Something Strange in Sarasota

Dan Tokaji's Blog has this:

"Any proposed reforms should of course await the results of the audit and recount to start next week, but one thing is already certain: sound election administration depends on people and procedures, not just machines."

and

"(I)ncidents like those in Carteret County [North Carolina in 2004] and Sarasota County are extremely serious and warrant careful scrutiny.

Fortunately, that appears to be what's happening. A recount of the election, along with an audit of Sarasota County's system, is scheduled to begin Monday. That audit will reportedly include parallel testing of the voting equipment -- a procedure that, in my opinion, should be done routinely in every election. There are a number of possible explanations for the high number of undervotes. One is the configuration of the ballot, which some voters have complained made it difficult to notice the race. Another possibility, and a far more serious one, is that voters actually made a selection for the race but that the machines for whatever reason failed to record them."