Stump Lane
in the dirt since history began

The presidential results won’t change, but the studies could lead to changes.

I don’t know why this statement is in the article but it is not attributed to GAO. Maybe that is what they are saying(?) Maybe the reporter or the newspaper is just making damn sure we don’t get the wrong idea here.

GAO opens review of voting in response to complaints

I know the GAO doesn’t have the power to overturn an election, but what if they find evidence that voting machines were tampered with or that some other fraud happened? Just say “better luck next time?”

We need to know that the election results are valid. But, I don’t mean just going forward. We need to know that about the 2004 election as well. This is a democracy, we’re on a need-to-know basis here.

And by the way: the next election is NOT in four years. Despite what you might have heard on Headline News this morning. (There was a short discussion about election problems, at the end of which the anchorwoman said that at least we have four years to straighten this all out.)

But we don’t; unless I’m missing something. Are the paperless black boxes only to be used in presidential election years? What about punch card machines? Sure, many of the problems are amplified in a presidential election, but we can’t wait four years! There is a big congressional election in 2 years, and there are surely local and state elections going on throughout even the coming year. Immediate action required.

Everywhere I turn someone (at least in the mainstream media) is telling me to think four years down the road, or we’ll straighten things out for next time. Forget about this one. It’s over. DO NOT THINK ABOUT THE CURRENT ELECTION ANYMORE. But wait I say. Aren’t votes still being counted? Has the electoral college voted yet? This election isn’t really even over yet, is it? All’s I’m saying is: is let’s get this one right first, then make certain things will go better and smoother for next time.

I’m glad the GAO is going to look into it; however, I wonder will they be able to do so in a non-partisan way? Or, are we just going to end up with a nice clean whitewash when they get done? We’ll see.

We’ll see.

P.S.: There’s some good election stuff on Keith Olbermann’s blog. Check it out:
Bloggermann

Also adding “Stolen Election” to the links column. Lot’s of info there.

Ok, I made a commitment “to support [electoral reform] efforts as much as I can.” I am especially interested in making sure the system is secure against tampering and that there is a concrete, and incontrovertible means of verifying the results. This will need to be done state by state at the local level.

I am adding a “Democracy” section to the links column, under which will be links to groups/organizations working on this effort.

Visit the sites. Volunteer. Contribute. I will add to the list as appropriate.

US Election: Democracy in Question

The precinct is 95 to 99 percent black. . . . There were 1,500 persons on the precinct rolls. We received three machines..

We had between 1100 and 1200 people on the voter registry there. We had three voting machines. We did the math. I am sure lots of other people did too. With the five-minute limit, 13 hours the polls were open, three machines, that is 468 voters, that is less than half of the people we had on the registry. We stayed open three hours past 7:30 and got about 550 people through..

Article

Right up to election day Kerry repeated his solemn vow to, in light of what happened in Florida 2000, guarantee everyone’s right to vote. But now that another highly dubious election has occurred, where the hell is he?

Article

“Ladies and gentleman, from all houses, to all towns, from the moons of Pluto, back down to earth, ladies and gentleman, one more time, give it up for The Old Dirty Doggy, I mean the Ol Dirty Bastard, I love that guy!”

Ol’ Dirty!!

Yahoo! News – Controversial US rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard dead at 35

“Rhymes good as a tasty cake mix.”

Rest in peace, Russell Jones.

“Found poetry” (some of today’s headlines):

America Divided

In America, divided we stand
Divided we’ll fall
Divided States of America?

Bitterly divided nation comes together to vote
AMERICA – Divided, Polarized, Fundamentalist
Deeply Divided Country Is United in Anxiety

Businessmen divided over Bush victory
World leaders divided after Bush victory
British press as divided as US electorate over Bush win
A divided world reacts to US election

A Divided Nation’s Opinion Split Over American Election: Iraqis were almost as sharply divided as the American electorate over the results of the US presidential election..

Election Leaves Americans Divided About Future
A state divided, not unlike the nation
Area residents divided on election’s outcome
Ward 15 still evenly divided
Bush wins as campus stays sharply divided

Bush broadens support to lead a country divided
Divided America urged to unite behind Bush presidency
Bush’s mandate: Unite a divided country
Strong, divided feelings in city over Bush’s victory
Bush wants broad support from a divided America

Healing Time for A Divided Nation
Kerry urges Bush to heal divided nation
Bush pledges to heal wounds of divided nation
Bush must heal wounds of Divided States of America
For a nation divided, how do we heal the divisions?
Residents divided on post-election need for healing

ad infinitum…

A Google news search today (11-4-2004) for “divided” returned 16,400 articles all in the same vein. We should be afraid, we need to heal, we are bitterly divided and can’t see eye-to-eye on anything. Hate, fear, loathing. But don’t worry..

BUSH WILL HEAL US.

The notion that we are today more divided than ever before has been a running theme in the news media lately. I would argue that it is a concoction of the news media, devised for whatever reason. But what reason? To sell papers? To please advertisers? To shape ‘the public mind’? To divide and conquer the proletariat?

Even John Kerry in his concession speech Wednesday toed the line and hit the ‘divided’ talking point. This really gave me the sense that the presidential politics that we have been witnessing over the last year and a half has not really been anything more than an elaborate dog-and-pony show. When I reflect, I discover that while, toward the end of the campaign, even I had been swept up in the excitement, infected with a sort-of rabid enthusiasm over the prospect of a Kerry victory, it was despite the fact that deep down I really wasn’t voting for Kerry because he was John Kerry, but rather because he wasn’t George Bush. Had I been played? Have I been set up to be involved in this feud of factions in a divided nation? Well, it’s not gonna happen. I won’t be manipulated. I pride myself on being able to spot a scam when I see it, and I won’t be taken in on this one.

So, just how divided are we really? Let’s aviod the bullshit of Bush supporters voting their conscience on moral issues. All of the important issues are moral issues. Having education or healthcare or employment as a priority doesn’t mean one is immoral. And regarding abortion or gay marriage, I doubt these issues are a major priority even to Bush and the neo-cons. The truth is, these guys are probably more or less ambivalent about these issues; which isn’t to say they won’t trade on them if it means solidifying their power position, in other words: use them for political expediency. Let’s be realistic.

There is a segment of the republican party that holds religious fundamentals above all else, whose major concerns are the two areas mentioned. This segment of the party surely has been strengthened by the election and will certainly push their agenda in the next two years. However, I ask, is it safe to assume that there are cooler heads among them who still believe in the fundamentals of the United States, and in separation of church and state, and that these cooler heads are a silent majority in the party at large, and who will not allow the subjugation of our unalienable human rights? Is this too much to hope for?

It’s the powers that be in both of the parties, the corporations and monied individuals who would subjugate human rights in the name of exploitation of disposable human and environmental assets. They would use whatever means necessary, religious fundamentalism included, to bring us (all of us) to heel. They know that everyday people are pretty much the same and would find out that they are actually united, at least in their basic ideals and desires to survive, take care of their families and be happy. It is the parties that are united in these efforts, and we, the human fodder, must be divided to squelch any resistance to what comes next.

Maybe an important effort to make is to find the common ground us common folks share. Can I get a shout out for the Declaration of Independence?!! How ’bout the 1st Amendment? Yeah! That’s right! Woo-Hoo and Yee-Haw!! Once we renew and revitalize our commonalities, we can tackle the “wedge issues,” that are currently being used against us, in a spirit of compromise.

If there were 100 Americans (295m) then… 68 would make up the electorate (200m), 41 would have actually voted (120m), (that’s a disgraceful 60% turnout), 21 supported Bush, 19 supported Kerry, 1 supported the other candidates.

Of course, these results can never be verified because of electronic
voting machines without a paper trail. And that’s just the beginning of our problems.

Setting aside the threat media consolidation (and a general lazyness and lack of critical thinking in the electorate) makes on our democracy, there are many systemic problems at work which were displayed quite obviously (and shamelessly) Tuesday.

The biggest and most important problem to address, low voter turnout (60% here compared to 90% in most other democracies and the 60 is a record, I think) is major and is certainly not helped by the rampant voter suppression efforts we saw on display yesterday.

Here is a list of things bothering me about the ‘election.’

- 6 hour lines to wait to vote (in certain neighborhoods.) There was no wait at all where I voted (in white suburbia.)

- voter suppression

- non-local voter challengers practicing “racial profiling”

- black box voting with no means of accounting

- Kerry betrays his supporters after promising that he would fight to the end so all votes would be counted. It doesn’t matter whether he thinks there are enough votes out there to change the outcome, there are problems in the system. And we need to address them to save our democracy.

- Ohio: CEO of Diebold delivers on his committment to deliver Ohio’s electoral votes to Bush. [See also: 'Why were the exit polls wrong?']
11/29/04 Editor’s note: According to Dennis Kucinich, “..no Diebold electronic voting machines were employed in Ohio.” See:
A Note On The Presidential Election in Ohio by Dennis Kucinich.

- Why were the exit polls wrong? After years of being the most reliable predictor of election outcome, why is it that the past two Presidential elections, suddenly they don’t work.

Voting is a state issue, it is ennumerated thusly in the constitution. The US congress has already shown their lack of interest in addressing the technical problems inherent in voting. They have refused to pass a law requiring a paper trail for e-voting. This is an area for urgent grassroots action. Local people need to organize and push for these changes in their states and municipalities. I vow to support these efforts as much as I can.

Here is an article by Greg Palast:
TomPaine.com – Kerry Won. . .