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CTRL+Z: Rewritten · June 7 · 45 min

Anthony Kennedy Hits CTRL+Z

In December 2000, the Supreme Court stopped Florida's recount and let George W. Bush's 537-vote lead stand. Those votes, out of nearly six million cast, decided Florida, and Florida decided the presidency. It almost went the other way. Seven of the nine justices agreed the count was broken. They split on the fix. Five voted to stop. Four voted to send it back, set one standard, and finish. The man in the middle was Anthony Kennedy, who agreed the recount was broken and then voted to end it instead of fixing it. What if he'd changed his mind on that one question, and said count it instead of stop it? This week we hit Control Z on the vote that didn't switch, follow the recount to its finish, and the very different country it leaves behind.

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In December 2000, the Supreme Court stopped Florida's recount and let George W. Bush's 537-vote lead stand. Those votes, out of nearly six million cast, decided Florida, and Florida decided the presidency.

It almost went the other way. Seven of the nine justices agreed the count was broken. They split on the fix. Five voted to stop. Four voted to send it back, set one standard, and finish. The man in the middle was Anthony Kennedy, who agreed the recount was broken and then voted to end it instead of fixing it.

What if he'd changed his mind on that one question, and said count it instead of stop it?

This week we hit Control Z on the vote that didn't switch, follow the recount to its finish, and the very different country it leaves behind.

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