I'm not saying there's funny business going on...

...but have you ever heard Republicans complain that electronic voting machines failed to count their votes?

The Orlando Sentinel has conducted an analysis of 18,000 voters in Florida's 13th district (represented by the inimitable Kathleen Harris) for whom the machines registered no choice in the congressional race. The paper has found that those voters "solidly backed Democratic candidates in all five of Florida's statewide races," giving the Democrat in each of those races a margin of at least 551 votes. Considering that the margin of victory claimed by the Republican candidate Vern Buchanan was only about 360 votes, the finding certainly suggests--especially given that the congressional contest was very highly contested--that voting machines malfunctioned, or worse.

In certain sections of Sarasota County there were thousands of "undervotes," cases of individuals who voted in other races but did not record a choice in the congressional election. The knee-jerk reaction of election officials was that voters had chosen to skip the congressional race; that same argument was trotted out at one point in 2000.

Although officials have certified Buchanan as the winner, Democrat Christine Jennings has filed suit seeking a new election.

The whole matter may end up in front of the House, which is the final judge of its membership. If, as seems likely, the court case delays the decision until the 110th Congress convenes, the Democratic majority could declare Jennings the victor or rule that the seat is vacant, requiring a new election. Unfortunately, any repeat election would have to be held using the same flawed voting machines.