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Re: Re: Call for a re-vote.

I think that the burden to ensure someone votes
correctly falls on the voter, who is responsible to
take the time to review the ballot and make their
selection.  We keep talking about the "will of the
people being expressed."  We express our will by
voting, and taking the time in the booth to vote
correctly.  Voting assumes a certain degree of
intelligence, i.e. the ability to read and understand
a ballot.  The Palm Beach ballot is not confusing, and
to say it is insults the intelligence of the people
who got it right.  It is not right to go back and try
to ascertain the "intentions" or thoughts in the mind
of the voter, just because the outcome suddenly hangs
in the balance.  The votes should stand as turned in. 


You state "How can we say the 
> election was fair if thousands of people made a
> mistake they couldn't 
> correct? If thousands of ballots were thrown out?"  

It is the law that ballots that are double punched be
thrown out.  It bears repeating that about 15,000
votes were discarded in 1996 in the same county, which
with less turnout then represents the same proportion
as this year.  In fact, double marked ballots were
discarded all over the country.  Do you want to give
all those people a chance to vote again as well?

In addition, double punching is not a mistake that you
cannot correct, you can inform the poll workers that
you need a new ballot.  

If the anyone is FL is allowed to re-vote, the turnout
and result will be radically different, based on the
media attention and the fact that many people who
thought "my vote won't count" and didn't vote when the
rest of us did, will now go and vote b/c they realize
the consequences for FL and the nation.  You will have
one group of voters who voted under one set of
pretenses in the general election, and a second group
who voted under completely different circumstances the
second time.  If anyone gets to vote again, everyone
should.  Do you know what the cost of this would be?  

If people were so confused at the time they placed
their vote, how are they so un-confused now, knowing
for sure, "Oh, yeah, that is exactly what happened to
me too, I accidentally voted for Pat Buchanan, yeah,
that's it..."

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