The
Florida optical scan issue does not hold up to scrutiny. At first glance, Bush carried many optical scan counties by far more than expected. If you look at the 2000 registration and actual vote, however, a pattern emerges:
|
2004 registration |
2004 vote |
2000 registration |
2000 vote |
County |
Republicans |
Democrats |
Republicans |
Democrats |
Republicans |
Democrats |
Republicans |
Democrats |
Liberty |
322 |
3,598 |
1,927 |
1,070 |
166 |
3,511 |
1,317 |
1,020 |
Taylor |
2,170 |
8,680 |
5,466 |
3,049 |
1,688 |
10,110 |
4,080 |
2,687 |
Union |
1,293 |
5,332 |
3,396 |
1,251 |
775 |
5,700 |
2,332 |
1,407 |
|
|
+13,825 |
|
-5,419 |
|
+16,692 |
|
-2,615 |
2000 vote cast results from
here. 2000 registrationd data from
Florida.
So, in these three counties, Bush narrowed his registration gap by 2,867 votes and increased his vote advantage by 2,804 votes. Two conclusions: 1) the Republicans did a good job registering voters in these counties; 2) the Democrats in these counties tend to vote Republican.