In two thousand, Americans were preparing to elect a new president in November. The United States Constitution limits presidents to two terms. Bill Clinton would be leaving office. So his Democratic Party needed to choose a new candidate.
The Democrats nominated Clinton's vice president, Al Gore. Gore chose Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut as his running mate. Lieberman became the first Jewish candidate ever nominated by a major party to such a high office. He was first elected to the Senate in nineteen eighty-eight.
Public opinion surveys showed that the race between George Bush
and Al Gore would be extremely close. The election took place on
November seventh. More than one hundred million people voted for
them. Al Gore received about five hundred forty thousand more of
those votes than George Bush did.
But winning the popular vote does not make someone president.
Americans do not directly elect their president. When they vote for a
candidate, what they are really doing is voting for electors. The
number of electors for each state is based on the size of its
congressional delegation, which is based on population. These
electors then vote in December in a system known as the Electoral
College. The Electoral College officially elects the president.
In the two thousand elections, there were five hundred thirty-eight
electors in the Electoral College. To become president, the winner
needed a simple majority of two hundred seventy.
