The democratic process includes voting on legal ballots.
The ballot was published in the paper prior to the election.
If they did not see it beforehand, and were confused in the booth, they could have asked for assistance. Our system is based on an informed electorate, and that includes the ability and common sense to ask for guidance.
If the ballot was illegal, then they are not to blame and should have their voices heard.
Look, I sympathize with those who made a mistake, and I am sure there are some who did. Unfortunately, allowing people to re-cast their vote following an election allows for more fraud and abuse than could possibly be corrected by the re-vote. To do so, you would have to accept from each and every claimant that (1) they were genuinely confused, (2) they remembered how they filled out the form, and (3) they filled out the wrong block. Even if you accept (1), are we to accept (2) and (3), in a secret ballot system, and use that to decide who leads the US through the next four years?
How would you feel if voters claimed that they voted for Gore by mistake, they should have voted for Bush, but were distracted by any number of things? Maybe their finger slipped when they were pushing the button. Or maybe they were looking at the ballot in a slanted way. Should the judicial system decide who is allowed to re-vote and who is not? |
