posted on October 28, 2004 07:12:05 PM newFriday night, as the overseas absentee ballots were counted, Bush and Gore forces locked into another round of frenzied warfare — claims of recount fraud in the disputed counties and hard questions about 1,000 overseas ballots, most of them from members of the armed forces, that were rejected mainly because they had not been postmarked.
Democrats had mounted a coordinated challenge against the military ballots because they would probably lean toward Bush. And over that point, the trench war threatened to escalate into a full-scale culture war.
The Bush team charged that Gore was disenfranchising the fighting men and women he wants to command as President. General Norman Schwarzkopf called it "a very sad day for our country."
With the overseas ballots tallied, Bush's lead grew from 300 to 930 votes. The Vice President's team believes new Gore votes from the hand recounts might be sufficient to overcome that lead — if the court compels Harris to recognize them. But add the rejected military ballots to Bush's total, and the recount probably couldn't catch him.
Troops Experience Difficulties In Voting
Knight Ridder
October 19, 2004
BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. service members based in Iraq and across the globe can't be confident that their votes will be counted in this year's presidential election, analysts and military advocates said this week.
Those warnings came despite a stepped-up Pentagon campaign - developed in response to the 2000 election, when as many as 30 percent of service members stationed overseas were unable to vote - to encourage troops to register and vote early.
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_difficult_101904,00.html
Disenfranchised voters are individuals who are entitled to vote, want to vote, or attempt to vote, but who are deprived from either voting or having their votes counted. The most dramatic undercount in the Florida election was the uncast ballots of countless eligible voters who were wrongfully turned away from the polls. Statistical data, reinforced by credible anecdotal evidence, point to the widespread denial of voting rights. It is impossible to determine the extent of the disenfranchisement or to provide an adequate remedy to the persons whose voices were silenced by injustice, ineptitude, and inefficiency. However, careful analysis and some reasonable projections illustrate what happened in Florida.
The disenfranchisement of Florida’s voters fell most harshly on the shoulders of black voters. The magnitude of the impact can be seen from any of several perspectives:
Statewide, based upon county-level statistical estimates, black voters were nearly 10 times more likely than nonblack voters to have their ballots rejected.
Estimates indicate that approximately 14.4 percent of Florida’s black voters cast ballots that were rejected. This compares with approximately 1.6 percent of nonblack Florida voters who did not have their presidential votes counted.
Statistical analysis shows that the disparity in ballot spoilage rates—i.e., ballots cast but not counted—between black and nonblack voters is not the result of education or literacy differences. This conclusion is supported by Governor Jeb Bush’s Select Task Force on Election Procedures, Standards and Technology, which found that error rates stemming from uneducated, uninformed, or disinterested voters account for less than 1 percent of the problems.
Approximately 11 percent of Florida voters were African American; however, African Americans cast about 54 percent of the 180,000 spoiled ballots in Florida during the November 2000 election based on estimates derived from county-level data. These statewide estimates were corroborated by the results in several counties based on actual precinct data.
Poor counties, particularly those with large minority populations, were more likely to possess voting systems with higher spoilage rates than the more affluent counties with significant white populations. There is a high correlation between counties and precincts with a high percentage of African American voters and the percentage of spoiled ballots. For example:
Nine of the 10 counties with the highest percentage of African American voters had spoilage rates above the Florida average.
Of the 10 counties with the highest percentage of white voters, only two counties had spoilage rates above the state average.
Gadsden County, with the highest rate of spoiled ballots, also had the highest percentage of African American voters.
Where precinct data were available, the data show that 83 of the 100 precincts with the highest numbers of spoiled ballots are black-majority precincts.
The magnitude of the disenfranchisement, including the disparity between black and nonblack voters, is supported by the testimony of witnesses at the Commission’s hearings. These witnesses include local election officials, poll workers, ordinary voters, and activists. Among the sworn testimony:
One potential voter waited hours at the polls because of a registration mix-up as poll workers attempted to call the office of the supervisor of elections. The call never got through and the individual was not allowed to vote. A former poll worker herself, she testified that she never saw anything like it during her 18 years as a poll worker.
A poll worker in Miami-Dade County with 15 years of experience testified, “By far this was the worst election I have ever experienced. After that election, I decided I didn’t want to work as a clerk anymore.”
A poll worker in Palm Beach County testified that she had to use her personal cell phone to attempt to contact the election supervisor’s office. Despite trying all day, she only got through two or three times over the course of 12 hours.
A Broward County poll worker testified that in past elections it took about 10 minutes to get through to the elections supervisor. During the course of the November 2000 election, she turned away approximately 40–50 potential voters because she could not access the supervisor of elections.
A Boynton Beach poll worker explained how his precinct workers turned away about 30–50 potential voters because they could not get through to the supervisor of elections. He was successful only once during an eight-hour period.
Other persons testified about waiting in long lines only to be ultimately denied their right to vote.
The Commission calls upon the attorney general of the United States to immediately begin the litigation process to determine liability under the VRA and appropriate remedies. The Commission is a fact-finding body, authorized to investigate allegations of voting discrimination, fraud, and other irregularities. However, it does not adjudicate violations of the law, hold trials, or determine civil or criminal liability. It is within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Justice and Florida law enforcement officials to seek appropriate sanctions and remedies. In addition to calling on the attorney general to initiate the litigation process on this issue, the Commission requests this action on a number of other issues as well, such as Florida’s handling of its voter roll purge and its failure to accommodate voters with disabilities and limited English proficiency.
The Commission recommends that Florida retain knowledgeable experts to undertake a formal study to ascertain the reason for the racial disparities in vote rejection rates between white voters and persons of color. Once this is completed, the state should adopt and publicize procedures to eliminate this disparity. As a start, the state could identify and promote the “best practices” of counties in Florida or around the nation that performed well during the 2000 presidential election.
I am in Ohio and we are plenty worried about the entire election. Some people are afraid to vote and that's a sad state of affairs indeed. To have to have contestors, lawyers, media, US monitors and International monitors posted at a polling place is not only intimidating to a first time voter, it is a national disgrace.
No matter which side of the fence any of us are on, we should never take this kind of situation lightly. The right to vote is a right afforded every American citizen and if even one person is denied their right, we should all go screaming to the powers that be.
An election unfairly won is an election lost, IMO.
Cheryl
Protect the environment. Plant a tree and remove a Bush.
[ edited by CBlev65252 on Oct 28, 2004 07:27 PM ]
posted on October 28, 2004 07:36:20 PM new
Cheryl,
That's a shameful situation, I've been reading about the Cleveland area and the fact that they are using fear tactics such as mentioning the FBI and home visits... generally making voting an unattractive option for some people.
posted on October 28, 2004 07:43:34 PM new
helen - That about me page is not a government agency. And as my posts above stated...the investigations found NO PROOF of black voter infranchisement. NONE...nada.
Cheryl - No one is taking anything lightly. Each and everyone of us want honest elections. But for the left/dems to continually use this racial divide...does ONLY that...it divides.
Here I'm trying to present my side that the gore administration worked their lawyers to disinfranchise our military. And there's a lot of proof that was done.
Up until the 2000 election the overseas ballots had NEVER gone under such rigerous scrutiny like gore put them though. Causing many of their votes to be thown out. Those serving this country should always be allowed to vote. PERIOD. The dems worked to prevent that because the Florida election was so close.
posted on October 28, 2004 07:46:51 PM new
helen - That about me page is not a government agency. And as my posts above stated...the investigations found NO PROOF of black voter infranchisement. NONE...nada.
------------
Cheryl - No one is taking anything lightly. Each and everyone of us want honest elections. But for the left/dems to continually use this racial divide...and especially to INFLAME the issue...does ONLY that...it divides.
Here I'm trying to present my side that the gore administration worked their lawyers to disinfranchise our military. And there's a lot of proof that was done.
Up until the 2000 election the overseas ballots had NEVER gone under such rigorous scrutiny like gore's lawyers put them though. Causing many of their votes to be thown out. Those serving this country should always be allowed to vote. PERIOD. The dems worked to prevent that because the Florida election was so close.
posted on October 28, 2004 07:52:00 PM new "Here I'm trying to present my side that the gore administration worked their lawyers to disinfranchise our military. And there's a lot of proof that was done."
WHERE is it linda???
[ edited by Helenjw on Oct 28, 2004 07:53 PM ]
posted on October 28, 2004 08:58:30 PM new
helen - since you obviously choose not to read the three links I've provided....I'm done.
But let's just remember that the democrat party play book told all to claim there was disinfranchisement.....EEVEN IF THERE WAS NONE>
And that's exactly what they're doing right now.
[i]Democrat playbook opened to criticism Leaked page reveals push to use tactic of 'pre-emptive strike'
By Peggy Lowe, Rocky Mountain News
October 15, 2004
Democrats got caught with their election playbook open Thursday when a leaked page was published urging operatives to lodge a "pre-emptive strike" of claiming voter intimidation, whether it's true or not.
Gleeful Republicans quickly called a press conference after the page from The Drudge Report went online, in which they denounced "a new low in gutter politics" that "played the race card." "They want to rile up the minorities to denounce tactics that do not exist," said Ted Halaby, chairman of the Colorado GOP.
Halaby said it was "a criminal act to falsely allege something that does not exist." He called on the state Democrats to "denounce and renounce" the manual's teachings.
But Democrats, who verified as authentic the page from a playbook called "Colorado Election Day Manual: A detailed guide to voting in Colorado," said they must be pro-active to assure that minorities and all others are not scared away from the polls.
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One page one are MY two government sources who did the investigation into the black disinfranchisement that the dems claimed in 2000.
---------------
Imo, and we can see it beginning again, the democratic party is doing all it can to prepare the public for what DIDN'T HAPPEN in 2000 - by falsely claiming it did. And they're baiting blacks against whites....promoting racism and hatred...just to get people excited/angry enough to vote for kerry. The voters who didn't get their votes counted in 2000 were too stupid to figure out what they were doing....be they black or white or green.
So, you're "done" but you failed to prove your vicious allegation that Al Gore robbed American troops of their right to vote. What an utterly preposterous charge!
I understand that you will find crap like that in your chosen reading material but at least try to verify it before posting on a board like this.
It's totally inexcusable to malign someones good character like that.
I agree that comment was almost as bad as one made by our secretary of state, Kenneth Blackwell during a recent speech:
"I don't know how many of you have a farming background," said Blackwell, who grew up in a Cincinnati project.
"But I can tell you right now that the notion [gay marriage] even defies barnyard logic . . . the barnyard knows better."
You would also have loved the editorial in the PD yesterday that stated that the Dems tried to "steal" the election in 2000. Talk about ignorance!! Here it is:
"The Democrats are gearing up to try to steal this election, just as they tried to steal the 2000 election in Florida. The Democrats tried to invalidate the absentee ballots from our fighting men overseas, and they are trying to do it again. They are turning in voter registrations for dead people and nonexistent voters. They are claiming voter intimidation before a vote is cast.
There was and is nothing wrong with punch-card ballots. The errors they produced in Florida tended to even out. Now some states and counties in Ohio are going to use electronic ballots that can be hacked into by any 14-year-old and changed, with no paper trail. Why don't Democrats think they can win without resorting to cheating and telling lies?
Harry Lilly
Parma " - It figures. What do you want from Parma?
ROFLMAO! Again, a case of people not getting their facts straight and running with a half-truth.
This one more accurately describes how people feel about the voting fiasco here:
"The Ohio GOP's investiga tion of newly registered voters seems unduly isolated to challenges in counties encompassing urban areas such as Cleveland, Akron, Lorain, Youngstown and Toledo. No surprise, these areas all lean Democratic. If successful, the Republicans hope to pinpoint and disenfranchise those voters who are unlikely to vote for their man, President George W. Bush.
Now, fair is fair, and I believe the Ohio GOP should get its reasonable investigation into the validity of these voter registrations. At the same time, I think a reasonable free-speech investigation into the GOP's motives and methodology is equally in order. Clearly, if maintaining integrity in our voting system is what the Ohio Republican Party is engaged in, a challenge to a cross- section of new voter registrations rather than a handpicked sample of registrations is required. But this is not the method that the Ohio GOP has employed, and, therefore, I believe only political motives remain.
This is a pathetic political tactic on the part of Republicans. They've had four years to earn Ohio's votes. Trying to prevent people from exercising their right at this juncture is a last- ditch effort to get the president four more years by any means possible.
Brian Gnandt
North Olmsted "
Bravo!
Edited to add: I just read this and want to comment on it. The latest plan lets some soldiers waive their right to a secret ballot and vote by e-mail or fax. That has sparked fears that troops could be subjected to manipulation or retaliation.
If that's the case then, of course, the democrats have a right to object!!!!!!!!! Christ, even some of our soldiers are afraid to vote their true choice. Something is so very wrong here and if any of you out there cannot see it, I have nothing but pity for you.
Cheryl
Protect the environment. Plant a tree and remove a Bush.
[ edited by CBlev65252 on Oct 29, 2004 04:12 AM ]
posted on October 29, 2004 05:33:56 AM new
LAKE COUNTY Ohio - The Lake County Board of Elections said Thursday that a letter being mailed to some of the county's newly registered voters is phony, and is not an official Board of Elections letter, reported NewsChannel5's Tracy Carloss.
The letter is printed on stationary that looks like it's from the board and tells voters that some groups registered people illegally, and that those who registered through these groups won't be able to vote on Tuesday.
Lake County officials are worried that more of these letters may be sent.
"We don't know if a bigger chunk of the iceberg is under the surface, but as of yet, a few letters have come to one residence with two people who received the actual letter," said Sheriff Dan Dunlap.
Janet Clair, director of the Lake County Board of Elections, assures voters that the letter did not come from her office and she says in her 20 years of running elections, she has never seen anything like this.
"Does it sicken me? Does it upset me? Absolutely," said Clair. "We take an oath Â… it's such a precious thing to have the right to vote, and I am honored to run elections."
Official letters from the Lake County Board of Elections will always have the return address on the envelope.
The stationary will not only have the board's address, but also the names of board members and phone numbers, and official letters will always be signed.
The phony letter arrived with only the address on the letter.
Carloss reported that Lake County voters are disturbed by the dirty politics.
"I've never heard of anything like that and I've been here almost 30 years," said one resident.
Lake County officials said that when the person or people responsible for sending out the letter are caught, they will be prosecuted.
If you live in Lake County and have any voting questions are concerns, you can contact the Board of Elections at (440) 350-2700.
Cheryl
Protect the environment. Plant a tree and remove a Bush.
Crowfarm, classicrock000 made that comment. He aims for shock value when composing his remarks so I generally ignore them.
I showed him how to attribute quotes and let it go. Maybe that was a mistake but some things are so obviously wrong that words are not needed in my opinion. If I corrected every wrong comment here, I would need a staff.
Profe responded to classicrock000's comment by saying, "Maybe everyone else here can let that go, but I won't. What an ignorant, prejudiced, assinine thing to say."
Or maybe I've become desensitized to such ignorant, prejudiced and asinine comments by reading here too long. That's a good possiblity.
