Hanging Chads and the 2000 Presidential Election The outcome of the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore hinged on who won Florida. The closeness of the vote required a recount, and election officials, including this one in Broward County, had to scrutinize ballots closely to figure out the intentions of voters who left a hanging chad (paper fragment) on the punch-card ballot. AP Photo/Alan Diaz