Do you know what a "go-nogo gauge" is?

It's a cylindrical metal tube. Do you know its use? For quality control inspection of items such as ball bearings.

Engineers wish to produce a ball bearing of a certain diameter for use in machinery. If its production line turns out a ball bearing significantly larger or smaller than the prescribed diameter, then it must be rejected.

Every produced ball bearing can be checked for "diameter-tolerance" by a go-nogo gauge. If it falls out the smaller end of the gauge, the ball bearing "too small" and must be rejected. If it won't go in the larger end of the gauge, the ball bearing is "too large" and must be rejected. But if the ball bearing enters the larger end of the gauge and does not pass through the smaller end of the gauge, then IT PASSES INSPECTION.

Quality control engineers take RANDOM SAMPLES of ball bearings from a production line and inspect each by a go-nogo gauge. The number of rejects are plotted on a QUALITY CONTROL CHARTS, such as that shown in "QUALITY CONTROL OF ELECTIONS" at this Website. The CHART has UPPER and LOWER CONTOL LINES to bound out EXTREME VALUES. If a REJECT NUMBER falls above the UPPER CONTROL LINE, this is a warning to the engineers that THE PROCESS MAY BE GOING OUT OF CONTROL, and could become worse. They look into means to bring the PROCESS back UNDER CONTROL, so that most of the ball bearings will PASS INSPECTION. If a REJECT NUMBER falls below the LOWER CONTROL LINE, the engineers realize that "something good may be happening" -- better supplies, better workmanship, or whatever. They try to find a "cause" and take advantage so that THE QUALITY AVERAGE INCREASES.

By similar methods for various types of equipment, QUALITY CONTROL helped to win WORLD WAR II and enriched the economy and improved out lives in peace-time.

We could do the same with "rejects" of the VOTING PROCESS in each ELECTION. I'm especially considering the REJECTS of ballots "thrown out", for one reason or another.

ELECTION 2000 has revealed in Florida the SCANDALOUS DISENFRANCHISEMENT of citizens for various reasons. The cynical attitude of so much of the Public and the Media should shock us, although the cycnicism of power-hungry politicians need not.

I studied quality control engineering in Graduate School at New York University. I'v taught it in university courses. I assure you that QUALITY CONTROL ENGINEERING WORKS THE SAME FOR BALL BEARINGS AND BALLOTS.

But, apparently, we care more about ball bearings than we do about the rights of our fellow citizens!