While that number is not considered extraordinary compared with past elections, a closer look shows that controversial punch-card ballots were used in three counties where far more voters that normal were recorded as skipping the race. Republican George W. Bush handily won two of the three. Punch-card systems give voters one shot at marking a ballot correctly, in contrast to electronic vote scanners in use by most Wisconsin voters.
Scanners reject over-voted ballots and give citizens a second and third chance.
St. Croix County on the Minnesota border in the northwest and Green County on the Illinois border. Bush dominated in Walworth and won handily in St. Croix, but he lost Green to Gore. Overall in the three counties, Bush held an 8,580-vote advantage. Election officials neared completion of Wisconsin's official vote tally on Wednesday. According to a Journal Sentinel review of the final figures from all 72 counties, the vice president lost a bit of ground compared with vote reports on election night, but he retained a 5,707-vote lead over the Texas governor here.