For most Americans, the great Florida recount is over. Already, the Palm Beach Post has conducted an independent review in its home county, and reported Sunday that Mr. Gore might have lost 6,607 votes as a result of twice-punched ballots. In a broader survey, a major media consortium that includes T he New York Times , Washington Post , Wall Street Journal , Associated Press and CNN has been cataloging 180,000 uncounted presidential votes in Florida's 67 counties. Yet another group, led by the Miami Herald, has hired an accounting firm to examine undervotes in all counties. The group includes the Herald's parent company, Knight-Ridder newspapers, and USA Today .
Critics say the media ballot review is a scavenger hunt.
But the journalists involved say it is their responsibility to provide answers on what went wrong in Florida. But at the least, he said, the inventory could lead officials to develop uniform standards for recounts. In a yellow stucco warehouse adjacent to the railroad tracks, teams of inspectors quietly examined the ballots held up by county employees, and independently recorded the various ways they were spoiled. Participants will get the first crack at analyzing data that later will be in the public domain. No information will be released until work is completed, estimated to be in April.