FLORIDA CIVICS LITERACY EXAM 2026
QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
EngellVs.lVitalel1962l-lans-
Engellv.lVitalel(1962)lwaslallandmarklU.S.lSupremelCourtlcaselthatlruledlmandatory,l
school-
sponsoredlprayerlinlpubliclschoolslunconstitutional,levenliflnondenominationallorlvolunt
ary,lbecauselitlviolatedlthelFirstlAmendment'slEstablishmentlClause,lwhichlseparatesl
churchlandlstatelbylpreventinglgovernmentlendorsementloflreligion.
ThelcaselinvolvedlalNewlYorkllawlforlaldailylprayer,lwhichlthelCourtlfoundlunconstituti
onal,lestablishinglthatlstatelofficialslcannotlcomposelofficiallprayerslforlpubliclschools.
MagnalCartal-lans-
Dividedlintol63lchapters,lMagnalCartalestablishedlthelcruciallprinciplelthatlthel"lawloflt
helland"lexistedlindependentlyloflthelmonarchy,landlthatlthelkinglwaslsubjectltolit.lThel
charterlalsolrecognizedlthelrightsloflthelbaronsltoltriallbyljury,lduelprocesslandlhabeasl
corpus.
MinimumlNumberloflU.S.lHouseloflRepresentiveslperlstatel-lans-One
Purposeloflthelcivillrightslmovementsl-lans-tolsecurelequalities
Whatlislthelsociallcontract?l-lans-
Thelsociallcontractlislalphilosophicallidealthatlpeoplelimplicitlylagreeltolgiveluplsomelin
dividuallfreedomsltolalgoverninglauthoritylinlexchangelforlcollectivelsecurity,lorder,land
lthelprotectionlofltheirlremaininglrights,lforminglthelbasislforllegitimatelgovernmentlpow
erlfromlthel"consentloflthelgoverned".lKeylEnlightenmentlthinkersllikelThomaslHobbes,
lJohnlLocke,landlJean-
JacqueslRousseauldevelopedlthislconcept,larguinglitlexplainslwhylsocietieslformlandlt
helobligationslcitizenslandlrulerslhave,linfluencinglmodernldemocracylandlpoliticallsyst
ems.
Whatlislgoingltolbelanlexampleloflrepresentation?l-lans-
ThelU.S,lCongresslislgoingltolpasslallaw.
WhatldoeslalU.S.lSenatorlrepresent?l-lans-thelresidentsloflalsinglelstate
,WhichloflthelfollowingldocumentslislgoingltolhelplprovidedlalrationalelforlthelDeclartion
loflIndependence?l-lans-CommonlSense
WhatlarelgoingltolbeltheltwolnaturallrightslthatlarelgoingltolbelidentifiedlinlthelDeclartio
nloflIndependence?l-lans-LifelandlLiberty
HowlmanyloflthelU.S.lSenatorslarelgoingltolbelrepresentedlinleachlofltheldifferentlstat
es?l-
lans-"ThelSenateloflthelUnitedlStateslshalllbelcomposedlofltwolSenatorslfromleachlst
ate,lelectedlbylthelpeoplelthereof,lforlsixlyears;landleachlSenatorlshalllhavelonelvote."
WhatlislthellengthloflalUnitedlStateslpresidentslelectedlterm?l-lans-
ThelpresidentlislelectedlthroughlthelElectorallCollegeltolalfour-
yearlterm,lalonglwithlthelvicelpresident.lUnderlthelTwenty-
secondlAmendment,lratifiedlinl1951,lnolpersonlwholhaslbeenlelectedltoltwolpresidenti
alltermslmaylbelelectedltolalthird.
WhatlislgoingltolbeloneloflthelbranchesloflthelUnitedlStateslfederallgovernment?l-
lans-
ThelConstitutionloflthelUnitedlStatesldivideslthelfederallgovernmentlintolthreelbranche
s:llegislative,lexecutive,landljudicial.lThislensureslthatlnolindividuallorlgrouplwilllhavelt
oolmuchlpower.
WhatlislthelUnitedlStateslConstitutionlgoingltoldo?l-lans-
Itlislgoingltolhelplsetluplalfederallgovernment.
WhichloneloflthelphraseslislgoingltolcomelfromlalletterlthatlislgoingltolbelwrittenlbylAbi
gaillAdamslandlitlwilllbelwrittenltolherlhusbandlJohnlAdamslinl1776landlitlwilllbelreflec
tedlinlthelNineteenthlAmendment?l-lans-
Thelphrasel'IldesirelyoulwouldlRememberlthelLadies,landlbelmorelgenerouslandlfavo
urableltolthem'ldirectlyladdresseslthelimportanceloflwomen'slrights.
WhichlphraselfromlalletterlthatlwaslwrittenlbylpresidentlThomaslJeffersonlinl1802lislgo
ingltolhelplreflectlfromlalfreedomlinlthelBillloflRights?l-lans-
Beforelandlafter:lJefferson'slletterltolthelDanburylBaptistslcontainedlthelfamouslphrase
l"alwallloflseparationlbetweenlchurchlandlstatel(inlthelsentenceljustlbeforelthelarealcir
cledlforldeletion).
Whichloflthelfollowinglpairsloflthelcaseslislgoingltolbelfocusedlonlthelrightsloflpubliclsc
hoollstudents?l-lans-
Tinkerlv.lDeslMoinesl(1969)landlHazelwoodlv.lKuhlmeierl(1988).lTheseltwollandmarkl
SupremelCourtlcaseslfocusedlspecificallylonlthelrightsloflpubliclschoollstudentslregardi
ngltheirlfreedomloflexpressionlandlspeech.
,Wholislalwayslgoingltolbelinlchargeloflthelexecutivelbranch?l-lans-
ThelpowerloflthelExecutivelBranchlislvestedlinlthelPresidentloflthelUnitedlStates,lwhol
alsolactslaslheadloflstatelandlCommander-in-Chiefloflthelarmedlforces.
Whatlislthelduelprocess?l-lans-
Itlislgoingltolbelalfairltreatmentlinltheljudiciallproceedings.
Whichloflthelfollowinglislgoingltolhelplrepresentltheldifferentlprinciplesloflthelconsentlof
lthelgoverned?l-lans-
Thelprincipleloflconsentloflthelgovernedlislrepresentedlbylthelfollowing:lIndividualslele
ctlmembersloflthelHouseloflRepresentatives:lThislshowslthatlthelpeoplelhavelalsaylinl
wholrepresentslthemlinlthelgovernment.
Whatlislgoingltolbelanlexampleloflalpowerlthatlwilllbelreservedltolthelstates?l-lans-
Reservedlpowersldefinitionloftenldealslwithllawslthatlallowlstatesltolregulatelthelhealth,
lsafety,landlwelfarelofltheirlpopulation.lSomelreservedlpowerslexampleslincludelissuin
gldriver'sllicenses,lmarriagellicenses,landlprofessionalllicenses,lcreatinglpubliclschools
,landlestablishinglvotinglandlelectionlprocedures.
WhichloflthelstatementslfromlthelEnglishlBillloflRightslislgoingltolhelplreflectedlinlthelU
nitedlStateslConstitutionslEighthlAmendment?l-lans-
ThelstatementlfromlthelEnglishlBillloflRightslthatlislreflectedlinlthelU.S.lConstitution'slE
ighthlAmendmentlisl"Thatlexcessivelbailloughtlnotltolbelrequired,lnorlcruellandlunusua
llpunishmentslinflicted;"lThislmirrorslthelEighthlAmendment'sllanguagelclosely,lwhichls
tates,l"Excessivelbaillshalllnotlbelrequired,lnorl...
AccordingltolthelauthorsloflthelDeclarationloflIndependence,lwholislgoingltolbelrespon
siblelforlalwayslprotectinglthelnaturallrights?l-lans-
AccordingltolthelauthorsloflthelDeclarationloflIndependence,lwholislresponsiblelforlprot
ectinglnaturallrights?
lAccordingltolthelauthorsloflthelDeclarationloflIndependence,litlislprimarilylthelroleloflg
overnmentsltolprotectlnaturallrights.
Wholislalwayslgoingltolsignlallloflthelsignedlproposedlbillslintolthelfederalllaws?l-lans-
ThelPresidentloflthelUnitedlStates
HowlmanyloflthelamendmentsldoeslthelUnitedlStateslConstitutionlhave?l-lans-
Overlthelyears,lmorelamendmentslwereladded.lNow,lthelConstitutionlhasl27lamendm
ents.lThelFirstlAmendmentlislinlthelBillloflRights.
Whatlislgoingltolbelanlexampleloflanldemocraticlprocess?l-lans-
ThelpeoplelthatlarelgoingltolelectlanlGovernor.
WhichlonelofltheldifferentlphraseslfromlthelEnglishlBillloflRightslislgoingltolbelreflected
linlthelUnitedlStateslConstitution'slThirdlAmendment?l-lans-
ThelphraselfromlthelEnglishlBillloflRightsl(1689)lreflectedlinlthelU.S.lConstitution'slThir
, dlAmendmentlisl'That...lkeepinglalstandinglarmylwithinlthelkingdomlinltimeloflpeace...i
slagainstllaw.l'lThislconnectionlariseslfromlthelThirdlAmendment'slprohibitionlagainstlq
uarteringlsoldierslinlprivatelhomeslwithoutlconsent.
WhichlonelofltheldifferentlscenarioslislgoingltolhelplrepresentlalviolationloflthelEquallP
rotectionlClause?l-lans-
ThelEquallProtectionlClauselislgoingltolbelpartloflthel14thlAmendmentlAlstatellawlthat
lsetslalhigherlminimumlwagelforlmenlthanlforlwomenlwouldlclearlylviolatelthislprinciple
.lGender-
basedldistinctions,llikelpayinglmenlmorelthanlwomenlforlsimilarlwork,llacklallegitimatelj
ustificationlandlwouldlbeldeemedldiscriminatory.
Whichloflthelfollowinglactionslislgoingltolbelanlexamplelofltryingltolhelplpetitionlthelgo
vernment?l-lans-
Thelactionlthatlislanlexampleloflpetitioninglthelgovernmentlislsupportinglalballotlinitiati
ve.lThislprocesslinvolveslcitizensladvocatinglforlchangeslinllawlorlpolicy.lOtherloptions
llistedldolnotlrepresentlpetitioninglaction.
WhatlarelthelfirstltwolparagraphsloflthelDeclarationloflIndependencelcalled?l-lans-
ThelfirstltwolparagraphsloflthelDeclarationloflIndependencelarelknownlaslthelIntroducti
onl(thelverylfirstlparagraphlstatinglthelpurpose)landlthelPreamblelthelIntroductionl(thel
verylfirstlparagraphlstatinglthelpurpose)landlthelPreamblel(thelsecondlparagraph,lbegi
nningl"WhenlinlthelCourseloflhumanlevents...")lwhichllaysloutlnaturallrightslandlgover
nmentltheory,lthoughlsometimesltheylarelcollectivelylcalledlthelPreamblelbecauselthey
lformltheldocument'slopeninglstatement.
Whichlpartloflthelgovernmentlwaslgoingltolbelcreatedltolhelplreflectlthelcolonistslpositi
onloflthelgovernmentslandlhowltheylwillltryltolderiveltheirlpowerslfromlthelconsentloflt
helgoverned?l-lans-
Thellegislaturelwaslthelpartloflgovernmentlcreatedltolreflectlthelcolonists'lbelieflthatlgo
vernmentslderiveltheirlpowerslfromlthelconsentloflthelgoverned,lrepresentinglthelwillla
ndlauthorityloflthelpeople.
WhichloflthelUnitedlStateslSupremelCourtldecisionslislalwayslgoingltolbelfocusedlonlh
owltheldifferentlstateslcanlcountlpopularlvoteslforlthelpresidentlandlthelvicelpresident?
l-lans-
Bushlv.lGore,l531lU.S.l98l(2000),lwaslallandmarkldecisionloflthelUnitedlStateslSupre
melCourtlonlDecemberl12,l2000,lthatlsettledlalrecountldisputelinlFlorida'sl2000lpresid
entiallelectionlbetweenlGeorgelW.lBushlandlAllGore.lOnlDecemberl8,lthelFloridalSupr
emelCourtlhadlorderedlalstatewidelrecountloflalllundervotes,loverl61,000lballotslthatlth
elvoteltabulationlmachineslhadlmissed.lThelBushlcampaignlimmediatelylaskedlthelU.S
.lSupremelCourtltolstayltheldecisionlandlhaltlthelrecount.lJusticelAntoninlScalia,lconte
ndinglthatlalllthelmanuallrecountslbeinglperformedlinlFlorida'slcountieslwerelillegitimat
e,lurgedlhislcolleaguesltolgrantlthelstaylimmediately.
[1]lOnlDecemberl9,lthelfivelconservativeljusticeslonlthelCourtlgrantedlthelstay,lwithlSc
alialcitingl"irreparablelharm"lthatlcouldlbefalllBush,laslthelrecountslwouldlcastl"alneedl
QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
EngellVs.lVitalel1962l-lans-
Engellv.lVitalel(1962)lwaslallandmarklU.S.lSupremelCourtlcaselthatlruledlmandatory,l
school-
sponsoredlprayerlinlpubliclschoolslunconstitutional,levenliflnondenominationallorlvolunt
ary,lbecauselitlviolatedlthelFirstlAmendment'slEstablishmentlClause,lwhichlseparatesl
churchlandlstatelbylpreventinglgovernmentlendorsementloflreligion.
ThelcaselinvolvedlalNewlYorkllawlforlaldailylprayer,lwhichlthelCourtlfoundlunconstituti
onal,lestablishinglthatlstatelofficialslcannotlcomposelofficiallprayerslforlpubliclschools.
MagnalCartal-lans-
Dividedlintol63lchapters,lMagnalCartalestablishedlthelcruciallprinciplelthatlthel"lawloflt
helland"lexistedlindependentlyloflthelmonarchy,landlthatlthelkinglwaslsubjectltolit.lThel
charterlalsolrecognizedlthelrightsloflthelbaronsltoltriallbyljury,lduelprocesslandlhabeasl
corpus.
MinimumlNumberloflU.S.lHouseloflRepresentiveslperlstatel-lans-One
Purposeloflthelcivillrightslmovementsl-lans-tolsecurelequalities
Whatlislthelsociallcontract?l-lans-
Thelsociallcontractlislalphilosophicallidealthatlpeoplelimplicitlylagreeltolgiveluplsomelin
dividuallfreedomsltolalgoverninglauthoritylinlexchangelforlcollectivelsecurity,lorder,land
lthelprotectionlofltheirlremaininglrights,lforminglthelbasislforllegitimatelgovernmentlpow
erlfromlthel"consentloflthelgoverned".lKeylEnlightenmentlthinkersllikelThomaslHobbes,
lJohnlLocke,landlJean-
JacqueslRousseauldevelopedlthislconcept,larguinglitlexplainslwhylsocietieslformlandlt
helobligationslcitizenslandlrulerslhave,linfluencinglmodernldemocracylandlpoliticallsyst
ems.
Whatlislgoingltolbelanlexampleloflrepresentation?l-lans-
ThelU.S,lCongresslislgoingltolpasslallaw.
WhatldoeslalU.S.lSenatorlrepresent?l-lans-thelresidentsloflalsinglelstate
,WhichloflthelfollowingldocumentslislgoingltolhelplprovidedlalrationalelforlthelDeclartion
loflIndependence?l-lans-CommonlSense
WhatlarelgoingltolbeltheltwolnaturallrightslthatlarelgoingltolbelidentifiedlinlthelDeclartio
nloflIndependence?l-lans-LifelandlLiberty
HowlmanyloflthelU.S.lSenatorslarelgoingltolbelrepresentedlinleachlofltheldifferentlstat
es?l-
lans-"ThelSenateloflthelUnitedlStateslshalllbelcomposedlofltwolSenatorslfromleachlst
ate,lelectedlbylthelpeoplelthereof,lforlsixlyears;landleachlSenatorlshalllhavelonelvote."
WhatlislthellengthloflalUnitedlStateslpresidentslelectedlterm?l-lans-
ThelpresidentlislelectedlthroughlthelElectorallCollegeltolalfour-
yearlterm,lalonglwithlthelvicelpresident.lUnderlthelTwenty-
secondlAmendment,lratifiedlinl1951,lnolpersonlwholhaslbeenlelectedltoltwolpresidenti
alltermslmaylbelelectedltolalthird.
WhatlislgoingltolbeloneloflthelbranchesloflthelUnitedlStateslfederallgovernment?l-
lans-
ThelConstitutionloflthelUnitedlStatesldivideslthelfederallgovernmentlintolthreelbranche
s:llegislative,lexecutive,landljudicial.lThislensureslthatlnolindividuallorlgrouplwilllhavelt
oolmuchlpower.
WhatlislthelUnitedlStateslConstitutionlgoingltoldo?l-lans-
Itlislgoingltolhelplsetluplalfederallgovernment.
WhichloneloflthelphraseslislgoingltolcomelfromlalletterlthatlislgoingltolbelwrittenlbylAbi
gaillAdamslandlitlwilllbelwrittenltolherlhusbandlJohnlAdamslinl1776landlitlwilllbelreflec
tedlinlthelNineteenthlAmendment?l-lans-
Thelphrasel'IldesirelyoulwouldlRememberlthelLadies,landlbelmorelgenerouslandlfavo
urableltolthem'ldirectlyladdresseslthelimportanceloflwomen'slrights.
WhichlphraselfromlalletterlthatlwaslwrittenlbylpresidentlThomaslJeffersonlinl1802lislgo
ingltolhelplreflectlfromlalfreedomlinlthelBillloflRights?l-lans-
Beforelandlafter:lJefferson'slletterltolthelDanburylBaptistslcontainedlthelfamouslphrase
l"alwallloflseparationlbetweenlchurchlandlstatel(inlthelsentenceljustlbeforelthelarealcir
cledlforldeletion).
Whichloflthelfollowinglpairsloflthelcaseslislgoingltolbelfocusedlonlthelrightsloflpubliclsc
hoollstudents?l-lans-
Tinkerlv.lDeslMoinesl(1969)landlHazelwoodlv.lKuhlmeierl(1988).lTheseltwollandmarkl
SupremelCourtlcaseslfocusedlspecificallylonlthelrightsloflpubliclschoollstudentslregardi
ngltheirlfreedomloflexpressionlandlspeech.
,Wholislalwayslgoingltolbelinlchargeloflthelexecutivelbranch?l-lans-
ThelpowerloflthelExecutivelBranchlislvestedlinlthelPresidentloflthelUnitedlStates,lwhol
alsolactslaslheadloflstatelandlCommander-in-Chiefloflthelarmedlforces.
Whatlislthelduelprocess?l-lans-
Itlislgoingltolbelalfairltreatmentlinltheljudiciallproceedings.
Whichloflthelfollowinglislgoingltolhelplrepresentltheldifferentlprinciplesloflthelconsentlof
lthelgoverned?l-lans-
Thelprincipleloflconsentloflthelgovernedlislrepresentedlbylthelfollowing:lIndividualslele
ctlmembersloflthelHouseloflRepresentatives:lThislshowslthatlthelpeoplelhavelalsaylinl
wholrepresentslthemlinlthelgovernment.
Whatlislgoingltolbelanlexampleloflalpowerlthatlwilllbelreservedltolthelstates?l-lans-
Reservedlpowersldefinitionloftenldealslwithllawslthatlallowlstatesltolregulatelthelhealth,
lsafety,landlwelfarelofltheirlpopulation.lSomelreservedlpowerslexampleslincludelissuin
gldriver'sllicenses,lmarriagellicenses,landlprofessionalllicenses,lcreatinglpubliclschools
,landlestablishinglvotinglandlelectionlprocedures.
WhichloflthelstatementslfromlthelEnglishlBillloflRightslislgoingltolhelplreflectedlinlthelU
nitedlStateslConstitutionslEighthlAmendment?l-lans-
ThelstatementlfromlthelEnglishlBillloflRightslthatlislreflectedlinlthelU.S.lConstitution'slE
ighthlAmendmentlisl"Thatlexcessivelbailloughtlnotltolbelrequired,lnorlcruellandlunusua
llpunishmentslinflicted;"lThislmirrorslthelEighthlAmendment'sllanguagelclosely,lwhichls
tates,l"Excessivelbaillshalllnotlbelrequired,lnorl...
AccordingltolthelauthorsloflthelDeclarationloflIndependence,lwholislgoingltolbelrespon
siblelforlalwayslprotectinglthelnaturallrights?l-lans-
AccordingltolthelauthorsloflthelDeclarationloflIndependence,lwholislresponsiblelforlprot
ectinglnaturallrights?
lAccordingltolthelauthorsloflthelDeclarationloflIndependence,litlislprimarilylthelroleloflg
overnmentsltolprotectlnaturallrights.
Wholislalwayslgoingltolsignlallloflthelsignedlproposedlbillslintolthelfederalllaws?l-lans-
ThelPresidentloflthelUnitedlStates
HowlmanyloflthelamendmentsldoeslthelUnitedlStateslConstitutionlhave?l-lans-
Overlthelyears,lmorelamendmentslwereladded.lNow,lthelConstitutionlhasl27lamendm
ents.lThelFirstlAmendmentlislinlthelBillloflRights.
Whatlislgoingltolbelanlexampleloflanldemocraticlprocess?l-lans-
ThelpeoplelthatlarelgoingltolelectlanlGovernor.
WhichlonelofltheldifferentlphraseslfromlthelEnglishlBillloflRightslislgoingltolbelreflected
linlthelUnitedlStateslConstitution'slThirdlAmendment?l-lans-
ThelphraselfromlthelEnglishlBillloflRightsl(1689)lreflectedlinlthelU.S.lConstitution'slThir
, dlAmendmentlisl'That...lkeepinglalstandinglarmylwithinlthelkingdomlinltimeloflpeace...i
slagainstllaw.l'lThislconnectionlariseslfromlthelThirdlAmendment'slprohibitionlagainstlq
uarteringlsoldierslinlprivatelhomeslwithoutlconsent.
WhichlonelofltheldifferentlscenarioslislgoingltolhelplrepresentlalviolationloflthelEquallP
rotectionlClause?l-lans-
ThelEquallProtectionlClauselislgoingltolbelpartloflthel14thlAmendmentlAlstatellawlthat
lsetslalhigherlminimumlwagelforlmenlthanlforlwomenlwouldlclearlylviolatelthislprinciple
.lGender-
basedldistinctions,llikelpayinglmenlmorelthanlwomenlforlsimilarlwork,llacklallegitimatelj
ustificationlandlwouldlbeldeemedldiscriminatory.
Whichloflthelfollowinglactionslislgoingltolbelanlexamplelofltryingltolhelplpetitionlthelgo
vernment?l-lans-
Thelactionlthatlislanlexampleloflpetitioninglthelgovernmentlislsupportinglalballotlinitiati
ve.lThislprocesslinvolveslcitizensladvocatinglforlchangeslinllawlorlpolicy.lOtherloptions
llistedldolnotlrepresentlpetitioninglaction.
WhatlarelthelfirstltwolparagraphsloflthelDeclarationloflIndependencelcalled?l-lans-
ThelfirstltwolparagraphsloflthelDeclarationloflIndependencelarelknownlaslthelIntroducti
onl(thelverylfirstlparagraphlstatinglthelpurpose)landlthelPreamblelthelIntroductionl(thel
verylfirstlparagraphlstatinglthelpurpose)landlthelPreamblel(thelsecondlparagraph,lbegi
nningl"WhenlinlthelCourseloflhumanlevents...")lwhichllaysloutlnaturallrightslandlgover
nmentltheory,lthoughlsometimesltheylarelcollectivelylcalledlthelPreamblelbecauselthey
lformltheldocument'slopeninglstatement.
Whichlpartloflthelgovernmentlwaslgoingltolbelcreatedltolhelplreflectlthelcolonistslpositi
onloflthelgovernmentslandlhowltheylwillltryltolderiveltheirlpowerslfromlthelconsentloflt
helgoverned?l-lans-
Thellegislaturelwaslthelpartloflgovernmentlcreatedltolreflectlthelcolonists'lbelieflthatlgo
vernmentslderiveltheirlpowerslfromlthelconsentloflthelgoverned,lrepresentinglthelwillla
ndlauthorityloflthelpeople.
WhichloflthelUnitedlStateslSupremelCourtldecisionslislalwayslgoingltolbelfocusedlonlh
owltheldifferentlstateslcanlcountlpopularlvoteslforlthelpresidentlandlthelvicelpresident?
l-lans-
Bushlv.lGore,l531lU.S.l98l(2000),lwaslallandmarkldecisionloflthelUnitedlStateslSupre
melCourtlonlDecemberl12,l2000,lthatlsettledlalrecountldisputelinlFlorida'sl2000lpresid
entiallelectionlbetweenlGeorgelW.lBushlandlAllGore.lOnlDecemberl8,lthelFloridalSupr
emelCourtlhadlorderedlalstatewidelrecountloflalllundervotes,loverl61,000lballotslthatlth
elvoteltabulationlmachineslhadlmissed.lThelBushlcampaignlimmediatelylaskedlthelU.S
.lSupremelCourtltolstayltheldecisionlandlhaltlthelrecount.lJusticelAntoninlScalia,lconte
ndinglthatlalllthelmanuallrecountslbeinglperformedlinlFlorida'slcountieslwerelillegitimat
e,lurgedlhislcolleaguesltolgrantlthelstaylimmediately.
[1]lOnlDecemberl9,lthelfivelconservativeljusticeslonlthelCourtlgrantedlthelstay,lwithlSc
alialcitingl"irreparablelharm"lthatlcouldlbefalllBush,laslthelrecountslwouldlcastl"alneedl
