CHICAGO TRIBUNE PARTICIPATES IN INVENTORY OF UNCOUNTED BALLOTS IN FLORIDA
CHICAGO, January 9, 2001 – A group of the nation’s largest news organizations, including Chicago Tribune and Tribune Publishing, has retained the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) to conduct an in-depth inventory of the uncounted ballots from the presidential race in Florida.
The group, which includes Tribune Publishing (Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Orlando Sentinel), The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN, Associated Press, St. Petersburg Times and Palm Beach Post, plans to produce a database that will describe in detail the 180,000 Florida ballots that didn’t register a vote on machine counts ? including both undervotes and overvotes.
The news organizations have hired NORC, a nonprofit survey research firm affiliated with the University of Chicago, to view the ballots and abstract information about the marks, or lack of marks, on each. NORC will not attempt to assess whether any particular ballot contains a “vote” but simply describe the marks.
The project will produce the definitive historical archive of Florida ballots that did not register a vote in the presidential election, using the highest standards of scientific accuracy and transparency.
“There are still many questions left after the election in Florida,” said Ann Marie Lipinski, executive editor of the Chicago Tribune. “We are taking part in this important project to find out what useful information might be found on 180,000 uncounted ballots. Hopefully, this will help provide some answers.”
