Election Fraud Conspiracy Theory Thread

And of course there's this:
http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=392&row=0

This lends some credence to another conspiracy theory - that the Dems hoped to lose all along. A little short term pain for long-term gain, in that the Repubs own the White House and Congress, so they will be completely culpable in the event something horrible goes down (Iraq calamity, economic calamity, another terrorist attack, etc.). And then the Dems will make bigger gains in '08.

Over the next four years, we should insist that all voting machines produce a hard-copy record. Venezuela manages to have electronic voting machines that also produce a paper trail. Why can't we do that in the U.S.? Why the fuck shouldn't we be paranoid about it when people in power fight against that sort of accountability?

I'm not saying I believe that the vote was stolen. I'm saying I think Mahajan is right: there's no way to be certain about it.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- An error with an electronic voting system gave President Bush 3,893 extra votes in suburban Columbus, elections officials said.

Franklin County's unofficial results had Bush receiving 4,258 votes to Democrat John Kerry's 260 votes in a precinct in Gahanna. Records show only 638 voters cast ballots in that precinct.

Bush actually received 365 votes in the precinct, Matthew Damschroder, director of the Franklin County Board of Elections, told The Columbus Dispatch.

State and county election officials did not immediately respond to requests by The Associated Press for more details about the voting system and its vendor, and whether the error, if repeated elsewhere in Ohio, could have affected the outcome.

errmm xpost

http://www.boulderweekly.com/coverstory.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_U.S._Election_controversies_and_irregularities

(okay, I'm not being serious, but still, if this is how the GOP plays it then Dan Perry '08 needs to employ some pretty hard-nosed, smart safe-cracker types to make the cheating even)

-- Dan Selzer (danselze...) (webmail), November 2nd, 2004 1:09 PM. (Dan Selzer) (later) (link)

Listening to NPR discuss voter fraud before the election(sunday) and they discussed all the bullshit, the flyers and phone calls associating kerry w/ gay marriage, the notes telling african-americans to vote on wednesdays, and much more serious issues with messed up voter registrations...republican groups registerting as non-partisan, walking up to people, asking who they prefer, if they said Kerry they'd say "ok, I'll mark that down in my poll, thank you" and if they said Bush they'd promptly register them. One employee did take registration forms from democrats only to have his boss tear them up in front of him and say "we're not paying you to register democrats." He was sueing but his case got put on hold, till after the office, care of some bullshit government intervention. NPR then went on to mention exactly 2 cases of fraud that would've leaned Democratic, one where people were paid for each registration card, so they just made up names like Mary Poppins, which of course means an extra registration card, Mary Poppins can't vote! (I know, she can fly...) The other case was the one where someone was trading crack for registrations. Mr. NPR then more or less said:

You are going to hear about these two instances over and over again from the Republicans, because these are the ONLY TWO CASES that have come up, while we don't even have time during this show to cover everything fraudulent being commited for Bush

The case I mentioned first, the so-called "non-partisan" registration, was from a guy who used to be high up in the Republicans, and I've been trying to google to find the story but can't remember his name. Spewel, or Spoil or something. Anybody know what I'm talking about?

that should read till after the election

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04294/398767.stm

http://www.alternet.org/election04/20194/

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/10/13/32821/029

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1026montini26.html

I don't want this thread to go away like I don't want these stories to go away. I'd like to think if there was systematic fraud with the op-scan machines (the ones reporting Bush votes several hundred percent in excess of registered Republicans in certain Florida counties) some whistleblower would emerge.

Ho, wait - that's illegal!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240

District Reg Voters Votes Difference % Turnout
WOODMERE VIL 558 8,854 -8,296 1586.74%
HIGHLAND HILLS VIL 760 8,822 -8,062 1160.79%
OAKWOOD VIL 2, 746 7,099 -4,353 258.52%
CUYAHOGA HE V 570 1,382 -812 242.46%
ORANGE CSD 11,640 22,931 -11,291 197.00%
VALLEY VIEW VIL 1,787 3,409 -1,622 190.77%
SOLN WD6 2,292 4,300 -2,008 187.61%
BEDFORD HEIGHTS 8,142 13,512 -5,370 165.95%
BROOKLYN HEIS V 1,144 1,869 -725 163.37%
STRG WD3 7,806 12,108 -4,302 155.11%
BEDFORD 9,942 14,465 -4,523 145.49%

All told - 30 Districts with more VOTES than Voters
All told - 48 Districts with more than 80% turnout"

Can anyone out there verify this information?

http://www.alternet.org/election04/20458/

http://www.alternet.org/election04/20451/

Haha awesome!

Well, the January 6th Contest is over. Some initial thoughts:

I was impressed by how prepared the Democratic speakers were, in both houses, and how very unprepared the Republican speakers were. While Democrats were citing example after example of actual vote suppression efforts, partisan electioneering on the part of state officials, etc., etc., Republicans who got up to speak mainly read from newspaper clippings or otherwise strutted and blustered about. It seems fairly clear that the Republicans weren't actually expecting a contest, and were unprepared for it.

The issue was framed very well. This isn't a contest of the outcome, but of the process, and the partisan corruption therein. Republicans will spin it as they will, but they will have very little ammunition, from Democrats, to work with. The talking point needs to be, at this point: Democrats are standing up for the right to vote of all citizens. Why aren't the Republicans?

Blackwell got hammered spectacularly, as he should have been. But for Blackwell, this is just the beginning. An investigation needs to take place as to the pattern of abuses found in Blackwell's office before, during, and after the elections -- especially those pertaining to the requested recount.

Tom DeLay is the Eric Cartman of the House. A self-centered, perpetually pissy figure with no apparent motive in life other than to cravenly scoop whatever political power he can before people get wise to him. The odds of him being indicted are soaring rapidly; couldn't happen to a more deserving nut.

Now for the aftermath. Will the media report on the actual, concrete examples of voting problems the Democrats raised? Will the media instead play clip after clip of DeLay and other cronies whining and bubbling about the sheer partisanship of bringing election problems up? And will any member of the media even leave their chairs, to do their reporting?
Let's find out.

http://amcop.blogspot.com/2005/01/choice-words.html

Something historic happened yesterday. For the first time since 1877 a member of the House and a member of the Senate stood up together to object to the outcome of a presidential election.

This is the first step on a necessary road toward making sure that everyone is allowed to vote and that every vote is counted (something we did not see in 2000 or 2004) so the next time around ALL of us can be confident, when the election results come in, that they reflect the will of the people, not the whim of mechanical error and human obstruction.

Unlike 2000, when the black members of Congress were told to sit down and shut up, this time a senator had the courage to stand with them, as the law requires, to force Congress to go back to their separate chambers to discuss and debate the issues surrounding the vote count. Senator Barbara Boxer rose to the occasion and stood with Ohio Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones and 29 other Representatives "to cast the light of truth on a flawed system which must be fixed now." The ensuing debate, at times, became a debate over me and all of you and the fact that we would dare make the attempt to protect our democracy.

I was blown away when Representative Maxine Waters took to the floor and said, "Mr. Speaker and members, I dedicate my objection to Ohio's electoral votes to Mr. Michael Moore, the producer of the documentary '9/11' and I thank him for educating the world on the threats to our democracy and the proceedings of this house on the acceptance of the electoral college votes for the 2000 presidential election."

I am honored to the point of embarrassment because it is Maxine Waters who deserves thanks for defending our most basic right, not once, but twice.

Coming out of the gates like this in the very first week of session sent a strong message that we are not going to be pushed around. If the Republicans think the next four years are going to be a cakewalk, they've got another thing coming. With Michigan Representative John Conyers leading the charge, we showed them something not seen in over 120 years. And we're just getting started!

Congratulations to the tens of thousands of you who called, faxed, and e-mailed Barbara Boxer and other senators. You have shown the world, with the strength of your convictions, that the movement toward a truly representative democracy will not be stopped in its tracks. Yesterday's actions will be marked by history books as a turning point for the electoral process and for a Democratic Party that has for too long sat back and taken it on the chin.

that's not a very nice thing to say!

If the Republicans think the next four years are going to be a cakewalk, they've got another thing coming

Short of filibustering, the Dems don't have any legislative power, so this is a threat without any teeth. Stop with the fucking empty rhetoric and come up with some REAL ISSUES to put on the table. This "boo hoo, our democracy is fraudulent" crap is a non-starter, it's not an action that will be marked by the history books as a turning point for the electoral process. Stop exaggerating insignificant "gains" and start engaging in some realistic plans for change.

Barbara rules, pretty much. Having her as one of my senators for twelve years now, and soon to be eighteen at least, has been a constant source of pride. Perfect, no, but who is?

I'm not saying I completely agree with that take on things, though. I'm sure you've heard it countless times as well. I guess what I'm wondering is, if you'd care to share, what you think of the idea.

That's the ideal case, but unfortunately, as you pointed out Lysander, deciding which side makes a more sensible argument requires more thought and effort than most people are willing to devote to the task.

The more Michael Moore tries to pass off relatively insignificant governmental proceedure as a Great Victory For Our Democracy, the more disappointed his hardcore followers will be when they find out that it isn't true (of course, the same applies for the opposite end of the political spectrum).

What I wonder though is if the opposite end of the political spectrum cares though. 'So Rush lies sometimes, so does my boss! It's like I'm gonna quit because of it. When's the game on?'

They seem to be more rooting for their team than voting. Maybe (for the sake of discussion) right now in America the caring need to realize that the Republicans are the NFC and the Democrats the AFC. One side is about defense, the other progress. Give people reasons to root and they will.

(apologies for the facile oversimplification of our culture's character)

http://mediamatters.org/items/200501080003

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6799311/site/newsweek/

HARVEY WASSERMAN: Ohio decided the 2004 election. We believe that there -- we are pretty certain that there was a clear campaign to guarantee that, under any circumstances, George W. Bush would win Ohio. The president, the CEO of Diebold, Wally O’Dell, in the year prior to the election, sent out a fundraising notice saying he was going to guarantee that Ohio's electoral votes would go to George W. Bush. This was a little fishy, coming from the guy who’s in charge of the Diebold Corporation, on which were cast and counted a substantial percentage of the votes here in Ohio.

BOB FITRAKIS: And he was also a member of the President's Pioneer and Ranger team, was at the Crawford ranch, raised $200,000 for the President. But even more interesting, a group called the Mighty Texas Strike Force showed up two weeks in advance, stayed at the Holiday Inn -- we have affidavit on this from a Republican night clerk there, who actually turned them in. They were data mining. They seemed to know -- and they were using payphones only -- who owned parking tickets, who was behind on their child support, who had traffic tickets, and they were caught making phone calls telling people if they showed up at the polls, they would be arrested. They were also calling people on probation and making the same threats.

When we contacted the Mighty Texas Strike Force through the Free Press and inquired about who they were, they proudly said that they were linked to the White House and Karl Rove and proudly bragged about their role. Also, fliers went up everywhere, telling people they were illegally registered and that Democrats had to vote on Wednesday and Republicans on Tuesday. All of this is in the book.

HARVEY WASSERMAN: You have to remember that the 2004 election was run by Jay Kenneth Blackwell, the Secretary of State of Ohio, who simultaneously served as the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign, and the 2006 election is being run by the same man who is now a GOP candidate for governor here. This gives new dimension to the term “conflict of interest.” There is no way that the Republican Party would have carried Ohio in 2004 with a fair election. It did not happen, and we're very much afraid that many of the key -- the key U.S. Senate race and many of the key House races in Ohio in 2006 are going to be subject to fraud and that the Democrats, the people who think that the Democrats are going to do well in this election, may well be sorely disappointed.

it's on netflix too.

That news item from last week of Bush making it easier to declare martial law is in preparation for dealing with the protests that will inevitably result from 2006 election malfeasance and chaos.

Tennessee's Republican Party chairman complained to Shelby County election officials that electronic voting machine cards were missing in Memphis, the hometown of Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Harold Ford Jr.

"It has come to our attention that several smart cards used in early voting are missing from at least one early voting site in Memphis, Tenn.," Bob Davis said in a later dated Thursday. "The lack of oversight and control over these smartcards has created a situation which could allow for voter fraud."

The letter called on the commission to "locate these missing smart cards as soon as possible."

Tennessee Election Coordinator Brook Thompson said Friday that even if the cards aren't recovered by officials there is no danger of fraud because they can't be used again.

"The cards are programmed such that once you use them, they cannot be reused until they are reactivated by the Election Commission," Thompson said.

thing about this is, if there's enough of these, how are they gunna enforce it? the army, the reserves, & the national guard are fucked right now.

My guess is that they're only expecting isolated demonstrations from the same group of usual suspects

CLEVELAND — Two election workers were convicted Wednesday of rigging a recount of the 2004 presidential election to avoid a more thorough review in Ohio's most populous county.

Jacqueline Maiden, elections coordinator of the Cuyahoga County Elections Board, and ballot manager Kathleen Dreamer each were convicted of a felony count of negligent misconduct of an elections employee. They also were convicted of one misdemeanor count each of failure of elections employees to perform their duty.

Prosecutors accused Maiden and Dreamer of secretly reviewing preselected ballots before a public recount on Dec. 16, 2004. They worked behind closed doors for three days to pick ballots they knew would not cause discrepancies when checked by hand, prosecutors said.

Defense attorney Roger Synenberg has said the workers were following procedures as they understood them.

Ohio gave President Bush the electoral votes he needed to defeat Democratic Sen. John Kerry in the close election and hold on to the White House in 2004.

Special prosecutor Kevin Baxter did not claim the workers' actions affected the outcome of the election — Kerry gained 17 votes and Bush lost six in the county's recount.

Maiden and Dreamer, who still work for the elections board, face a possible sentence of six to 18 months for the felony conviction. Sentencing is on Feb. 26.

A message left for Elections Board Director Michael Vu was not immediately returned Wednesday. The board released a statement that said its goal is to restore confidence in the county's election progress and pursue reforms in addition to those made since 2004.

From http://www.michiganmessenger.com/4076/lose-your-house-lose-your-vote

The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County, Michigan, a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP’s effort to challenge some voters on Election Day.

“We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses,” party chairman James Carabelli told Michigan Messenger in a telephone interview earlier this week. He said the local party wanted to make sure that proper electoral procedures were followed.

I don't understand this... It's a national election, but you still have to live in particular area to vote? Shouldn't all US citizens be automatically allowed to vote? What about Americans living abroad, can't they vote?

You have to be registered to vote at your current address and you can only vote in the state you are registered to vote in except by absentee ballot.

Americans living abroad can vote by absentee.

Why can't they use the same system for those who don't have a current address then? Seems kinda unfair that you can't vote if you've, for example, been evicted.

I mean, I do understand that the votes are count separately in each state, but what happens to those absentee votes then? Are they added to some random state, or do they form their own whole?

there is nothing unfair about American politics or the American electoral system and there never has been.

Tuomas, what you must understand is that the USA has this extremely weird patchwork federal system, where the country is broken into 50 states and a large number of powers and perogatives are reserved to those states, where the local population can do as they please.

One of those perogatives is running elections - apart from a few basic requirements in the US Constitution and some national laws such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Consequently, there are 50 distinct and seperate sets of laws governing elections.

As for national elections, another one of the peculiartities of the USA system is that there are a sum total of two offices filled by national vote: president and vice president. And this does not even factor in the weirdness of the "electoral college" that acts as a buffer between voters and the actual voting for president and vice president. Every other political office in the nation is filled by an election at the state or local level.

These strange contrivances have deep historical roots and are not likely to be changed, unless some sort of mass movement arises to demand a change. No such movement is in anywhere in sight.

Tuomas, it's not that these people need a special ballot to vote - they just need to be registered at and have proof of residence for wherever they've moved after being evicted/foreclosed. A royal pain in the ass, but feasible.

those 2006 posts are lol