Court’s action may prove end of debate

Published 12:00 am Saturday, December 9, 2000

Could the end finally be near? The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Saturday to temporarily halt the latest recount of Florida’s election results, may signal the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel – we hope.

The nation’s highest court is set to hear arguments on the Florida recount issue Monday morning.

GOP and Democratic spin doctors are twisting and turning the focus of the debate away from the heart of the matter. They would have us believe the issue has now turned into one of states’ rights, something that has little, if anything to do with the truth in the matter.

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We believe the issue is simple: Ballots are not official votes unless they are accurately filled out and legally cast.

The entire argument over chads, or the small pieces of paper left when a punch-card ballot is punched, is a bit ludicrous.

Trying to look at a paper ballot and judge &uot;voter intent&uot; is a stretch, to say the least.

While obviously the nation has determined that such ballot styles are not the most accurate in the world, that fact should not allow the continual recounting and recounting the recount in a never-ending quest to find the single most accurate count.

No set of election results is perfect.

And if each state decided to go back and recount its results … who knows, the tally may shift.

But at some point – hopefully on Monday – the desperation tactics must end and we must move ahead.

Perhaps the Supreme Court can help us all see the light at the end of the tunnel and direct us toward it.