vision2020
Re: News from inside the FL recount: A Democrats perspective
At 11:33 AM 11/09/2000 -0800, Cliff Todd wrote:
> In the case of the
>Palm Beach County Ballots there is a big fat arrow pointing to the punch
>hole. What is so confusing about that?
Agreed, I'm sure I would have figured it out. But given such discrepancies
as the high Buchanan vote for the county, and the high number of
invalidated (two-vote) ballots, perhaps the ballots should have been more
idiot-proof. Can anyone verify the claim that the ballot was actually in
violation of the layout prescribed by Florida law? That will certainly be
a crucial question.
What disturbed me more than the layout was an interview last night on NPR
with a first time Palm County voter. She went to vote for Gore, then
noticed that she probably punched the Buchanan hole. She took her ballot
to an election official and said "Who did I vote for?"
The official said "Buchanan." The voter said, "But I didn't want to, could
I have a new ballot?" The official said, "No, once you've cast your vote,
we can't let you do that."
The voter pointed out that the voting envelope explicitly stated, "If you
make a mistake, return your ballot to an election official and take a new
ballot." The official told the voter, "No, it's too late," and TOOK HER
BALLOT and dropped it into the box.
If this is true, it is indeed an outrage. And how many more people did it
happen to?
Bob Hoffmann
846 Mabelle St.
Moscow, ID 83843 USA
Phone: (208) 883-0642
Fax: (877) 495-2279
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