Before the Florida fiasco, states had very clear guidlines on "spoiled" ballots. Of course they vary by states.
My government teacher in HS was also our county commisioner, and he explained how voting really works.
If the ballot says fill in the circle with pen, you fill in the circle with pen. Ballots must be filled in correctly to count.
You put a check in the box, the ballot is spoiled.
X in the box, ballot is spoiled.
Circle the candadites name instead, the ballot is spoiled.
Stray mark near another box, the ballot is spolied.
Attempt to make a correction, the ballot is spoiled.
Use pencil, the ballot is spoiled.
If you as the voter make a mistake and spoil your ballot, it is up to you to get a new ballot.
stof: Quick question. Is the U.S. similar to Canada in that if someone accidently spoils their ballot, they are entitled to receive another? I know it's always going to hit a fraction of the voting population, but what prevented any of these people from saying "oops, I made a mistake, can I have another ballot please?"
In my state, you are allowed to request a new ballot due to spoiling twice. So if you make a mistake three times you are out of luck.
stof: does the U.S. allow observers from the political parties to make sure that sort of thing doesn't happen?
In my state, take for example a vision impaired voter. He is to be assisted by both a democrat and a republican observer at the voting booth.
Yet, today, America's leaders are reenacting every folly that brought these great powers [Russia, Germany, and Japan] to ruin -- from arrogance and hubris, to assertions of global hegemony, to imperial overstretch, to trumpeting new 'crusades,' to handing out war guarantees to regions and countries where Americans have never fought before. We are piling up the kind of commitments that produced the greatest disasters of the twentieth century.
— Pat Buchanan – A Republic, Not an Empire
