California has no problems interpreting Mr. Chad.
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EDITORIAL
The opinion of the Mercury News
How we handle chads
IF a hand recount of the presidential election were
happening here, instead of in Palm Beach County,
there might less brawling over chads. That's
because 10 years ago, the secretary of state and
county officials in California agreed on guidelines for recounts of
punch-card systems.
Counties aren't bound by them; in fact, Secretary of State Bill Jones
proposed on Wednesday that the Legislature codify the suggestions into
law. But they do provide what the counties in Florida lack: uniform
standards.
In California, a vote counts when a voter either has punched a hole cleanly
through, or has created a hanging or a swinging chad. A hanging chad is a
paper chip that's been perforated on three sides, and is hanging by only
one corner. A swinging chad is also broken on three sides but is
connected to the ballot by two corners on one side, like a hinge.
A chad that's punctured on only one corner wouldn't count. Neither would
the notorious ``dimpled'' or ``pregnant'' chads -- those with impressions or
indentations but no perforation.
It's all clear-cut. Or is it?
Kathryn Ferguson, Santa Clara County's registrar of voters, says she
wouldn't preclude validating a dimpled chad; it's a judgment call, based on
looking at an individual ballot. Take, for example, a card that wasn't seated
properly in a voting machine, making it difficult to punch through. The
whole ballot might consist of dimples, not holes. In that case, the intent of
the voter would be clear. But, she says, she wouldn't validate a dimple if it
were the only one on a ballot.
Ferguson hasn't gone through a recount since becoming county registrar
last year. But her judgment may be put to a test. A race for city council in
Los Altos Hills, where the debate over monster homes rages on, is headed
to the wire, with incumbent Emily Cheng holding a 67-vote lead over
Sandra Humphries in the race for the third and final seat.
The city council race is a non-partisan. Don't look for Jim Baker or
Warren Christopher to fly in for the recount. |
