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Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 785
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 10:33 am: | 
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Kerry Won. . .
Greg Palast
November 04, 2004
Bush won Ohio by 136,483 votes. In the United States, about 3 percent of votes cast are voided—known as “spoilage” in election jargon—because the ballots cast are inconclusive. Drawing on what happened in Florida and studies of elections past, Palast argues that if Ohio’s discarded ballots were counted, Kerry would have won the state. Today, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports there are a total of 247,672 votes not counted in Ohio, if you add the 92,672 discarded votes plus the 155,000 provisional ballots. So far there's no indication that Palast's hypothesis will be tested because only the provisional ballots are being counted.
Greg Palast, contributing editor to Harper's magazine, investigated the manipulation of the vote for BBC Television's Newsnight. The documentary, "Bush Family Fortunes," based on his New York Times bestseller, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, has been released this month on DVD .
Kerry won. Here are the facts.
I know you don't want to hear it. You can't face one more hung chad. But I don't have a choice. As a journalist examining that messy sausage called American democracy, it's my job to tell you who got the most votes in the deciding states. Tuesday, in Ohio and New Mexico, it was John Kerry.
Most voters in Ohio thought they were voting for Kerry. At 1:05 a.m. Wednesday morning, CNN's exit poll showed Kerry beating Bush among Ohio women by 53 percent to 47 percent. The exit polls were later combined with—and therefore contaminated by—the tabulated results, ultimately becoming a mirror of the apparent actual vote. [To read about the skewing of exit polls to conform to official results, click here .] Kerry also defeated Bush among Ohio's male voters 51 percent to 49 percent. Unless a third gender voted in Ohio, Kerry took the state.
So what's going on here? Answer: the exit polls are accurate. Pollsters ask, "Who did you vote for?" Unfortunately, they don't ask the crucial, question, "Was your vote counted?" The voters don't know.
Here's why. Although the exit polls show that most voters in Ohio punched cards for Kerry-Edwards, thousands of these votes were simply not recorded. This was predictable and it was predicted. [See TomPaine.com, "An Election Spoiled Rotten," November 1.]
Once again, at the heart of the Ohio uncounted vote game are, I'm sorry to report, hanging chads and pregnant chads, plus some other ballot tricks old and new.
The election in Ohio was not decided by the voters but by something called "spoilage." Typically in the United States, about 3 percent of the vote is voided, just thrown away, not recorded. When the bobble-head boobs on the tube tell you Ohio or any state was won by 51 percent to 49 percent, don't you believe it ... it has never happened in the United States, because the total never reaches a neat 100 percent. The television totals simply subtract out the spoiled vote.
Whose Votes Are Discarded?
And not all votes spoil equally. Most of those votes, say every official report, come from African-American and minority precincts. (To learn more, click here.)
We saw this in Florida in 2000. Exit polls showed Gore with a plurality of at least 50,000, but it didn't match the official count. That's because the official, Secretary of State Katherine Harris, excluded 179,855 spoiled votes. In Florida, as in Ohio, most of these votes lost were cast on punch cards where the hole wasn't punched through completely—leaving a 'hanging chad,'—or was punched extra times. Whose cards were discarded? Expert statisticians investigating spoilage for the government calculated that 54 percent of the ballots thrown in the dumpster were cast by black folks. (To read the report from the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, click here .)
And here's the key: Florida is terribly typical. The majority of ballots thrown out (there will be nearly 2 million tossed out from Tuesday's election) will have been cast by African American and other minority citizens.
So here we go again. Or, here we don't go again. Because unlike last time, Democrats aren't even asking Ohio to count these cards with the not-quite-punched holes (called "undervotes" in the voting biz). Nor are they demanding we look at the "overvotes" where voter intent may be discerned.
Ohio is one of the last states in America to still use the vote-spoiling punch-card machines. And the Secretary of State of Ohio, J. Kenneth Blackwell, wrote before the election, “the possibility of a close election with punch cards as the state’s primary voting device invites a Florida-like calamity.”
But this week, Blackwell, a rabidly partisan Republican, has warmed up to the result of sticking with machines that have a habit of eating Democratic votes. When asked if he feared being this year's Katherine Harris, Blackwell noted that Ms. Fix-it's efforts landed her a seat in Congress.
Exactly how many votes were lost to spoilage this time? Blackwell's office, notably, won't say, though the law requires it be reported. Hmm. But we know that last time, the total of Ohio votes discarded reached a democracy-damaging 1.96 percent. The machines produced their typical loss—that's 110,000 votes—overwhelmingly Democratic.
The Impact Of Challenges
First and foremost, Kerry was had by chads. But the Democrat wasn't punched out by punch cards alone. There were also the 'challenges.' That's a polite word for the Republican Party of Ohio's use of an old Ku Klux Klan technique: the attempt to block thousands of voters of color at the polls. In Ohio, Wisconsin and Florida, the GOP laid plans for poll workers to ambush citizens under arcane laws—almost never used—allowing party-designated poll watchers to finger individual voters and demand they be denied a ballot. The Ohio courts were horrified and federal law prohibits targeting of voters where race is a factor in the challenge. But our Supreme Court was prepared to let Republicans stand in the voting booth door.
In the end, the challenges were not overwhelming, but they were there. Many apparently resulted in voters getting these funky "provisional" ballots—a kind of voting placebo—which may or may not be counted. Blackwell estimates there were 175,000; Democrats say 250,000. Pick your number. But as challenges were aimed at minorities, no one doubts these are, again, overwhelmingly Democratic. Count them up, add in the spoiled punch cards (easy to tally with the human eye in a recount), and the totals begin to match the exit polls; and, golly, you've got yourself a new president. Remember, Bush won by 136,483 votes in Ohio.
Enchanted State's Enchanted Vote
Now, on to New Mexico, where a Kerry plurality—if all votes are counted—is more obvious still. Before the election, in TomPaine.com, I wrote, "John Kerry is down by several thousand votes in New Mexico, though not one ballot has yet been counted."
How did that happen? It's the spoilage, stupid; and the provisional ballots.
CNN said George Bush took New Mexico by 11,620 votes. Again, the network total added up to that miraculous, and non-existent, '100 percent' of ballots cast.
New Mexico reported in the last race a spoilage rate of 2.68 percent, votes lost almost entirely in Hispanic, Native American and poor precincts—Democratic turf. From Tuesday's vote, assuming the same ballot-loss rate, we can expect to see 18,000 ballots in the spoilage bin.
Spoilage has a very Democratic look in New Mexico. Hispanic voters in the Enchanted State, who voted more than two to one for Kerry, are five times as likely to have their vote spoil as a white voter. Counting these uncounted votes would easily overtake the Bush 'plurality.'
Already, the election-bending effects of spoilage are popping up in the election stats, exactly where we'd expect them: in heavily Hispanic areas controlled by Republican elections officials. Chaves County, in the "Little Texas" area of New Mexico, has a 44 percent Hispanic population, plus African Americans and Native Americans, yet George Bush "won" there 68 percent to 31 percent.
I spoke with Chaves' Republican county clerk before the election, and he told me that this huge spoilage rate among Hispanics simply indicated that such people simply can't make up their minds on the choice of candidate for president. Oddly, these brown people drive across the desert to register their indecision in a voting booth.
Now, let's add in the effect on the New Mexico tally of provisional ballots.
"They were handing them out like candy," Albuquerque journalist Renee Blake reported of provisional ballots. About 20,000 were given out. Who got them?
Santiago Juarez who ran the "Faithful Citizenship" program for the Catholic Archdiocese in New Mexico, told me that "his" voters, poor Hispanics, whom he identified as solid Kerry supporters, were handed the iffy provisional ballots. Hispanics were given provisional ballots, rather than the countable kind "almost religiously," he said, at polling stations when there was the least question about a voter's identification. Some voters, Santiago said, were simply turned away.
Your Kerry Victory Party
So we can call Ohio and New Mexico for John Kerry—if we count all the votes.
But that won't happen. Despite the Democratic Party's pledge, the leadership this time gave in to racial disenfranchisement once again. Why? No doubt, the Democrats know darn well that counting all the spoiled and provisional ballots will require the cooperation of Ohio's Secretary of State, Blackwell. He will ultimately decide which spoiled and provisional ballots get tallied. Blackwell, hankering to step into Kate Harris' political pumps, is unlikely to permit anything close to a full count. Also, Democratic leadership knows darn well the media would punish the party for demanding a full count.
What now? Kerry won, so hold your victory party. But make sure the shades are down: it may be become illegal to demand a full vote count under PATRIOT Act III.
I used to write a column for the Guardian papers in London. Several friends have asked me if I will again leave the country. In light of the failure—a second time—to count all the votes, that won't be necessary. My country has left me.
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Sisg
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Sisg
Post Number: 142
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 10:46 am: |
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Chris,
Didn't we know Ohio was going to be another Florida...it was almost foretold, and yet the Dem party failed to prevent it. |
Lawchic
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Lawchic
Post Number: 101
Registered: 10-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 10:47 am: |
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This is so disheartening. |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 786
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 10:48 am: |
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Sisg:
All I can figure is that they think that when it is their turn they can do the same thing--or they are doing the same thing.
Or they are a bunch of lily livered cowards who don't deserve anyone's support.
Is THIS what the U.S. is trying to export to the rest of the world? |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 1791
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 11:30 am: |
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If any snide Repubicans get in your face, gloating about Bush winning by more votes than any president in history, you can respond by saying that he also had more votes cast against him than any president in history. Now Bush, with that smirk on his face, is declaring a mandate, saying he'll work with anybody who shares his goals. Which means he'll only work with right-wing conservatives. In the next 4 years, the face of this country will be altered. America is going to be turned into a bellicose, oppressive theocracy. The victors are the ones always shouting "God Bless America," and all those of us who reject Bush can do now is to say "Lord help us." |
Brelei715
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Brelei715
Post Number: 110
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 12:02 pm: |
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Kerry won the popular votes but Bush won more electorial votes. what exactly does that mean you say? Oh, it only means that no matter who we vote for it's really the 'powers that be' who decide who takes the seat. Shoooot the way I see it, it was our last time voting anyway since 'THE ACT' that was signed giving us temporary rights to vote expire in 2007. Um, um, um, that don't even make no sense!!!
If ever we needed the Lord befo' we sho' do need him now.
ER' BOD-DAY SANG!!! If ever, we needed the Lord befo', we sho' do need him now........ |
A_womon
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 1139
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 01:18 pm: |
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Unhunh! But I told yall the same things that are written in this article---I guess yall didn't believe me~
I told yall that they tried any and every tactic to get people to have to vote provisional ballots (punch cards) and then I told yall they wasn't counting any of them.
And the reports of the number of votes cast for Kerry locally NEVER match what they were feeding yall nationally. It was reported that there were over 275,000 uncounted votes, including absentee ballots that were not yet counted. This was on election night--yet the national news was reporting that there were under 136,00 uncounted votes, of which less than 10 percent would count, and even then Kerry wouldn't get all of those 10 percent! Those were the biggest "spinners" I have ever seen or heard. I wanted to throw up as I listened in utter amazement at the descrepancies in the vote counts all night long!!! |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 789
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 02:02 pm: |
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George Bush just slapped our mamas! |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 790
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 03:17 pm: |
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Should America Trust the Results of the Election?
http://www.washingtondispatch.com/article_10500.shtml
Rage Against the Machines: The Web wonders if electronic voting machines
stole the election.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2109141/
States with electronic voting machines gave Bush mysterious 5% advantage;
bloggers do the math that broadcast networks fail to follow
http://www.newstarget.com/002076.html
Presidential Election: Exit polls and ‘actual’ results don’t match; Evoting
states show greater discrepancy
http://www.ilcaonline.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=
904&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
CITIZENS FOR LEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT (www.legitgov.org) Launches Investigation
Into Discrepancies of 2004 'Election'
http://www.legitgov.org/pressrelease_stolen_election_2004_110404.html
Allegations Of Voter Fraud In US Election Begin To Surface
http://www.jihadunspun.com/intheatre_internal.php?article=100380&list=/home.
php
The Case For Fraud
http://www.counterbias.com/152.html
Too many voting ’irregularities’ to be coincidence
http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=4175
A Full Investigation is Required
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=90&ItemID=6573
Never Say Die-bold: So You Don’t Think the Bush Campaign Stole This
Election? Think Again
http://www.opednews.com/thoreau_110404_diebold.htm
The Ultimate Felony Against Democracy
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1104-38.htm
Kerry Won
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/kerry_won_.php
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 1796
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 04:35 pm: |
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Stop, it, Chris! I'm already disillusioned enough. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 2049
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 08:00 am: |
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Foks,
This is all our fault. Because at some point we've got to accept that we are all born into dogfight with a devil that recognizes no innocent bystanders. |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 791
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 11:03 am: |
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All:
I do not think it is hopeless--yet--
But it will be if this is true and we take this. We must demand a full investigation. |
A_womon
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 1142
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 11:16 am: |
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IT IS TRUE! |
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