I thought I'd just mention that hillarious Maytag man commercial where he unjams the voting machine and hands a pile of crumpeled ballots to the election official.
Some states do try to "ascertain the voters intent" and that is just asking for trouble. It makes the decision subjective and open to (endless) argument. The republican will have one opinion on the voter's intent, while the democrat has another. That was the key to Florida's past problems.
My math teacher used to have a saying, "when in doubt, throw it out"
It may "disenfranchise" more people, but it is the voter's responsibility to make sure they fill in the ballot the proper way. If they turn in a spoiled ballot they have no one but their self to blame. It also prevents legal challenges on every questionable ballot.
I really wish there was a "none of the above" option.
I'm a bit ashamed to admit it, but often when it comes to local elections I have no idea who the candadites are, so I leave the selection blank.
Better no vote then a misinformed vote I always say. But sometimes I do wonder if someone could fill in vote when I leave it blank.
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
