27775: Stidham(reply) Re: 27708: Kathleen (comment) counting blank ballots (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: StiddemDavid@aol.com

In message 27708 dated 2/13/2006, Corbett suggests:

"Someone who was both illiterate and confused about the
voting  process and just got mixed up.  Someone older who gets easily
confused  and perhaps excited by all the crowds.... I could go on.  One can
imagine many fairly reasonable explanations without appealing to
conspiracies."

I remember, while monitoring the 1990 presidential  elections, watching the
election workers closely examining a ballot by candle  light at counting time.
The ballot appeared blank except for a very faint  pencil squiggle in the
circle above the rooster symbol.  I could just  imagine an elderly Haitian,
probably illiterate and having never voted before,  very meekly and humbly, with
pencil in hand, proudly making their choice for  their president.  The election
rules specified placing an "X" in the  circle.  The ballot was rules invalid.