ATTN JMS: Opinion on Bush's Win?

[B5JMS Poster]

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From: mvp at web1.calweb.com (Mike Vanpelt)
Date: 8 Nov 2000 21:19:01 -0700
Lines: 67

In article <20001108192108.11060.00000259 at ng-xa1.aol.com>,
Jms at B5 <jmsatb5 at aol.com> wrote:
>If you check out cbs.com and abc.com, you will find reports of police cars
>outside polling centers in mainly black communities in Florida ticketing people
>who showed up to vote for minor offenses, intimidating african-americans...a so
>called "computer glitch" which gave the Socialist candidate -- who was polling
>literally 1 or 2 votes in every other county -- nearly 10,000 votes in *one
>county* that may have been for Gore...

James Harris, the Socialist candidate in question, has 589 votes
in the tally from yahoo.com.  I was monitoring this tally fairly
continuously last night as it became clear that the election would
be decided in Florida, and I never saw any large number of votes
for this candidate.  I wonder where CBS got this "interesting"
factoid that he got 10,000 votes in one county?

>Not to mention the GOP calls to older people telling them they couldn't vote
>unless they *specifically registered* for this election, and best of all, the
>call that THEY GOT ON TAPE AND GAVE TO THE FBI from a GOP phone bank saying
>that people had to bring their voter registration cards with them to be
>eligible to vote, and if they didn't, it could cause them legal trouble.

None... Not one... of these accusations from the ABC web page
were anywhere near Florida, so they have zippo to do with the
results in Florida.

>We're looking here at some massively serious allegations of vote fraud,
>intimidation, and more.
>
>The GOP has literally tried to steal the election.

I seriously doubt it.  

It's called "projection", accusing someone else for doing what
you're doing.  Like Londo and the little technomage home movie in
Sheridan's office.  The Democrats have pulled and continue to pull
these sorts of stunts, with the greater success that comes from
long practice.  On the other side, there are the non-citizens who
have been receiving Voter ID cards from the Democrat Party in the
mail, the Wisconsin votes bought from winos with a few packs of
cigarettes, and most despicably, the Clinton administration's
unsucessful attempt to disenfranchise all the active duty military
people who are stationed outside the US by keeping them from
getting absentee ballots.

I think it will utterly hilarious if the final vote that clinches
Florida for Bush is from one of those Navy guys whose mother had
to raise several kinds of Hell with some Congressmen and Admirals
before her son was able to obtain an absentee ballot.


By the way, you didn't mention this one, but the so-called "confusing"
ballot that they're claming "tricked" a bunch of Gore voters into
voting for Buchanan...

Here's a much better picture than the one on ABC's web page:

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/p/nm/20001108/pl/mdf129505.html

I'm sorry, but anyone who can't figure this one out has no
business voting.  Or driving.

-- 
Yes, I am the last man to have walked on the moon,    | Mike Van Pelt
and that's a very dubious and disappointing honor.    | mvp.at.calweb.com
It's been far too long.     -- Gene Cernan            | KE6BVH


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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 8 Nov 2000 21:41:48 -0700
Lines: 407

>James Harris, the Socialist candidate in question, has 589 votes
>in the tally from yahoo.com.  I was monitoring this tally fairly
>continuously last night as it became clear that the election would
>be decided in Florida, and I never saw any large number of votes
>for this candidate.  I wonder where CBS got this "interesting"
>factoid that he got 10,000 votes in one county?
>
>>We're looking here at some massively serious allegations of vote fraud,
>>intimidation, and more.
>>
>>The GOP has literally tried to steal the election.
>
>I seriously doubt it. =20

Here's the specific information. =20

FROM CBS NEWS:

While the nation waited, Democrats raised concerns about irregularities i=
n
several Florida counties. Democratic Party lawyers said ballots in Palm B=
each
County were illegally configured, causing some voters to be confused by t=
heir
choices. In Miami-Dade, Broward, and other counties, the Gore campaign wa=
s
concerned about delays in the delivery of ballot boxes to counting places=
.=20

As a symbol of the controversies surfacing around the state, the election=
s
supervisors' office in Volusia County was wrapped in yellow police tape.=20

"There are some serious questions about the accuracy of the Florida vote,=
 and
we're prepared to seek a strong enforcement of Florida election laws," sa=
id
attorney Ben Kuehne, a Democrat who played a legal role in the overturned=
 Miami
mayoral election in 1997.=20
=20
CBSNews.com Legal Analysis=20
If there is a legal challenge, it clearly will be a case where the judge =
will
immediately drop whatever else he or she may have on the docket to fast t=
rack
this through the legal process.=20

This way, an ultimate decision from the courts comes before mid-December,=
 when
the Electoral College is scheduled to meet to implement this vote.=20

If the recount doesn't go the vice president's way, it will be awfully to=
ugh
for his team to successfully challenge the count in court.=20

The Democrats will have to make a compelling and precise case of voting
irregularities; they will have to identify specific individuals willing t=
o
swear that they either weren't permitted to vote or didn't vote their
intentions because of voting problems.=20

If after the recount Governor Bush's lead is smaller than the number of
specific incidents of voter irregularities the Gore folks can point to, t=
hen I
think it becomes more likely that there will be a legal challenge.=20

But if Bush's lead is greater than the sum of that second number, we eith=
er
won't see a challenge or we will see an unsuccessful one. =E2=80=94 CBSNe=
ws.com Legal
Analyst Andrew Cohen=20
=20
=20
One controversy involves an oddly drawn ballot that confused some voters =
and
may have caused them to vote for Pat Buchanan instead of Al Gore, the For=
t
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reported in its Wednesday's editions.=20

Hundreds of irate Palm Beach County voters, fearing they or their friends=
 voted
for Buchanan instead of Gore, besieged the county election department on
Tuesday and Wednesday with complaints about the ballot, the paper reporte=
d.
Buchanan received 3,407 votes in Palm Beach County, far more than neighbo=
ring
areas such as Broward County, where he got 786, and Miami-Dade County, wh=
ere he
got 561. In Precinct 162G, the Lakes of Delray area where Gore received o=
ne of
his highest vote totals in all of Palm Beach County, a county high of 47 =
voters
picked Buchanan, too.=20

Another possible balloting quirk was in Volusia Country, where James E. H=
arris,
an obscure Socialist candidate, polled 9,888 votes out of his statewide t=
otal
of 10,471.=20

State Democratic Party officials raised concerns that a computer error ma=
y have
caused the outsized ballot for Harris in Volusia County, south of Daytona=
 Beach
on Florida's East Coast. In other counties, Harris received 0, 1, or 2 vo=
tes.


FROM ABC NEWS

But Democratic Party officials say they=E2=80=99re concerned about numero=
us reports
of irregularities in Florida voting that may cost Vice President Gore eno=
ugh
votes to lose the election. (if you witnessed one tell us)
     According to Bob Poe, Chairman for the Florida Democratic Party, rep=
orted
irregularities include many accounts of confusion on balloting in Palm Be=
ach
that may have caused some voters to select unintended candidates.
     But they also include, he said, lesser known reports of possible vot=
er
intimidation in certain African-American precincts and possibly thousands=
 of
lost votes due to a possible computer glitch.
     =E2=80=9CThere are a lot of questions here, there are a lot of angry
Floridians,=E2=80=9D Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Jenny Back=
us said
today. =E2=80=9CPeople are talking about taking away somebody=E2=80=99s c=
onstitutional
right to vote, there are thousands, literally thousands of reports of
irregularities.=E2=80=9D=20
     Jesse Jackson said he got calls on Election Day complaining that bla=
cks
had difficulty voting in Florida and other southern states. Jackson said =
some
voters were told there were no more ballots, or that polls were closed. =E2=
=80=9CWhat
we need is not just a recount by hand, but also a thorough investigation,=
 =E2=80=9D
Jackson said.=20
Intimidation Alleged=20
Poe told ABCNEWS.com Democrats had received reports of intimidation of vo=
ters
in the largely African-American precincts of Wakulla County on the Florid=
a
panhandle.
     Reports suggest =E2=80=9Chighway patrol troopers were stationed outs=
ide of those
precincts with lights flashing and ticketing people,=E2=80=9D he said. =E2=
=80=9CIt was
bizarre, it was like going back into the early 1900s,=E2=80=9D he said.
     =E2=80=9CEven in a tiny town like Wakulla and those African-American=
 precincts,
that could account for the 2,000 [Gore votes] right there,=E2=80=9D he sa=
id.=20

Vanishing Votes in Volusia?=20
Poe also said party officials are concerned thousands of votes for Gore m=
ay
have been omitted from the Democrat=E2=80=99s vote total in Volusia Count=
y, a largely
African-American community located on the east coast and central part of
Florida.
     According to a Volusia County official, a problem was found with a
computer disk that contained results from a particular precinct, but coun=
ty
officials have not yet said specifically what the impact was.
     Poe said Democrats had received reports of an instance in which a
preliminary voting count this morning for Gore in Volusia County, reporte=
d by
Florida election officials, actually decreased by about 10,000 over time,
before climbing again.=20
     =E2=80=9CNow that might have been a typo, who knows,=E2=80=9D he tol=
d ABCNEWS.com.
=E2=80=9CStranger things have happened in Volusia County.=E2=80=9D
     The alleged decrease may also have been detected by Miles Gibson, a =
Ph.D.
candidate and instructor at the University of Virginia, who says he recor=
ded
2,716,995 votes for Gore in Florida at 2:06 a.m. this morning and then
2,707,798 votes for Gore at around 2:15 a.m., while following a national
newscast.
     =E2=80=9CI can=E2=80=99t certify these numbers, but I was paying ext=
remely careful
attention,=E2=80=9D Gibson said.
     Michael McDermott, a Volusia county court judge said today there is
nothing to indicate Volusia=E2=80=99s unofficial vote count is flawed or =
that
appropriate procedures were not followed.
     The county=E2=80=99s election Canvassing Board met today to discuss =
the matter
and the judge directed that three members representing the Democratic and
Republican parties be present.
     Officials have begun recounting all of the county=E2=80=99s votes an=
d expect to
be finished by close of business Thursday.
     McDermott also ordered Volusia=E2=80=99s election office secured, Th=
e Associated
Press reported. It was sealed with crime tape, and all ballots were locke=
d in
the office vault.
     =E2=80=9CWe will be doing everything it takes to make sure the publi=
c has full
confidence in the ballot count here,=E2=80=9D McDermott said.
     =E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99re hearing all sorts of things. Right now we=E2=80=
=99re trying to sift
through what=E2=80=99s true and, you know, this is the most bizarre thing=
 I=E2=80=99ve ever
seen,=E2=80=9D said Poe.=20


     Democratic Party officials also have said sample ballots handed to F=
lorida
voters by volunteers as they entered the polling places in precincts in P=
alm
Beach listed the candidates in a different order than what voters saw in =
the
voting booths.
      Democratic National Committee officials say voters complained ballo=
t
holes for Al Gore were so close to that of Pat Buchanan that many voters
weren=E2=80=99t sure who they had voted for.=20
     The result, they said, was voters who referenced the sample ballots =
to
cast their votes may have voted for Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan w=
hen
they thought they were voting for Gore.
     The Democratic National Committee said it started receiving complain=
ts
from voters that the actual ballot was very confusing. Basically, voters =
said,
the hole punch for Gore on the ballot was so close to that of Buchanan th=
at
many voters weren=E2=80=99t sure who they had voted for.
     =E2=80=9CBy Gore there were two holes =E2=80=A6 I had to figure out =
which one,=E2=80=9D said
voter Lena Fransetta. =E2=80=9CI asked one of the ladies for help and she=
 didn=E2=80=99t
know. When I left I figured out I voted wrong.=E2=80=9D=20
     Another voter, May Cohen, said, =E2=80=9CI don=E2=80=99t know if I v=
oted wrong =E2=80=A6
Republicans had only one hole, Gore-Lieberman had two. I think I did righ=
t, but
it was very confusing.=E2=80=9D=20
     DNC officials reacted immediately by calling the county supervisor, =
trying
to put up signs, or designate a phone number for those who felt they may =
have
voted the wrong way. The director of Florida=E2=80=99s Division of Electi=
ons, Clay
Roberts, said there was nothing wrong or unlawful with ballots in the sta=
te.
     DNC at one point also claimed nine ballot boxes were missing in Brow=
ard
County, which boasts approximately 220,000 voters, but later reported the=
 boxes
were recovered and were being counted.
     They said they had no information on how the boxes were lost or how =
they
were found. Ed Cast of the Florida Elections Committee said the boxes wer=
e
never really missing. =E2=80=9CThere was a slight mishap, but they have b=
een sitting
at the supervisor=E2=80=99s office,=E2=80=9D Cast said.
     Still, the DNC in Florida has indicated it will send lawyers to file=
 a
court petition for a recount if there is a controversy over the outcome.=20

GOP Investigating Reports=20
Republican National Committee spokesman Tom Yu said party officials were =
aware
of the reports of voter tampering and irregularities and that they were
investigating.
     =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99ve heard rumors but I can=E2=80=99t confirm any o=
f those rumors yet and I
think at this point our people are looking into those rumors and trying t=
o
track down if they are true,=E2=80=9D Yu said.
     In response to the reports of voter confusion at Palm Beach, Yu warn=
ed
against jumping to any conclusions about rumored voting irregularities.
     =E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99re investigating the irregularities and if those=
 irregularities do
exist then, let=E2=80=99s find the source and try to rectify them,=E2=80=9D=
 he said. =E2=80=9CAt
this point I think it=E2=80=99s an investigation that we don=E2=80=99t wa=
nt to raise any
undo excitement that isn=E2=80=99t warranted. We are looking into any of =
these
irregularities and if they do prove to exist, the proper action will be
taken.=E2=80=9D=20

Voting Shenanigans Elsewhere=20
DNC spokeswoman Backus said Tuesday some New York voters were turned away=
 from
some polling places, discouraged from voting altogether, and possibly con=
fused
into voting unintentionally for a candidate they didn=E2=80=99t really wa=
nt.
     However, given the large victory margins for Democrats in New York, =
it is
unlikely any alleged tampering had any impact on the races.
     Backus also said the DNC=E2=80=99s Web site was hacked Monday night =
and that its
e-mail server crashed because it received a large wave of messages. The s=
ystem
was back up and running by 10 a.m. Tuesday.
     =E2=80=9CThis just brings shame to the election process,=E2=80=9D sh=
e said.
     Hackers also targeted the GOP=E2=80=99s Web site. Hours before polls=
 opened, RNC
spokesman Yu said, the GOP=E2=80=99s site was replaced by a lengthy anti-=
Bush tirade.

     While saying his message was not endorsed by either party, the
unidentified hacker left a link to Gore=E2=80=99s campaign site and wrote=
, =E2=80=9CGeorge
W. Bush would make a great president for those states which traffic not s=
o much
in decency but bigotry. Not acceptance but hate. Not love but fear.=E2=80=
=9D=20

Possibly More False Information=20
Democratic Party officials also alleged voters were intimidated and misin=
formed
before entering voting booths in states including Missouri, Michigan, Iow=
a, and
Kansas. Democratic officials relayed unconfirmed reports from Iowa of sen=
ior
citizens receiving telephone calls telling them they could not vote unles=
s
specifically registered for the election.
     =E2=80=9CThis isn=E2=80=99t true,=E2=80=9D said Backus. It=E2=80=99s=
 =E2=80=9Cdesigned to confuse
seniors and keep them from voting for Al Gore =E2=80=A6 We won=E2=80=99t =
stand for it and
challenge the other side to stand up as well.=E2=80=9D
     In West Virginia, according to officials, voters were receiving call=
s from
a Republican phone bank in California falsely telling them Sen. Robert By=
rd,
D-W.Va., had not endorsed Gore.
     In fact, said Gore National spokesman Doug Hattaway, =E2=80=9Cit=E2=80=
=99s the first
time he has endorsed a Democrat for president since 1964, when he endorse=
d
Lyndon Johnson.=E2=80=9D
     In an incident not described by Democratic officials, Kansas=E2=80=99=
 state
government is looking into telephone calls made to some residents giving =
false
information about the state=E2=80=99s election laws, according to The Ass=
ociated
Press.
     Democrats had reported getting recorded messages Monday night incorr=
ectly
telling them they must bring voter registration cards to polling places t=
o be
allowed to cast a ballot, the AP reported.
     The campaign of Rep. Dennis Moore, a Democrat seeking re-election in=
 the
3rd Congressional District, had contacted the FBI this morning about the =
phone
calls.=20
     Moore=E2=80=99s office played the message for the AP: =E2=80=9CFailu=
re to comply with
election law is serious business, so make sure you have your card and do =
it
right.=E2=80=9D=20

Attempts to Extend Poll Closings=20
Meanwhile, Democrats in various states Tuesday night tried unsuccessfully=
 to
get polls to stay open later to accommodate long lines of voters. In St. =
Louis,
just an hour before polls were set to close, a judge ordered them to stay=
 open
three hours past their closing time =E2=80=94 until 10 p.m. local time =E2=
=80=94 to
accommodate the heavy turnout.
     Democrats who sought the extension cited long lines and a shortage o=
f
booths, ballots, judges and other equipment. Judge Evelyn M. Baker said t=
he
Board of Election Commissioners =E2=80=9Cfailed to live up to its duty to=
 the voters
of the city.=E2=80=9D
     However, 45 minutes after the ruling, a three-judge panel in the Mis=
souri
Court of Appeals overturned Baker=E2=80=99s decision and ordered the poll=
s closed at
once. Similar filings to keep polls open were denied in Madison and Milwa=
ukee,
Wis., Portland, Me., and Detroit.=20
 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2000 by
synthetic worlds, ltd., permission
to reprint specifically denied to
SFX Magazine)




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