In the 2000 election, over 80.6 million people voted in 38 states, but only 79 million votes were recorded for the presidential race. Election officials agree that inaccurate tabulating equipment was a substantial cause of the "undervotes." This means that as many as 1.6 million votes for president were uncounted.

The other 12 states did not count the number of ballots cast, so the "undervote" percentage is not available.

... "This is really embarrassing," said Deforest Soaries Jr.

... "My vote got flushed," she [Texas political activist Madeleine Hervey] said.

... Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia reported complete election figures four years ago. There were 80,644,664 ballots cast, but only 79,039,401 presidential votes counted. Much of the 1,605,263-vote difference was caused by inaccurate tabulating equipment, state and local officials agree.