November 14, 2000

Voters Side with Bush for Now

Questionnaire

         PEW RESEARCH CENTER FOR THE PEOPLE AND THE PRESS
                NOVEMBER 2000 RE-INTERVIEW SURVEY
                       -- FINAL TOPLINE --
                       November 10-12, 2000
                         N = 1,113 Voters

On another subject...
E.1  As you may know, the Florida vote for president is still being counted awaiting
absentee ballots. If the recount shows that George W. Bush won the state of Florida
by a narrow margin giving him a majority in the Electoral College, do you think he
will have legitimately won the election, or not?
IF "2" in E.1, ASK:
E.2  Why not? Because Al Gore actually won more of the popular vote, OR because you
have doubts about whether the votes were counted fairly and accurately?

     68   Yes
     27   No
           6  Al Gore won more of the popular vote
          15  Have doubts about the votes being counted fairly and accurately
           5  Both (VOL.)
           1  Don't know/Refused
      5   Don't know/Refused
     100


E.3  If the recount shows that George W. Bush won the state of Florida by a narrow
margin giving him a majority in the Electoral College, do you think Al Gore should
concede the election to George W. Bush or should he contest this in the courts because
of voting problems in Florida?

     67   Gore should concede
     26   Gore should contest
      7   Don't know/Refused
     100

ROTATE E.4 AND E.5
E.4  How good a job have Al Gore and the Democrats been doing in handling the uncertain
outcome of the presidential election? Have they been doing an excellent job, a good job,
only a fair job, or a poor job? 

     13   Excellent
     33   Good
     27   Only fair
     24   Poor
      3   Don't know/Refused
     100

E.5  How good a job have George W. Bush and the Republicans been doing in handling the
uncertain outcome of the presidential election? Have they been doing an excellent job,
a good job, only a fair job, or a poor job? 

     13   Excellent
     38   Good
     28   Only fair
     17   Poor
      4   Don't know/Refused
     100

E.6  Has the outcome of this election increased your belief that every vote counts, or has it
raised doubts in your mind about the importance of your vote?

     74   Increased belief
     23   Raised doubts
      3   Don't know/Refused
     100

E.7  As you may know, questions have been raised about the ballot used in Palm Beach, Florida.
Many voters say they were confused by it. Do you think the entire county should vote again or
not?

     36   Entire county should vote again
     59   Should not vote again
      5   Don't know/Refused
     100

Q.42 As you may know, the outcome of this year's presidential election will be decided by a
very narrow margin in Florida and several other states. All things considered, do you think
we will have an accurate count of the votes in Florida and other close states, or not?

     49   Accurate count
     42   Not accurate count
      9   Don't know/Refused
     100