Word: ahmann
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Beck walked Ahmann through a litany of questions, trying to establish the relative delicacy of the ballot. Ahmann admitted that even normal handling can dent, dislodge or dimple parts of the ballot, let alone the vigorous handling inherent in repeated hand counts. You see, Beck seemed to be saying, if even the expert here believes there are marks on the ballots that are in absolutely no way related to voter intent, how can we ask non-experts to differentiate inadvertent marks from intended marks...
...Gore attorney Stephen Zack, who is possibly the most irritating and sycophantic lawyer to surface over the past four weeks, cross-examined Ahmann vigorously, asking the expert if perhaps the ballot manufacturers were not aware of the rigors a ballot might go through during an election process - implying there was no reason to believe the ballots were so weak they'd just fall apart and be unable to serve their express purpose just because voters and counters were holding them...
...this point, Zack decided it was time to pull out the big guns. He reached behind him and pulled out a piece of paper, from which he began to read: "Mr. Ahmann, is it not true that in 1981 you went to the U.S. Patent Office because you were worried about defects in the voting device you'd approved - and which had been installed and still operates down in Miami-Dade county...
...ruckus broke out, Phil Beck stormed forward and asked to read the document, which Zack grudgingly permitted him to hold. The surprise statement was allowed - and Zack got Ahmann to admit that his device can lead to unreadable votes due to chad buildup, dangling chads and even rubber problems...
...Ahmann was stuck now defending an imperfect machine, whose potential problems suddenly took center stage. After a few direct questions from Judge Sauls, Ahmann even acknowledged a particularly damning flaw: That a small light could show through on a ballot and the machine might not register a vote...