It woulda been over. Coulda shoulda woulda. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/17/politics/17DUVA.html # # November 17, 2000 # # Democrats Rue Ballot Foul-Up in a 2nd County # # By RAYMOND BONNER with JOSH BARBANEL # # ACKSONVILLE, Fla., Nov. 16 - Democrats in Duval County prepared # meticulously for Election Day. They registered thousands of voters # and ferried enough people to the polls in predominantly # African-American precincts to give a solid boost to Vice President # Al Gore in a county expected to swing reliably into Gov. George # W. Bush's column. # # But the results of Duval County's vote left Democrats here shaking # their heads. More than 26,000 ballots were invalidated, the vast # majority because they contained votes for more than one # presidential candidate. Nearly 9,000 of the votes were thrown # out in the predominantly African-American communities around # Jacksonville, where Mr. Gore scored 10-to-1 ratios of victory, # according to an analysis of the vote by The New York Times. # # The percentage of invalidated votes here was far higher than # that recorded in Palm Beach County, which has become the focus # of national attention and where Democrats have argued that so # many people were disenfranchised it may be necessary to let them # vote again. Neither Democrats nor Republicans have demanded a # hand recount or new election in Duval County. # # Local election officials attributed the outcome to a ballot that # had the name of presidential candidates on two pages, which they # said many voters found confusing. Many voters, they said, voted # once on each page. The election officials said they would not # use such a ballot in the future. # # Rodney G. Gregory, a lawyer for the Democrats in Duval County, # said the party shared the blame for the confusion. Mr. Gregory # said Democratic Party workers instructed voters, many persuaded # to go to the polls for the first time, to cast ballots in every # race and "be sure to punch a hole on every page." # # "The get-out-the vote folks messed it up," Mr. Gregory said # ruefully. # # If Mr. Gregory's assessment is correct, and thousands of Gore # supporters were inadvertently misled into invalidating their # ballots, this county alone would have been enough to give Mr. # Gore the electoral votes of Florida, and thus the White House. [snip]