GOP: Voting Machines Be Damned

[MadisonProgressive]

http://blog.dccc.org/mt/archives/002311.html

House GOP Votes Against Fair Allocation of Machines and Poll Workers

In another astounding display of political hubris, today every single Republican voted against a Conyers-Waters amendment to provide that states provide a minimum required number of functioning and accurate voting machines and poll workers for all precincts.

The purpose of the amendment was simple, and one would have thought, non-controversial - to avoid the misallocation of voting machines and poll workers that led to lines of ten hours or more in the Ohio presidential election and disenfranchised tens of thousands of thousands of minority voters. (The amendment was offered in the context of an arcane continuity bill, providing for expedited elections in the event of an attack on Congress -- so for procedural reasons, it was limited to the special elections).

By now it is widely known that in Franklin County that 27 of the 30 wards with the most machines per registered voter showed majorities for Bush, while six of the seven wards with the fewest machines delivered large margins for Kerry. The Washington Post found that election officials in Franklin County decided to make do with 2,866 machines, even though their analysis showed that the county needed 5,000 machines, and that in Columbus alone the misallocation of machines reduced the number of voters by up to 15,000 votes.

We also know that a New York Times investigation revealed that Franklin County election officials reduced the number of electronic voting machines assigned to downtown precincts and added them to the suburbs. "They used a formula based not on the number of registered voters, but on past turnout in each precinct and on the number of so-called active voters - a smaller universe. . . . In the Columbus area, the result was that suburban precincts that supported Mr. Bush tended to have more machines per registered voter than center city precincts that supported Mr. Kerry."

<snip>

[fshrink]

1. And now, it's too late to make a stink.

Democrats have let democracy slip away.

[librechik]

2. brazen pukkkes

announce their intention to continue stealing elections by all means necessary

[EFerrari]

3. Ah -- It wasn't the New York Times. They never investigated

anything. It was the Columbus Free Press. (Sorry, can't get link. Their site seems to be having trouble. www.freepress.org )

[KittyWampus]

4. Will Democrats Begin National Campaign Advertising This Fact?

[Toots]

5. How many Democrats aka Dinos voted against it also?

:shrug:

[Hokie]

6. Take Taser guns with you if you are in a Repuke Precinct

After you vote give the machine a nice jolt with 50,000 volts. Tell them the machine broke and move to another. That would even up the field in a hurry. Oh yes, go early to vote.

[RubyCat]

12. LOL! Better yet, use a magnet.

[mordarlar]

7. Um, this was not a surprise. They KNOW how to win seats in high places...

of course they will not FIX the system. They have the majority to decide these things for a reason.

[peacetalksforall]

8. Never ever let this die. Shove it down their throats. If you have money

organize some ads. Urge AAR to relentlessly pursue this.

They think we'll swallow, forget, or forgive every one of their un-American, unpatriotic atrocities.

Never ever. This is a simple issue. Everyone is going to understand it. If you're making a film...stop production now and include this.

[Robert Oak]

9. send this one to the press and demand they cover the story

this one seems fairly blatant.

[grumpy old fart]

10. There are so many, many, lies and staggering acts of treason by *.....

that any single item just gets lost in the tsunami of filth flowing from this administration. We have no Fourth Estate left to do the vital job of holding government officials accountable. I'm feeling very grumpy today.....

[David K.]

11. Dems all on board....

Fortunately, every single Democrat voted for the motion, which failed on a party line 196-223 vote.

So many Republican hypocrites, so little time.
http://www.buzzflash.com/ motto