ANCHESTER, N.H. - William M. Gardner, New Hampshire's secretary of state, says he knows a lousy idea when he sees one.
So in 1986, when the town of Hanover wanted to invest in the same kind of voting machines used by Palm Beach County, Fla., Gardner balked.
He went to the state's Ballot Law Commission and pleaded.
''Those punch cards,'' Gardner said, ''I was very adamant about how problematical they were in trying to figure out the intent of the voter.''
Ultimately, the Ballot Law Commission not only took Gardner's recommendation about Hanover, but banned the use of punch cards statewide.
Gardner said that often, the circle would not always be punched out completely when a voter turned in his ballot - the little cardboard circle would be left hanging on by a thread. Or maybe one piece of it would be punched, but not the whole thing.
Such votes would be missed in the first count, Gardner said, and then confound election officials attempting to conduct a recount.
Gardner marveled at how Florida could possibly pull off a recount in just a couple of days using the punch card system.
William Galvin, the Massachusetts secretary of state, found himself in an electoral pickle with a recount in the 1996 10th Congressional District primary race. Galvin called New Hampshire. The ballots in question were punch cards.
''It was a mess,'' Gardner said. He told Galvin, ''We got rid of those 10 years ago for the same reason.'' Now, when one votes in most New Hampshire communities, the process is simple: Use a pencil.
