They come in e-mails, letters to the editor and even statements from congressmen: conspiracy theories about the presidential election.

One Web site insists that there were widespread abnormalities in the vote of some Florida counties, claiming that more people voted for President Bush than were registered Republicans. In Ohio, conspiracy theorists are having a field day with the election results in Cuyahoga County, claiming that the number of votes in some precincts was higher than the number of registered voters. Yet another cadre believes that the early exit polls showing a Kerry victory must have been correct, and that the actual vote totals were manipulated.

There are reasonable explanations for all of the supposed irregularities. It is common in the South, including some areas of Florida, for registered Democrats to vote for Republicans in national elections. The Florida counties in question had also voted for Republican presidents in previous elections. Meanwhile, the supposed Florida irregularities were mentioned in a letter from three congressmen requesting a federal investigation.

In Ohio, Cuyahoga County confusingly aggregates absentee ballots from multiple precincts into one precinct, making the total votes seem larger than they were. Although early exit polls did show a large Kerry lead, final polls reflecting the whole day of voting actually showed Bush slightly ahead.

That's not to say that there were no problems on Election Day. Several machines had software glitches, with one machine in Ohio awarding Bush an extra 4,000 votes and one North Carolina machine subtracting 4,500 votes. Those mistakes, while troubling, do not signify an orchestrated fraud effort.

Observers should continue to question election results, to protect against intentional or accidental fraud. But continuing to spread conspiracy theories when all evidence points against them is irresponsible and only undermines confidence in the nation's voting system.