In 2000 the presidential elections between George Bush and Al Gore were held in the United States. Because of the close margin of votes in Florida, Al Gore requested a manual recount in three counties while George Bush tried to stop the recount, since the previous counting had shown him as the elected president. The recount took more than expected because some counties used ballots that were difficult for workers to interpret, so Al Gore believed many of the votes were not counted right. Despite his claims the Supreme Court recognized Bush as the winner.