There Was Voting Fraud. How Big Unknown

The main reason I am angry with John Kerry is that he conceded so rapidly. Even before election night there were concerns of voter disenfrachisement, problems with electronic voting, and concerns of fraud. In conceding the election, Kerry ensured that the issues and problems with electronic voting would go largely unreported by the corporate media. There are two immediate actions you can take to bring the truth about election 2004 voting to light (and hopefully justice).

First, give a donation to Black Box Voting (ORG). They have launched the largest Freedom of Information Request in history to get the information necessary to determine the level of problems and where they occurred.

Second, Blackboxvoting.org had put out a call for people to send a fax to Ralph Nader, asking him to challenge the election results in New Hampshire. Send the Fax Now to: 202-265-0092. Text should Read:
RALPH --
Challenge the election results in New Hampshire, Now.
Your Name,
Black Box Voting Activist

The movement to investigate the voting is not just public. John Conyers, Jr. Jerrold Nadler Robert Wexler, and the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution have request for GAO for electronic voting analysis. In their formal request they cite several issues:

In particular, we are extremely troubled by the following reports, which we would also request that you review and evaluate for us:

In Columbus, Ohio, an electronic voting system gave President Bush nearly 4,000 extra votes. "Machine Error Gives Bush Extra Ohio Votes," Associated Press, November 5.

An electronic tally of a South Florida gambling ballot initiative failed to record thousands of votes. "South Florida OKs Slot Machines Proposal," Id.

In one North Carolina county, more than 4,500 votes were lost because officials mistakenly believed a computer that stored ballots could hold more data that it did. "Machine Error Gives Bush Extra Ohio Votes," Id.

In San Francisco, a glitch occurred with voting machines software that resulted in some votes being left uncounted. Id.

In Florida, there was a substantial drop off in Democratic votes in proportion to voter registration in counties utilizing optical scan machines that was apparently not present in counties using other mechanisms. http://ustogether.org/election04/florida_vote_patt.htm

The House Judiciary Committee Democratic staff has received numerous reports from Youngstown, Ohio that voters who attempted to cast a vote for John Kerry on electronic voting machines saw that their votes were instead recorded as votes for George W. Bush. In South Florida, Congressman Wexler's staff received numerous reports from voters in Palm Beach, Broward and Dade Counties that they attempted to select John Kerry but George Bush appeared on the screen. CNN has reported that a dozen voters in six states, particularly Democrats in Florida, reported similar problems. This was among over one thousand such problems reported. "Touchscreen Voting Problems Reported," Associated Press, November 5.

Excessively long lines were a frequent problem throughout the nation in Democratic precincts, particularly in Florida and Ohio. In one Ohio voting precinct serving students from Kenyon College, some voters were required to wait more than eight hours to vote. "All Eyes on Ohio," Dan Lothian, CNN, November 3, http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/blog/1...blog/index.htm.

For those who would say this is just an issue of "sore loser" forget it. If there was widespread voting irregularities, the very foundation of our democracy rests on addressing them. With the advent of electronic voting, the control of our vote shifts from citizens to corporations. The possibility for tampering is too high to not have verifiable voting.

As citizens we have a solemn responsibility to fight for the sanctity of the vote. Folks have been asking what to do. This is one thing we must do.

Voting Issues Articles
11/05/04 Palast, Kerry Won. Here are the Facts.

11/02/04 Zetter, Watchdogs Spot E-Vote Glitches

11/03/04 BSNewswire, Scoop, Diebold To Patent "+1" Operation

11/04/04 Technocrat.net, Presidential Votes Miscast on e-Voting Machines Throughout The Country

11/04/04 AP, Computer Loses 4,500 Votes

11/03/04 Konrad, AP, Electronic Voting Machine Woes Reported

11/03/04 The Raw Story, Exit polls and ‘actual’ results don’t match; Evoting states show greater discrepancy

11/01/04 Zetter, Wired News, E-Voting Tests Get Failing Grade

11/05/04 Gross, AP, Group Finds Voting Irregularities in South

7/08/03, Sludge, Scoop, Bigger Than Watergate! - How To Rig An Election In The United States