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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61930-2005Jan9.htmlWhat Happened in Ohio
By William Raspberry
Monday, January 10, 2005; Page A17
I don't usually let other people do my thinking for me, but I confess I'd been waiting for Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) to tell me what to think about the voting irregularities that marred the November elections in Ohio.
Bloggers have been burning up the Internet with tales of manipulation and fraud. A representative of the company that supplied some of the voting machines (and whose corporate chief had promised to deliver the state for President Bush) supposedly was caught fiddling with some of the machines. Heavily Democratic -- but not heavily Republican -- precincts were plagued by a shortage of voting machines. Votes cast for challenger John Kerry showed up on the screen as votes for Bush. Black and poor voters -- likely Democratic voters -- were harassed and otherwise discouraged. And there were scores of similar allegations.
....
So what am I to think about all the allegations I've been reading in the noncertified press since November? That the left-wing bloggers are blowing things out of proportion? That the mainstream press is being properly circumspect? That nothing much happened in Ohio?
But "Preserving Democracy" belies such a benign conclusion. Listen:
"We have found numerous, serious election irregularities . . . which resulted in a significant disenfranchisement of voters. . . .
"In many cases these irregularities were caused by intentional misconduct and illegal behavior, much of it involving Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign in Ohio."
...
Well, I don't want to overturn the election, either. But I would like to know if public officials and private citizens engaged in a significant and concerted effort to steal the election in the event the wrong person seemed to be winning it. And if so, I'd like to know who the miscreants were, what they did and what heads are going to roll.
Because if all we get are a few hearings and empty promises, it's a safe bet it'll happen again.
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