A fad called chad

Entrepreneurs are hoping to turn Florida's election bungle into a boon. Doesn't every living room need a Votomatic?

By EDIE GROSS

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 11, 2001

Create your own dimpled, hanging or pregnant chad with Psephos Corp.’s Butterfly Ballot Voting Machine, which includes these authentic punch cards and stylus -- just like those used in Palm Beach County.

We should've seen it coming.

The late-night talk show jokes, the stream-of-consciousness babble from Dan Rather, the hours-long aerial video of a Ryder truck driving north -- all of it was just a cruel warm-up, an omen.

But we let our guard down.

We let the concession speech and the transition team lull us into believing that perhaps, at long last, Election 2000 had ended.

Then, there they were, in all their ridiculous glory: sterling silver Inaugural Pregnant Chad Cuff Links.

Sandwiched casually on the eBay online auction list between a pair of Jessica Holbrook khaki stretch pants and a set of Delta Burke denims with the elastic waist band, the cuff links retailed for $120 a set.

"Not only a collectors item but a fashion statement for all men," promised the text above a photo of the life-changing apparel. "You will not find these anywhere." Anywhere except right there, of course.

In a small victory for mankind, the cuff links attracted not one bid.

Neither did the Election Ballot Oil Painting, despite its "1/8-inch-thick Fredrix quality canvas panel." The 14k Dimpled Chad Election 2000 necklace and charm fared better. This stunning addition to any jewelry box, "sure to bring out the best in everyone's conversations," earned one $39 bid.

The inanity of the latest presidential contest has sparked an entrepreneurial spirit in scads of people who are marketing all manner of election-related paraphernalia, from "Chad in 2000" campaign buttons to full-scale Votomatics complete with replicas of the infamous Palm Beach County butterfly ballot.

Brokers from all over the country have hit up Florida's elections supervisors for voting machines, ballots and chad, offering to sell the stuff to interested collectors and split the profits with local governments.

Most supervisors (in punch card counties) have politely declined such offers, amused though they are at the sudden unparalleled interest in their office supplies.

"We joked around about how many things we could accomplish for the department if we sold each chad," said Gisela Salas, assistant elections supervisor for Miami-Dade County. "But definitely, nothing's for sale."

And even if it were for sale, is anybody really interested in buying it?

Yes and no.

Remember the Ryder truck, filmed O.J.-style as it carried 450,000 ballots from Palm Beach County to Tallahassee? The so-called "Chad Chariot" sold for $67,100 on the Yahoo auction site.

Meanwhile, Paul Baggett can't seem to drum up any interest in his chad creation. The Sumterville resident and Pinellas Park High School graduate voted for the first time this year. He saved the chad from his absentee ballot for posterity.

The hoopla surrounding the election spurred Baggett to offer his chad on eBay, complete with a frame and placard proclaiming them Official Florida Chad. The $10 arts-and-crafts project received no bids.

"I did it just for kicks, just to see if there was any interest out there. I didn't figure it'd go for thousands of dollars," Baggett said. "I did it as more of a joke than anything else."

Psephos Corp. of Xenia, Ohio, has attracted more interest with its Butterfly Ballot Voting Machine. After hearing about the arrest of two Lake Worth men who tried to sell a stolen Palm Beach County voting machine on eBay, company employees wondered if there might be a market for legitimate merchandise.

[Courtesy of Von Taylor] The Election Ballot Oil Painting, despite its “1/8-inch-thick Fredrix quality canvas panel,” didn’t receive a single bid on eBay. But for those looking for an artistic take on the 2000 election, don’t worry: It’s back up for auction.

So Psephos, which sells election supplies, pulled some Votomatics out of storage and had another company print up a replica of Palm Beach's butterfly ballot. The package, which includes 10 punch-card ballots "so you can explore the system yourself," sells for $99.95 on the company's Web site.

"We have a bunch of used vote recorders in stock, and this looked like a way to get some of them sold," said president Tod Rapp, who unloaded three on eBay and an unknown number direct from the company. "We've had these sitting in the warehouse for quite a while now. Somebody said, 'Why don't we sell them?' "

Despite multiple requests, Florida elections officials say they are not parting with Votomatics, largely because the counties that use them do not have any other way to vote right now.

The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington has expressed interest in one of Palm Beach County's Votomatics, should the beleaguered Theresa LePore ever choose to ditch one.

Each election year, curators at the museum watch to see which item will become the campaign collector's item. Will it be a campaign button? A candidate's slogan? Perhaps a Web-cam from one of the conventions?

"We stopped scratching our heads as soon as the (Florida) recount started," said Larry Bird, curator of the museum's political campaign collection. "This year, you've got to say that one thing is a butterfly ballot in a Votomatic with a stylus. That's what it all came down to, literally."

Those looking for something a bit more compact have called elections offices looking for spare punch card ballots. Trouble is, state rules require that used and unused ballots from an election be preserved for 22 months.

So collectors have made do with chad, which a few supervisors have been willing to hand out.

"People wanted some to put in their Christmas cards. We tried to give them as much as we could," said Susan Tucker Johnson, Duval County's elections spokeswoman, who stuffed some chad in an envelope for herself. "Maybe one day my grandkids can sell it."

American Custom Publishing of Libertyville, Ill., is selling it now. The company offered to donate to any Florida elections office's favorite charity in return for chad.

"We just asked them for their trash, basically," said president Gary Ford.

A few offices sent handfuls of Florida chad, which the company then combined with Illinois chad to create the PartyChad Commemorative Package, available for $9.95 plus shipping and handling.

"We've had some small sales, but it hasn't been our million-dollar concept," Ford said.

Those looking for no more than a small reminder of history may get a thrill from collecting these items. But don't expect your chad collection to fund your retirement, says Steven Hochman, director of research at the Carter Center in Atlanta and an adjunct history professor at Emory University.

The more this stuff circulates, the less valuable it becomes.

"The distinction is the financial value versus the historical significance," Hochman said. "They're not necessarily the same."

That hasn't stopped people from pursuing election goods.

"I got another e-mail today from somebody who wanted my chad. Honestly, I don't know what we do with them," Pasco County elections supervisor Kurt Browning said last week. "Before, all we did was throw them in the wastebasket. If the county can make money off it, I'd love to have money made for the county. But I don't want it to appear that we're so goofy we're willing to sell chad.

"We're here to say we run good elections -- and by the way, we're selling ballot cards three for a dollar or 500 chad for $1,000?" Browning said. "I don't know where to draw the line."

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