TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — It was a wish come true Sunday for Florida's elections officials: no cameras, few questions and a clear decision.
Unlike four years ago, when scores of television satellite trucks and hundreds of reporters camped outside the Capitol, the state canvassing board quietly certified the results of the Nov. 2 general election, in which President Bush captured the state's 27 electoral votes by a comfortable margin.
"I think everyone is glad the election has come and gone," Secretary of State Glenda Hood said.
But referring to a handful of staffers and a couple of reporters observing the certification, she added, "It's a little lonesome."
When the canvassing board met in 2000, then-Secretary of State Katherine Harris prematurely declared Bush the winner. But it was a nearly a month later before the U.S. Supreme Court certified Bush's 537-vote victory margin over Democrat Al Gore in Florida to finally settle the outcome after weeks of recounts and legal wrangling.
This time Bush won Florida by nearly 381,000 votes over Sen. John Kerry.