Bush Gets 271 Electoral Votes
CNSNews.com
Monday, Dec. 18, 2000
President-elect George W. Bush has received 271 votes in today's Electoral College voting, one more than required for victory, Fox News reported this evening.
The biggest surprise came not from controversial Florida but from the District of Columbia, where one of the three electors committed to failed Democratic nominee Al Gore broke her pledge and left her ballot blank.
Barbara Lett-Simmons said she was leaving her ballot blank to protest D.C.'s lack of voting representation in Congress.
As for Florida's 25 electoral votes, all were cast for Bush.
In most states, the votes of the electors are conducted publicly, but in others, including New York and Minnesota, electors vote by secret ballot, and the results are made public afterward.
The results of Monday's vote will be sent to Congress, which will announce the final national count at a joint session Jan. 5.
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