26 September 2008
Cool stats on Presidential Elections, and concerns about lawyers
These stats on Presidential Elections is pretty cool. They look at what is the smallest number of votes in what states to change the outcome of the election. 2000 was 269 votes in Florida to change to Gore victory. And all they would have had to do was ask for a recount of the entire state and the may have won. Instead, the Supreme Court declared voter fraud by their attempt to just recount the votes in a few disputed counties.
Anyway... I hope that this election is not that close and that it doesn't come down to lawyers and how well the conservatives have stocked the Supreme Court. But in my own state of Wisconsin, the Republican Attorney General, who is also co-chair of the state McCain campaign, is suing the state elections commission for supposedly not being rigorous enough in it's verification of voter registrations. He brings this suit less than two months before the election.
The only motivation I can see here is to throw this Obama leaning state into a clusterf*ck situation where our results are disputed. It's a shame really because most of the state uses optical scan voting machines (with a paper-trail!) that have been (finally!) recognized as one of the best methods of electronic voting. We've been using them for at least 10 to 15 years, at least ever since I started voting.
And there have been disputes in voter fraud, especially in Milwaukee, they've had 4 years since the last presidential election and 2 years since the last national election to get it straightened out. To bring this suit now instead of 6 months ago is so obviously a political ploy.
I was tolerant of Van Hollen (even after yelling "that's why you suck!" at his Rep opponent during an interview in his primary, and even though he wasn't my pick) because he had some good opinions on some matters and had some good experience taht made him well qualified. But this latest schtick is ridiculous and I can't wait to vote against him.
Sounds like this kind of thing is going on all over - teams of lawyers being sent around to challenge results in November. And it's both sides doing it.
Shame on all of you in both parties. You have had years to fix polling problems. Don't muck it up now just because you see an advantage to your side. Think of the process and the people and the country for once, not just your party.
Anyway... I hope that this election is not that close and that it doesn't come down to lawyers and how well the conservatives have stocked the Supreme Court. But in my own state of Wisconsin, the Republican Attorney General, who is also co-chair of the state McCain campaign, is suing the state elections commission for supposedly not being rigorous enough in it's verification of voter registrations. He brings this suit less than two months before the election.
The only motivation I can see here is to throw this Obama leaning state into a clusterf*ck situation where our results are disputed. It's a shame really because most of the state uses optical scan voting machines (with a paper-trail!) that have been (finally!) recognized as one of the best methods of electronic voting. We've been using them for at least 10 to 15 years, at least ever since I started voting.
And there have been disputes in voter fraud, especially in Milwaukee, they've had 4 years since the last presidential election and 2 years since the last national election to get it straightened out. To bring this suit now instead of 6 months ago is so obviously a political ploy.
I was tolerant of Van Hollen (even after yelling "that's why you suck!" at his Rep opponent during an interview in his primary, and even though he wasn't my pick) because he had some good opinions on some matters and had some good experience taht made him well qualified. But this latest schtick is ridiculous and I can't wait to vote against him.
Sounds like this kind of thing is going on all over - teams of lawyers being sent around to challenge results in November. And it's both sides doing it.
Shame on all of you in both parties. You have had years to fix polling problems. Don't muck it up now just because you see an advantage to your side. Think of the process and the people and the country for once, not just your party.
