Blog > November 2004 > Debacle update
Debacle update
November 3, 2004
The election is all but over, with Bush taking the majority in Ohio. The Democrats are waiting to count the remaining votes, which consist of provisional ballots and overseas ballots. It's unlikely that this will put them back over the top to take Ohio (and win Kerry the election), but it would be a crime not to count the remaining legitimate votes.
The shocking thing about this election was that Bush took a popular majority. Some say this is a mandate from the people of the United States to carry on whatever agenda he has planned. Then again, Bush didn't need a real “mandate” in 2000 to do things that opponents considered too far. Without a majority opposition in Congress, nobody could do much about it. Now Bush has the majority in Congress and the majority of the popular vote. It's not out of hand to speculate that he may be even more aggressive in the next four years.
Speaking of speculation, some might bring up the issue of the electronic voting machines used throughout the election, including the critical states of Florida and Ohio. Advocates of these machines (the manufacturers, of course) claim that this election proves that these machines are ready for full deployment throughout the States. However, there are many instances of these machines failing to work properly, recording votes incorrectly, failing to boot, and a myriad of other problems. It is not unreasonable to suggest there may be some foul play, especially since Diebold, the company which made over 100,000 machines in Ohio, has invested heavily in the Republican party, and even promised George W. Bush Ohio's electoral votes about a year before the election. Who would know? The machines have no external auditing system, no method for accountability.
Officially, this election isn't over. I don't hold much hope for Kerry, but hey, remember the Red Sox? We'll see where this goes.
In the mean time, discuss.
— cvincent
Comments
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ccarpenter says: Nov 3, 2004, 5:42 AM
70% of the state of Ohio voted via good old fashioned paper and puncher.cvincent says: Nov 3, 2004, 5:57 AM
Yes, but 100,000 of the voting machines were of the Diebold touchscreen variety. Besides, the remaining 30% is not like a small group of people. 30% is a lot.cvincent says: Nov 3, 2004, 9:16 AM
It's official. Kerry is conceding.A damn shame.
thebloodybrothers says: Nov 3, 2004, 9:17 AM
Conspiracy theories, conspiracy theories. Kerry has conceded. And it wasn't as if all the votes weren't going to be counted, it was a question as to wether Kerry was going to concede before or after that happened.Why is that people think misregistered votes mean only votes for candidates running against Bush?
cvincent says: Nov 3, 2004, 2:16 PM
Why is that people think misregistered votes mean only votes for candidates running against Bush?I don't. At least, not the ones that are honest mistakes or malfunctions (and the machines malfunction too damn much as it is).
But think about it this way. Even honest malfunction can have a consistent systematic error in the tally. If Diebold machines were mostly set up in predominately black precincts, for example, the systematic error would not even out over both candidates.
And when the guy making these machines says both that he'll do whatever he can to win Bush the election and that he'll specifically deliver Ohio's electoral votes to Bush, I don't think it's completely out of hand to speculate a little. That is, unless we're really living in fascism right now.
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