Thank you Aimee in OKC for pointing out a piece by Lynn Landes entitled "Could the Associated Press Rig the Election?" I recall that independent journalist Lynnn Landes was one of the names listed on the IndyVoter.org page that announced the Ohio hearings. This is from October 22:

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The Associated Press (AP) will be the sole source of raw vote totals for the major news broadcasters on Election Night. However, AP spokesmen Jack Stokes and John Jones refused to explain to this journalist how the AP will receive that information. They refused to confirm or deny that the AP will receive direct feed from voting machines and central vote tabulating computers across the country. But, circumstantial evidence suggests that is exactly what will happen.

And what can be downloaded can also be uploaded. Computer experts say that signals can travel both to and from computerized voting machines through wireless technology, modems, and even simple electricity. Computer scientists have long warned that computer voting is an invitation to vote fraud and system failure. An examination of Diebold election software by several computer scientists, including Dr. Avi Rubin and his staff, proved that secret backdoors can be built into computer programs that allow votes to be easily manipulated without detection.

ES&S, the nation's largest voting machine company that will reportedly count 50% of all votes, describe on their webpage how "accessible" their results are, "At ES&S, we know election administrators and the public want fast and accurate election results. That is why we have developed several election management system software solutions to make the reporting process easier, more reliable, and more accessible." Diebold, the second largest voting machine company, advertises a similar service. Both ES&S and Diebold have close ties to the Republican Party.

But, can't the AP be trusted? Isn't it an objective non-partisan news organization? Some say no. The AP is batting for a Bush presidency.

In Online Journal, Stephen Crockett and Al Lawrence, the hosts of Democratic Talk Radio, wrote, "...the Associated Press ran a story that was widely published in newspapers and on the Internet, headlined "Bush Leads Kerry In Electoral Votes," that could have been written by the Bush campaign. The assignment of states to candidates, the headline and the conclusions were all simply wrong. The Associated Press should print a retraction and work to see that it is widely published."

And on WBAY-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin ran an AP article reporting that Bush has won the election, weeks before the election is to take place. The AP reported, "At this hour, President Bush has won re-election as president by a 47 percent to 43 percent margin in the popular vote nationwide. Ralph Nader has 1 percent of the vote nationwide. That's with 51 percent of the precincts reporting." According to reports, the AP is now saying the article was a "test article," a never-heard-before journalistic practice.

In a piece entitled OHIO TURNS WHITE, FALLS INTO UNDECIDED COLUMN, Phillips presents data and analysis from the Cuyahoga County results. 

In addition to the efforts of the Green and Libertarian parties (sometimes referred to as the "Glibs"--at least by Keith Olbermann), the Ohio Democratic party is planning to participate in the recount...

In Ohio, the state Democratic Party will recruit volunteers to help monitor the recount, along with volunteers organized by the other two parties.

"We are proud to stand up for Democrats all over the world who have asked us to make sure every vote gets counted," said Dennis White, Ohio Democratic Party chair, in making Tuesday's announcement.

Click here for the rest of the article, which also mentions the GAO's decision to investigate irregularities in the 2004 Presidential Election.

You may have heard about a judge denying a recount. Rest assured there will be a recount--what the judge denied was a request to force a recount before the official count was finished.

And in the Augusta Free Press, there is a guest editorial about "J. Kathererine" (Blackwell)...

If you recall, J. Katherine (well, really, J. Kenneth Blackwell) had insisted, until the courts intervened, that voters register on 80-pound paper stock (even though few election boards had enough to go around) and vote in the precinct in which they had registered even if they still lived in the same county as last election.

Provisional ballots were provided to potentially fraudulent but insistent voters, and the post-election validation process has proven 81 percent were indeed entitled to vote. Damn those liberal judges! And so much for J. Katharine's dedication to open, free and fair elections.

The couple filing suit against J. Katherine in Cincinnati noted that largely black voting precincts were supplied with fewer voting machines per registered voter than other voting precincts, which guaranteed long lines and may have discouraged voters from waiting in line for hours, although many did just that.

Could this have been deliberate? Who will ever know, because this kind of thing doesn't show up in post-election recounts and statistical analyses. But when you realize that the voting machines in black precincts broke down more frequently than those elsewhere, something in Denmark starts to smell fishy. Did J. Katharine send an insufficiency of machines to black voters and then compensate by making sure they were older, less reliable machines to boot?

 

Per my request, Make4Think has tracked down contact information for the representatives who requested the GAO investigation of election irregularities. (Thanks, M4T!) A lot of us, myself included, are a lot quicker to criticize than praise our representatives in government. But, just as I've learned with my kids the importance of "catching them being good", I realize that it is also important to tell people in public office that we appreciate it when they get it right. With that in mind, let's express our appreciation to the following representatives for standing up for our right to be assured transparency and accountability in our elections.

From the Common Cause weblog, Common Blog...

More from Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman of the Free Press...

Keith Cunningham, director of the Allen County Board of Elections and incoming president of the Ohio Association of Election, is not happy about the prospect of a recount. He says, backed by Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell's claim that the total cost of the recount will be $1.5 million, that this will crush county governments. Green Party candidate David Cobb is one of the people calling for the recount:

"Nothing could be more important to our country than ensuring the results of the Ohio presidential election are accurate and complete," Cobb said. "Our faith and trust in the democratic process all hinge on a fair, unbiased and transparent counting of ballots in Ohio."

That assertion offends Cunningham.

"The inference is that Ohio election officials will not count every vote," Cunningham said. "That's just insulting; it's frivolous and simply harassment."

Cunningham said he was consulting with officials in several counties before deciding whether to pursue legal action to prevent a recount.

Read the rest of the article here

In Buzzflash: Ohio Presidential Results to be Challenged

Bob Fitrakis, editor of the Free Press, has been one of my primary sources of information on the election irregularities and voter suppression in Ohio. As is noted at the bottom of this article, Dr. Fitrakis has a Ph.D. in Political Science, and a J.D. and is a lawyer working with the Alliance for Democracy--Ohio. Below are some excerpts from his most recent article, How the Ohio Election was Rigged for Bush.