Posted on 10/30/2004 2:43:44 PM PDT by conservative in nyc
An Observer investigation in the United States has uncovered widespread allegations of electoral abuse, many of them going uninvestigated despite complaints of what would appear to be criminal attempts to manipulate voter lists.
The allegations, which come just two days before Americans go to the polls in one of the most tightly contested elections in a generation, threaten to plunge Tuesday's count into a legal minefield and overshadow even the elections of 2000.
The claims come as both Republicans and Democrats put in place up to 2,000 lawyers across the country to challenge attempts to manipulate the vote in swing states.
Although allegations of misconduct have been levelled at both parties recently, the majority of complaints that have been identified in The Observer' s investigation involved claims against local Republicans.
The claims, made by the BBC's Newsnight, follow alleged attempts by Republicans to illegally suppress the votes in key states. Republican spokesmen deny these allegations.
One of the more serious claims is that no action has been taken in a complex fraud, where more than 4,000 Florida students were allegedly conned into signing a form which could lead them to be doubly registered and void their votes. The Florida Law Enforcement Department has told the complainants that it is too busy to investigate.
In Colorado too, Democrats are complaining about an attempt to remove up to 6,000 convicted felons from the electoral roll, at the behest of the state's Republican secretary of state, Donetta Davidson, despite a US federal law that prohibits eliminating a voter's rights within 90 days of an election to give time for the voter to protest.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Oh yeah. Palast is a big hero amoung DU types.
"Claim" is the right word. Using that word, evidence is not needed.
Although allegations of misconduct have been levelled at both parties recently, the majority of complaints that have been identified in The Observer' s investigation involved claims against local Republicans. Greg Palast, is, in short, a radical Leftist propagandist. And a liar, if that's not too redundant.
Greg Palast litterally wrote the book on how Bush stole the last election. I heard him on the Bernie Ward show (radio talk show here, well, back at home on KGO radio. Local mostly liberal radio station). Talk about conspiracy theorist, Bush is evil, the right is taking our rights away, media is a crazed corporate shill, BRITISH liberal (he used to work for the BBC as a 'investigative reporter'). He was a kook then, and he is a kook now. Seems to have this air of superiority given how stupid we were to allow Bushie here the Presidency.
Palast is a far left tranzi. (Transnational Progressive)
The brochure went on to say that if I were to witness something that I should report it to one of the many 'volunteers' who would be wearing, armbands I think with 'Act' or maybe 'Act-up' on them. (am at work and the brochure is on its way to a landfill)
A real load of crap, as the stealth-commie dems are the only ones who have been disenfranchising or intimidating voters that I know of!
This is via the Guardian remember, I take it with a grain of salt...
He lives in England and writes for the Guardian; apparantly he can't even find anyone stateside to publish his garbage.
I coudn't stand listening to this guy on H&C last night, a total nut job but there are plenty of people who want to believe his BS as gospel.
Has anyone heard of the above student scam he was talking about? I never heard of it, not even on DU.
Two Words: Prove it!
"The Florida [election] show is being taken on the road and is going to be imposed on all 50 states. Centralization, computerization, purging the voter rolls. That is completely unreported, and it's going to fix the 2004 election if it's close," says investigative journalist Greg Palast.
Like all good gossips, Palast likes to name-drop. Several times during our conversation, and once during his lecture, he mentioned that he would be lunching with Noam Chomsky in Boston, the next stop in his 27-city tour. Michael Moore, whenever Palast speaks of him, is re-dubbed "My Good Friend Michael Moore." Indeed, as a reporter Palast is warmly embraced by a network of progressives that includes, along with stalwarts like Chomsky and Lapham, upstarts like Moore, Joe Conason, and Jim Hightower. Yet despite their championship and the exhaustive documentation Palast uses to back up all his reports, mainstream press outlets have been decidedly cool to him, at least on this side of the Atlantic. His explosive report about the "scrub list" that struck thousands of legal voters--mostly minorities--off the Florida voter rolls before the 2000 election (detailed in his book) was roundly ignored by the major print and broadcast media in the US. A section editor at one major newspaper told me that he had been warned by his colleagues that Palast was a "loose cannon."
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