One of the mysteries of Florida’s razor-tight election is why more than 24,000 people voted for a governor candidate in that South Florida county but didn’t vote in the Senate race.

A possible explanation lies in the design of the Broward ballot.

The instructions for voting on the ballot ran in the far left column of the ballot, pushing the Senate race below them.

Some speculate that displaying the Senate choices that way might have caused some voters to overlook that race.

In Orange County and other Florida ballots, the instructions are anchored across the top so that all the races line up.

Some Broward County residents have told the Sun Sentinel that they didn’t see the Senate race on their ballots.

But the bottom line is this: There is really no way to determine how many people might have voted in the U.S. Senate race if the ballot had been designed differently.

mskoneki@orlandosentinel.com