I think the Gore team blew it in Florida. In my non-expert, non-pundit, and ever so humble opinion, the point that the Gore team should have focused on is this: The punch card voting system is inaccurate. Period. The day after the election, when the sheer volume of votes not being counted by the machines became clear, they should have asked for a hand count in every precinct where that system was used. Doing so would have put their plea for a "fair and full count" on firm ground.

The inaccuracies of the punch card voting system were well known before the election; punch card voting has actually been banned in some states because of it. Incompletely detached "chads" are one of the most common problems. So common, in fact, that several other States' supreme courts have already addressed the question of what standards are appropriate in conducting a manual count of punch card ballots. (In general, both "hanging chads" and "dimpled chads" are counted as votes.) Gore had a great case on that score alone.

Instead, Gore - or at least his campaign - muddied the waters by requesting the hand counts only in "Democratic-leaning" counties, inviting the charge of bias now being leveled against them. Then they sought to change standards for determining "voter intent" partway through the count. In short, their actions made Republicans' accusations of bias in the recounting process credible, and served to distract both the media and public opinion from the partisan maneuverings of the Florida state co-chair of the Bush campaign, Secretary of State Katherine Harris.

Florida election law clearly gives the county canvassing boards the authority to authorize hand counts in the event of a protest of the machine tabulation system. It was contrary to those election statutes for Ms. Harris to file a lawsuit to obstruct those hand counts, with the not-incidental result of guaranteeing that the counts would not be completed by the legally-mandated reporting deadline. The discussion regarding that action should have been focused on that point alone. Instead, the "big story" for the media during that time was the changing standards of what "counted" as a vote.

The Gore campaign should have stayed out of the "butterfly ballot" controversy too, refusing to support or even comment on the lawsuits brought by those voters who feel the ballot was illegal. I'm sorry those voters were confused, and I have no doubt that some of them voted for Pat Buchanan when they meant to vote for Al Gore. But it is the voter's responsibility to make sure they know what they are doing when they vote, and to do it right.

Had the Gore campaign taken that position on the Palm Beach "butterfly ballots," taking the same position regarding the un-postmarked or unwitnessed overseas absentee ballots would have avoided even the appearance of bias. The instructions for insuring the validity of an absentee ballot are mailed with every ballot, and Section 101.62, paragraph 7 (c) of the Florida election statutes clearly states: "With respect to marked ballots mailed by absent qualified electors overseas, only those ballots mailed with an APO, FPO, or foreign postmark shall be considered valid." Again, it was the voter's responsibility to do it right. And again, the inconsistent stances by Gore's people serve only to make the charges of bias seem more credible.

It doesn't matter, now, that the Bush campaign's charges of recount misconduct are gutter politics, and likely without a shred of truth. I, for one, will be very surprised if the Republicans ever make a formal charge on those allegations. After all, there were observers from both sides in the counting rooms, and video cameras recording the entire proceedings. But, they don't need to make formal charges. All they needed to do was put those charges in front of the public forcefully enough. The questions raised in the public's mind by the Gore campaign's actions will do the rest. Whether those charges are true will be moot, if it costs them the election.

~Karen~