Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on the Supreme Court Decision to End the Florida Presidential Vote Count

The decision yesterday [December 12, 2000] by a deeply divided Supreme Court is a real national tragedy that, in the words of Justice Stevens, "effectively orders the disenfranchisement" of voters in our presidential election. By ignoring the fundamental principle of "one person, one vote," it profoundly threatens the faith of citizens in our democracy and our system of justice. That faith will be most sorely tested in minority communities, where hundreds of reports of harassment, intimidation and faulty voting machines now cast a pall over the progress we have made in more than three decades of fighting for voting rights for all Americans.

The court has all but assured that Governor George Bush will become the next President of the United States. He will face the difficult task of governing without the support of even a plurality of the voters. Only by embracing policies that improve the lives of the majority of Americans and turning away from efforts to enrich a privileged few will he be able to win the confidence of working families. We will continue to stand as a bulwark against any attempts to harm or hold back the interests of those families.

Despite our virulent objections to the flaws in the voting process, the AFL-CIO will work with Governor Bush to bring our nation together and address the many important concerns of America's working men and women.

Vice President Al Gore won the national popular vote by running on an agenda that spoke to the real needs of Americans. That agenda and those issues — respecting work, strengthening family, building community — will guide our newly invigorated fight to assure working Americans a voice in their nation's government.

The first order of business for the next president is to take bold and effective steps to ensure that in no future election do tens of thousands of Americans have their voices stilled in the most important civic act of our democracy. We pledge to direct our outrage toward that goal, and to use this moment of reawakening to propel a new movement for democracy and equality.