Gore even knew he lost the election, the Democrats were mobilizing in Florida.  They hired a company to call citizens in Palm Beach County and convince them there was a problem in the election process.  People were told that something terrible had happened.  They were told that their votes were not going to be counted or that they selected the wrong person by accident.  The Democrats launched this campaign before the county even began to tabulate votes.  As a result, panic and confusion set in.
  
  This was the beginning of Gore's quest to overthrow the election.  Just a few hours later, the networks would mysteriously declare him the winner of Florida, before the polls were closed, with George Bush never trailing by a single vote.