Word: counted
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Dates: during 2000-2000
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...most problematic issue with the way vote certification proceeded in Florida was the total lack of uniform balloting. Because voting procedures differed from county to county, "certification" after the vote required a different response in each county. In some, the situation demanded a simple hand count of mechanically tallied ballots to ensure proper operation of machines. In others, a committee of experts had to be called in to scrutinize "dimples" on index-card-sized sheets of paper, to assess voter intent. In a national election, there simply isn't a reason why procedures should not to be as uniform...
...either from the comfort of their own home, or at their regular polling place using publicly provided computers. After a person has voted, a confirmation screen would pop up reading, "You voted for --; Is this correct?" followed by a "No, I want to change my vote" and a "Yes, count my vote" option...
...Saturday afternoon, the promise of a full and fair count was over--with the unlikeliest of villains to blame. By a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court, visibly splintered along ideological and partisan lines, ordered Florida to cease all vote counting until the court has a chance to rule on Texas Gov. George W. Bush's appeal. This ruling runs contrary to state and federal laws that require voter canvassing boards to do what whatever they can--not just with machines--to determine a voter's intent. Furthermore, the decision virtually guarantees that votes will not be counted...
...that why Bush's lawyers have fought hand counts of undervotes so doggedly? Yes, but they have valid reasons for opposing the counts - chiefly that there is no single standard for them. They also say handling the ballots "spoliates" them, a lawyerly way of saying counters can push chads through accidentally. Bush lawyer Phil Beck wanted Lewis to rule that only a chad with a stylus imprint could count, not one pushed through, say, by a finger. Lewis dismissed that request for now, but in the end his decision may not matter...
...quiet on this front, with the single exception of Bob Torricelli. The Mouth of the Democrats said on "Face the Nation" that "the next 24 hours should decide this," and that "the loser should concede." Unless he's saying Gore wouldn't need to actually count in order to be president, his money is happily on Bush...