In 1988, Roy G. Saltman produced a report for the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology) in which he concluded that "The use of pre-scored punch card ballots should be ended," according to a story by Kellie Patrick in the Sun-Sentinel today. Saltman used the 1984 Palm Beach County for property appraiser in warning about "hanging chads" which have resurfaced at the center of Republican objections to hand recounts.

The problems are well-known to anyone who has been involved in a hand recount with the Votamatic perforated punchcard system that is used in Palm Beach County.