Salon: How Jeb Bush cheated America & helped deliver the presidency to W

[davidn3600]

30. Not sure how true that is...

The Constitution says in Article II, Section I,

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative,

So the legislature has ultimate authority in how the electors are chosen. That means they can split up the electoral votes. They can decide to choose the electors themselves. Now, I don't know the legality of doing it after an election. And the Florida state constitution may have a role also. But the US Constitution does NOT guarantee a citizen the right to vote for President. It is not in that document anywhere. The states vote for the President, and the states give you the right to play a part in that process. It's weird, but that's how the founders set it up.

But even if Florida's vote isn't counted...let's say that for whatever reason the Florida slate is tossed. Gore still doesn't reach 270 either. That means the whole electoral college is tossed out and the House of Representatives picks the president. So again you are stuck because the House would have picked Bush.
That's actually happened twice in our history. Thomas Jefferson was elected President by the House. And it was one hell of a political battle.