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In Florida, George Bush was ahead of Al Gore by a mere 1700 votes. This narrow lead precipitated an unprecedented 36 day crisis. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately intervened by stopping the recount of the state’s unread ballots, finalizing the coup d’état that shattered the myth of democracy in America.

Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election is the riveting story about the battle for the Presidency in Florida and the undermining of democracy in America. From the moment the polls opened, it was painfully clear that something was wrong. While the media seized on the controversy surrounding the poorly designed “Butterfly Ballot”, much larger civil rights abuses were overlooked.

Focusing on events leading up to election day and the attempt to count legally cast votes in the days that followed, Unprecedented examines a suspicious pattern of irregularities, injustices and voter purges—all in a state governed by the winning candidate’s brother.

One of the first indications that something was wrong came early on election day. Thousands of African-Americans who had voted in previous elections discovered that their names were missing from the voter rolls. Investigators later uncovered irrefutable evidence that exposed an elaborate strategy where thousands of Democratic voters were purged from the rolls. These voters were disproportionately African-American.