From the WSJ Opinion Archives
Groundhog Day
In 1960, the Electoral College's final tally wasn't known until January.
In the movie "Groundhog Day," Bill Murray would awaken every morning and relive the same day. He would meet the same people and have the same conversations, and he felt that day would never end (with a cute twist it did). People involved in the Florida recount mess must feel a little like Bill Murray did. But they comfort themselves by saying there is a drop-dead date when everything has to be resolved--when the Electoral College meets to choose a president on Dec. 18. Well, maybe not if history is any guide.
In 1960, the brand-new state of Hawaii cast its first votes ever for president. The result was astonishingly close. The initial count gave Richard Nixon a 141-vote lead over John F. Kennedy. Recounts stretched on for weeks and were still under way on Dec. 19 when electors had to vote. Two slates of electors met and cast separate votes.
A few days later the recount finally ended with John F. Kennedy the victor by 115 votes. When the Senate convened on Jan. 6 to officially tally the Electoral College votes Nixon presided over the ceremony in his role as president of the Senate. Since he knew he had lost anyway, he announced that the Kennedy slate of electors were valid and he affirmed that decision.
Groundhog Day may not be over on Dec. 18th. Nothing is final until the Electoral College votes are counted in Washington on Jan. 6--or, if neither candidate has a majority then, when the House chooses the next president.
