Subject: Re: news of the day 11/21/04
From: Rick Hasen
Date: 11/21/2004, 1:59 PM
To: FredWooch@aol.com
CC: election-law@majordomo.lls.edu

Fred's recollection is correct at least in part.  See this USA Today story:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2001-05-10-recountgore.htm

The relevant paragraph:
On overvotes, most county election boards accepted votes where more than one presidential candidate was marked but the voter tried to correct the error with an "X" or words such as "No" or "Error." The boards also allowed overvotes on which a candidate's oval was marked, the write-in oval was marked and the same candidate's name was written in. The boards also often disregarded stray marks or tiny dots that machines read as overvotes. (My emphasis)

This was the practice of many boards, but I don't recall that any court mandated that this practice be followed.

FredWooch@aol.com wrote:
In a message dated 11/21/2004 9:07:49 AM Pacific Standard Time, Rick.Hasen@lls.edu writes:
We know in Florida, for example, that ballots where a voter both punched (or bubbled) a vote for Gore and wrote in Gore were not counted. Few argued that they should be.
Rick:
 
I should know better by now not to question your commentary, but my recollection was that if votes had been "regularly" marked for Gore and Gore's name had also been written in as a write-in candidate, those votes were indeed counted as valid votes for Gore in most jurisdictions, at least those in which a recount had been conducted.  I seem to remember that there was some case law out of Connecticut or somewhere that ruled that these type of votes were not "overvotes" and should therefore be counted consistent with the voters' intent.  And I would certainly beg to differ with the assertion that "[f]ew argued that they should be [counted]."
 
Does anyone remember this more clearly than I do?
 
Fred Woocher

-- 
Rick Hasen
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Loyola Law School
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