HOUSTON — How long could election night go? KHOU 11 looked back to 2000 when George W. Bush ran against Al Gore. It was uncertain who had won the presidency for weeks.
“If we have a very close election, say, like we had back in 2000 where a few hundred votes in Florida was the difference between a George W. Bush or Al Gore victory, we could be in for a very long fall," said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University.
In 2000, it wasn’t until Dec. 12 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, that we found out who had won.
“Florida was a tie, either side had a legitimate claim to victory, it was really who had the best legal battle," Jones said.
Houstonian James Baker was Bush’s lead attorney.
“I’ve just spoken to Gov. Bush and Sec. Cheney they are of course very pleased and gratified," Baker said after hearing the Supreme Court's ruling.
Florida came down to just 537 votes and those hanging chads on the punch-card ballots. On election night, Gore conceded but then took it back.
“What’s at stake is the integrity of our democracy," Gore said at the time.
But, ultimately, once Bush was declared the winner, Gore said he would respect the results.
“The presidency is more than an honor, it is more than an office, it is a charge to keep and I will give it my all," Bush said during his acceptance speech.
“Let there be no doubt, while I strongly disagree with the court’s decision, I accept it," Gore said.
However, Jones said it could be different if the loser doesn’t accept the outcome this time around.
“We could see protests and the losing side not accept the results and that would be a crisis that would be relatively unknown in modern democratic history," he said.
Jones said if Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed to the Supreme Court, some people think it would give President Donald Trump an advantage over Joe Biden. However, he said to remember that the high court is an independent institution and the last thing they want to do is lose public confidence by not following the evidence and siding with a political party.