Well, isn’t this election turning out to be the most fucked up piece of shit you’ve ever seen? I mean the way it’s been conducted, not the results. I am astounded that in the Age of Technology, we’re still relying on decades old systems to tabulate votes. There has to be a better way.
Now we have allegations of fraud, based on the way the ballot was arranged in Palm Beach county, Florida. Hey brainless, punch the fucking hole by the arrow! And others are complaining that the pins in the booth skewed their vote by one position, because the holes didn’t line up right. Sheesh, GMAFB.
Anyone who thinks they have voted incorrectly may request a replacement ballot, and there are always helpful people at the polls to assist the voters. The whole excuse of fraud doesn’t hold water, it’s just a fucking bunch of second guessing.
If Palm Beach county, or even the state of Florida has a re-vote over this, then the whole country should get it too! Then we will see who really wins.
Of course, the ballet was designed by the county election chair (Democrat) and approved by both parties well before the election. Now that the election has seemingly gone to the Republicans, all of a sudden the Democrats have a problem with the ballet?
I don’t think you can find a precinct in the nation where people don’t complain about one thing or another. Around here, people complained that “Motor-Voter” messed up some addresses. Other places the lines were too long. Palm Beach certainly is not the only place where ballets get thrown out because people can’t figure out that you’re only supposed to vote once for President. Good or bad, that’s just the way our system is. But what can you do after the fact but live with it?
I’ve seen the ballet. Anyone dumb enough not to be able to figure it out deserves to vote for Buchanan. Something as important as a vote, you do more than glance at what you’re doing in the booth.
Anyway, what can they do? You can’t just go out and ask “Ok, who wants to vote again?” Although I’m sure the Democrats are rounding up the poor masses who claim they were misled, confused, racially oppressed, etc… Given their desperate situation, I’m sure they can come up with quite a crowd.
Re-do Florida? Hey, let’s re-do Wisconsin and New Mexico while we’re at it. Let re-do St, Louis for Ashcroft’s sake. Although, good sport that he is, he graciously conceded despite the irregularities. Not likely we’ll see the same from the Democrats (although, to his credit, Gore has been quietly respectful so far).
Origato, the important thing is not necessarily that the ballots were confusing (although they looked unnecessarily strange to me) but that Florida law requires that the punch be on the right side. Presumably to avoid just this sort of problem. So even everyone had paid very close attention and there was no evidence that anyone was misled, the ballots would still be problematic because they did not follow Florida regulations. The fact that these ballots could make or break the next president makes it doubly important that the law is followed properly and everything is correctly accounted for.
I should clarify for those who haven’t seen the ballot. Florida law states that the punch area must be to the right of the candidates name. Buchanan’s punch area was to the left of his name, in between Bush and Gore’s. As a result, Gore’s name was the second one listed, but his punch area was the third down. There were arrows, but it did look rather convoluted. I can easily see someone in a hurry not seeing that the second punch did not go with the second name.
See, that’s what happens to political junkies who stay up two nights straight watching this thing. One more day of this, and even I will be wearing a tutu.
I saw the ballots on the teevee this morning. It was clear to me where the appropriate punches were to be made. There was a name, and then an arrow pointing to the hole that corresponds to that name. Law or no law, it was very obvious which hole went with a given candidate. And my conclusion was based on twisting around in my chair and seeing the ballot from across the room.
As can be seen by the close election, voting is very important. Even though the ballots in California have the holes lined up on the right side next to the candidate, I double-check to make sure I’m really voting for the person I choose. It is the responsibility of the voter to verify the vote before punching the hole.
Also you can, by law, request a new ballot if you make a mistake. I heard on NPR last night that a girl in Florida accidentally voted for Buchannan. She asked for a new ballot, but was told by the poll worker that once she’s voted, she’s voted. The girl (who was voting for the first time) claimed the poll worker took her ballot and stuffed it into the box. This was wrong. But how many times was this done? How can it be proved after the fact?
There is a lesson for voters here. READ THE FUCKING BALLOT!!!
I think you need to distinguish stupidity from perceptual problems. They do not need to run together.
Older people can be sharp as a tack yet still have problems with spatial and geometric perception.
To get a feel for it, try wearing glasses but first cover the lenses with vaseline. That should put you on visual par with the old folks. Next, stuff cotton in your ears. Now, you know what their hearing is like. Then, wear thick gloves but only after taping your fingers with hockey tape. Good, now you know what their fingers can feel like. And finally, for good measure, have your friend drive a few nails into your hips for you. This should give you a wee sense of what it feels like to have arthritis. Then go vote.
Please note, though, that none of this has affected your intellect. In fact it is only because of your underlying intellect that you’d have a chance to overcome these burdens.
Well, there are also reports (from around the country) of people calling elderly voters with false information, trying to confuse them into thinking they hadn’t registered properly, and polls preventing minorities from getting an even chance to vote. Of course, I’m sure there’s plenty of illegal stuff that would have hurt the Republicans, too. The thing is that since this one’s so close, all the horribly illegal activity that takes place in every election suddenly matters.
It’s not just the ballots that cause problems. My friend said that the woman who voted in front of him went into the voting machine, pulled the handle, then pulled it back and came out and asked for help. According to the machine, she voted (for nobody), and they wouldn’t let her vote again, mostly because they have no way of knowing what she did in there and they can’t remove the votes. They had these HUGE posters on the walls when you went in explaining how to use the machines too.
United States Code
Title 3 - The President
Chapter 1 - Presidential Elections and Vacancies
Sec. 1. Time of appointing electors
The electors of President and Vice President shall be appointed, in each State, on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, in every fourth year succeeding every election of a President and Vice President.
This particular piece of the USC was enacted in 1854. They’ve voted on Tuesday in every election of her life. I say she’s too stupid to vote and we’re better off for it.
“But Daley said the ballot was problematic. “There seems to be no question that this lineup on that ballot in that county … does violate Florida law,” he said.”
and
“Lawyers for the Democratic Party said the ballot design is illegal…”
From http://www.herald.com/ Sorry, the Herald uses frames and I can’t link you directly to the story. I don’t know how long they keep stories up, but right now the story I got these quotes from is listed under Breaking News as Jesse Jackson Speaks to Protesting Voters in Palm Beach County.
The answer is obvious. Throw out the votes in that county and prosecute those responsible for an illegal ballot, and accept the count as it comes without them. That’s what the people of florida get for not paying more attention to the law.
I noticed the person holding the sign at the Heralds website which reads “I demand a revote now!”. The correct answer, of course, is “No.” Next time, pay attention, both before and during your vote. I notice that no democratic (or republican, or any, for that matter) filed lawsuits about illegal ballots BEFORE the election. So it obviously wasn’t a big deal that the ballot was confusing. So too fucking bad.
If, through some gross miscarriage of justice, the county is allowed a revote, then the entire country must be so entitled. To do otherwise could unfairly skew the vote in one direction or the other. It’s all or none (preferably none).
I just saw an interview with a Palm Beach county resident who said they have been using this ‘butterfly’ style ballot for years, with no complaints. I guess that throws the ‘confusion’ idea out the window.
Could this all be a sinister plot by the Buchanan people?