Can anybody describe the actual physical process involved in punching out a chad in the FL ballot? Do you use a pencil? Your finger? A special chad puncher? Is the chad perforated or not?
I’m just trying to understand what the average Florida voter would have to do wrong to produce a pregnant or nipple chad.* I guess it would involve not pressing hard enough, but I’d be grateful for a more detailed description.
Apologies if this has already been covered, but I couldn’t find it by browsing and so many threads contain the word “chad” these days that the search feature was useless.
*Thank you, Florida, for giving us the phrase “pregnant or nipple chad”.
The cardboard ballot is given to the voter. In the voting booth, the voter slides the card under a piece of plastic. The piece of plastic has holes in it, with each hole designated as representing a particular candidate. You use a metal spike (stylus) which you push through the plastic hole, and then on down through the card. There are two distinct sensations of “penetration” when you vote: One when you get the spike through the plastic hole, and another when you get the spike through the card.
The chads do have perforations, to answer your other question. The stylus is sharp, and I have seen examples on television showing chads that were actually punctured by the stylus without being detached. Other times, the stylus clearly indents the chad without detaching it.
I can easily imagine a voter who upon feeling the spike penetrate the plastic hole might think that they have done the job, when in fact the spike might not yet have penetrated the card beneath, and might have only “dimpled” the card.
St. Louis County in Missouri, has been using the same system for many years. There are demonstration ballots available for a new voter to try as well as help from the election judges if needed. Here, it’s always been explained that you should insert the stylus until the plastic holder bottoms out on the ballot holder. The folder into which your ballot is placed has a printed statement to the effect of “inspect your ballot for hanging chad”
We’ve used this system in Atlanta for many years as well. There is no verbal instruction given on how to use them. I’ve never seen any demonstration ballots (though they might have some if you asked for them).
The precinct workers here just hand you a card and point you toward a booth. There are written instructions in the booth. My precinct was so overwhelmed with voters this year, it would have been difficult to find someone to give you verbal instructions if you needed them. I would imagine the precinct workers in Palm Beach County were dealing with similar numbers.
Hindsight is 20-20, as they say, but the punch card system isn’t working very well. We obviously need to think about trying something else.
I was thinking about this on the way to work today. The cards in FLA seem similar to what I’ve used to vote in IL since 78. I have a hard time imagining how someone could fail to punch the stylus all the way through the card. I mean, there’s no penalty for punching too far. And the “machines” are pretty damn basic and appear nigh indestructible. I can’t imagine the mindset that would have someone thinking, “Given this delicate and spophisticated equipment, I have to be careful to punch it just hard enough…”
I also don’t know how to correct the situation. With written ballots, you have the possibility that someone will fill in or check two boxes, inadequately erase their first choice, try to indicate their “real” choice by circling it or crossing out the other, …
With verbal instructions, you need to insure that the identical instructions were provided at every polling place. I originally came up with the idea of a standardized, constantly running video loop. Then my buddy asked, “In what languages?” Same problem with the instructions written on the ballot. There is no literacy requirement to vote.