In the 2000 presidential election, problems in Florida delayed the result for more than a month. The 2008 presidential election looks to be another close race, but experts and state officials say Florida is not likely to hold up the outcome this time around.

The election between George W. Bush and Al Gore on Nov. 7, 2000, was so close that neither candidate could win without Florida’s 25 electoral votes. The initial ballot count in Florida put Bush ahead of Gore by so few votes that it triggered an automatic recount under state law. That recount uncovered numerous problems with the state’s election system, and it led to a legal battle that was finally resolved on Dec. 12 by the U.S. Supreme Court. By a slim 5-4 majority, the court ordered an immediate halt to the recount effort, and Florida finally certified Bush the winner by 537 votes, a margin of victory of only 0.009 percent. The win in Florida gave Bush the White House, but for many observers, the flawed recount tainted the election.

Ballot Design

Many of the problems in Florida resulted from confusing ballot designs used in several counties. The Palm Beach "butterfly ballot" was considered particularly bewildering. Candidates were listed down the left page and continuing down the facing page with a single column of voting holes running between the two pages. The design made it easy to punch a hole for the wrong candidate, said Dan Seligman, editor of electionline.org, a Web site of the Pew Center on the States.

In Duval County, the presidential candidates were spread over two pages with instructions to "vote on every page" printed at the bottom of each. An unusual number of ballots in this county showed votes for more than one presidential candidate and were invalidated.

Those problems won’t be repeated this election, said Florida Department of State spokeswoman Jennifer Krell Davis. After 2000, the state imposed uniform ballot design rules on all the counties, Davis said. All candidates for a race must now be listed in a single column on a single page, she said.

"I think the problem of the 'butterfly ballot' has been put to rest," Seligman agreed.

Hanging Chads

In 2000, many counties in Florida used mechanical punch card voting machines. During the recount, different counties used different standards for trying to determine voter intent. Some counted only cleanly punched holes. Others counted holes with hanging chads where the punch-out remained attached to the ballot. Some counties even counted dimpled chads.

There will be no hanging chad controversy in 2008, because Florida outlawed punch-card voting machines after the 2000 debacle. On Nov. 4, all 57 counties in the state will be using optical scanning systems, Davis said. Voters darken bubbles by the name of their candidate on a paper ballot. The ballot is then scanned into a computer system for tabulation, and the paper ballot is saved to provide a paper trail.

Some of the state’s largest counties first started using the optical scanning systems this year, Seligman said, so there may be some technical glitches on Election Day.

"I think any time you switch voting systems there is a learning curve," he said. "With this many voters using a new voting system, the likelihood of some minor problems cropping up is pretty high."

Integrity Of Voter Rolls

In preparation for the 2000 election, Florida purged about 50,000 alleged felons from the voter registration database. About half of the people removed from the database were African-American. About 20,000 of the people purged were actually eligible to vote, but when they showed up at the polls, they weren’t allowed to, Seligman said.

Now, both state and federal election laws require poll workers to give unlisted voters a provisional ballot, Seligman said. That way they can vote and election workers can determine their eligibility later, he said.

Florida is now much more careful about purging voters from the roles. "Our process has changed completely," Davis said. In 2000, the voter rolls were maintained at the county level, but in 2006 Florida implemented a statewide system, she said. Now voters are matched against the state’s law enforcement database and convictions and identities are manually verified before anyone is purged from the voter rolls, she said.

What To Expect On Nov. 4

As in 2000, Florida is likely to be one of a handful of battleground states that could decide the 2008 presidential election. If the election is as close as it was in 2000, small problems could become important, Seligman said.

"I think you're looking at the possibility of having some problems. Whether the margin of victory exceeds the margin of error will make a difference. Everything is magnified in a close race," he noted. "If the election comes down to Florida or any other battleground state, that state will be put under the microscope."

Davis said state officials hope to avoid the spotlight this year.

"We don't care who wins, just please let them win big," Davis said. But in case the election is close, county election supervisors are being encouraged to plan for possible recounts Davis said.

"They're well aware of procedures to make things go smoothly, and none of them want to be on the national news," Davis said.