Breaking News: Touchscreen Ballots Do Not Have to Be Recounted in FL!

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/7940382.htm

Secretary of State Glenda Hood said there are no certified methods of printing records of touchscreen votes, but she stressed that the machines are reliable and accurate and can't be tampered.

"We're working very hard to educate the voters, to build the comfort level and to get rid of some of the myths out there," Hood said. "I think these things are raised for political purposes and distractions. Any effort to undermine that public confidence is a tactic that is wrong and I believe it weakens our democracy by causing voters to doubt if their vote has been counted."

Hood said she would not object to paper records being created if a machine were developed, tested and was able to pass the state certification process, but she said it's highly unlikely that would happen before the November presidential election.

"Technology is going to continue to develop and if we can find ways to improve Florida's elections and process with new equipment, then we're going to do that," she said.

___________________

This is it, folks. The GOP has declared war on the democratic process. We will all have to vote absentee. Do not use these Rethug voting machines!

[arcane1]

1. there you go, that's it...

they can make the results whatever they want them to be, and no worries about a repeat of 2000

not to mention they won't have the voter rolls restored in time for 2004, either

the officials in FL hate democracy, hate America

:grr:

[frankly_fedup2]

6. It's not about the counting . . .

It's about what is probably going on right now under our noses.

The secretary of state, Katherine Harris, during this time of the year in the year 2000, sent out to the registrars an update on convicted felons. The registrars admitted that there were unbelievable mistakes made and complained. All the answers were on 2 cds.

People that had been convicted of misdemeanors were taking off of the registrar's lists and listed as felons. One man (forgot his name) stated that he had received his notice that he could not vote because he was a convicted felon in 2007! Now, this was about 40,000 people who were not convicted felons; however, they had the burden of proof to correct it through the registrars.

This also happened in Texas involving around 50,000 people. That's 90,000 votes. They started this way before anyone got to vote.

So you see, they tampered with the machines so the holes would not line up. Then when it was investigated, they could not find these exact machines. Convenient huh?

Of course, all of this occurred in mostly minority and poorer districts . . . which tend to vote majority democratic.

The ballot errors was just a followup to assure Bush's so-called sElection.

So as we speak now, I wonder who is losing their rights to vote and in what states. Bush will be reSelected because of these type of tactics.

If you get a letter, and are not a convicted felon, good luck trying to get it cleared up before the election.

[Lars39]

10. You don't even have to have a brush with the legal system

to be purged, either. I'm in TN. We moved,and changed our address. If for some reason we didn't get entered into the computer, we would have had to vote on provisional ballots. With provisional ballots, someone compares your name to the list. It would be awfully easy to have a common name and get purged, just because you moved.

[ronnykmarshall]

2. Absentee Ballots!

I agree! We don't have touch screens here in area, but if so I'll vote absentee and drop my ballot off the day of the election.

[stepnw1f]

4. This Is A Direct Insidious Attempt To Kill Democracy

Those who are attempting to kill Democracy need to be held accountable by all the people of the United States of America. They are breaking the law in ways that reflect the past attempts of the Nazi Party in Germany.

[SaddenedDem]

5. Sorry to tell you this, but....

The EXACT SAME SOFTWARE COUNTS ABSENTEE BALLOTS!

You are gaining nothing by voting absentee.

In fact, the optical scan software is even WORSE than touchscreen, because if it can't read your ballot it just puts it in the ballot box without informing you. And ELECTIONS OFFICIALS program how the optical scan reads the ballots.

[1971]

16. Absentee ballot = paper trail

I think an absentee ballot is still preferable to touchscreen voting because at least you have a voter-verified paper ballot that can be hand-counted, not just optically scanned.

CAUTION when filling out an absentee ballot!

Make sure to follow the instructions PRECISELY!

Examples (this varies, so read yours carefully):
-- If you use a a blue ink pen and the instructions say to only use black ink, NO GOOD!
-- If you fill in the square instead of writing a checkmark, NO GOOD.
-- If you don't sign the back of the envelope, NO GOOD!




I'd like to hear what Bev Harris would advise us now.

[SaddenedDem]

23. Doesn't matter....

Even in a "recount" they put them back through the same machine that didn't read the ballot in the first damned place.

Check your laws - my best is they have followed suit with many other states and made using the PAPER BALLOT in a recount illegal.

Absentee ballots solve absolutely NOTHING.

[hang a left]

3. This country is sooo history.

[tom_paine]

7. Sounds like Bush just won Florida!

(hey, at least the output numbers won't be grotesque like a Saddam "election", though the results will be the same)

hooray...

[tridim]

11. CNN just called Florida

with 0% of the precincts reporting CNN has called Florida for George Bush with 52% of the vote.

Hey, why not. This article proves that Florida is totally ignoring the facts in BBV. The fix is indeed in.

[neverforget]

8. Democracy is SO 20th Century. Let's just move on to blind faith in

software and the good will of the Republican Party. It's not like they ever stole an election or anything.......<sarcasm>

Good God, Democracy as we know it is dead. God help us!

[aquart]

9. Did you think the state of Florida was in play?

I'm sorry.

They don't actually have elections there.

[Kelvin Mace]

12. I just posted this to BBV

There are only two possible explanations for Hood's statement:

1) She is willfully stupid.

2) She is deliberately trying to destroy the democratic process.

http://69.13.2.49/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=153

David Allen
Publisher, CEO, Janitor
Plan Nine Publishing
http://www.plan9.org

[BadGimp]

13. I have been telling anyone who would listen...

That this GOP take over of the voting process via the Touch Screen machines was the single greatest threat this nation faces.

When I talk to co-workers their eyes glaze over.

I feel like a Cassandra.

Come the day after election day in November we will have George Bush for 4 more years. I'd bet my life on it.

[Zhade]

18. HE'S betting OUR lives on it!

I predict armed acts of rebellion before the year is out.

[TrogL]

14. Maybe it's time to go to the United Nations

It would be interesting to find out the procedure for getting the United Nations involved in overseeing elections in a country. Certainly it's been done before. I believe Jimmy Carter is involved.

If a third party has to initiate the process, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

[RhodaGrits]

20. I don't see why someone can't initiate this -

surely someone on DU has the connections to see if it is feasible. There is enough evidence from the last elections to make a case.

[Taeger]

15. All touchscreen votes ..

All touchscreen votes are spoiled the second they are cast.

The issue is NOT whether they can be verified. The issue is that there is ZERO process to demonstrate that they were originally correct.

The people in Florida now have elections that are little better to the ones in the old Soviet Union. It doesn't matter who does the voting, it's who does the counting that determines the victor.

[Zhade]

19. My parents and brother live in Florida.

I sit here in California, fully aware of the dangers of BBV - and my family behind the Citrus Curtain cannot practice democracy.

Then again, with SchwarzeNazi acting as Governor-in-exile Pete Wilson's handpuppet, it's not like I can, either.

[1971]

17. Same article posted earlier today, too.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=362256

Latest Latest Breaking News

JudiLyn Donating member (1000+ posts) Fri Feb-13-04 03:25 AM
Original message
State: Touchscreen ballots don't have to be recounted (Florida)

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H3LL, we should post this article and re-post this article ALL DAY!
This is outrageous!

[Old and In the Way]

21. How about post election polling? Ought to be able to do

statisticly significant sampling on the exit polls and compare to the votes recorded?

[llmart]

22. Florida won't be as important this time around

because we'll whip his ass in a bunch of other states!

I'm still mad as hell about this though.

[9215]

24. To people in Florida:

get the documentation together proving the machines are inaccurate, easily tampered with; get a lawyer for a class action lawsuit; then file a lawsuit against the Dept. responsible for an accurate voting system, probably the Sect of State.