Hanging Chad Testimony May Hurt Bush

After four hours on the witness stand, John Ahmann testified that pinpoint indentations on the ballot or dimpled and hanging chad that could close over inadvertently when read by automated ballot readers would only be detected by a manual readout.

Ahmann, an expert witness called by lawyers for Texas Gov. George W. Bush, appeared to score points for Vice President Al Gore in the closing moments of his morning testimony when he told Leon County Circuit Judge N. Sanders Sauls that a manual recount would be necessary to detect indiscernible pinpoint indentations or holes on ballots, or if partially dislodged chad flattened back into place when read by a machine

"It's possible that would need a manual recount," Ahmann said. A hanging chad should be considered a valid vote, he said.

Testimony on the second day of Gore's election contest focused on the physics of chad, the tiny bits of perforated paper that are supposed to dislodge when poked with a stylus. The Gore camp and some southern Florida voters contend that chad-stuffed voting machines prevented voters from properly piercing the punch cards.

Elections officials have had a difficult time discerning whether dimpled, pregnant or hanging chad should be counted as valid votes. Ahmann said that unless voting machines went uncleaned for 8-10 years it would be unlikely a voter would be unable to push a chad through to cast a proper vote.

Ahmann, whose company manufactures Votomatic voting machines, explained that voters use a metal stylus with a rubber grip to puncture a template holding a punch card and dislodge the chad. Underneath the ballot, a rubber strip stops the stylus but allows the chad to fall into a 90-cubic-inch well. Ahmann said about 1.5 million pieces of chad could accumulate in the well, which could take as long as 10 years to fill.

Gore attorney Steve Zach presented a patent application Ahmann had submitted more than a decade ago discussing flaws in Votomatic machines, such as a tendency for chad to build up in the lower well and problems with chad sticking to the stylus – leading to hanging or dimpled chad.

Phil Beck, a Bush attorney, used Ahmann to attack testimony of Gore expert Kimball Brace, an election consultant who testified Saturday that the chad buildup in the well below the ballot cards caused voting problems

"Is it remotely possible that little mountains of chad are going to build up under Al Gore's name that will prevent anyone else from voting?" Beck asked.

Ahmann said it wasn't likely unless the machines were being used for 1,000 voters per election rather than the recommended 125 per election.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Friday and could have a decision sometime this week, though nobody can predict when – and what – the high court will decide. The Bush campaign asked the Supreme Court to rule that the Florida Supreme Court violated legal and constitutional provisions when it allowed a preliminary hand recount in several counties.

Several other lawsuits are pending in Florida courts.

Florida's Legislature intends to meet in special session Wednesday, state House Speaker Tom Feeny said Sunday. The Republican-controlled Legislature intends to appoint electors – presumably for Bush – to ensure that "no Florida voters are disenfranchised…"

Al Gore won't stop. Read NewsMax.com's urgent letter. Click Here to find out how you can help inform America about Al Gore's election theft.