elusive moonwalker
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so what do ppl think are the chances of the republicans scamming their way to victory again by stopping votes from being counted etc. nothing would surprise me. read the below article yesterday.very intresting. kinda amazes me about the crap that goes on. yet bush and co have the gaul to call others out on democracy
Richard Heller: Nightmare scenario shows why Obama can't count on victory
There is still a mountain to climb for Obama
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Published Date: 30 October 2008
By Richard Heller
THE event to fit this sensational headline – "McCain Sneaks Win: Obama Calls Foul" – has not yet occurred. All current evidence suggests that it is extremely unlikely. But after two disputed Presidential elections, in 2000 and 2004, Democrats are still haunted by the fear that a combination of wonky voting machines and partisan local officials could rob them of victory again.
Their nightmare should keep us awake too. A disputed McCain victory would be the worst possible outcome of the American election. It would simultaneously fragment America, paralyse the world economy and heighten the risk of major war.
As I write these lines, everything is set fair for Barack Obama. Polls, issues, money, momentum and luck are all working for him. His campaign is focused relentlessly on his winning issues – the economy and the almost universal longing for change after eight years of George W Bush.
And yet… the election could still go horribly wrong for him. It is commonplace for Presidential races to tighten in the final
days. He needs big leads, especially in battleground states, to overcome the real risk that many Democratic supporters simply will not be counted on election day.
British general elections are contested under uniform voting procedures which make it very easy – some say too easy – for people to register and vote. They are also controlled by non-partisan officials. None
of these things apply in the United States.
There will not be one Presidential election on November 4 – nor even 50. There will be more than 13,000 elections – one in each county or municipality in the 50 states, all subject to local rules and conditions and influenced by elected officials from the major parties.
This makes it very easy for would-be voters to fall foul of some local rule or a partisan ruling – especially if they are poor, or old, or African-American, or Hispanic, or recent migrants, or first-time voters who, generally, are all groups which tend to favour the Democrats.
Some counties and states actively seek out voters, especially poor people, others (often supported by the Bush administration) obstruct volunteer voter registration drives and challenge their results. Some states demand a "perfect match" of voters' names and addresses against Federal records – so that a misplaced comma by a government clerk can rob a voter of his vote. (Ironically, McCain's celebrity working-class supporter, Joe The Plumber, has fallen foul of such a rule).
In other states, partisan officials and even private contractors can simply "purge" voters, without their knowledge, for alleged felonies or breaches of other rules.
On election day itself, some states ask voters to produce
their driving licences or other official ID, which poorer or older voters find more difficult to do. And, as in Ohio in 2004, they may allot fewer polling booths to poorer and African-American districts to force these voters to wait longer. And those who endure the wait may find that they have been allotted the oldest voting machines – most likely to produce a spoiled ballot, which officials reject.
Finally, there is the scandal of the "provisional" ballot – voters challenged when they attempt to vote and forced to accept a special ballot which is not counted until their qualification is confirmed by officials. In 2004, there were at least three million of these – and at least a million were rejected out of hand without review or appeal.
All, and any of these measures, are entirely capable of tipping key states away from Obama to McCain. One expert, Laughlin McDonald, head of the voting rights project of the American Civil Liberties Union, has warned: "There have been more attempts at voter suppression in the lead-up to this election than any I can remember."
Therefore, the headline could still come true. McCain ekes out an electoral-college victory with tiny majorities in states where thousands of Democratic supporters have been disqualified. Lawsuits are launched, but the experience of 2000 suggests that they will be futile and McCain is inaugurated.
This result would be a catastrophe for the United States and the world. Millions of Americans lose faith in the democratic process. McCain faces a hostile Congress with no mandate and no moral authority. There is no consensus on domestic policy, markets panic and the economy falls from crisis into paralysis.
Like other unpopular Presidents before him, McCain plays the patriot card. His egregious Vice-President, Sarah Palin, launches
a cultural war between "loyal, God-loving" (Republican) Americans and "disloyal, godless" Democrats. McCain tries to bolster his ratings by a tough foreign and national security policy. He escalates the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – he may even start a new one in Iran.
Any result would be better than this. We must all hope that the American people produce a decisive result. Either – as present trends suggest – they give Barack Obama a big popular and electoral vote majority, or, if they change their minds in the final week, they do so on such a scale that John McCain wins in his own right, without the help of confusion and manipulation on election day.
Richard Heller has reported American elections since 1988 and is presently in the key battleground state of Virginia.
The full article contains 894 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
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- Last Updated: 30 October 2008 9:35 AM
