How They Stole the Mid-term Election

[dualsmp]

http://www.gregpalast.com/how-they-stole-the-mid-term-election

HOW THEY STOLE THE MID-TERM ELECTION

by Greg Palast

for The Guardian (UK), Comment is Free
Monday November 6, 2006

Here?s how the 2006 mid-term election was stolen.

Note the past tense. And I?m not kidding.

And shoot me for saying this, but it won?t be stolen by jerking with the touch-screen machines (though they?ll do their nasty part). While progressives panic over the viral spread of suspect computer black boxes, the Karl Rove-bots have been tunneling into the vote vaults through entirely different means.

For six years now, our investigations team, at first on assignment for BBC TV and the Guardian, has been digging into the nitty-gritty of the gaming of US elections. We?ve found that November 7, 2006 is a day that will live in infamy. Four and a half million votes have been shoplifted. Here?s how they?ll do it, in three easy steps:

Theft #1: Registrations gone with the wind

On January 1, 2006, while America slept off New Year?s Eve hangovers, a new federal law crept out of the swamps that has devoured 1.9 million votes, overwhelmingly those of African-Americans and Hispanics. The vote-snatching statute is a cankerous codicil slipped into the 2002 Help America Vote Act ? strategically timed to go into effect in this mid-term year. It requires every state to reject new would-be voters whose identity can?t be verified against a state verification database.

Sounds arcane and not too threatening. But look at the numbers and you won?t feel so fine. About 24.3 million Americans attempt to register or re-register each year. The New York University Law School?s Brennan Center told me that, under the new law, Republican Secretaries of State began the year by blocking about one in three new voters.

How? To begin with, Mr. Bush?s Social Security Administration has failed to verify 47% of registrants. After appeals and new attempts to register, US Elections Assistance Agency statistics indicate 1.9 million would-be voters will still find themselves barred from the ballot on Tuesday.

But don?t worry: those holding passports from their ski vacations to Switzerland are doing just fine. And that?s the point. It?s not the number of voters rejected, it?s their color. For example, California?s Republican Secretary of State Bruce McPherson figured out how to block 40% of registrants, mostly Hispanics. In a rare counter-move, Los Angeles, with a Hispanic mayor, contacted these citizens, ?verified? them and got almost every single one back on the rolls. But throughout the rest of the West, new Hispanics remain victims of the ?Jose Crow? treatment.

In hotly contested Ohio, Kenneth Blackwell, Secretary of State and the Republican?s candidate for Governor, remains voter-rejection champ ? partly by keeping the rejection criteria a complete secret.

Theft #2: Turned Away - the ID game

A legion of pimple-faced Republicans with Blackberries loaded with lists of new voters is assigned to challenge citizens in heavily Black and Hispanic (i.e. Democratic) precincts to demand photo ID that perfectly matches registration data.

Sounds benign, but it?s not. The federal HAVA law and complex new ID requirements in states like New Mexico will easily allow the GOP squads to triple the number of voters turned away. Rather than deny using these voter suppression tactics, Republican spokesmen are claiming they are ?protecting the integrity of the vote.?

I?ve heard that before. In 2004, we got our hands on fifty confidential internal memos from the files of the Republican National Committee. Attached to these were some pretty strange spreadsheets. They called them ?caging lists? ? and it wasn?t about zoo feeding times. They were lists (70,000 for Florida alone) of new Black and Jewish voters ? a very Democratic demographic ? to challenge on Election Day. The GOP did so with a vengeance: In 2004, for the first time in half a century, more than 3.5 million voters were challenged on Election Day. Worse, nearly half lost their vote: 300,000 were turned away for wrong ID; 1.1 million were allowed a ?provisional? ballot ? which was then simply tossed out.

Tomorrow, new federal ID requirements and a dozen new state show-me-your-ID laws will permit the GOP challenge campaign to triple their 300,000 record to nearly one million voters blocked.

Theft #3: Votes Spoiled Rotten

The nasty little secret of US elections is that three million ballots are cast in national elections but not counted ? 3,600,380 not counted in 2004 according to US Election Commission stats. These are votes lost because a punch card didn?t punch (its chad got ?hung?), a stray mark voided a paper ballot and other machinery glitches.

Officials call it ?spoilage.? I call it, ?inaugurating Republicans.? Why? According to statisticians working with the US Civil Rights Commission, the chance your vote will ?spoil? this way is 900% higher for Black folk and 500% higher for Hispanics than for white voters. When we do the arithmetic, we find that well over half of all votes spoiled or ?blank? are cast by voters of color. On balance, this spoilage game produces a million-vote edge for the GOP.

That?s where the Black Boxes come into play. Forget about Karl Rove messing with the software to change your vote. Rather, the big losses occur when computers crash, fail to start or simply don?t respond to your touch. They are the new spoilage machines of choice with, statistically, the same racial bias as the old vote-snatching lever machines. (Funny, but paper ballots with in-precinct scanners don?t go rotten on Black voters. Maybe that?s why Republican Secretaries of State have installed so few of them.)

So Let?s Add it Up

Two million legitimate voters will be turned away because of wrongly rejected or purged registrations.

Add another one million voters challenged and turned away for ?improper ID.?

Then add yet another million for Democratic votes ?spoiled? by busted black boxes and by bad ballots.

And let?s not forget to include the one million ?provisional? ballots which will never get counted. Based on the experience of 2004, we know that, overwhelmingly, minority voters are the ones shunted to these baloney ballots.

And there?s one more group of votes that won?t be counted: absentee ballots challenged and discarded. Elections Assistance Agency data tell us a half million of these absentee votes will go down the drain.

Driving this massive suppression of the vote are sophisticated challenge operations. And here I must note that the Democrats have no national challenge campaign. That?s morally laudable; electorally suicidal.

Add it all up ? all those Democratic-leaning votes rejected, barred and spoiled ? and the Republican Party begins Election Day with a 4.5 million-vote thumb on the vote-tally scale.

So, what are you going to do about it? May I suggest you? steal back your vote.

It?s true you can?t win with 51% of the vote anymore. So just get over it. The regime?s sneak attack via vote suppression will only net them 4.5 million votes, about 5% of the total. You should be able to beat that blindfolded. If you can?t get 55%, then you?re just a bunch of crybaby pussycats who don?t deserve to win back America.

Not to mention the fraud based electronic voting machines run by Diebold, Sequoia and ES&S. :disgust: Land of the free. Right?

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

It's not even over yet and you guys are already crying about being cheated?

 

[OrByte]

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
It's not even over yet and you guys are already crying about being cheated?

The cheating started a long time ago...

 

[CrazyHelloDeli]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

We are lost as a country, democrats, republicans, independents, etc., we have made a decision as a whole to forfeit our rights to a valid election system. Now we are no better off than the middle eastern countries like Pakistan and Iran, where elections are just a hoax to keep the masses in line.

If, after the past 6 years of raping the American middle and lower classes and sending our children off to die in a war of revenge and greed, we still cannot put a definitive end to the Bush/Cheney culture of corruption, we will never be able to save ourselves from the same fate of other nations that have fallen because of God and war.

Democracy is not victory, victory is a democracy.

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
It's not even over yet and you guys are already crying about being cheated?

While it remains to be seen what will happen in 2006, Democrats always cry when they lose an election. They just can't seem to grasp the fact that most Americans don't share their views.

Even in 2006, plenty of people voting Democrat don't really like Democrats. They vote (D) because they see it as the lesser of two evils... the greater evil being Bush's republican party. Likewise, people like me are forced to vote Republican, because the consequences of going to the left-side are too great.

 

[sandorski]

Even if the Dems win, the points raised in the article should not be tolerated.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

Originally posted by: Extelleron

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
It's not even over yet and you guys are already crying about being cheated?

While it remains to be seen what will happen in 2006, Democrats always cry when they lose an election. They just can't seem to grasp the fact that most Americans don't share their views.

Even in 2006, plenty of people voting Democrat don't really like Democrats. They vote (D) because they see it as the lesser of two evils... the greater evil being Bush's republican party. Likewise, people like me are forced to vote Republican, because the consequences of going to the left-side are too great.

Another ignorant response from an ignorant person who ignore fact and spins his own little web of justification. Give me a break. If you can't look at the news stories today alone regarding vote suppression and fraud that are out already and see that the only way the GOP wins now is through dirty play, just go back to watching football and ignore your rights being stripped away.

 

[slash196]

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
It's not even over yet and you guys are already crying about being cheated?

First of all, the election isn't even over, so nobody's crying about anything. Second, in case you hadn't noticed, this is a BRITISH article. Independent 3rd party investigation. The "guys" you refer to had nothing to do with this article. Perhaps if you had actually read it you may have rethought your post.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

Originally posted by: sandorski
Even if the Dems win, the points raised in the article should not be tolerated.

Exactly, I have said for months that if the DEMs win, it still does not mean that there isn't a huge problem with our election system on many levels that needs to be fixed before people will feel completely confident that their vote counts for something. It's not always about winning, it's usually just about feeling like showing up and doing your part meant something.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Originally posted by: slash196

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
It's not even over yet and you guys are already crying about being cheated?

First of all, the election isn't even over, so nobody's crying about anything. Second, in case you hadn't noticed, this is a BRITISH article. Independent 3rd party investigation. The "guys" you refer to had nothing to do with this article. Perhaps if you had actually read it you may have rethought your post.

I did read it. But why post the same old "they stole our election AGAIN" crap before you even lose? Hell, for that matter it looks like the Dems are going to win. It's almost like a knee-jerk reaction with the left. They're not even waiting to lose this time.


Just one of those things that makes me scrunch up my eyebrows.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

If the DEMs win at least either the House or the Senate, we can put a stop to the downward spiral our nation has been taking for the last 6 years. A government at a complete stand still is preferable to what we have now.

 

[dualsmp]

Originally posted by: slash196

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
It's not even over yet and you guys are already crying about being cheated?

First of all, the election isn't even over, so nobody's crying about anything. Second, in case you hadn't noticed, this is a BRITISH article. Independent 3rd party investigation. The "guys" you refer to had nothing to do with this article. Perhaps if you had actually read it you may have rethought your post.

Greg Palast is an American who works for the BBC.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Theft #3: Votes Spoiled Rotten

The nasty little secret of US elections is that three million ballots are cast in national elections but not counted ? 3,600,380 not counted in 2004 according to US Election Commission stats. These are votes lost because a punch card didn?t punch (its chad got ?hung?), a stray mark voided a paper ballot and other machinery glitches.

Officials call it ?spoilage.? I call it, ?inaugurating Republicans.? Why? According to statisticians working with the US Civil Rights Commission, the chance your vote will ?spoil? this way is 900% higher for Black folk and 500% higher for Hispanics than for white voters. When we do the arithmetic, we find that well over half of all votes spoiled or ?blank? are cast by voters of color. On balance, this spoilage game produces a million-vote edge for the GOP.

Sorry, but the incompetent who can't follow simple directions don't deserve to vote, their vote has been Darwinned.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: Krakn3Dfx
If the DEMs win at least either the House or the Senate, we can put a stop to the downward spiral our nation has been taking for the last 6 years. A government at a complete stand still is preferable to what we have now.

lmfao thanks for the laugh.

 

[theeedude]

Good thing dems are going to win governorships. Hopefully they'll kick all the republicans off voter rolls and then make them jump through hoops to get back on them.

 

[aidanjm]

that is obscene. why do Americans tolerate this?

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

edit - wrong thread

 

[jrenz]

Originally posted by: slash196

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
It's not even over yet and you guys are already crying about being cheated?

First of all, the election isn't even over, so nobody's crying about anything. Second, in case you hadn't noticed, this is a BRITISH article. Independent 3rd party investigation. The "guys" you refer to had nothing to do with this article. Perhaps if you had actually read it you may have rethought your post.

To anybody who has more than 5 brain cells, it's pretty apparent that this article is anything but independent or unbiased. The simple accusatory and inflammatory language used makes me question any points which may otherwise be valid. How do I know where he got these stats from? It could be flat out lies. Who knows?

Of course, to you, it is nothing but the truth, because it's what you want to believe.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
It's not even over yet and you guys are already crying about being cheated?

It's the bloggers and other internet know-nothings (who pretend to be Dems) who have already lost. CNN just called that Lieberman will win re-election to the Senate as an Independent.
So of course, these bloggers need to cry foul of the voting system. They NEED to claim some demonic conspiracy theory. Otherwise, the truth will come out -- that the American public fears and hates their extremism just as much as they fear and hate Bush's extremism, and wants moderates. And then the DNC might just wise up, oust Dean and his blogging know-nothings, and still have hope for 08.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: jrenz

Originally posted by: slash196

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
It's not even over yet and you guys are already crying about being cheated?

First of all, the election isn't even over, so nobody's crying about anything. Second, in case you hadn't noticed, this is a BRITISH article. Independent 3rd party investigation. The "guys" you refer to had nothing to do with this article. Perhaps if you had actually read it you may have rethought your post.

To anybody who has more than 5 brain cells, it's pretty apparent that this article is anything but independent or unbiased. The simple accusatory and inflammatory language used makes me question any points which may otherwise be valid. How do I know where he got these stats from? It could be flat out lies. Who knows?

Of course, to you, it is nothing but the truth, because it's what you want to believe.

Not sure about the numbers, but the issues are well documented.

 

[GoPackGo]

So will we here outcrys of voter fraud and disenfranchisement?

 

[theeedude]

Definitely. The whites in VA are gonna cry about how they was dissfrenchfried by dem black folk

 

[GoPackGo]

Originally posted by: senseamp
Definitely. The whites in VA are gonna cry about how they was dissfrenchfried by dem black folk

nice

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Genx87
lmfao thanks for the laugh.

LMFAO, thanks for the election.

Originally posted by: GoPackGo
So will we here outcrys of voter fraud and disenfranchisement?

I'm sure we will. People whose party lost the election always cry foul, whether there was a documented, organized attempt to steal the election, or the voters just got tired of all of the lies.