In fact, some Florida canvassing boards examine over and undervotes as a matter of routine, especially absentee ballots. The second most common overvote that can be a legal vote is when a voter marks two candidates and crosses out one as a mistake. Again, canvassing boards routinely allow these in during hand counts and some are already in the official count. Some of my editors are asking the same question. Of course, we think it was worthwhile regardless of the outcome.
People can believe what they want.
We're just trying to give you some facts that will help you develop well-informed opinions. One provocative thing people could take away from our results is that, if the Supreme Court really was just trying to help Bush win the presidency, it turns out it wasn't necessary. Bush would have won anyway had the recount continued and the court was have been spared a loss of prestige. On the other hand, you could say that our results support the Supreme Court decision. The different standards being applied yield significantly different results, and that may create equal protection problems under the constitution.