The phrase "automatic tabulation system" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used in contexts related to data processing, voting systems, or any scenario where data is automatically counted or organized.
Example: "The election committee implemented an automatic tabulation system to ensure accurate and efficient vote counting."
Alternatives: "automated counting system" or "automated data processing system".
The Legislature has used the terms "vote tabulation system" and "automatic tabulating equipment" elsewhere in section 102.166, Florida Statutes, when it intended to refer to the system rather than the vote count.
The Legislature has utilized the phrase "vote tabulation system" and "automatic tabulating equipment" in section 102.166 when it intended to refer to the voting system rather than the vote count.
Unless and until each electoral county in the United States uses the exact same automatic tabulation (and even then there may be system malfunctions and alike), there will be tabulating discrepancies depending on the method of tabulation.
Equating "vote tabulation" with "vote tabulation system" obliterates the distinction created in section 102.166 by the Legislature.
Sections 101.5614 5) and (6) also support the proposition that the "error in vote tabulation" encompasses more than a mere determination of whether the vote tabulation system is functioning.
n The plain language of section 102.166 5) refers to an error in the vote tabulation rather than the vote tabulation system.
An error in the vote tabulation means a counting error in which the vote tabulation system fails to count properly marked marksense or properly punched punchcard ballots.
Yet the division, by reading "vote tabulation" and "vote tabulation system" as synonymous, blurs the distinctions that the Legislature clearly delineated in section 102.166.
The opinion ignores the plain language of the statute which refers not to an error in the vote tabulation system but to an error in the vote tabulation.
The following procedure then applies: (5) If the manual recount indicates an error in the vote tabulation which could affect the outcome of the election, the county canvassing board shall: (a) Correct the error and recount the remaining precincts with the vote tabulation system; (b) Request the Department of State to verify the tabulation software; or (c) Manually recount all ballots.
