I remember, when I was a tiny tot -- Yes! after The Ice-Age! -- listening to my country Aunt's crude radio. Lots of static. Ironically, to hear over the static, you didn't turn the volume up, but turned the volume down! Why? Because, in turning up the volume, the static grew "faster" than the signal, eventually "drowning it out"". That's what happens with a LOW-FIDELITY ELECTRONIC SYSTEM.

I can explain this via some 6th Grade Fractions. Why fractions? Because electronic engineers measure radio transmission in terms of a Signal-Noise-Ratio -- a fraction with Signal Power in the Numerator, Noise Power in the Denominator.

First, let's review the INEQUATITY RULE FOR FRACTIONS: a/b < c/d -> a x d < b x c. Checking that: 2/3 < 3/4 because 2 x 4 < 3 x 3.

Let's use the INEQUATION RULE to see what happens when we SQUARE FRACTIONS GREATER THAN 1 COMPARED TO THOSE LESS THAN 1.

3/2 x 3/2 = 9/4; and 3/2 < 9/4 BECAUSE 3 X 4 < 2 X 9. SQUARING A FRACTION GREATER THAN 1 INCREASES IT. 2/3 X 2/3 = 4/9; and 4/9 < 2/3 BECAUSE 4 X 2 < 3 X 3. SQUARING A FRACTION LESS THAN 1 DECREASES IT. Now, 1 = 2/2. 2/2 x 2/2 = 4/4, and 2/2 = 4/4 BECAUSE 2 x 4 = 4 x 2. SQUARING A FRACTION EQUAL TO 1 DOESN'T CHANGE IT.

So what? The measure electonic engineers use is: Signal/Noise. And the effect of increasing the strengths of both Signal and Noise is effectively like multiplying this Ratio by a fraction greater than 1.

Clearly, if Signal Power is GREATER than Noise Power, then Signal will grow "faster" than Noise and become more "faithful" to the transmitted Signal: HI-FIDELITY. But if Signal Power is LESS than Noise Power, then Signal will grow "slower" than Noise and become less "faithful" to the transmitted Signal: LOW-FIDELITY. This is what happened with Aunt Della's radio. Turning up the volume allowed Noise to swamp the Signal.

We have a similar situation when we consider the ratio: (VOTES-COUNTED)/(VOTES-CAST). If this RATIO were approximately 1, and processed in year-by-year election, by recounting, rerunning, whatever, then "things would remain about the same".

We know it can't (legally) be GREATER than 1. And some votes will be thrown out, making it always in some DEGREE LESS THAN 1. So,its KIND is LOW-FIDELITY. The only question is THE DEGREE OF LOW-FIDELITY.

Shouldn't the MEDIA be reporting this, year after year? But I don't know where to find such reports. Do you?

My impression is that it has grown worse during my adult life-time. Prove me wrong!