Final answer:
The Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore halted the Florida recount, resulting in George W. Bush winning the Electoral College and sparking debate over the Electoral College system. It also led states to adopt new electronic voting methods.
Step-by-step explanation:
Impact of the Supreme Court Ruling in Bush v. Gore
The Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore had a decisive impact on the 2000 presidential election. The court's ruling halted the manual recount of votes in Florida, effectively awarding the state's electoral votes to Republican candidate George W. Bush. This verdict gave Bush a majority in the Electoral College, with 271 votes against Democrat Al Gore's 266, despite Gore receiving about 540,000 more popular votes nationally.
The aftermath of the decision saw George W. Bush pivot from his campaign promise of nonintervention abroad to engage in a "war on terror" following the September 11 attacks. The controversial ruling has been debated for its legality and perceived partisanship, with dissenting Justice Stevens lamenting the loss of national confidence in the judiciary as an impartial entity.
In the broader context, the ruling also sparked a debate about the validity of the Electoral College system, highlighting the possibility of a president being elected without a majority of the popular vote. Moreover, the ruling had implications for voting systems, with states moving towards electronic touch screen systems after the issues with the 'butterfly ballot' during the 2000 election.