I don't understand all the recounts going on. It seems some states have a law that if an election is close withing a certain percentage points there must be a recount. Why? If You get 3,159,598 votes and I get 3,159,498 votes then you won. If you get 2 votes and I get 1 then you won. All a recount does in these situations is cause confusion. Then to make matters worse the recount comes up with different numbers. How the heck can that happen? Heck I learned to count in the first grade.
In Florida votes are still coming in. Military votes, overseas votes and diplomatic votes (all mailed in) do not have to be in until midnight tonight. There are also provisional ballots that may be counted, example I moved to a different address than the one I gave when I registered and did not inform them I vote a provisional ballot and am given time to clarify the address. If I do it counts, if I don't it doesn't. The same applies to people such as women that marry and have a name change, and persons (usually elderly) whose signature may have changed do to age or illness. Also occasionally a vote counting machine will make an error such as not counting a ballot. The first recount is a machine recount which counts all the ballots that were cast by election day and the ballots that have come in since. If that narrows the vote a hand count will then take place. There are quite a few provisional votes and a good number of military votes.
The point of the recount is that there could be a change in the count which may affect the result. Causes of the change could include (but are not limited to). Provisional and postal ballots which were either included or excluded when they should not have been Ballots where the humans or machines that performed the first count included or excluded paper - "hanging chads" being an example Errors in the voting machines Misplaced boxes of ballot papers I've been involved with a number of manual counts here in the UK. I'm impressed at the overall quality of the process but there's always some debate about some papers and there are errors in counting. The error rate is very small but in a very tight election it could influence the result.
We have election recounts because; if a democrat loses, somebody needs to go out and find more uncounted ballots. Look to closets, trunks, or whatever, but rest assured enough will be found to change the election results. Look toward that idiot in Fla for instructions as how to make that work for your democrat candidate.
Massive reform at a federal level is needed with respect to the federal component of state elections. Since "states rights" is toothless in all other ways in the U.S., it should be consistently toothless in this respect also. Processes for states that elect federal reps via popular vote should be standardized at the federal level, and oversight and compliance should also be federal. To the topic, recounts are reasonable in very tight races where all the associated processes were conducted competently and properly. When either Party can obstruct and delay via acting incompetently or even fraudulently on purpose, and then force a recount out of hope that results change, the resulting recount is illegitimate and even dangerous. Recounts are meant to be a fairness tool when close elections are carried out competently and correctly, not a political maneuver. The emergence of a "recount culture" where recounts are common and used as political maneuvering tools would be very bad for U.S. national security and for the credibility of the federal government among citizens.
you recount to verify, if the recount is off from the original, we need to know why it's mainly done to reassure confidence in our election system
IMO having an automatic recount threshold is an attempt to avoid fraudulent recount requests. If there is really only a fraction of a percent between the two candidates and ballots are still coming in from armed service personnel and other postal voters and there are a number of disputed ballots then a recount makes sense. Asking for a recount if you've lost by 10% OTOH is clearly a political move and should be rejected.
If that happens it will be because the Republicans are inept. There will be a Republican poll watcher looking over the shoulder of each vote counter. Ballots not being recounted will be under lock and key. Also remember Florida is currently a Republican State with a Republican legislature a Republican Governor and senatorial candidate that must validate the results, a Republican Attorney General that will investigate any discrepancies
Bullshit! Suddenly "finding" previously uncounted ballots does not fit in my wheelhouse. "Discovering" ballots in the trunk of a rental car does not fit in my wheelhouse. Mixing bad provisional ballots with counted ballots does not fit in my wheelhouse. You probably are bright enough to figure out where I am going with this.
Because we vote on antiquated and often disparate technology equipment and rely heavily on the honesty of people our system is rife with corruption and bagel phinegeling.We need to bring voting into the 21st century and removing the potential of people gaming the system.
And what is this crap about “ballots still coming in”. Set a firm deadline for everyone and give the results the next day. If a provisional ballot needs more time then have an earlier deadline for it. If a ballot arrives late from overseas – tough. Set an earlier deadline for overseas ballots. I voted absentee ballot and I had an earlier deadline. If your department can’t give an accurate account the next day then you should be fired. The U.S. can put a man on the moon and bring him home but we can't count ballots. A bank takes in and gives out money all day but at the end of the day they can balance their books. Voting is just numbers. We need to shape up our voting system.
