I didn’t want this to be buried in the other thread that discussed the thrown-out ballots.
But this is something I just learned: In addition to the 19,000+ ballots that were thrown out for being double-punched, there were also 10,582 ballots thrown out because they had NO vote cast for President. I can imagine this was because of thoughtlessness on the part of some of the voters, but I bet it could also be chalked up to some people being so overwhelmed by all the choices, they could not decide whom to vote for. Afraid of casting a vote for a scoundrel by mistake, they elected to vote for no one, believing this would cause less damage.
I suppose the point is moot since a judge has ruled that Palm Beach County may not have a re-vote (though this decision is being appealed, as you might expect by now). And I have to admit that a re-vote would not be a good idea.
He didn’t rule against a re-vote because it wouldn’t be a good idea, but because there was nothing in law to support it. From what I read on CNN’s page, it seems like a rational ruling, based on the law. And, as I have noted in many threads here, I would like to see this entire situation handled in such a manner, contrary to the antics on both sides.
Incidentally, some of those non-votes could be the wonderful hanging chads we’ve heard so much about (the chad not punched all the way out, so the machine counts it as a no-vote). But it does probably include some people who didn’t cast a vote for president. Hey, that’s their perogative, and I’d rather have people not cast a vote at all than have them cast one based on which name looks better or whatever.
(I still remember when a LaRouchie ended up as a Democratic candidate in Illinois because so many people voted just for a nice-sounding name in the primary…)