While I don't know for sure, I'd suspect that the bulk of the Fla. Supreme Court consists of dimocrat-appointed partisans who don't give a damn about the law when it adversely affects their party. (That may sound a bit harsh, but it certainly is how they acted.)
That's what shocked me the most. WTH was up with that?
The Florida Supreme Court was largely composed of Democrat appointees.
And, when it came to crunch, they let their partisan instincts show.
Recall that SCOTUS' first action in the matter was to send the issue back to the Florida court, asking them to reconsider their actions in the light of certain Constitutional principles. It was a chance for the Florida court to recognize their errors and reverse their original pro-Gore decision.
Nonetheless, in a majority decision, the Florida court rejected SCOTUS' action and refused to alter their earlier action. In a dissenting opinion, even the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court decried the rank partisan motives of the court's majority.
It was then, and only then, that SCOTUS shot them down -- in a 7-2 decision, it might be added. Not the narrow 5-4 decision on a subsidiary issue that the press is fond of citing.