Hi Tamar,

>But if one type of machinery habitually produces more ballots with problems than other types, isn't it reasonable to say that at least part of the problem is related to the machinery?

It is not unreasonable to make that statement. OTOH, I don't think it absolves the voter from the responsibility of correctly voting. And it doesn't justify manually recounting ballots to find "intent".

This is my sole problem with manual recounts: If you watched what Broward County did, it was an absolute travesty. If the voter voted Democratic for everyone but president, they assumed intent to vote for Gore regardless. I'm sure that they were right sometimes, but I'm equally sure that votes were manufactured.

You just don't count undervotes as a general principle.