|
There is nothing particularly exceptional about 2000, except that it was a very close election. The Presidential election in 1960, for example, was much closer, percentagewise and there were serious allegations of fraud on both sides.
Both major parties have used fraudulent methods in the past.
In the past 50-60 years we have seen Jim Crow voter suppression efforts migrate from the Democratic to the Republican party.
In the election of 1876, the Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes won election by means of fraud in the state of Florida, over the Democratic candidate Samuel Tilden. The margin on election night was something like 80-90 votes out of a total of 40,000 for Tilden. The Republicans first conceded, then later unconceded the election, and by means of fraudulent ballot tampering in the State of Florida eventually certified a vote for Hayes. A constitutional crisis resulted, which was resolved in favour of Hayes, when a deal was made by the Republicans to withdraw federal troops from the South, where they were attempting to enforce the rights of newly freed slaves. This was enough to get the Democrats to agree to a committee of 8 Republicans and 7 Democrats to decide on the disputed electoral votes.
It was one of the most shameful compromises in the history of the nation. It ended Reconstruction effort in the South, and likely set back the progress of Civil Rights for African-Americans by almost a century.
President Hayes has henceforward been called Rutherfraud B. Hayes by Democrats.
In the later 19th century and before 1930-1940 many large Northern cities were effectively controlled by Democratic political machines (a couple of exceptions being Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in the late 1800's where the local bosses I believe were Republican). Votes were essentially directly paid for under the de facto system of corrupt local bosses who controlled essentially everything in the cities.
The US has always had these problems, it's nothing new.
I think the situation could be to some extent ameliorated by creating a non-partisan civil service to manage the elections, and by returning to a system of hand counted paper mark-sense ballots on a precinct level, with the counting monitored by represenatives of both parties.
But no one cares, particularly, what I think.
|