One thing becomes crystal clear very early on in the whole damn mess: Florida election law—especially as it pertains to recounts—is chaos. Statutes collide. Provisions are vague. Unlike in other states, those supervising the process are often the harshest of partisans. And, most insanely, the standard by which ballots are assessed is vague, requiring that one assess the “intent of the voter,” a gauge that can be interpreted differently in different counties. Especially if the counties use punch-card ballots. When the Votomatic punch-card ballot machine was invented in 1962, elections officials were delighted. This was The Future! This was based on the computers of IBM! But little by little, glitches in the system were revealed, especially since the machines were created for speed, not accuracy. Over the years, wealthier counties began purchasing higher-technology voting machines.
