Deno J. Andrews wrote...
> He [Gore] is picking the counties, and that is crazy because ALL
> counties have some problems.

How would you, and others like you, feel about ALL counties with less than say a 2% margin, in all states with less than say a 2% margin, being scrutinized very carefully before an official winner is declared? If I thought this could be done quickly enough I'd be all for it.

> So yes, by not accepting the votes as they are, and seeking to have
> votes changed (like the Buchanan votes that are "supposed" to be
> Gore votes) is a basic hurt to democracy, no matter how
> you look at it.

"Seeking to have votes changed" is wording I would disagree with. In exchange I would submit "seeking to determine the voter's actual intent" with the provision that it should be the voters themselves that declare that intent. A manual recount may allow that determination if it's done fairly and openly.

> On another note, what if 2000 or so people were to come forward in Palm
> County and say they voted for Buchanan? Would you think they were lying,
> or would you say, wow...I guess people did vote for Buchanan down there?
> Would that solve the debate?

I don't think it would solve anything. Republicans would probably think the issue was settled, but Democrats would probably assume that it was really 2000 Bush supporters. Since there would be no way to tell for sure, short of an official re-vote, nothing would change except there would be more opportunity for finger pointing.

> I don't mind a delayed vote at all. In fact, I like the hand-count idea.
> There are reps from both parties involved and I believe it will be a fair
> process.

I hope so, although it seems that it may not happen if they can't get it done by tomorrow afternoon.

> The thing that gets me is that the Libs tend to think that all those
> 19000 votes that were disqualified should somehow go to Gore.

Again, I don't really think this is true. They certainly think many of them were meant to go to Gore, but they're trying to determine this via re-counts. I haven't heard anyone suggest that any of these votes should just be arbitrarily switched to Gore.

> Count the votes and move on.

I also think this is the best solution we currently have, but I will be pissed if some serious changes aren't made to our voting and counting processes because of this fiasco. This country could end up with a President that the people didn't really want, and to me that's discraceful even if the President does a fantastic job. Once this election is over there had better be some steps taken to ensure that something like this never happens again.

> Remember, we also have an Electoral College, many of whom do
> not have to vote for the person their constituents voted for.

I don't think this has been given nearly the attention it deserves. I must admit that I was unaware of the elector's leeway in December until this election. I don't understand the reasoning for giving them this lattitude at all. As close as this election is I think the electors had damn well better vote as their constituents did. To do anything else would be unpardonable IMO.

> What do others think of letting the Electoral College in Florida decide? I
> think it is the best way to do it, since they make the final decision
> anyway.

I don't like it. It nullifies the vote of every single person in the state. Is Florida one of the states where the electors can vote their conscience? If so, you're right. They make the final decision anyway.