Surely, voters don't blank out

By Jac Wilder VerSteeg, Palm Beach Post Editorial Writer
Thursday, March 18, 2004

The New York Times is getting all huffy on us. In an editorial Sunday criticizing Florida's electronic voting systems, the newspaper reminded us that: "In a January election in Palm Beach and Broward counties, the victory margin was 12 votes, but the machines recorded more than 130 blank ballots. It is simply not believable that 130 people showed up to cast a non-vote, in an election with only one race on the ballot. The runner-up wanted a recount, but since the machines do not produce a paper record, there was nothing to recount."

So now even the Times tells Floridians that we need a paper trail. I worry that a paper trail won't solve much, particularly if we rush into an expensive system of printers and receipts that, in the end, just adds to the confusion. In any case, it would be nearly impossible to provide a paper-trail system by November.

Still, those blank ballots have been the most puzzling aspect of the new touch-screen machines. The Times was citing the case in which Ellyn Bogdanoff won the state House District 91 seat vacated by Connie Mack. No one has explained why 137 people showed up but didn't vote. The same sort of thing has happened in other races. By default, people assume there's a flaw intentional or unintentional in the voting system. Here are some other possibilities:

• Protest Vote: These are the You-can-make-Murray-go-to-the-polls-but-you-can't-make-him-vote voters. Imagine Murray, whose wife, Mildred, is a staunch member of the League of Women Voters. Mildred has a lot of time on her hands and is intent on using much of it to be sure that Murray makes better use of all the time he suddenly has now that he's retired to South Florida.

Mildred is going to make darn sure that Murray knows all about the issues and the candidates, whether he wants to or not. And on Election Day, she's going to make darn sure that Murray goes to the polls. But once Murray gets there, he takes his secret, silent revenge by not choosing a candidate. When Mildred asks, "So how did you vote?" Murray answers, "By secret ballot."

• Dumb Voters: After the 2000 presidential race, the Republican line was that Palm Beach County's Democratic voters must be idiots. It wasn't the butterfly ballot; it was the lack of little gray cells. For the record, according to Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Theresa LePore, of the 137 blank ballots in the suspicious District 91 race, only three were cast in Palm Beach County. The others were in Broward. I think it's entirely plausible that, in that race, scores of people showed up who simply couldn't figure out how to work the touch screens. This is a district, remember, that elected the young Connie Mack in the first place, apparently unable to tell the difference between him and his father. The lack of little gray cells is a prime culprit in any district where voters are known to have sent someone of Mr. Mack's mean temperament and limited intellectual skills to the Legislature.

• Pranksters/Activists: If it wasn't dumb Republicans, maybe it was mischievous Democrats. Since only Republicans were running, the race became a "universal primary" in which Democrats could vote. By the time the District 91 election came along, U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Delray Beach, and other Democrats were demanding a paper trail so elections officials would have something to count in the event of questionable results such as inexplicable under-votes. It is possible that people favoring a paper trail intentionally cast blank ballots to further their cause.

• Voters On A Streak: Ms. LePore, asked this week to explain the blank ballots, said many probably just "want to keep up a record of voting in every election."

So there are some reasons for blank ballots that are at least as plausible, in my opinion, as conspiracy theories that involve overlooked mistakes or plots to elect Republicans. But here's the thing: The issue isn't really why people cast blank ballots. A paper trail won't tell you that. The issue is providing some proof that voters cast blank ballots on purpose, for whatever reason.

Rather than go to the expense of a paper system, the Legislature easily could solve the problem by authorizing an "I choose not to vote in this race" option. Voters who chose no candidate would have to that box before their vote would register. Ms. LePore notes that there's a chance that "No choice" could win an election. I'm unclear just what the downside of that would be.