Magnifying Glass, 2000
date: label: date made
content: 2000
notes: label: Description
content: The presidential contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore came down to Florida in November 2000. A confusing ballot design and incomplete punch marks hampered the recount effort, which ground into late November until halted by the Supreme Court.
label: Description
content: In Broward County, teams of counters examined each ballot, forwarding cards in need of interpretation to Judge Robert A. Rosenberg. A famous photograph shows Rosenberg peering through a magnifying glass at a ballot and the “chads” (paper fragments) dangling from incomplete punch marks. This is one of two magnifying glasses that Rosenberg used and kept as souvenirs of the recount, together with a bag of “authentic chads.”
label: Description
content: Gift of Robert A. Rosenberg, 2001–2004
topic: label: referenced
content: Elections
label: related event
content: Presidential Campaign of 2000
setName: label: See more items in
content: Political History: Political History, Campaign Collection
label: See more items in
content: Government, Politics, and Reform
label: See more items in
content: Souvenir Nation
label: See more items in
content: American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith
label: Exhibition
content: American Democracy
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Robert A. Rosenberg
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2001.0092.03
label: accession number
content: 2001.0092
label: catalog number
content: 2001.0092.03
objectType: label: Object Name
content: magnifying glass
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: black (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: colorless (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 9 in x 4 1/2 in; 22.86 cm x 11.43 cm