Dimpled, hanging and swinging chads gave late-night comedians endless fodder. The election, without every intending to, dramatized a deeply frustrating problem that afflicts not only Florida election boards, but New Jersey state government. The problem is simple.
Government technology is often antiquated, inefficient and unsatisfactory.
We wouldn't have been watching the drama in Florida if every county there had voting machines. While almost all New Jersey counties do use voting machines, few governments in New Jersey have the technology needed to operate them efficiently or to serve the taxpayers, who foot the bills, properly. One doesn't have to work for Microsoft to appreciate how ludicrously low-tech this is. Information isn't stored on the basis of names, last or first. It is not stored using dates of birth.