Approximately 12% of all the voters in Sarasota County, Florida, failed to vote for U.S. House, even though the race was very close. In the district as a whole, the Republican is leading the Democrat by fewer than 300 votes. The Sarasota County Elections Supervisor, Kathy Dent, speculated that voters (who use touch screens) were confused because the U.S. House race was on a separate screen than the statewide races. She blamed the need for a separate screen on the fact that there was a “glut” of independent candidates for U.S. Senate.
However, there were only 4 independent candidates on the ballot for U.S. Senate, plus the Democratic and Republican nominees, for a total of 6. The Florida Democratic presidential primary in 2004 had 9 candidates on the ballot; the Florida Democratic gubernatorial primary this year had 5 candidates on the ballot. Somehow, no one is known to have complained about the “glut” of candidates in those primaries.
Maybe every race should have its own screen and you might not want the people who didn’t realize there was a house race to vote anyway.
Whats wrong with good old fashioned pencil and paper? We use it in Britain and our election results are accurate. None of the third world disgrace that happens in the US.
Near by news papers for letters to the editor?
Write em soon, it will be a non issue after the week end!
yeah, what would be wrong with a pencil and paper? that and a lot more people in the room during the counting process. why not?
In Jefferson County Alabama my ballot was Pencil & Paper and included front & back of a sheet of Legal Paper (and it was only R’s&D’s), I wonder how many people didn’t look on the back. If people are too dumb to vote properly, they are too dumb to vote!
These people were not stupid, they did vote for a representative and out of the 18,000 plus, at least 1,000 more of them voted for Jennings than voted for Buchanan and if these votes had been counted she would have won the election. Their votes were not counted. They were disenfranchised and why do we continually think up north that it is going to be different next election in Florida and it is always something else foul. No surprise given your record on civil rights over the past two centuries. But wait, Virginia can get it right, so it isn’t the southern heritage, it must be that they don’t let partisan politicians run the voting!
Kathy Dent is a very partisan Republican who is only interested in maintaining the Republican’s lead in the district.