mr-knowitall's Diaryland Diary

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post election babble

It' s now time to turn from the election, I'd like to get back to the issue of what's happening in our country.  I'm going to be changing the template again, and will start talking about current issues.

However, the is something nEo pointed out to me; there are some people over in the left side of the Blogosphere who believe that ballots using the "opto-scan" method are vulnerable to fraud. Apparently these can be hacked into, and the result manipulated since they are transferred by modem.  This is a developing story/theory. Outside of Bloggers, I've not seen anything overtly declaring "scandal" in the media yet, and I'm not seeing any real traction to the story.

The premise is based upon the results from counties in Florida where registered Democrats heavily outnumber Republicans (SEE TABLE HERE) and the election results overwhelmingly go GOP. This send a red flag up with some saying that it suggests there is something fishy going on. In an election so divisive, where so many where so divided among party lines; how could so many Democrats vote Republican?

So I'm asked, "should there be an inquiry?" My answer: HECK YEAH!

Why?

1. Win or lose, the integrity of our election system is what upholds our system of government. It must be maintained, and protected from fraud.
2. Whether or the allegations are true or false, an inquiry would only serve to better the system.
3. If the allegations turn out to be true, the guilty parties will serve as an example to prevent future fraud.
4. To not make an inquiry would only give greater fuel to conspiracy theorists who will push this idea regardless of any forthcoming evidence to the contrary.

Personally, at this point I'm thinking it's going to amount to nothing. The numbers do suggest some abnormality, but I know nothing about how these numbers were ascertained. I know nothing about the demographics of the voters in those counties in question. The real question is, if it is true... would it have made a difference?

9:32 a.m. - 2004-11-08

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