The Slatest

On Saturday, Florida’s 29 electoral votes went to President Obama, who received enough of an advantage that there is no need for an automatic recount, reports the Associated Press. A recount would have surely brought to mind the tense days following the 2000 election, although this time the stakes were much, much lower.

Obama had already received more than enough electoral votes to win another four years at the White House, and now has 332 electoral votes to Mitt Romney’s 206. With almost 100 percent of the vote counted, Obama led 50 percent to 49.1 percent with a difference of almost 74,000 votes. If the difference had been less than half a percentage point there would have been an automatic computer recount. With the Florida victory, Obama won eight of the nine swing states, losing only North Carolina, notes the AP.