# It's official now - the election is fraudulent **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 8, 2000, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352 "2000-11-08T19:31:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/1 "2000-11-08T19:31:47Z")
This morning, upon arriving at work, I said during a political discussion here: “Just wait. They’ll find an abandoned ballot box mysteriously left behind in Florida, stuffed to the brim with Gore votes.” Everyone laughed. They’re not laughing now, now that an abandoned ballot box has in fact been found, in a district that has been described as “nearly entirely Democratic”. It’s really sad when the election process here appears so fraudulent that it looks like we need either the UN or the OAS to monitor our polling process, just to make sure that the ruling junta does not fix the election by tampering with the ballot boxes. This sort of thing really fucking scares me - and FTR, it would scare me equally so if it was found in a primarily Republican district instead. When one combines stunts like this with the big push across the country by Democrats to keep key polling places open longer in Democratic stronghold districts (such as St. Louis), this election just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Of course, it could be a legitimate mistake. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/2 "2000-11-08T19:41:35Z")
I’ll be damned. You can find the story [here](http://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/11/08/ballotbox.found/). ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/3 "2000-11-08T19:59:46Z")
CNN seems to be either the most cynicism-free organization I’ve ever seen, or they simply don’t want to speculate at all. The most powerful position in the world is being decided on the basis of a boxfull of ballots found the next morning, and they treat it as an everyday occurrence. How many election workers forget the fucking votes when they pack up for the night? I mean, what the fuck? I guarantee the next presidential election there will be new procedures and safeguards. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/4 "2000-11-08T20:01:17Z")
::innocent face:: I’m from Chicago, so I fail to see what’s irregular. ::/innocent face:: ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/5 "2000-11-08T20:06:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anthracite \* > \*\* > > When one combines stunts like this with the big push across the country by Democrats to keep key polling places open longer in Democratic stronghold districts (such as St. Louis), this election just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. > > Of course, it could be a legitimate mistake. :rolleyes: \*\* Wasn’t the decision to keep polls open in St. Louis based on that fact that there were problems with the polling stations? ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/6 "2000-11-08T20:06:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by waterj2 \* > [snip] I guarantee the next presidential election there will be new procedures and safeguards. Sadly, there won’t be. Stuff like this has been going on for centuries. Heck, most historians agree that JFK wouldn’t have been president but for a decision by Mayor Daley in Chicago that the most efficient counters for ballots from Republican wards were the fish in the Chicago River 😉 Sua ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/7 "2000-11-08T20:07:38Z")
This sort of thing, I’ll bet, is not uncommon. Remember, these polling places are often in little school gyms and church basements, and are staffed by volunteers, who are often retirees and housewives. This isn’t high-tech stuff, here, and the potential for human error is enormous. In fact, I seem to remember some votes that went uncounted for some time in one of the local Ohio races either in the primaries or the last off-year elections. You probably don’t hear about them if they aren’t something affecting a race at the national level, but I’d wager it’s more common than election workers would like to admit. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/8 "2000-11-08T20:08:26Z")
Robots. We need some fucking robots. (profanity added due to being in the fucking Pit) ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/9 "2000-11-08T20:08:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anthracite \* > **When one combines stunts like this with the big push across the country by Democrats to keep key polling places open longer in Democratic stronghold districts (such as St. Louis), this election just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.** I can’t speak for the rest of things, but the situation in St Louis (as I understand it) is that people who were registered and voted in the last election were for some reason not allowed to vote this time. There were also faulty equipment problems and other considerations to leave the polls open. The polls in St Louis were only left open for 1 extra hour, and the state went Republican in the Presidential race anyway, so it doesn’t seem to have affected the outcome much. ---
**Author:** ![Demo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demo/32/8472_2.png) [@Demo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demo)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/10 "2000-11-08T20:09:57Z")
Well, _thank god we have the electoral college!_ Ok, I’ll go now… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jazzmine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jazzmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jazzmine)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/11 "2000-11-08T20:12:04Z")
[CNN.com](http://CNN.com) says the box was filled with supplies not votes. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/12 "2000-11-08T20:12:54Z")
I heard they tried to keep it open because the lines were so long and so many had not gotten in to vote yet… ---
**Author:** ![2nd\_Law](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/f475e1/32.png) [@2nd\_Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2nd_Law)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/13 "2000-11-08T20:19:33Z")
When I was a Republican election judge here in Chicago (not so much because I’m a Republican as a contrarian. If I was living in my home town in western Michigan, I’d probably be a registered Democrat) not so long ago, the election supplies came in a large blue metal box about 4 feet high, which served as the depository for the ballots during voting. After the voting was completed, the ballots were removed, counted, and taken to a central location for reporting, and the supplies were returned to the large metal box for later pickup by the election commission. My guess is that the person in Florida found the local equivalent of the big box and didn’t realize that what it actually was. Though, I have to say that my thought when I first saw the story was “This sounds like Landslide Lyndon returning from the grave.” ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/14 "2000-11-08T20:21:19Z")
> [@](#): > > [CNN.com](http://CNN.com) says the box was filled with supplies not votes. Can you provide a link, please? I’ve been reading [CNN.com](http://CNN.com) all day and I can’t find any reference to there being supplies in that box. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/15 "2000-11-08T20:25:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Connor \* > **Robots. We need some fucking robots.** Nah, they’d be biased toward Gore. ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/16 "2000-11-08T20:27:35Z")
The main [http://www.cnn.com](http://www.cnn.com) page says it was filled with supplies, not votes. But when you follow the link, the story says no such thing… (at this posting, anyway) ---
**Author:** ![Amok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Amok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amok)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/17 "2000-11-08T20:35:58Z")
> [@](#): > > The main [http://www.cnn.com](http://www.cnn.com) page says it was filled with supplies, not votes. But when you follow the link, the story says no such thing… (at this posting, anyway) I know when I looked at the main cnn site earlier today, the text of the hyperlink made no mention of it being supplies, just that a box had been found. I suspect this is “latebreaking news” and they haven’t had a chance yet to write a new article and post it. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/18 "2000-11-08T20:38:07Z")
SHIT!!! Stupid clear field button. Anyhoo, don’t knock robots! Crow T. Robot, Tom Servo, Gypsy? 😉 And people were saying Gore was TOO emotional just a week or so ago…you can’t win, can ya? ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/19 "2000-11-08T20:40:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by porcupine \* > \*\*The main [http://www.cnn.com](http://www.cnn.com) page says it was filled with supplies, not votes. But when you follow the link, the story says no such thing… (at this posting, anyway) \*\* Same thing I noticed. Welcome to the Roller Coaster O’ Fun! Wheee! Here’s something that may shock some of you. I don’t like Gore. (okay, that’s not the shocker) I feel the situation in Florida will never be accepted by most of the population, regardless of which way it goes. I **wish** therefore that Florida’s votes could be nullified (sorry, FL Dopers!). Even if that allows Gore to win. I’d rather have someone I don’t like win honestly, then someone I like more win dishonestly or questionably. Una (laughing as she thinks of Jimmy Carter observing future polling stations in the US with the OAS…) ---
**Author:** ![2nd\_Law](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/f475e1/32.png) [@2nd\_Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2nd_Law)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352/20 "2000-11-08T20:40:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > I heard they tried to keep it open because the lines were so long and so many had not gotten in to vote yet… Once again, speaking from my experience as an election judge, the rule we were told was that anyone who had arrived at the polling place by the closing time was to be allowed to vote. The doors would be locked and no additional people would be allowed in to vote, but the people who were already present were allowed to vote. No need to extend the time for people who hadn’t shown up yet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-now-the-election-is-fraudulent/40352.md?page=2)