At 08:34 AM 11/16/00 -0800, Nick wrote:
>The more I think about what I'm hearing from the Florida Secretary of
>State, as well as the Bush campaign, the more partisan and increasingly
>ridiculous they seem. If I understand it right, Harris is saying that she
>won't certify recounts because the only legal reason for certifying a
>recount is machine error.
>
>The machine counts differ from one another and from the hand counts. If
>that isn't evidence of a machine error, what is?
Specifically, an error in the the actual software used for tabulation.
The issue here is Florida Statute 102.166, which regulates protests of an
election.
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Searc
h_String=&URL=Ch0102/SEC166.HTM&Title=->2000->Ch0102->Section%20166
This statue proposes three solutions. Harris interprets this statue as
specifying that first, one corrects the tabulation software. Second,
failing that, the original copy of the tabulation software is obtained from
the Office of the Secretary of State. Finally, failing that, as a means of
last resort, a protest can be completed via a hand recount.
Today, a Democratic judge ruled that Harris' interpretation is one
reasonable interpretation of this statute.
>Rising above all this, as many have argued, is the fact that in a
>democracy, a vote that accurately reflects the will of the people is
>paramount. I'm having a hard time seeing Harris and the Bush campaign as
>supportive of that idea any more.
What most surprises me though, is why this skepticism and fear of machines?
Why this inherent assumption that only *humans* can accurately count a
ballot? I actually happen to like machine counts because they are fast,
efficient, and completely unbiased. A uniform standard is applied to every
single ballot, *without* question. Why is this such a bad way of
ascertaining the results?
JDG
_______________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
"Now is not the Time for Third Chances,
It is a Time for New Beginnings."
- George W. Bush 8/3/00
******************VOTE BUSH / CHENEY 2000 *******************
