which is counted because it is hanging by one corner but the rest of it is out. >> i didn't know what a hanging chad was at that time. but i do now. >> bret: the hand recount of votes in florida is the unforgettable image from the 2000 presidential election. florida's election procedures. voter intent and equal protection for voters became the key issues in a contentious and memorable fight. >> in some counties they actually went and counted up the ballots again. >> each county had its own rules for the first recount. >> in other counties they double checked the tally sheets against, you know, their books and if everything matched up they said that is our recount. >> most of the land mass in florida is republican in nature. so unless a court was going to order them to do it, they weren't going to do it. >> bret: the first of 48 lawsuits was filed the day after election day. >> this ballot is done. >> exhibit a.