The 9th really hosed it when they cited Florida - the real issue was the butterfly ballots which (designed by Democrats) were "too confusing". The punched card/hanging chad fiasco didn't start until they (Gore's camp) got into the pure theft stage by trying to make sure "every vote counted", except of course those that weren't likely to vote for Gore - like the military that fights and dies for this country.
The reliability of the punched cards was a by-product of the attempted obfuscation...