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This creates a problem well illustrated by the disputed election of 2000. George W. Bush was elected president with 271 electoral votes to Al Gore's 266 electoral votes. However, Gore amassed 543,895 popular votes more than Bush. Also, because some disputed votes in Florida made unclear which candidate should receive the state's electoral votes, the Florida Supreme Court ordered a full recount of the Florida vote. But the U.S. Supreme Court intervened and stopped the recount, thereby in effect awarding Florida's electoral votes to Bush. While arguments continue to this day about the legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court's intervention, the 2000 election illustrates a glaring weakness of the Electoral College system selecting a president whose authority may be diminished by the dubious circumstances of his or her election. The election of 2000 also has fueled a long ongoing debate about whether the Electoral College should be abandoned in favor of method which insures that the candidate elected has the most popular votes. Would this outcome be more consistent with contemporary public expectations about the president's role as a national leader who can get things done?

This creates a problem well illustrated by the disputed election of 2000. George W. Bush was elected president with 271 electoral votes to Al Gore's 266 electoral votes. However, Gore amassed 543,895 popular votes more than Bush. Also, because some disputed votes in Florida made unclear which candidate should receive the state's electoral votes, the Florida Supreme Court ordered a full recount of the Florida vote. But the U.S. Supreme Court intervened and stopped the recount, thereby in effect awarding Florida's electoral votes to Bush. While arguments continue to this day about the legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court's intervention, the 2000 election illustrates a glaring weakness of the Electoral College system selecting a president whose authority may be diminished by the dubious circumstances of his or her election. The election of 2000 also has fueled a long ongoing debate about whether the Electoral College should be abandoned in favor of method which insures that the candidate elected has the most popular votes. Would this outcome be more consistent with contemporary public expectations about the president's role as a national leader who can get things done?