Josh Goodman is a former staff writer for GOVERNING..
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What Fate for Florida's Famous Ballots?
This I did not know: Florida has all of the ballots from the 2000 presidential election still sitting around in storage. Yep, all 6 million of them. But now the state is thinking about getting rid of them, as the Miami Herald reports:
After much hand-wringing and debate, state officials decided in 2003 that they should hold onto the more than six million votes cast in the historic election between Al Gore and George W. Bush that Bush ultimately won by just 537 votes. Normally, ballots are destroyed after 22 months.
But now Secretary of State Kurt Browning says he would just as soon junk them and free up the space in his archives that hold the ballots -- more than 4,000 cubic feet.
''What purpose do they serve?'' said Browning, who said he doesn't understand the ''mystique'' that still surrounds them and has not seen the HBO movie. ``I have a hard time giving away valuable space for more than 5,000 boxes.''
I think this commenter on the Herald's article has the right idea:
Sell them on ebay as memorabilia to help with the state's budget woes as it relates to education funding. I'm sure they have some historical value for educational institutions and collectors.
I'd pay at least a few bucks for an authentic dimpled chad.
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