>So then in Florida, where some 19,000 ballots have been tossed out:

How about if we all take this as a wake-up call that the time has come to eliminate paper ballots nationwide. You just don't have these problems (though I'll admit there can be others) with voting machines. Voting machines don't let you vote for more than one candidate for an office. With a machine, it's clear which lever or button corresponds to a given candidate. With machines, there's no issue of the ballot deteriorating and no longer representing the original vote correctly.

I don't know how many places are using paper ballots of some sort, though I've learned in this election that it's far more than I ever imagined. But I think it's time that we get rid of them.

Tamar