From what I've seen, Canadian ballots do something rather foreign to the average American's experience; they are simple, and they make sense! These factors would never do, of course, for predominantly Dem officials in Fla who selected and set up that absurd system. Why? Who knows for sure, but I've heard one theory advanced that Gore Campaign Mgr. "Bugsy" DALEY rather favored them, as it is the kind of system that lends itself well to confusion of voters and judges, second-guessing Voter "intent" and to "creative recounting" practices perfected by the Sr. Mayor DALEY late of Chicago ("King", or "Boss" DALEY) which helped him get JFK elected in 1960. Even if the old "Vote-O-Matic" dosn't come through, as it seems to have failed to do so far, or the Vegas card-shark "counters", there is the old DALEY tactic of "Vote Pumping" where a recount (even an honest one) in a district where your guy is ahead is mathematically guarenteed to produce a gain of approximately the same % of contested ballots as your original lead. These "pumped" votes will increase with every re-count even if you don't manage to manufacture a few extra (want ketchup with those chads?) in the process. Hey, that one Republican observer has gotta pee sometime! Most everything going on in Fla is right out of the Chicago political machine playbook, being orchestrated with proffessional virtuosity. Son has learned well at the knee of the old Master. All that stands in the way of a Gore leagal coup is the rule of Law, and the Constitution. These do not seem to be insurmountable obstacles, however, to this gang. I don't think that all that many of us Yanks have a clue how critical and momentous this situation is becoming. And that's just the way the big TV and "news" potentates want it to be! Some districts in Maine apparantly used similar "punchcard" ballots, but even the most senile Legislators up in Augusta finally recognized how easy they are to friggajig and flim-flam, and we threw them all out in favor of a simpler optical system over 20 years ago. I wouldn't mind taking some serious lessons in credable electioneering from our neighbors to the North! It won't be long at the rate we're going before both Socialist systems will be virtually indistinguishable. Perhaps you can make Maine a Provence, and liberate us from the Peoples' Republic of Massachussetts! French as a National language, I'm afraid, may not catch on all that well here right away.