Vague guidelines spur varied processes.
Study finds at least 16 of 67 counties failed to retabulate every ballot. They simply checked the electronic memory of their computers, running the numbers again to see if they matched the results from the day before. The state election guidelines covering the first-round statewide recount are so vaguely written that counties varied widely in the processes they used to recount ballots. A Times examination of last week's recount revealed that at least 16 of Florida's 67 counties failed to recount every ballot cast in the election. Some counties simply checked their computer vote tallies.