"An awful lot of people had no problems with the Butterfly Ballot, however. It helps, I suppose, if you can read, follow directions and are a Republican."

It helps too if your name is at the top of the list next to the first button.

As for the military ballots - if an inmcompetant scrutineer chucks out a valid ballot because he or she doesn't know the law, it's right that the courts should be asked insist that it is counted? But on the other hand if a clapped out machine throws out a valid ballot because it couldn't recognise that it was valid, it's wrong that the courts should be asked to insist that it is counted?

That sounds like a double standard to me, and double standards appear to be at the centre of this whole mess. One rule for all, no picking and choosing to help one side or the other when it come to counting the vote. Why for God's sake is that so difficult for all Americans to agree about? Is politics really more important than those kind of principles?