Reply #36: My e-mail:

[Oak2004]

We need to have recounts of optical scanned ballots in Ohio and Florida, as well as recounts in any other precinct in swing states where exit polls did not match the results and suspicions have been raised by statisticians who, on their own free time, have analyzed the vote and found likely irregularities.

Lets face it: exit polling is so accurate its been used as a tool to monitor third world nations. It's been spot-on in every American election in every state but twice: in Florida in 2000, where we now know that Gore really did win, and now in a few contested states in 2004. What's more, as someone with formal training in physics, I know that error should be scattered on both sides of the mean -- but every "erroneous" national election exit poll that America has ever seen has always, always fallen on the side of "overestimating" the support of opponents of George W. Bush.

Bluntly: this stinks to high heaven.

John Kerry promised me, as a Kerry donor, volunteer, voter, and citizen, that he would make sure that every vote would be properly counted in this election. I'm calling upon you to deliver on your promise to me and to the tens of millions of us who gave of what we could spare from our paychecks and pension checks and allowances, who stood in lines, in the cold and the rain, of up to 10 hours to cast our votes for John Kerry.

Anything less would mean that, sadly, we had a commander who cut and ran and left his troops alone in battle.

And it would mean that democracy in America had failed -- utterly failed -- and could no longer be relied upon to prevent extremism from keeping its grasp on the reins of power indefinitely. What does that mean? Did you hear of the angry mob that rushed the statehouse in Ohio after the election? Or the mob that tried to burn down a Republican headquarters in NC? Did you know that Canada has had a record number of requests for immigration information? Did you know that PTA moms were passing out black armbands at their meetings, that citizens in many states are seriously talking secession, that I even heard a respected county prosecutor talk quite seriously of revolution.

THIS IS WHAT THE FAILURE OF DEMOCRACY MEANS. And from the look in the eyes of the people in the street, I can tell you it will only get worse.

Please, please: we *must* have honest hand recounts everywhere where
suspicions have been raised.

Sincerely
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