Now that Florida’s beginning a recount of Tuesday’s Senator vote, how long until some cartoonist makes a chad reference?
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Already done, but it’s political so I didn’t submit it . . .
The way Germany regulates elections (using nothing but paper ballots) makes the American dependence on dozens of different “high-tech” systems seem absolutely neanderthalic. The counting process here is entirely public, not just in every state, but in every polling location of every precinct, and anyone who wants to stay and watch may do so. Counts are conducted by members of different parties, all of whom must countersign the final tally. Paper ballots are retained and archived for verification and potential recounts. Nobody has to register to vote, because each person’s ID card already counts as proof of residency and eligibility.
P.S. As Porkypine once said to Pogo, “What other country could hold a three ring election?“
I don’t know if it’s true today, but when we lived in Holland, everyone HAD to vote. You received a fine if you didn’t. My dad always paid the fine, and never voted in the US, either. “They’re all a buncha crooks!” he maintained.
I read in the German news (and confirmed it in US sources) that it’s not just the senate race, they are also recounting the votes for governor.
P.S. If you can’t build a system that can count votes with a reliability better than 0.5%, you might as well give up and let humans do the counting.
Who’s Chad?
……….kidding…..
Andrew Gillium took back his concession of defeat. I want to put my Gillum/Nelson sign back up, but haven’t. Also Dept of Agriculture is up for recount. YAY!!
Possibly interesting: The word “chad” had been around for decades, but as a mass noun, not a count noun (“a bucket of chad”, “some chad”). When the press “discovered” the word in the 2000 election, they got it wrong, used it as a count noun (“hanging chads”). And so now it’s a count noun for most folks.
Thus evolves the language–usually slowly, sometimes rapidly!
@Porkypine: Great Britain.
They’re recounting both senator and governor because they have to. Florida law requires a recount when the difference is less than 0.5%. The flip side of the situation is in Wisconsin, where Scott Walker would love a recount, but he signed a law banning recounts when the difference is greater than 1% and he lost by 1.1 or 1.2%.
Florida has all sorts of problems. There’s something like 24,000 ballots where people voted for Ag Commissioner and not for Senator.
Yes, suggesting a design problem.
“. . . Scott Walker would love a recount, but he signed a law banning recounts when the difference is greater than 1% and he lost by 1.1 or 1.2%.”
Oh, I love this – hoist with his own petard. We left WI for FL (what IS it with guys named [Rick] Scott [WALKER]?), and seem to have jumped out of the political frying pan into the political fire; maybe we should move back.
My rationale is that Florida has ALWAYS been corrupt, whereas Wisconsin was politically forward-looking until Walker & the Republicans took over the state government and became so. It was devastating to see the state’s downfall.
I’ll get off my soapbox now. This was supposed to be my safe spot. Remember the days when politics did not permeate EVERYTHING?? I can’t even go to my puzzlie site (jigidi.com) without something political popping up, despite admonishments to keep politics OUT of the puzzles. I’d thought of perusing the puzzles with my eyes closed . . .
@Kilby: That that sounds extremely similar to the way New York’s elections are conducted, except for the registration part. Things aren’t as bad as you think.
. . . they’re worse.
In “Zits”, whatever happened to Jeremy’s older brother… yep… wait for it… Chad?
I was kind of worried the following joke had become topically irrelevant. Now I’m just mildly sad that it will make sense to a whole new political generation:
How many Floridians does it take to change a lightbulb?
Nobody knows, they’re not done counting yet.
I doubt they use punch cards anymore, the origin of the “hanging chads”. In Missouri, we either have touch-screen or paper ballots. The latter are like old-time exams. You color in little circles. I used one because the line for the touch method was long.
My town uses the color-the-ovals type of ballot (supposedly needs a special pen) reminding me of a “standardized test” and expect some time to find an essay question to have to fill out. :-)
Computer-based ballot systems require upkeep. Some towns’ systems may be several years out of date, running on old computers that may not have proper security patches and such. Ballot software is often proprietary and therefore might be difficult to update or improve.
Back when I worked as a key-punch operator, one of the other key-punch operators found out why you should never use chad as a substitute for rice at a wedding.
Mark: Because it’s sharp?
Instead of “Zits”, I was thinking that Ted Forth was about to hop out and ask us about the Chadwells.
Phil Smith III: That’s partly it, because it sticks to your clothes. Also, every little piece of chad has a number on it (if you’ve seen a punch card you know why) and if it’s wet the ink transfers to your clothes. Also it is impossible to sweep up.
When we used to vote around here (NYS – Long Island) we used to use machines that had levers that one moved and when one left the booth, the handle that one used to open the curtain to leave, caused the votes to be mechanically counted.
The computer system they brought in after the hanging chad in Florida is, as someone said, a fill in the ovals as tests were, but in pen. One takes this to a standing desk and fills it in and then brings it back to the table where there is a machine (each table is a different machine as there are always variations in what races one is voting in and table is determined by same) and then slips the ballot into the computer for that desk. There is suppose to be a special “privacy cover” to cover the ballot after it is marked. It seems to be a legal sized folder when they have them. Also in the original information which mailed out when this system went into use, one is suppose to keep their filled in ballot in the “privacy sleeve” while it is being fed into the computer device. Apparently no one has ever told this to any of the poll workers. One has to argue to get a folder. Then the come over when one is putting the ballot into the machine and try to get the ballot (fully visible) away from you to put it in the machine for you. There is no privacy based on how the desks to fill in the ballot are arranged.
We bring the card we receive in the mail with “where to vote” information as it has all the districts our vote is for to figure out which table to go to. Good thing. At this year’s primary we were told by the poll worker that we were at the wrong place – no we weren’t – our street is just numbered oddly. When I used to go with my mom to vote and later when I did so when I lived at home every year the table for our area to vote was in the same place. It is never in the same spot at the location we do to now. We also had to climb over a scholastic book sale, a bake sale and some other sale to get to room that the voting was in – and school was closed.
When we went to vote in the primary in 2016 there was an elderly couple at the table for our party for our location. (And I say elderly as someone in their mid 60s). They stared at us when I came up. They seemed totally confused. Finally the fellow from the other party reached over and helped us with the signing in and getting our ballots.
We would volunteer to help them out at having someone there who has some intelligence, speaks English instead of Russian (she was there 2 years and wanted to see every ballot before it went in the machine), and understands the process,but even when they wanted Robert to be at the hospital at 6am for cataract surgery we could not do so (had the surgery moved to a later time).
Comics I Don't Understand 
Already done, but it’s political so I didn’t submit it . . .
The way Germany regulates elections (using nothing but paper ballots) makes the American dependence on dozens of different “high-tech” systems seem absolutely neanderthalic. The counting process here is entirely public, not just in every state, but in every polling location of every precinct, and anyone who wants to stay and watch may do so. Counts are conducted by members of different parties, all of whom must countersign the final tally. Paper ballots are retained and archived for verification and potential recounts. Nobody has to register to vote, because each person’s ID card already counts as proof of residency and eligibility.
P.S. As Porkypine once said to Pogo, “What other country could hold a three ring election?“
I don’t know if it’s true today, but when we lived in Holland, everyone HAD to vote. You received a fine if you didn’t. My dad always paid the fine, and never voted in the US, either. “They’re all a buncha crooks!” he maintained.
I read in the German news (and confirmed it in US sources) that it’s not just the senate race, they are also recounting the votes for governor.
P.S. If you can’t build a system that can count votes with a reliability better than 0.5%, you might as well give up and let humans do the counting.
Who’s Chad?
……….kidding…..
Andrew Gillium took back his concession of defeat. I want to put my Gillum/Nelson sign back up, but haven’t. Also Dept of Agriculture is up for recount. YAY!!
Possibly interesting: The word “chad” had been around for decades, but as a mass noun, not a count noun (“a bucket of chad”, “some chad”). When the press “discovered” the word in the 2000 election, they got it wrong, used it as a count noun (“hanging chads”). And so now it’s a count noun for most folks.
Thus evolves the language–usually slowly, sometimes rapidly!
@Porkypine: Great Britain.
They’re recounting both senator and governor because they have to. Florida law requires a recount when the difference is less than 0.5%. The flip side of the situation is in Wisconsin, where Scott Walker would love a recount, but he signed a law banning recounts when the difference is greater than 1% and he lost by 1.1 or 1.2%.
Florida has all sorts of problems. There’s something like 24,000 ballots where people voted for Ag Commissioner and not for Senator.
Yes, suggesting a design problem.
“. . . Scott Walker would love a recount, but he signed a law banning recounts when the difference is greater than 1% and he lost by 1.1 or 1.2%.”
Oh, I love this – hoist with his own petard. We left WI for FL (what IS it with guys named [Rick] Scott [WALKER]?), and seem to have jumped out of the political frying pan into the political fire; maybe we should move back.
My rationale is that Florida has ALWAYS been corrupt, whereas Wisconsin was politically forward-looking until Walker & the Republicans took over the state government and became so. It was devastating to see the state’s downfall.
I’ll get off my soapbox now. This was supposed to be my safe spot. Remember the days when politics did not permeate EVERYTHING?? I can’t even go to my puzzlie site (jigidi.com) without something political popping up, despite admonishments to keep politics OUT of the puzzles. I’d thought of perusing the puzzles with my eyes closed . . .
@Kilby: That that sounds extremely similar to the way New York’s elections are conducted, except for the registration part. Things aren’t as bad as you think.
. . . they’re worse.
In “Zits”, whatever happened to Jeremy’s older brother… yep… wait for it… Chad?
I was kind of worried the following joke had become topically irrelevant. Now I’m just mildly sad that it will make sense to a whole new political generation:
How many Floridians does it take to change a lightbulb?
Nobody knows, they’re not done counting yet.
I doubt they use punch cards anymore, the origin of the “hanging chads”. In Missouri, we either have touch-screen or paper ballots. The latter are like old-time exams. You color in little circles. I used one because the line for the touch method was long.
My town uses the color-the-ovals type of ballot (supposedly needs a special pen) reminding me of a “standardized test” and expect some time to find an essay question to have to fill out. :-)
Computer-based ballot systems require upkeep. Some towns’ systems may be several years out of date, running on old computers that may not have proper security patches and such. Ballot software is often proprietary and therefore might be difficult to update or improve.
Back when I worked as a key-punch operator, one of the other key-punch operators found out why you should never use chad as a substitute for rice at a wedding.
Mark: Because it’s sharp?
Instead of “Zits”, I was thinking that Ted Forth was about to hop out and ask us about the Chadwells.
Phil Smith III: That’s partly it, because it sticks to your clothes. Also, every little piece of chad has a number on it (if you’ve seen a punch card you know why) and if it’s wet the ink transfers to your clothes. Also it is impossible to sweep up.
When we used to vote around here (NYS – Long Island) we used to use machines that had levers that one moved and when one left the booth, the handle that one used to open the curtain to leave, caused the votes to be mechanically counted.
The computer system they brought in after the hanging chad in Florida is, as someone said, a fill in the ovals as tests were, but in pen. One takes this to a standing desk and fills it in and then brings it back to the table where there is a machine (each table is a different machine as there are always variations in what races one is voting in and table is determined by same) and then slips the ballot into the computer for that desk. There is suppose to be a special “privacy cover” to cover the ballot after it is marked. It seems to be a legal sized folder when they have them. Also in the original information which mailed out when this system went into use, one is suppose to keep their filled in ballot in the “privacy sleeve” while it is being fed into the computer device. Apparently no one has ever told this to any of the poll workers. One has to argue to get a folder. Then the come over when one is putting the ballot into the machine and try to get the ballot (fully visible) away from you to put it in the machine for you. There is no privacy based on how the desks to fill in the ballot are arranged.
We bring the card we receive in the mail with “where to vote” information as it has all the districts our vote is for to figure out which table to go to. Good thing. At this year’s primary we were told by the poll worker that we were at the wrong place – no we weren’t – our street is just numbered oddly. When I used to go with my mom to vote and later when I did so when I lived at home every year the table for our area to vote was in the same place. It is never in the same spot at the location we do to now. We also had to climb over a scholastic book sale, a bake sale and some other sale to get to room that the voting was in – and school was closed.
When we went to vote in the primary in 2016 there was an elderly couple at the table for our party for our location. (And I say elderly as someone in their mid 60s). They stared at us when I came up. They seemed totally confused. Finally the fellow from the other party reached over and helped us with the signing in and getting our ballots.
We would volunteer to help them out at having someone there who has some intelligence, speaks English instead of Russian (she was there 2 years and wanted to see every ballot before it went in the machine), and understands the process,but even when they wanted Robert to be at the hospital at 6am for cataract surgery we could not do so (had the surgery moved to a later time).