Internet buzz on vote fraud is dismissed (Boston Globe 11/10)

[dajabr]

--snip--

"Much of the traffic is little more than Internet-fueled conspiracy theories, and none of the vote-counting problems and anomalies that have emerged are sufficiently widespread to have affected the election's ultimate result.

Kerry campaign officials and a range of election-law specialists agree that while machines made errors and long lines in Democratic precincts kept many voters away, there's no realistic chance that Kerry actually beat Bush.

''No one would be more interested than me in finding out that we really won, but that ain't the case," said Jack Corrigan, a veteran Kerry adviser who led the Democrats' team of 3,600 attorneys who fanned out across the country on Election Day to address voting irregularities.

''I get why people are frustrated, but they did not steal this election," Corrigan said. ''There were a few problems here and there in the election. But unlike 2000, there is no doubt that they actually got more votes than we did, and they got them in the states that mattered."

http://tinyurl.com/3j2r7

:wtf:

Is this Corrigan guy in any position to draw this conclusion? Where does he rank in the scheme of things?

[imaginary girl]

1. And when did he say this?

[barbaraann]

2. Here's some very interesting info:

from
The Kerry Tribes
The seven factions fighting for control of his campaign and his presidency.
By Michael Crowley
Posted Thursday, April 15, 2004, at 10:31 AM PT

...
The Boston Fixers
Kerry's political muscle, these tough-talking Bostonians operate in the shadows, handling unglamorous—but essential—tasks for him. All are well-schooled in Boston-style retail politics and hardball. One subcaste is the Dukakoids, men who worked under former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis. This group's key figure is John Sasso, a longtime Dukakis aide turned Boston lobbyist. Another is Jack Corrigan, reputed to be a crack political organizer. Both have been tasked with important missions: Sasso will be Kerry's liaison to the Democratic National Committee, while Corrigan is in charge of making sure the Democratic convention in Boston goes smoothly this summer. In a subcategory of his own is Michael Whouley, the operative/lobbyist who has achieved a mythic, Boba Fett-like reputation among Democrats for engineering Al Gore's 2000 come-from-behind win in New Hampshire and jump-starting Kerry's Iowa comeback.
What they want: Minimal attention to their under-the-radar skid-greasing.
Sign that they're winning: You never hear about them.
Biggest enemy: The D.C. Fixers, who think they're smarter than Boston hacks.
...

http://slate.msn.com/id/2098894/

[dmac]

31. Thanks but . . .

does this mean we hold on to the hope that this guy's statement is the result of in-fighting and that Kerry has not indeed deserted us? I am trying so hard to keep the faith but it is very difficult with so much out here. I guess we have a couple of bottom lines:

- do not discount Kerry or believe anything until we hear it from his mouth

- even if Kerry gives up, we haven't and we won't

We are entitled to a realistic accounting of the votes and we must hang in there until we get it.

[jsamuel]

3. Screw Him

Keep Fighting!

[Casablanca]

4. What part of "97,000 more votes than voters" doesn't he understand? nt

[Copperred]

27. 97,000......that with the provisionals alone could swing the vote

When will olberman report this 97,000 "Glitch" where is this from?

Ohio? What the story behind this?

Is there a webpage yet detailing every for found glitch? a simple webpage with a line by line account?

Thanks

[dmac]

33. I think they have

explained at least part of them in Cuyahoga county (I could be wrong - I cannot find the post I read last night)

BUT the 97,000 isn't really the relevant part here. Remember we need three and a half million - which is why we cannot count on the "number" of votes to come in, but instead we need to focus on being able to prove that with discrepancies all over the place, there are no "real" numbers; that the votes do not represent us - or that we cannot be sure that they do.

I don't see anyway to really "win" this without re-voting - and given that this is unprecedented, I am not too sure how realistic it is to believe that this will ever be allowed. One can hope but and I am holding on to that hope but I do not believe I am being realistic to do so.

[txindy]

37. A suggestion

I've had trouble in the past finding some previously-read info. on these fast-moving boards, too. If something really catches your eye, hit Bookmark This Thread. You can always edit your bookmarks later, if you no longer need that info.

North Carolina is looking into a revote right now, I believe. Either local or statewide. This is very, very interesting and, as you said, unprecedented. I think they want the local revote, but state law may preclude anything but a statewide endeavor. VERY interesting.

[dmac]

40. very interesting indeed

and encouraging!

[Chimpanzee]

43. We don't need 3.5 million votes!

We only need to tip Ohio to Kerry. with 155,000 provisionals, 97,000 'extra votes', thousands of absentees and thousands of 'spoiled' votes, there is alot to look at before declaring Bush the winner.

[txindy]

46. Exactly

:toast: Ohio is still in play.

[magellan]

5. No doubt??

Does Corrigan know for sure where his vote went? Can he tell me for sure where MY vote went?

:wtf:

[Must_B_Free]

6. THey would love for this to just go away

but instead its growing like a fucking monster.

The election just didn't add up. Kerry didn't suddenly lose after 5 PM.

Think about it - the reason in 200 and 2004 the thing turns around in the nth hour is because they have to calculate how much to steal.

[imaginary girl]

9. No kidding

Most of the people waiting in lines until the wee hours were in dem-heavy precincts, so he should have gained at the end ...

[crickets]

18. BINGO

I wish more people would push that point. I can't remember the name of the Ohio 'person' being interviewed on AAR that Tuesday night. He kept saying over and over, "I know my state. The districts still left to report always swing Dem. Always. They will." It went on and on because of the monster late lines.

And... they didn't swing Dem. He was mystified.

How many votes are missing again overall? /rhetorical

[dogmastomper]

7. And Again...

the soft warm worn conspiracy theory gets pulled out of the dryer...it still smells like bounce and if you rub it across your armhairs they stand up. Gotta love it, nothing like a blanket term to dismiss any action before it might can even be taken. God Bless America.

[high density]

8. Nice headline there Boston Globe

Welcome to the Douchebag of Liberty hall of fame.

I guess this is the basic gist of the article: There's no question that Kerry didn't beat Bush, so who cares if the vote is counted accurately or not.

UGH I can't believe this lousy reporting!

[pa28]

10. An acceptable number of rat hairs in the chili.

When Bush "won" the election by 100,000 votes in Ohio I would say there is no acceptable amount of vote fraud.

Secondly, I think this guy is either under-informed or he does not realize that every time we give them an inch this time they take a mile next time. Vote fraud matters Mr. Corrigan.

[evolvenow]

11. They can write whatever they want, but the TRUTH is coming out all over !

I hope that somehow the attorneys were able to have access to all of the voting machines/cartridges/etc. and they are compiling thousands of pieces of info , all of the stories and then what will they write in the papers?!!! Hmmmm..stolen election..oooops.

Keep going, you are all the best!!

[kuozzman]

17. That just the problem, that's not possible...

New Scientist-02/15/04
Security is also a key concern. Two weeks ago, RABA Technologies of Columbia, Maryland, published the results of an investigation into the security of e-voting machines from the manufacturer Diebold, at the request of the Maryland state authorities. Maryland is relying on these machines for its 2 March primary.

In the test, Michael Wertheimer and his team at RABA set up a mock voting station and tried various tricks to break into the machines. It proved astonishingly easy. The investigators were able to guess passwords on the smart cards voters use to access the machines, giving them administrative privileges and allowing them to cast multiple votes. They also showed how easy it was to erase results stored on a machine, or to intercept modem transmissions from the station and transmit their own fake results to the county's central office. They even managed to hack into servers at county headquarters via a modem.

The state of Maryland is reluctant to update the software on the machines so close to the primaries. "They are frightened it will cause the election software to malfunction," Wertheimer says. So RABA has recommended various temporary solutions, such as tamper tapes and increased supervision of machines. Diebold spokesman David Bear says of RABA's findings: "The report said that no software changes need to be done prior to the elections and that voters should feel safe, secure and accurate in their votes in March." Wertheimer disagrees. "That is the most selective reading of our report imaginable," he says.

406 Days Until U.S.A. Can't Turn Back From Elections Completely Under The Undetectable Control Of The Government-That basically means that one person could pick wins all across the country, at every level of government. e.g. sitting at a computer in the Oval Office

Helping America Vote Act:
January 1, 2006-Deadline for States to implement computerized Statewide voter registration database if qualified for waiver.

January 1, 2006-All punchcard and lever machines replaced in States accepting Section 102 payments who qualified for a waiver of the original deadline.

http://www.fec.gov/hava/hava.htm
http://www.law.cornell.edu/background/HAVA.html

I'll have a site up soon that I'm taking kind of a new approch with.

[George_S]

20. Thanks for that.

If nothing else, maybe we can have confidence in future elections. This ain't no way to run a democracy.

[ever_green]

12. What a jackass. Since when is that loser the expert on this election?

What does he know? Hell, he's probably in on it too then. He's obviously not on our side. Or on the side of democracy.

[kuozzman]

14. On Oct. 20, John Kerry announces his simple strategy

On Oct. 20, John Kerry announces his simple strategy if the Presidential race is in doubt on Nov. 3:

*Gore prematurely conceded the 2000 race to George W. Bush, then had to retract his concession after aides said Florida wasn't lost. He never declared victory, an omission Kerry's advisers — many of whom worked for Gore — now believe created a sense of inevitability in voters' minds about Bush's presidency.

*Gore didn't plan for the legal showdown, though few could have predicted it before Election Day. And he watched as Bush seized political advantage during the 36-day recount by publicly discussing a transition to the White House.

Well he had the lawyers, though for some odd reason didn't use them. And if we didn't become lawyers, the first point would definitely been experienced.

What the hell?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1250741/posts

[saracat]

13. This is upsetting. It does indicate a Kerry rollover.

God, I hope this isn't true.

[DaveofCali]

15. Who cares if Bush got more votes in the popular vote count!!!?

Bush certainly didn't care that Al Gore got 500,000 more votes in the popular vote count in 2000, So why should we care!!?

[DaveofCali]

16. Why not suspect election fraud when Election 2000 was stolen as well!?

Fuck these corporate news media people, who are either fuckin passive kiss the feet of Republicans Democrats (that don't want chaos, fuck that!), or are people who eagerly accepted this Election result.

[kuozzman]

22. I'm going to do something along the lines of a timeline

The link below is a work in progress and I will be making something like a timeline. They even had rigged voting machines in the 1800! And they used the same tactics, like difficult registration, confusing ballots, propaganda, etc. Also, I think showing how the Republicans have intentionally blocked legislation that would require a paper trail and similar things would be good. We need stuff that people already know or would agree, like stuff about Gore in 2000 with to get people to just take an initial look at data and that at the very least, this country shouldn't go 100% electronic. I also found empirical analysis' done by universities or research firms on how inaccurate the process is. I think ALL computer scientists agree with that. Other countries have problems too.
http://trytodenythis.tripod.com/ignorantnation/

[AnnitaR]

19. Dumb Fucks!

Yea, you and Kerry just walk around with your heads up your asses! See if any Dem ever wins another election! Gee, do you think you'd figure it out then? I fucking doubt it!

I'm mad as hell at Kerry and his entire team! He is a fool if he can't see what happened. If I would have ever dreamed he could be this blind or stupid about the fraud I would never have worked my ass off for him!

Fuck it! A lot of shit is going to have to change in the Dem party before I ever care as much again. Sure I'll vote and all but I want become invested in it again like this year. They don't deserve my devotion! All I hear from almost all of them is fucking chirping crickets in an empty room!

[Sarbannes Oxley]

47. They're letting me down too.

I'm really getting depressed. I haven't even been in to work since election day. I really feel sick about everything

[Carolab]

21. Hey Jack

It AIN'T about Kerry. It's about US.

It's about making sure OUR VOTES GET PROPERLY RECORDED.

A little problem with confidence on OUR end.

Okay? Got that?

[Carl Brennan]

23. I'd like to see this guys bank account for the last couple of weeks. nt

[tom_paine]

24. Would Soviet Pravda have dismissed charges of Communist Vote Fraud?

The answer is one and the same.

Different reasons, different countries, different customs,

same answer.

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MetaTrope]

26. Right, two more years for Diebold to "perfect" its software

:eyes:

[GreenPartyVoter]

28. So make sure your own town and county have reliable and decent

voting systems. Not just verifiable votes, but look into getting ranked voting and clean elections.

-----------------------------------------------------------
FIGHT! Take this country back one town and state at a time!
http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/electionreform.htm

[maythebestmanwin]

29. That's what I'm talking about

If we organize at the grassroots, We win hearts and minds, and have the manpower to verify each voting place.

They can't win, and cheating won't help

[rodeodance]

35. Rightt ON--get involved at the local level and DO something but

this investigation into possible voter fraud is important also.

[JudyM]

30. Has anyone crunched the numbers to see how close we are

to the possibility of changing the winner to Kerry for any state?

[Sarbannes Oxley]

32. Please don't give up Kerry team!

Too much is as stake.

[dmac]

36. AMEN!

We must remember the media disinformation machine - we must remember the political genius of Karl Rove - and most of all we must remember why we voted for Kerry in the first place. We need to direct this anger we feel in a more constructive direction than blasting Kerry. I have no intention of believing a word about Kerry until it comes from Kerry himself. And I must admit, reading out here sure does make holding onto faith very difficult. But try folks. Please? It is the only chance we have.

[htuttle]

34. Jack Corrigan, Psychic Accountant

Amazing how he can audit an election without actually counting any ballots.

[RuleofLaw]

38. Missing the point!

In all this talk about voter fraud, it seems to em that most people are missing the point.

So far through the excellent work of DU members, irregularities have been found all over the country. But we have only found problems that are obvious! Like counties with more cast votes than voters. It is practically impossible to verify results that appears legitimate but might not be. Example: My county in Florida (Pinellas) uses touch screen technology. The county was about 50-50 split. But there is no way of ever figuring out if that was the true result since there is no paper trail. Same with other places. How do you find out if * got more votes than he should have had, in a county he lost? You cant!

[txindy]

39. Head fake?

:shrug:

[ClassWarrior]

41. First they ignore you.

Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.
- Gandhi

NGU.

[Chimpanzee]

42. Dismiss it? He just reported on it for God's sake

and apparently takes his orders directly from KKKarl. And nobody in their right mind is asking for a recount in Ohio or Florida until all the votes are FIRST COUNTED!!!

[tngledwebb]

44. At least any similar articles or stories

will help identify the top Corporate Media enemies. Not sure we have any Corp Media friends.

[Laughing Mirror]

45. No Boston Globe vote fraud is not dismissed at all

Despite what political fixers like Corrigan tell you or that Harvard law professor who makes the blanket statement that the election "went smoothly" compared with 2000. Law professor must not have been one of the unlucky voters who found themselves waiting standing in lines 8 or 9 hours, when torture is the term given to any wait on a voting line more than four hours in third-world countries Jimmy Carter monitors. Do you call that "went smoothly"? I guess you do if nobody complains. Add up all the spoiled votes (3%) and oddities like the 13 counties in Florida that counted 237,522 more votes than there were voters, or the 700% gain in votes in Leverty County that went to George Bush, for example, or that fact that Ohio Sec of Secretary Blackwell held back the distribution of 2,000 machines to Dem districts, little inconsequential things like that, and explain to the millions why their vote "went smoothly" to the other candidate.

Yes, you are going to have glitches in any new product, Boston Globe. But all those much-to-be-expected electronic glitches in every single case defaulted in one candidate's favor. When some of this information starts to get out to people, some of them are going to suspect that they've been had, especially since there's no way of asking for an auditing to find out. I would not call this an election that "went smoothly." It is smooth operating, though. I'll give you that.

Boston Globe you will eat your words. Either you do not have the resources or the desire to conduct an analysis of the voting scam, but there are many many people here and in many many places who are doing this work for you, gratis. And when their results are tabulated and published, and they will be tabulated and published, your dismissal will come back to haunt you.

[milkyway]

48. They're missing the big picture: the easy-to-fix repug made-and-operated

voting machines. They're focusing on the obvious fuck-ups, then saying it's not enough to change the election.

But mainstream media doesn't dare discuss that these machines are made by wingnuts with heavy ties to bush admin, and are easy to rig vote totals with no one knowing. And they don't mention that the repugs and voting machine manufacturers have fought like monkeys to prevent a paper trail being used (computer printers are just so expensive!).