
What is a Chad in a ballot?
A "chad" is the fragments of paper left over when you punch a hole in a card. Voters in Florida at the time used Votomatic style punched card ballots.
What is a hanging chad?
These punch cards, after getting punched, would leave behind confetti or bits of paper, some of which would still be hanging onto the card. These are referred to as hanging chads.
What is a hanging chad in the 2000 election?
In the 2000 United States presidential election, many Florida votes used Votomatic-style punched card ballots where incompletely punched holes resulted in partially punched chads: either a "hanging chad", where one or more corners were still attached, or a "fat chad" or "pregnant chad", where all corners were still attached, but an indentation ...
What happened to the hanging chads in the Florida election?
Some of the discarded votes still had hanging chads. Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris was ordered by the Supreme Court to finish the counting of the votes by November 26. This led Al Gore and his team to file a case in the Supreme Court demanding a manual recount of the votes, since the machines couldn’t be trusted with the job.

What are the holes punched out of paper called?
The small circle of paper that falls on the floor after you use a hole punch is called a chad. Some voting machines work by punching holes in ballots, leaving a chad hanging from the back.
Who stopped the Florida recount?
The Florida vote was ultimately settled in Bush's favor by a margin of 537 votes when the U.S. Supreme Court, in Bush v. Gore, stopped a recount that had been initiated upon a ruling by the Florida Supreme Court.
What is the meaning of undervote?
An undervote occurs when the number of distinct choices selected by a voter in a contest is less than the maximum number allowed for that contest or when no selection is made for a single choice contest.
Which presidential candidate received no electoral votes?
On February 9, 1825, John Quincy Adams was elected as president without getting the majority of the electoral vote or the popular vote, being the only president to do so. Presidential election results map.
What judicial body settled the controversy over the presidential election in the United States in 2000?
Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000), was a decision of the United States Supreme Court on December 12, 2000, that settled a recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore.
What is a hanging chad?
Bush and Al Gore. A "chad" is the fragments of paper left over when you punch a hole in a card. Voters in Florida at the time used Votomatic style punched card ballots.
What is pregnant chad?
A "pregnant chad" is when you attempt to punch a hole, but it just leaves a bulge and doesn't actually punch through. The controversy came about when "hanging chads" and "pregnant chads" weren't counted by the machine. People's votes weren't counted.
What was the tightest election since 1876?
In the tightest election since 1876, third party candidates prevented either major party candidate from receiving a majority of the popular vote. For the Democrats, Al Gore hoped to replicated George H.W. Bush 's feat in the election of 1988 and convert eight years of service as vice-president into a victory in a presidential contest.
Did Nader say the Democrats and Republicans were the same?
Nader maintained that the Democrats and Republicans were simply two version of the same Establishment and that his party represented the only real alternative. It remained true that, had he not been on the ballot, most of those who voted for him would have chosen Gore over Bush and changed the outcome.
What year did the hanging chads happen?
Remember Florida's 'hanging chads' in 2000? Here's a look back at America's contested elections. Twenty years ago, the fate of the presidency hinged on tiny slivers of paper. "Chads" became the source of much controversy in the state of Florida and across the nation in 2000 — which eventually swung the presidential election to George W.
Why did Hayes win the election?
After months of debate in Congress, Hayes ended up winning with one vote due to the Compromise of 1877 — which gave Hayes the votes in the Electoral College needed to win in exchange for the removal of troops from the South, meaning the end of Reconstruction and the start of the Jim Crow era.
What is the ever shifting nature of electoral politics?
The ever-shifting nature of electoral politics — and the changing machinations by which ballots are cast and submitted — means that each election provides new opportunities and challenges for voting. Below are three of the most contentious elections in American history.
Who won the 1968 presidential election?
The tally proved to be too close among Republicans, including GOP leaders and former President Dwight Eisenhower, according to the Los Angeles Times , who called for a recount. Nixon ended up conceding, and won his election in 1968.
What is a chad?
Chad (paper) Chads from punched cards. Each chad is about 3 mm ( 1⁄8 in) long. Chad refers to fragments sometimes created when holes are made in a paper, card or similar synthetic materials, such as computer punched tape or punched cards. The word "chad" has been used both as a mass noun (as in "a pile of chad") and as a countable noun ...
What was the purpose of the Chad Box?
to receive the chips cut from the edge of the tape.". A 1938 patent filing included a "chaff or chad chute " to collect the waste fragments. Both patents were assigned to Teletype Corporation .
What is a chad in computer history?
The chip (chad) receiver from a UNIVAC key punch. Pouring chads from a jar at the Computer History Museum. Asymmetrical chad produced by a railroad ticket punch. Chad refers to fragments sometimes created when holes are made in a paper, card or similar synthetic materials, such as computer punched tape or punched cards.
How is Chadless tape made?
Chadless tape is prepared by feeding blank tape through a device which will not punch a complete circle in the tape but, instead, will only cut approximately three-quart ers of the circumference of a circle ... thereby leaving a movable, or hinged, lid of paper in the tape.".
What is the origin of the word "chad"?
Etymology. The origin of the term chad is uncertain. Patent documents from the 1930s and 1940s show the word "chad", often in reference to punched tape used in telegraphy. These patents sometimes include synonyms such as " chaff " and " chips ".
How many corners are chads?
The following terms generally apply when describing a four-cornered chad: Hanging chads are attached to the ballot at only one corner. Swinging chads are attached to the ballot at two corners. Tri- chads are attached to the ballot at three corners.
When a Chad is not fully detached, it is described by various terms corresponding to the level of modification from
When a chad is not fully detached, it is described by various terms corresponding to the level of modification from the unpunched state. The distinctions are of importance in counting cards used in voting. The following terms generally apply when describing a four-cornered chad:
