Votes are disappearing in Florida

[UCmeNdc]

Florida early vote totals revised, raising questions



An analysis of the unofficial totals by early voting location on the Broward Supervisor of Elections website from Saturday, compared to the tallies posted on Sunday, shows that in one location, the E. Pat Larkins Community Center, located on Martin Luther King Blvd. in Pompano Beach, the revised totals showed 1,003 fewer votes. The initial tally reported from the polling place in the heavily black neighborhood showed 2,945 votes, but the revised tally was 1,401. Across the 17 Broward polling locations, 15 saw their vote totals revised, mostly by minute amounts of between 1 and 7 votes. But the three more significant changes, including the addition of 398 votes in Tamarac (a racially mixed community) and adding 99 votes to the totals from Pompano Beach City Hall, whose demographic is majority white.


http://thegrio.com/2012/10/29/florida-early-vote-totals-revised-raising-questions/?fb_ref=http%3A%2F%2Fthegrio.com%2F



How come no one ever knows what is going on with the vote counting?

[DJWBlue]

1. I wonder of Nate Silver is factoring in voter suppression and fraud in his forecast of a Romney win

in Florida.

[BouzoukiKing]

22. Probably not.

Nate (poblano) - for all his brilliance - is firmly in the DK camp. And anything that even hints at conspiracy theory is strictly verboten over there.

DK almost certainly wouldn't have allowed discussion of Watergate until well after Nixon had resigned...

[ejbr]

26. + 1 n/t

[wakemewhenitsover]

38. What's DK?

[D23MIURG23]

34. He wrote an article about voter ID, but no mentions of electronic manipulation.

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/measuring-the-effects-of-voter-identification-laws/

[UCmeNdc]

2. Does GOTV efforts include making sure those votes are counted?

[bigdarryl]

3. Where the FUCK is Holder on this shit

[nc4bo]

5. +100.

The people doing this have absolutely no fear of repercussions for any of their actions!

So sick and tired of Republican bullshit and no one does a damned thing about it!!

[stillcool]

12. what does Holder...

have to do with how the state of Florida chooses to run its elections? The people of Florida, are surely aware of how their officials conduct elections, yet they keep voting them into office. I find it kind of funny, that no one cares about counting votes, until it's too late to do anything about it. After the election, all is forgotten until 4 years pass and the process is repeated.

[begin_within]

14. I normally would agree,

that the federal government has nothing to do with Florida's election... except for the fact that in 2000 Bush dragged the Florida election into a federal court... thus setting a precedent and trampling the principle of "states' rights."

[stillcool]

35. but in 2000..

Bush dragged it into the federal court, after it had gone through the state courts and he didn't get the results he wanted. And..I think..that the Supreme Court made an issue out of insisting that the Bush v. Gore ruling was a one time only case. There was such a hullabaloo about the Supreme Court even hearing the case at the time. I hope it doesn't end up there, but if it's as close as 2000 it probably will. It's sad that Floridians keep electing the same people to run their elections, but they do.

[SpankMe]

25. If federal offices are being voted on, then Holder has some jurisdiction.

Voting rights are part of federal law and are assured by the federal government. It's not only for Florida to fix where federal offices are concerned.

[stillcool]

33. I don't think so...

Taking away a person's right to vote is a federal crime, but how different states choose to run their elections is up to them.

[ThoughtCriminal]

37. Voting Rights Act probably could be applied

The Voting Rights Act prohibits states from imposing any "voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure ... to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color.

I think a good case could be made - at least enough for a DOJ investigation, that there are procedures that violate voting rights based on the racial makeup of the affected precincts.

[stillcool]

39. I know I've signed a boat-load..

of petitions asking the DOJ to investigate various places that are trying to deny/suppress people from voting. But problems with the running of the election, what type of equipment is used, the security of that equipment, how it is allocated, how and if recounts are done, early-voting/provisional ballots/absentee ballots/voting hours/ all those different laws in different states are up to the individual states, and the Secretary of State in those states. It does not seem that after the election, there is any consequence to those responsible for problematic elections.

[marsis]

13. Well, busting

potheads, where else would he be?

[MynameisBlarney]

18. He's too busy busting

Pot growers.

[dhill926]

4. What company

owns these machines?

[Darth_ Deciduous]

6. There they go again

Thieving the election, no surprise there.

[Larry66]

7. GOP Voter Fraud

I live in Virginia and the Koch-sucking republicans are up to there dirty tricks here too. They are the biggest bunch of lying ass hypocrites around. Passing all kinds of laws to prevent voter fraud which were geared more to wards voter suppression and then committing blatant acts of voter fraud themselves. Here in Virginia a man was caught throwing voter registrations into a dumpster in Harrisonburg, Va. The man was an operative from PA I'm sure you can google the story and read up on it. Long story short the republican controlled board of elections is not going to file any charges against the man. So much for the GOP guarding the safety of the sacred ballot.

[mikeysnot]

11. election fraud

not voter fraud...

[Canuckistanian]

36. election fraud

Don't call it voter fraud

You and I know the difference, but calling it "voter fraud" confuses people - then they start agreeing with the Republican voter suppression efforts

[Larry66]

45. thanks

I stand corrected. that is a more accurate description, and if President Obama loses on Tuesday I guarantee you it will be because of some major election fraud.

[Comrade_McKenzie]

8. This shit should get someone the death penalty. nt

[BlueCaliDem]

21. That would be the only way

they'll stop. They have entirely too much money to be fined with a slap on the wrist, or a few months jail time. They'll take one for the team if they can get their candidate into the WH who will then pardon them.

Put the threat of the DP on them and you'll see a whole different ballgame.

[LiberalFighter]

9. The problem may be just human error. If so, the solution is

to have at least two pairs of eyes review the posting before it goes online. If the election board is comprise of Democrats and Republicans than the posting should be done with both reviewing the data.

But I don't see how there can be more than just a few discrepancies.

[boingboinh]

17. It's funny how that 'Human Error' is ALWAYS Lost Democrat Votes, Never, EVER Republican Votes

[BlueCaliDem]

23. DemocratIC votes. eom

[12AngryBorneoWildmen]

24. Thank you.

[kerouac2]

10. Who is on this?? We should have loud people there now.

We should have serious people all over these places. People exit polling outside and comparing. People counting every head. Any machine with a "gliche" should be pulled asap and replaced with paper ballots. And we should have someone there to watch each box of ballots until it is locked away or counted. These numbers are going to add up and make a difference -- and we all know who it's going to help. We need loud people there so the MSM reports it (not just msnbc) and puts these polling places under a spotlight.

[PATRICK]

16. Climate Change debated/ Election Change(silenced)

and then Obama when confronted with what ordinary people found as evidnece warranting concern/action, anything? Shrugs, dismissals, acceptance. This party has had a traditional bad habit of submitting/accepting to GOP malfeisance since the Civil War. Some of it goes back to Rutherford B. Hayes, unchanged. Excluding the game from law and judges who are forced to get party line support in their own senselessly political elections... Well you have to alphabetize the list of fraud the Dems give way to.

IF they ever get the power to uphold Law on behalf of the voter, this time the Dems pretty damn well better use it. Next time you might get all the way through the primaries with a wonderful shining new face candidate(MSM/GOP won't let THAT happen without tremendous effort) and float on the Pollyanna illusion election protection just is beyond imagination except for dealing inadequately with a few past GOP strategies. The idea you can routinely swamp ever increasing, unpunished fraud with happyland majorities has tempting real foundations becomes a tragedy circus. First, not last, you must level the playing field flat against unscrupulous use of propaganda and theft.

I've said it before, even compared to past elections it is becoming more and more propping up one castrated political fantasy versus a scurrilous boob propped up by demonic clique of wealthy loons. These aren't elections. They are open assaults against the people and their democracy. Each time an erosion, win or lose. It's time we dealt with "Election Change", preserving and growing real people government against the heat of the criminal few. Or every cycle we will have more and more damage from the Right.

[nc4bo]

30. Just finished flipping to CNN then back to MNBC and Climate Change was being discussed!!?

Wait what? Both stations at the exact same time!

Somehow I think they have chosen to pick the lesser of two evils........Koch Brothers vs. election theft.

When was the last time M$M discussed Climate Change? We've had lots of horrible weather lately, tornadoes, droughts, snow storms, flooding......and not a word.

Interesting.

ETA: CNN actually had a map of the United States up and highlighted in blue how much polar ice we've lost....it took up about 1/3 (or little over) of the U.S. map and discussion went on about where all that water went and what it means to our coastal cities.

[meeshrox]

15. This crap happens in larger districts

so the count relative to the total votes doesn't look like it changed much. We remember that ad Obama put out a few weeks back?

Scary shit...

[smorkingapple]

19. FOlks, calm down. SOE is Brenda Snipes a BLACK woman and a Democrat.

We have two choices here:

1) Rant and rave about a mistake done by a poll worker that SHOULD be corrected which then gives the right all the ammo they need to contest this state when Obama wins OR
2) Admit it's a mistake, fix it, and still have confidence we're going to win the state.

If this comes down to 1500 votes, we have problems well beyond one county's fuck up.

[BlueDemKev]

20. Here we go again.

This shit in Florida will never stop so long as the Rethugs control the State Capitol.

[NorthCarolina]

27. And so it begins...... nt

[SaveAmerica]

28. Broward!!! Obama Legal team, there's your next location...

[brooklynite]

47. Yeah! Go after those corrupt Democrats!

the Broward County Supervision of Elections is a Democrat, a point that most people who had a knee-jerk reaction to the OP never investigated

[ashling]

29. 2,945 votes - 1,003 fewer votes = 1,401

Arithmetic

[AtheistCrusader]

31. Maybe that tally doesn't count provisional ballots that have to be verified first?

I've noticed that here in WA, you'll hear a number for ALL ballots, then sometimes a number that only includes ballots received that have a verified signature on them, etc.

Might be nothing. Keep an eye on it though, and keep asking questions.

[santamargarita]

32. Don't let them get away...

with their criminal activity. They are going to try this every chance they get!

[progressoid]

40. Fuckin' Broward County again!

Gaaaaah

[TroyD]

41. Why is this still going on in 2012?

When will Americans rise up and demonstrate in the thousands like they would in other countries?

[DFW]

42. Republicans remember Stalin, their guru

"Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything."

Stalin's words have been guiding Republican electoral strategy since 2000.

[DonCoquixote]

43. Florida

These folks are emboldened because they know Rick Scott will save them, and that Rick Scott wants the GOP to owe him bigtime so they cannot just hand the nomination to Rubio or Jeb.

Do not forget, Rick is a Tea party boy, and the Tea Party knows that even if Mitt were to win, the GOP will try to purge them, just like the Koch brothers SS ancestors did to the brownshirts. He knows Jeb is not too happy that Rick ruined his plans to control Florida behind the scenes, using his hand picked puppet, Bill McCollum. Rick knows he has to deliver, period, or else he is dead.

However, there is GOOD news, namely that by trying to scrape people off the rolls and kill early voting, there is an incredible backlash, where people who would normally sit at home want to stick it to Rick. There is an anger, and thankfully, little thanks to Debbie Wasserman Schulz, the giant is awake, and wants to stomp some GOP arse!

I am not saying we will win, after all, the Churches, both Catholic and Portestant, are doing their best to herd people in. They are not even pretending that they are not telling you who to vote for. However, this state has gone Blue before, and many of the same conditions for it to go Blue are here now, plus genuine anger at the GOP. If we stay Blue, that will not only help Obama win, but it will say a point, that not even an old Confederate state like Florida is safe anymore. Add to this the fact Texas is getting more Hispanics in, and pretty soon, you will, as Thom Hartmann hinted, see even the South demand the end of the Electoral College. The idea of New York and California being hard blue, with Texas, Florida and perhaps North carolina being a very blue purple, means the electoral college will be Blue.

[eridani]

44. Please report crap like this to 866 OUR VOTE n/t

[brooklynite]

46. The Broward County Supervisor of Elections is a Black Democrat...

Are you suggesting she's "rigging the vote"? Or perhaps its simply report correcting by bureaucrats in the office inundated with data.