Republicans counter charge that if the Democrats persist in making these charges, they may decide to contest elections in other states where Vice President Gore won by only a narrow margin. Gore, for example, only won New Mexico and Iowa by 5,000 votes each and Wisconsin by a mere 6,000 votes. In a real sense, both parties are playing with fire. On the one hand, given the irregularities that have been reported it is important to resolve the election to create public confidence in its outcome. On the other hand, it may be dangerous to look too closely at the election process.
Elections are like hot dogs.
They taste great and are enjoyed by millions. But people don t really want to know what s in them or how they are made. Historically, there are always irregularities and abuses in our elections of lesser magnitude, of course and in only one recent instance was the outcome of the presidency at stake. There were charges and counter-charges of fraud in the 1960 election that saw John Kennedy narrowly defeat Richard Nixon for the presidency. But there were several differences between that era and today s environment that makes comparisons difficult.