Unless the voters in other counties are given the same treatment. No, do not count the votes of voters not following the rules. If the counties are given equal treatment across the state. Yes, count the votes.
That's the fair way to go about it. And the only way to ensure the results reflect the will of Florida citizens. After all, it's not one vote we are after, it's the sum total which determines the outcome via electorates.
If Gore went to George W and said day one past the electronic recount, "it looks like you've won George, but we both know this is amazingly close, can we get together and agree on a chad standard and re-count by hand, just to allay any fears my supporters have, and make sure history records this event accurately"? Bush would have agreed. And if not, Gore would have rapidly won public support and forced Bush to accept the premise.
But Gore didn't want to do this. 1. because he's not a statesman, 2. because he's been so thoroughly clintonized for the past 7 years. and 3. because he knew deep down he really lost, and manually recounting the entire state would have nailed his coffin. |
