Circus in Florida

Your reporter was so carried away gurgling over Democratic lawyer Tony Buxton’s electoral adventures in Florida (BDN, Nov. 15) that she apparently forgot to ask him which section of the Constitution, which he repeatedly invoked, makes the “intent” of people who can’t follow instructions on proper use of ballots more important in Democratic counties than in any others, including Maine counties.

Every county in the country discards improperly marked ballots, but that fact does not in itself demonstrate that any rights have been violated. The alternative to ballot rules is the kind of circus we now see in Florida, where every head-on collision between a fruit fly and a ballot is being touted as evidence of voter intent. The story also apparently lacked room to indicate whether any Maine Republican lawyers might be in Florida and, if so, what their views of the situation might be. Was this a news story or an op-ed column?

Clark Irwin

Winthrop