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November 03, 2004

What A Peculiar Democracy This Is

According to this CNN story, 120 million people have voted, but only 114.3 million of their votes have been counted so far. The remaining 5.5 to 6 million voters -- that is, 5% of total voters -- cast absentee and provisional ballots that have yet to be counted. (I'm one of them, since for reasons I don't understand I was given a provisional ballot.)

Of the 114.3 million counted votes, Bush has 3.6 million more than Kerry. So it's highly unlikely the 5.5 to 6 million uncounted votes will change that. But they may well narrow the margin significantly.

This peculiar situation, added to electronic voting with no paper trail and many other problems, shows the voting system is completely fucked up. Fixing it so the results are quick and trustworthy (which would include clamping down on voter intimidation) should be one of THE main issues progressives organize around in the future.

Posted at November 3, 2004 04:27 PM | TrackBack
Comments

During our training for Voter Protection, we were told to have people avoid the PBs, because in most cases they weren't counted; you have to meet all of the requirements (the exact list escapes me now), otherwise it goes in the trash.

It is an absolute disgrace that our voting system is "on par" with those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At the very least, we need to have three major reforms: 1) same-day registration, 2) change the e-voting system so that it prints a paper ballot that is then verified by the voter and dropped in the box, and 3) provide the capability for anyone registered in a county to vote at any polling place in that county. Here in Texas the early-voters were able to do #3: the ballot automatically adjusts to match your available choices; there is no reason why this cannot be done for the general election.

The majority of people (poor, 'minorities') I helped on Nov 2 had the problem of being in the wrong precinct, thanks to Tom DeLay's successful redistricting efforts. So, they got more seats and managed to stop many people from voting. Probably couldn't have planned it better...

Posted by: Bry at November 3, 2004 06:31 PM

When we Fernerz hear that America has no federal election authority to impose a uniform procedure and access standards, we usually shake our heads.

Voting controlled by local warlords? Look no further than the Lower 48.

Posted by: thm at November 3, 2004 07:00 PM

Co-worker of mine said something profound yesterday. Don't recall the exact words, but here's an approximation...

How long have they been doing this now? A hundred years? Two hundred? Why haven't they got it right yet? They're supposed to be the world's great democracy, but every time they hold an election it's like it's the first time they've done it and they just have no idea how to do it properly. Surely they should have learned from their mistakes by now.

Posted by: James J. Dominguez at November 3, 2004 07:21 PM

Its also very possible that the votes still out could trigger automatic recounts.

I'm not holding out hope or anything, I'm just saying.

Posted by: Josh Berthume at November 3, 2004 09:48 PM

"Its also very possible that the votes still out could trigger automatic recounts."

I doubt it. The margin in OH would have to drop under 0.25% for the automatic recount; somewhere under 20,000. Even if the number of valid ballots is as high as 150K (unlikely) they would have to skew ridiculously Democratic.

The Florida Senate race might be a different issue, I'm not sure. The margin there was relatively close and I was told there are a huge number of ballots outstanding. But probably not.

I weep for the stupidity and skewed priorities in this country. There is a long, hard road ahead. And I fear that Progressives and Liberals will have to become as dirty, nasty, and divorced from truth as the right wing in order to win (or at least believe that they must).

Posted by: Ted at November 3, 2004 11:43 PM

I doubt the outstanding votes would substantially change the electoral college results but I think Jon is right that they will substantially decrease Bush's lead in the popular vote. Even though it does not logistically give him the presidency (the electoral college does that) -- the popular vote lead does give him a mandate, and any decrease to it can be used to put pressure on him not to be too radical. not that that stopped him the last 4 years. WE do indeed need voting reform. I am working on an article about how our election was covered in teh ARab and British international TV to show how outside perspectives looked to me. It seems that while they think it's exciting and fun to wathc, they also think it's unbelievably complicated nad constantly had to be re-explaining the electoral college system to their voters and showing them how the various different types of balloting mechanisms worked. That plus the fact that each state has myriad rules of its own makes for a really confusing system.

Posted by: Anna in Cairo at November 4, 2004 02:18 AM

Duh, I meant "to their viewers" not "to their voters".

Posted by: Anna in Cairo at November 4, 2004 02:19 AM