Oops, they screwed us again--Kerry won election

[Dexter Rutecki]

No surprise after the outright theft of Florida years ago, but more reason to get rid of the partisan hacks (Harris back then, Blackwell in Ohio now) running elections and suppressing votes.
I think this should go to court, and we can finally get a president who actually won an election.

Kerry Won.
Here are the Facts.
TomPaine.com
Friday, November 5, 2004
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by Greg Palast

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. 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.) [edit: clicky thing that didn't come through about 'vote spoilage': http://www.civilrightsproject.harvar...al_ballot.php]


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 provbisional 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.

[Dexter Rutecki]

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.



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, is now available on DVD. View a clip at http://www.gregpalast.com/bff-dvd.htm

[UTdave]

After Florida anybody who didn't check their punch card for hanging chads is a fool, and if their man loses because his voters didn't check their cards maybe he ought to have suggested that they check their punchcards before handing them in. Dex get over it your man lost. It'll be better for your blood pressure if you can just relax and calmly focusing on helping your guys win next time.

[Skier10322]

i thought TGR made ski movies and thats what we talked about. Oh well, i must be in the wrong forum.

[Dexter Rutecki]

After Florida anybody who didn't check their punch card for hanging chads is a fool, and if their man loses because his voters didn't check their cards maybe he ought to have suggested that they check their punchcards before handing them in. Dex get over it your man lost. It'll be better for your blood pressure if you can just relax and calmly focusing on helping your guys win next time.

Maybe we should just have poll taxes and literacy tests again, so minorities will know up front that their votes won't count?
They shoulda just gotten over it and accepted that their guy 'lost'.

[phUnk]

After Florida anybody who didn't check their punch card for hanging chads is a fool, and if their man loses because his voters didn't check their cards maybe he ought to have suggested that they check their punchcards before handing them in. Dex get over it your man lost. It'll be better for your blood pressure if you can just relax and calmly focusing on helping your guys win next time.

You knew what this thread was about before you clicked on it. I think a lot of suspicion and some dirt-digging is acceptable in this case. Let it go about the let it go.

Letting it all go,
phUnk

[UTdave]

Maybe we should just have poll taxes and literacy tests again, so minorities will know up front that their votes won't count?
They shoulda just gotten over it and accepted that their guy 'lost'.

I don't like the idea of poll taxes. I don't know about Ohio but in Utah I voted on a punch card. In the booth there are instructions that specifically state to check your ballot for hanging chads. A literacy test isn't such a bad idea as long as its uniform and everybody takes the same test (I know historically they weren't applied that way). I prefer voters who can at least read [/semi-sarcastic]. Am I the only one who finds it ironic that the people who were calling everybody who didn't vote for their guy idiots are the same ones saying that the voters for their guy couldn't even properly punch the hole in the ballot?

[Woodsy]

Letting it all go,
phUnk

Phunk joins Tap.
in the crap your pants trap!

[UTdave]

You knew what this thread was about before you clicked on it. I think a lot of suspicion and some dirt-digging is acceptable in this case. Let it go about the let it go.

Letting it all go,
phUnk

I enjoy rubbing it in a little. besides I'm being good natured about it.

[HyRUPz]

Fuck John Kerry - would you fuck his wife Heinz-Kerry-ondriac?

Patrician stif - Dems need some new blood to win elections. Tell em to try a real person next time.

Friggin flippe floppe fake.

WRONG FORUM IS RIGHT!

The above thread/post is way too long - didn't bother reading it.

[mr_gyptian]

I cannot wait for four more years of this.

Dex,

Can you not resign your self to the fact that you're just another asshole in a chicken suit?

[The AD]

So first we find out standardized tests are biased against minorities, now it turns out punch card ballots are, too. Who woulda thunk it?

[optics]

Other thread poll answer appears to be: A) denial.

[FNG]

Fuck John Kerry - would you fuck his wife Heinz-Kerry-ondriac?

Patrician stif - Dems need some new blood to win elections. Tell em to try a real person next time.

Friggin flippe floppe fake.

WRONG FORUM IS RIGHT!

The above thread/post is way too long - didn't bother reading it.

Gdawg3, is that you?

Newschooler's Avy Hood

[Tippster]

I cannot wait for four more years of this.

Dex,

Can you not resign your self to the fact that you're just another asshole in a chicken suit?

At least he's MY asshole in a chicken suit... err... wait.

At least he's a guy I'd drink with anytime! (yeah, much better)

[snowrider]

My friend linked me to this as well. Its the only report I've seen on this issue and he's the only guy writing about it, as far as I know. I'm glad you found the one dissenting article out of thousands of news publications, articles, media blah blah, I'm sure I could find ONE article stating 9/11 never happened too.

[non grata]

i agree with everything that has been said so far.

[1080Rider]

You knew what this thread was about before you clicked on it. I think a lot of suspicion and some dirt-digging is acceptable in this case. Let it go about the let it go.

I'm following phUnk's lead. I'm letting you go dex. Feel free to move to any country you like. But, please leave your computer behind.

[warthog]

i agree with everything that has been said so far.

John?... John Kerry... is that you?

Why the long face John?

[Dexter Rutecki]

My friend linked me to this as well. Its the only report I've seen on this issue and he's the only guy writing about it, as far as I know. I'm glad you found the one dissenting article out of thousands of news publications, articles, media blah blah, I'm sure I could find ONE article stating 9/11 never happened too.

Good analogy. I guess you've categorically disproven it (and since we know basically the same thing happened four years ago in Florida, costing Gore thousands of votes, I guess it's really an unreasonable claim). I first heard about it on the radio today, so your point about this being the only source for this is also wrong.

[Dexter Rutecki]

The above thread/post is way too long - didn't bother reading it.

There's the Bush attitude the Republicans count on! Keep 'em dumb and uninformed, and elections can be stolen forever.

[Lone Star]

So, I don't quite get how a machine could figure out which ballot was cast by hispanics, which by blacks, and which by rich-ass white crackers. If the implicit message is that certain minorities don't know how to cast a vote the right way, well, that just seems a little bit racist...no?

[Plakespear]

So, I don't quite get how a machine could figure out which ballot was cast by hispanics, which by blacks, and which by rich-ass white crackers.

And not all votes spoil equally. Most of those votes, say every official report, come from African-American and minority precincts

[ak_powder_monkey]

Lets just bribe some electors, remember nobody has won yet, the electoral college hasn't take n place

[AltaPowderDaze]

Maybe we should just have poll taxes and literacy tests again, so minorities will know up front that their votes won't count?
They shoulda just gotten over it and accepted that their guy 'lost'.

dex, this is not the early 20th century. i hope you are refering to way back when, because it sounds like you are calling minorities poor and stupid. i'd be willing to bet that more often than not, it is a fat white guy that is too lazy to poke a hole all the way through a piece of paper.