However, the situation on Sept. 10 was, if possible, worse then that of two years ago. Due to malfunctioning machines and confused poll workers, polls in the Miami-Dade and Broward counties opened late and closed early. Despite an emergency two-hour voting extension, some residents were turned away from the polls multiple times.

Even when people did get to vote, their votes were not always counted correctly. As I write, the Democratic gubernatorial primary has still not been decided because of these issues, giving Republicans an unfair advantage. Worse, thousands of Floridian voters have been disenfranchised again, and a severe blow has been struck at faith in the American political system.

The blame for this snafu has been tossed around the state and the nation. Florida's governor Jeb Bush has denied any responsibility for the situation, asking "What is it with Democrats having a hard time voting?"

Miriam L. Oliphant, the Broward County supervisor of elections, has blamed redistricting for increasing the size of her district by 218 precincts.

A popular source of blame is Elections Systems & Software Inc., the company that provided the touch-screen machines. Critics say that the machines were delivered late and calibrated incorrectly, and that the accompanying manuals were too complex to easily understand under pressure.

Many blame poll workers for the problems. ES&S troubleshooters' notes included phrases like "Clerk is out of control," and "Clerk does not speak English well enough." Officials say that the clerks were resistant to the changes the new system brought and unwilling to work harder or stay the extra two hours. The clerks in turn blame any problems on their end on a lack of training and the extreme stress of the job. Reports from the day leave no doubt as to the panicked state of poll workers in the face of the machine malfunctions.

However, I suspect it would have taken super-human strength and courage to not react in such a manner in the face of this situation. ES&S probably could have done a better job. Given this, their machines functioned well in the other nine counties that used them.

The blame for the second Florida election debacle in two years rests on the election officials in the counties and ultimately on the state's chief executive, Gov. Jeb Bush.

Voting is vital to the health of our nation. In a state that has suffered so much from voting irregularities, it would be difficult for the government to place too much emphasis on ensuring free and fair elections. If I can find an article using a simple Google search warning of potential difficulties with the new systems months in advance, surely Florida officials knew about the problems.

Instead of demonstrating responsible leadership in a time of crisis, Bush has chosen to take a laissez-faire attitude towards the difficulties, including taking cheap and inappropriate shots at Democrats.

I cannot help but wonder if his attitude would be somewhat different if Florida's voting issues did not benefit his family, his party and himself.