Since the paper ballot alternative has been floated by a number of commentators unhappy with the decision, it may be useful if someone could point list members to a California statute that sets standards for the review of paper ballots.
Do we all agree that, under Bush v. Gore, it would be unconstitutional if (a) California had no clear statutory guidelines for the review of paper ballots OR (b) California used an "intent of the voter" standard? HG ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chambers Jr, Henry L." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Tuesday, September 16, 2003 10:10 am Subject: Re: Paper ballots? > Hi all, > > Using paper ballots only resolves one part of the equal protection > question. The real fight may occur after the votes are cast. > > The equal protection problem in Bush v. Gore was not merely that different > types of ballots with different error rates were used. The problem was > that ballots with the same information could be counted differently by > different tabulators in different parts of the state, even if all of the > tabulators tried to apply Florida's intent-of-the-voter standard. > > That problem still exists with paper ballots viewed by human eyes, unless > California's rules for determining what is a vote is so much more specific > than Florida's that it is not subject to differing interpretations by > different local authorities. > > Assume a voter is told to put an X next to its candidate of choice. > Instead, the voter puts an asterisk. Under California's laws, could > different tabulators reach different conclusions as to whether that is a > valid vote? If so, there is a pretty good argument that under Bush v. > Gore, there is an equal protection violation. > > -Hank Chambers > > Henry L. Chambers, Jr. > James S. Rollins Professor of Law > 318 Hulston Hall - University of Missouri-Columbia > Columbia, Missouri 65211 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] >
