Prometheus 6   

It's Enough to Cause Butterflies
Voting equipment and the traditional ballot are not designed for this many candidates.
By Fredric D. Woocher
Fredric D. Woocher is a Santa Monica attorney specializing in election law.

August 13, 2003

In the November 2000 presidential election, George W. Bush beat Al Gore in Florida — and ultimately gained the presidency — by 537 votes. More than 170,000 ballots went uncounted in Florida, however, either because no vote for president was recorded (an "undervote") or because votes were cast for more than one candidate (an "overvote"). There is no doubt that these uncounted ballots — many of which resulted from poor ballot design and faulty voting equipment — determined the outcome in Florida and the nation.

Could California's first-ever gubernatorial recall election likewise be determined by the form of the ballot and the voting machines we use?

Elections experts have long known that in a close contest, these factors can make a difference between winning and losing. And with a ballot that will include about 150 candidates vying to replace Gov. Gray Davis if he is recalled — with the winner inevitably receiving a relatively small percentage of the total vote — the design of the ballot is all the more likely to play a critical role in what could be a very close election.