Fallout over Ohio election irregularities continue
 

(AP) About 400 protesters gathered outside the Statehouse on Saturday to support a recount of the presidential election votes in Ohio and call for an investigation into Election Day irregularities.

Speakers addressing the crowd alleged that many voters were the victims of a fraud in which votes intended for John Kerry were given to President Bush.

"I would like to welcome you to the Ukraine," said Susan Truitt, referring to the country where a new presidential runoff election was ordered after observers said the first one was rigged.

On Friday, a federal judge in Columbus ruled that a recount may proceed if two minority party candidates who sued for it can pay for it. Green and Libertarian party officials say they can.

A recount would likely not begin before Dec. 13, when Ohio's 20 electoral votes are officially counted.

Kerry would have won the presidency had he carried the state's 20 electoral votes. He conceded the day after the election, saying there were not enough provisional and other ballots to swing the results his way.

Mr. Bush won the state by about 119,000 votes, or 2 percentage points, according to an analysis of county board of elections results by The Associated Press.

Critics say Ohio's numbers are suspect because of several irregularities on election night. Those included disparities in the vote totals for different Democrats on the same ballot and the disqualification of more than 90,000 presidential votes on punch-card ballots because the choices could not be determined. A computer glitch on election night also recorded an extra 3,893 votes for Mr. Bush in one precinct in suburban Gahanna.

"There was no doubt in my mind that Kerry had enough votes. My fear was the votes would not be counted and that's been borne out," said Melissa Hedden, one of the protesters.

State and county election officials have said there were irregularities on Nov. 2, but no more than in any other election. They adamantly have denied there is any evidence of widespread wrongdoing.

The Kerry campaign has joined the lawsuit seeking a recount. Officials said they are not disputing the outcome of the race but want to make sure any recount is "done accurately and completely."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/...in659057.shtml

We're having a bit of election turmoil for governor of Washington here. Twice, the Republican candidate won the election, but the Democratic candidate is forcing a historical hand recount of all the votes.

any bets on how many of those protestors will accept it if the recount is still in bush's favor?

anyone...? bueller?

people need to get over the damn election. it's been over for more than a month. i'm tired of hearing the same damn thing "bush is shit bush is shit". i'm tired of hearing this and that about the election. NOW GET OVER IT.

Let me guess...you don't have a job and live at home with the parents? I'm guessing this because it is typically that kind of person who doesn't really give a shit about what's going on in the world and rather not be bothered by it. I find your attitude suprising from someone who lives in a county where over 20 percent of the people who live there are under the poverty line and the median income is only around $30,000 a year and one third of the people your age live in poverty. Gee, maybe that's the results of shoving your head in the sand?

Is Bush shit? Who knows but his intentions are to tilt the Supreme court in favor of the Republican Party's agenda. Since he took office rights we have had for years and years are disappearing. Laws created to preserve our rights and privacy have been removed one by one over the past four years. Our economy has gone to shit, most of the civil and uncivil world hates our countrys guts and wants us all dead and the value of the dollar is at an all time low. It was one of the people working in his campaign who is also presiding over the election results in Ohio (same thing happened in 2000 in Florida - the Secretary Of State was also a Republican in Bush's campsign.). People in Ohio want their vote counted and counted properly and the Republican Party does not want that to happen. In fact the GOP asked for almost 100,000 votes to be immediately disregarded - almost the exact amount Bush won the election by.

Go back and play your video games if the truth bothers you so much. The Dems didn't ask for the recount - other political parties and people living in Ohio did. And if indeed Bush won then they are all wasting their time and money and nothing else will change. But if that was your vote - would you not want it counted or would you just not give a shit?

No this isn't the Ukraine. At least there when the people want their vote recounted they get it. Sad they have more rights to their vote being counted in a former part of the Soviet Union than we do here.

i'm in california, a state that kerry won, so my vote for bush doesn't really count any more now does it. i'm just tired of hearing about how bush is shit all the time. if bush is so widly hated, then why the hell is he still the president?

Because the freak crowd liked the fact that he hates gay marriage. :)

Let's find out why.

First he went for the religious groups...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washing...religion_x.htm

Then he went after immigrants who helped him win much of the southern states:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp...nguage=printer

He got most of the major health care organizations involved:

He went after borderline Republicans by almost guaranteeing they would further the GOP and religions agenda:

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/ar...r_bush_agenda/

He got many more votes because conservatives want him to tilt the Supreme Court their way:

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Vote2004/s...=224512&page=1

Do you get it now?

Typical Democrat games. :rolleyes: So if Gregoire wins the hand recount is that the one that counts or will it be the 2 previous counts? Is it gonna be the best 2 out of 3 or 3 out of 5, etc? What if they do another hand recount after the first hand recount and Rossi wins that one? That dumb bitch just needs to sack up and admit she lost. If a Republican in Louisiana can lose by less than 500 votes (with no recount)and admit defeat why can't the Democrats?

they are out-of-touch with life.

This from one news source that concerns Washington:

"Your response to Washington Governor candidate Christine Gregoire's plea for help has been overwhelming. The recount in Washington will now go forward. With only 42 votes separating Gregoire and her Republican opponent, today we can ensure that every ballot is accurately counted. This could not have happened without you."

This from the Dems themselves:

"This investigative study will address the legitimate questions and concerns that have been raised in Ohio and will develop factual information that will be critically important in crafting further key election reforms. This project seeks to answer such questions as:

Why did so many people have to wait in line in certain Ohio precincts and not others?

Why weren't there enough machines in some counties and not others?

Why were so many Ohioans forced to cast provisional ballots?

We will find answers to help implement and advocate reforms in the future.

Let me be clear. We do not expect either the recount in Ohio or our investigation to overturn the results of this election. But both are vital to protecting every American's voting rights in future elections. And the Democratic Party will never waver when it comes to upholding this sacred trust."

Gee, what is it Republicans can't get about this. The company in charge of the machines in the elections in Ohio were donators to the Bush campaign. The person in charge of the election in Ohio a member of the Bush campaign. Much smoother voting in heavy Republican areas and many more issues in areas that were heavily Democratic. Not one, not two but three political organizations all calling for this to be looked into. I call this major and I do mean MAJOR conflicts of interest.

On top of that the Dems have made it damn clear that this isn't being done to change the election nor is there any expectations that any of this changes the results in Ohio. This is being done to insure this kind of crap doesnt happen again in four years. People belonging to one campaign or the other DO NOT BELONG IN CHARGE OF AN ELECTION OR THE RESULTS. Companies donating money to one campaign or the other SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO RUN THE ELECTION MACHINES ANYWHERE, much less make a very clearly published promise to win Ohio for Bush. For shits sake it's the same damn thing that happened in Florida (someone with Bush's campaign was also in charge of the election there).

And last but not least was it not the Republican Party that filed suit after suit in the 2000 election until it tilted their way? It was Bush and Co. that held the election in limbo for weeks by filing more papers in court than has ever been done in any election in history. It was Bush and Co. that according to numbers STILL lost the election by the vote of the people but still won the electoral votes to win anyway in the end.

Unlike the Republicans this year the Democrats flatly refused to have a recount because it was not a good thing for the country and even though a recount *could have* changed the numbers drastically they decided not to do it.

Unlike the Republicans which so many people seem to think are so damned grand now. They did the very same thing four years ago and it was a dandy idea then. With the shoe on the other foot Republicans seem awful nervous about any investigation into this election.

Former Republican Party Chairman Haley Barbour made the argument that "(t)he Democrats are trying to take the election of the president out of the election process, which is controlled by voters, and put it in the court process, which is controlled by lawyers." Then, ironically, the Republicans, not the Democrats, were the first to go to court. And when they did go to court, the champions of states' rights went right over the state and into federal court. So much for the concern about voters.

For all the Bush lovers - remember this cold hard fact:

So it's ok for Bush and the GOP to do this but not for anyone else, eh? If there is nothing to hide why freak out so much?

Now lets be realistic.

Ohio is a republican-run state.
Washington is currently controled by republicans.
Dems don't care about the voter rights any more than Republicans do.
Dems do care about getting elected.
Dems force recounts, thus further driving a republican controlled gov't into debt, and thus worsening the economy, and thus improving their chances at election next year.