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How about some "Glimmers of Sanity" in the U.S.? In your editorial (Nov.30) you discuss the fraudulent outcome of the elections in the Ukraine, but inexplicably, there has been very little mention of mounting allegations of fraud and abuse surrounding the presidential election at home. While on election night, national exit polls showed Kerry winning the election by 51% –48%, they were widely discredited, once the tallies for Bush, surprisingly, increased. But according to republican pollster Dick Morris, "Exit polls are almost never wrong…to screw up one exit poll is unheard of. To miss six of them [in Florida, Ohio, Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado] is incredible…and invites speculation that more than honest error was at play here."
Since the election, complaints of voter fraud and widespread abuse continue to be heard. Irregularities in battleground states prompted five U.S. Congressmen to urgently request an investigation into the efficiency of voting machines and new technologies used in the 2004 election. An investigation by the GAO is now underway. In Ohio, where the election was run by a highly partisan republican Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell, presidential candidates, David Cobb from the Green Party and Michael Badnovik from the Libertarian Party, have demanded a recount. At public hearings on election irregularities and voter suppression, thousands of complaints have been documented. In one case, at a predominantly African American precinct in Franklin County that had only 3 voting machines for over 1500 voters, it was discovered that people had to stand in long lines in the pouring rain, for up to 7 hours, to cast a ballot. Franklin County traditionally uses a formula of 1 machine per 100 voters, but for some reason, this year, in spite of an expected 24% increase in voter turnout, they were actually allotted fewer voting machines than they had in 2000. Frantic poll workers made desperate calls for assistance but were told that they would have to make due. None of the six African American precincts in Franklin County had enough voting machines to accommodate the large number of voters there and election officials have been accused of holding back machines in order to surpress the vote.
It is hard to understand why the American people do not seem to care that our election results may have been tainted by fraud. Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. We have questioned the results of recent elections held in the Ukraine but refuse to acknowledge that there could be a problem at home. Our nation has spent billions of dollars and sacrificed thousands of lives to spread democracy in the Middle East and to ensure that democratic elections can take place in Iraq. How is possible that a nation that stands up for democracy all over the world is willing to tolerate the possibility of a rigged election in its own backyard.
Katie Jacob
Birmingham, MI
Since the election, complaints of voter fraud and widespread abuse continue to be heard. Irregularities in battleground states prompted five U.S. Congressmen to urgently request an investigation into the efficiency of voting machines and new technologies used in the 2004 election. An investigation by the GAO is now underway. In Ohio, where the election was run by a highly partisan republican Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell, presidential candidates, David Cobb from the Green Party and Michael Badnovik from the Libertarian Party, have demanded a recount. At public hearings on election irregularities and voter suppression, thousands of complaints have been documented. In one case, at a predominantly African American precinct in Franklin County that had only 3 voting machines for over 1500 voters, it was discovered that people had to stand in long lines in the pouring rain, for up to 7 hours, to cast a ballot. Franklin County traditionally uses a formula of 1 machine per 100 voters, but for some reason, this year, in spite of an expected 24% increase in voter turnout, they were actually allotted fewer voting machines than they had in 2000. Frantic poll workers made desperate calls for assistance but were told that they would have to make due. None of the six African American precincts in Franklin County had enough voting machines to accommodate the large number of voters there and election officials have been accused of holding back machines in order to surpress the vote.
It is hard to understand why the American people do not seem to care that our election results may have been tainted by fraud. Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. We have questioned the results of recent elections held in the Ukraine but refuse to acknowledge that there could be a problem at home. Our nation has spent billions of dollars and sacrificed thousands of lives to spread democracy in the Middle East and to ensure that democratic elections can take place in Iraq. How is possible that a nation that stands up for democracy all over the world is willing to tolerate the possibility of a rigged election in its own backyard.
Katie Jacob
Birmingham, MI