The Florida Supreme Court wanted all the legal votes to be counted. The United States Supreme Court, on the other hand, did not want all the votes to be counted.

In this quote, Vincent Bugliosi, a well-known American attorney and author, is commenting on the 2000 U.S. presidential election and the subsequent legal battle over the counting of votes in Florida. Bugliosi contrasts the position of the Florida Supreme Court, which wanted all legal votes to be counted, with the stance of the United States Supreme Court, which ultimately intervened in a way that halted the recounting of votes. Bugliosi is critical of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision, suggesting that it was more concerned with ending the dispute than ensuring all votes were properly counted.

The context of this statement refers to the contentious aftermath of the 2000 election, where George W. Bush and Al Gore were in a tight race, and the outcome hinged on the results in Florida. After irregularities in the vote count and concerns over hanging chads (partially punched ballots), the Florida Supreme Court ordered a manual recount. However, the U.S. Supreme Court intervened in a landmark decision, Bush v. Gore, which effectively stopped the recount and handed the presidency to George W. Bush.

Bugliosi's quote highlights the tension between state and federal authority, as well as the role of the judiciary in determining election outcomes. By stating that the Florida Supreme Court wanted all votes counted, he emphasizes the state court's commitment to ensuring every eligible vote was considered. In contrast, he criticizes the U.S. Supreme Court's decision as a failure to prioritize a fair election process.

Ultimately, Bugliosi’s statement serves as a critique of the U.S. Supreme Court's involvement in the election dispute, suggesting that its decision undermined the democratic principle of counting all legal votes, and he highlights the division between state-level efforts to ensure fairness and the federal court's intervention that cut the process short.