The 2004 vote

Map the electoral tally, count the seat-swapping on Capitol Hill, measure crucial state-by-state referenda, and watch for a swing-state storm surge—all here in WORLD's 2004 election guide | Bob Jones

The hurricanes may have subsided at last, but Floridians are about to find themselves in the path of a political storm.

With 27 electoral votes, Florida offers the fourth-richest Election Day payoff in the country—and the only one where the outcome is in serious doubt. Both the Bush and Kerry camps consider Florida a must-win, and hardly a day goes by without one—or both—of the candidates touching down somewhere in the Sunshine State.

If the candidates are sweating the outcome, state officials are sweating the process. Four years ago, Florida kept the entire nation hanging for weeks while teams of lawyers haggled over disputed ballots generated by antiquated voting machines. Florida suffered as the butt of late-night comedians' jokes, as phrases like "hanging chads" and "butterfly ballot" became part of the national lexicon.