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Bewildering Those Too Young to Vote (Like Grandpa, Like Grandson)
San Jose Mercury News ^ | 2/20/06 | anon

Posted on 02/20/2006 12:15:46 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom

Palm Beach County, Fla., created the controversial "butterfly ballot" in the 2000 presidential election that reportedly confused more than 1,000 Gore-Lieberman voters such that they wound up marking their ballots for a minor-party candidate. In February 2006, local education officials told the Palm Beach Post that too many of the county's high school students apparently knew answers on the statewide comprehensive test but were incorrectly marking the answer sheets. The multiple choice questions require only one circle to be darkened on the sheet, but other questions require darkening digits of an actual numerical answer, apparently bewildering students into darkening too many or too few circles.

(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; Political Humor/Cartoons; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: butterflyballots; floridarecount; geritol; hangingchads; palmbeachcounty; sat; teens
It has to be in the water. Or the genes.
1 posted on 02/20/2006 12:15:47 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
Palm Beach County, Fla., created the controversial "butterfly ballot" in the 2000

Not true. The "butterfly ballot" had been used in numerous counties for many elections before Florida in 2000. It's just that some Florida voters were too dumb to figure out how to mark their votes on it.

2 posted on 02/20/2006 12:17:49 PM PST by My2Cents ("The essence of American journalism is vulgarity divested of truth." -- Winston Churchill)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

My most embarrassing ballot moment was once when I forgot to turn the ballot over and fill out the backside.

Just plain stupid of me, and I didn't try to blame it on anyone else.


3 posted on 02/20/2006 12:36:36 PM PST by Redbob (I'd rather go hunting with Dick Cheney than ride in a car with Teddy Kennedy!)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

The stories below this one on the link are hilarous!


4 posted on 02/20/2006 12:39:17 PM PST by mtbopfuyn (Legality does not dictate morality... Lavin)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

If in doubt, mark C.


5 posted on 02/20/2006 12:39:51 PM PST by mtbopfuyn (Legality does not dictate morality... Lavin)
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To: Redbob
I did the same thing awhile back...luckily, as i was leaving the voting booth, it dawned on me....Duh!.. I hadn't voted on a local issue I had some personal interest in...
6 posted on 02/20/2006 12:52:50 PM PST by M-cubed (Why is "Greshams Law" a law?)
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To: My2Cents

IMHO, the basic problem is called Reading Comprehension....or, in this case, the failure by these same school officials to bother teaching the subject.

This is just another case of the libs' eternal search for victimhood: We can't expect them to admit that they as well as their students are failing without hearing a tale about the deus ex machina that ate all their homework as a cover story.


7 posted on 02/20/2006 12:59:01 PM PST by Unrepentant VN Vet (Calling the MSM antique infers some remaining functionality; I think they've become Zombies.)
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To: Redbob
Just plain stupid of me, and I didn't try to blame it on anyone else.

C'mon now, Redbob. You were plainly a victim of nefarious forces trying to steal the election. You MUST blame this on somebody else. Clearly, you weren't at fault.

8 posted on 02/20/2006 12:59:14 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: My2Cents
Or, possibly that a bunch of lying Democrats saw a chance to turn actual Buchanan votes into Gore votes. Who can prove differently?
9 posted on 02/20/2006 1:21:11 PM PST by chesley (Liberals...what's not to loathe?)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Palm Beach County is NooYawk city south. The water is fine, got to be genetic!


10 posted on 02/20/2006 1:46:35 PM PST by SWAMPSNIPER (MAY I DIE ON MY FEET IN MY SWAMP, BUAIDH NO BAS)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
The multiple choice questions require only one circle to be darkened on the sheet, but other questions require darkening digits of an actual numerical answer, apparently bewildering students into darkening too many or too few circles.

So the standardized test not only challenges rote learning, but also simple problem solving.

Those who lacked common sense were bewildered and did poorly.

The system works.

11 posted on 02/20/2006 3:56:17 PM PST by impatient
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