{"article":{"id":4462,"heading":"COUP WATCH: Image of Faulty Ballot Layout -- Cause of 19,000 Double Votes","author":"Paul H. Rosenberg","created":"2000-11-10 19:07:48","modified":"2005-08-15 00:30:20","last_modified":"Mon, 15 Aug 2005 07:30:20","article":"","contact":"rad@gte.net","link":"http:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/elections\/palmbeachballot.htm","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","summary":"19,000 double votes for Gore & Buchanan can have two obvious causes: (1) People unclear about which hole to use, who punch both. (2) People who think they have to vote for Gore & Lieberman.  According to widespread reports, this ballot layout violates state law--which means that ALL votes in the country were illegal.","numcomment":3,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/2000\/11\/palmball.jpg","filesize":"33.0 kibibytes","article_url":"\/news\/2000\/11\/4462.php","image":{"original":"\/uploads\/2000\/11\/palmball.jpg","small":"\/uploads\/2000\/11\/palmball.jpgthumb.jpg"}},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":4499,"heading":"Absentee Ballot Irregularities???","article":"(a thread from a listserve.... interesting if true.....)\r\n\r\nSubject: 1 of every 12 Florida 2000 ballots ABSENTEE! only 1 of 3000 abs in 1996!\r\n\r\n\r\n<< Where did 585,000 Floridians move to outside the US? >> \r\nParis? \r\n\r\n\r\nTo a gambling resort on a sovereign Seminole reservation? All the \r\nMiami Cubans who have fled to Cuba? Opium-trading Russell Trust \r\nSkull and Bones pirate ships? Military personnel and their families \r\nwho MAY have seen Florida on a map? \r\nOne out of every **12** Florida ballots is absentee. In 1996 \r\none of every **3000** Florida ballots was absentee. See \r\nthe difference? 1:12 and 1:3000 ?!?!?? \r\n\r\nNow that's a voter registration drive with government assist. \r\n\r\n-bob \r\n  \r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/cgi-bin\/article.cgi?file=\/news\/archive\/2000\/11\/08\/florida.DTL \r\n\r\n                Elections supervisors had sent out \r\n                 585,000 absentee ballots and 416,000 \r\n                 had been returned by late Monday. \r\n                 Underdetermined is the number of \r\n                 overseas ballots, \r\n\r\n                  **primarily for military personnel \r\n                  and their families**, \r\n\r\n                 that have been counted. The state \r\n                 counted [only!?] about 2,300 overseas \r\n                 ballots in the 1996 presidential election. \r\n\r\nHuh? \r\n\r\n2300 absentee voters in 1996 \r\n\r\nand 585,000 ballots in 2000? \r\n\r\n585,000 out of 6,000,000 total votes?!?!?!? \r\n\r\nwhen only 2300 were absentee in 1996? \r\n\r\n200 times more absentee voters is absolutely astounding! \r\n\r\nWhere did 585,000 Floridians move to outside the US? \r\n\r\n     \r\n","author":"Excelsior","parent_id":4462,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2000-11-11 15:39:05","modified":"2000-11-11 15:51:09","fileurl":""},{"id":4503,"heading":"No, They Didn't All Move To France","article":"The rules for absentee ballots have been greatly relaxed in most states in recent years.  As a result, many people vote absentee as a matter of convenience.  \r\n\r\nThe Republican Party has taken the lead in using absentee ballots as a way of ensuring high turnouts by its base voters.  Since Republicans usually have fewer volunteers on election day for GOTV (get out the vote) activities, this makes a big difference for them.  \r\n\r\nDemocrats have been playing catch up, but in some places have even surprassed the Republicans.\r\n\r\nNeither party has been sending massive blocks of voters to France.  Jobs to the old \"French Indochina,\" yes.  Voters to metropolitan France, no.","author":"Paul H. Rosenberg","parent_id":4462,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2000-11-11 16:17:31","modified":"2000-11-11 16:45:11","fileurl":""},{"id":4712,"heading":"it's the machine","article":"What is not apparent from the picture is that the holes\r\nfor the punch are at a lower level than the ballot surface.\r\nThe holes line up with the arrows when looking directly\r\ndown at it but when looking from off axis toward the\r\nbottom, the arrows point slightly above the holes.\r\nIf you look from low enough the Gore arrow could point\r\ncloser to the Buchanan hole. Short people probably made\r\nthe error more often than taller people.\r\n","author":"marc farjeon","parent_id":4462,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2000-11-29 02:41:21","modified":"2000-11-29 03:00:01","fileurl":""}]}