A liberal investigative reporter: Kerry won

Harper's magazine | 11/05/04 | Greg Palast

[Ol' Sparky]

Kerry Won

by Greg Palast

Kerry won. Here's the facts.

I know you don't want to hear it. You can't face one more hung chad. But I don't have a choice. As a journalist examining that messy sausage called American democracy, it's my job to tell you who got the most votes in the deciding states. Tuesday, in Ohio and New Mexico, it was John Kerry.

Most voters in Ohio thought they were voting for Kerry. CNN's exit poll showed Kerry beating Bush among Ohio women by 53 percent to 47 percent. Kerry also defeated Bush among Ohio's male voters 51 percent to 49 percent. Unless a third gender voted in Ohio, Kerry took the state.

So what's going on here? Answer: the exit polls are accurate. Pollsters ask, "Who did you vote for?" Unfortunately, they don't ask the crucial, question, "Was your vote counted?" The voters don't know.

Here's why. Although the exit polls show that most voters in Ohio punched cards for Kerry-Edwards, thousands of these votes were simply not recorded. This was predictable and it was predicted. [See TomPaine.com, "An Election Spoiled Rotten," November 1.]

Once again, at the heart of the Ohio uncounted vote game are, I'm sorry to report, hanging chads and pregnant chads, plus some other ballot tricks old and new.

The election in Ohio was not decided by the voters but by something called "spoilage." Typically in the United States, about 3 percent of the vote is voided, just thrown away, not recorded. When the bobble-head boobs on the tube tell you Ohio or any state was won by 51 percent to 49 percent, don't you believe it ... it has never happened in the United States, because the total never reaches a neat 100 percent. The television totals simply subtract out the spoiled vote.

And not all vote spoil equally. Most of those votes, say every official report, come from African American and minority precincts. (To learn more, click here.)

We saw this in Florida in 2000. Exit polls showed Gore with a plurality of at least 50,000, but it didn't match the official count. That's because the official, Secretary of State Katherine Harris, excluded 179,855 spoiled votes. In Florida, as in Ohio, most of these votes lost were cast on punch cards where the hole wasn't punched through completely—leaving a 'hanging chad,'—or was punched extra times. Whose cards were discarded? Expert statisticians investigating spoilage for the government calculated that 54 percent of the ballots thrown in the dumpster were cast by black folks. (To read the report from the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, click here .)

And here's the key: Florida is terribly typical. The majority of ballots thrown out (there will be nearly 2 million tossed out from Tuesday's election) will have been cast by African American and other minority citizens.

So here we go again. Or, here we don't go again. Because unlike last time, Democrats aren't even asking Ohio to count these cards with the not-quite-punched holes (called "undervotes" in the voting biz).

Ohio is one of the last states in America to still use the vote-spoiling punch-card machines. And the Secretary of State of Ohio, J. Kenneth Blackwell, wrote before the election, “the possibility of a close election with punch cards as the state’s primary voting device invites a Florida-like calamity.”

But this week, Blackwell, a rabidly partisan Republican, has warmed up to the result of sticking with machines that have a habit of eating Democratic votes. When asked if he feared being this year's Katherine Harris, Blackwell noted that Ms. Fix-it's efforts landed her a seat in Congress.

Exactly how many votes were lost to spoilage this time? Blackwell's office, notably, won't say, though the law requires it be reported. Hmm. But we know that last time, the total of Ohio votes discarded reached a democracy-damaging 1.96 percent. The machines produced their typical loss—that's 110,000 votes—overwhelmingly Democratic.

The Impact Of Challenges

First and foremost, Kerry was had by chads. But the Democrat wasn't punched out by punch cards alone. There were also the 'challenges.' That's a polite word for the Republican Party of Ohio's use of an old Ku Klux Klan technique: the attempt to block thousands of voters of color at the polls. In Ohio, Wisconsin and Florida, the GOP laid plans for poll workers to ambush citizens under arcane laws—almost never used—allowing party-designated poll watchers to finger individual voters and demand they be denied a ballot. The Ohio courts were horrified and federal law prohibits targeting of voters where race is a factor in the challenge. But our Supreme Court was prepared to let Republicans stand in the voting booth door.

In the end, the challenges were not overwhelming, but they were there. Many apparently resulted in voters getting these funky "provisional" ballots—a kind of voting placebo—which may or may not be counted. Blackwell estimates there were 175,000; Democrats say 250,000. Pick your number. But as challenges were aimed at minorities, no one doubts these are, again, overwhelmingly Democratic. Count them up, add in the spoiled punch cards (easy to tally with the human eye in a recount), and the totals begin to match the exit polls; and, golly, you've got yourself a new president. Remember, Bush won by 136,483 votes in Ohio.

Enchanted State's Enchanted Vote

Now, on to New Mexico, where a Kerry plurality—if all votes are counted—is more obvious still. Before the election, in TomPaine.com, I wrote, "John Kerry is down by several thousand votes in New Mexico, though not one ballot has yet been counted."

How did that happen? It's the spoilage, stupid; and the provisional ballots.

CNN said George Bush took New Mexico by 11,620 votes. Again, the network total added up to that miraculous, and non-existent, '100 percent' of ballots cast.

New Mexico reported in the last race a spoilage rate of 2.68 percent, votes lost almost entirely in Hispanic, Native American and poor precincts—Democratic turf. From Tuesday's vote, assuming the same ballot-loss rate, we can expect to see 18,000 ballots in the spoilage bin.

Spoilage has a very Democratic look in New Mexico. Hispanic voters in the Enchanted State, who voted more than two to one for Kerry, are five times as likely to have their vote spoil as a white voter. Counting these uncounted votes would easily overtake the Bush 'plurality.'

Already, the election-bending effects of spoilage are popping up in the election stats, exactly where we'd expect them: in heavily Hispanic areas controlled by Republican elections officials. Chaves County, in the "Little Texas" area of New Mexico, has a 44 percent Hispanic population, plus African Americans and Native Americans, yet George Bush "won" there 68 percent to 31 percent.

I spoke with Chaves' Republican county clerk before the election, and he told me that this huge spoilage rate among Hispanics simply indicated that such people simply can't make up their minds on the choice of candidate for president. Oddly, these brown people drive across the desert to register their indecision in a voting booth.

Now, let's add in the effect on the New Mexico tally of provisional ballots.

"They were handing them out like candy," Albuquerque journalist Renee Blake reported of provisional ballots. About 20,000 were given out. Who got them?

Santiago Juarez who ran the "Faithful Citizenship" program for the Catholic Archdiocese in New Mexico, told me that "his" voters, poor Hispanics, whom he identified as solid Kerry supporters, were handed the iffy provisional ballots. Hispanics were given provisional ballots, rather than the countable kind "almost religiously," he said, at polling stations when there was the least question about a voter's identification. Some voters, Santiago said, were simply turned away.

Your Kerry Victory Party

So we can call Ohio and New Mexico for John Kerry—if we count all the votes.

But that won't happen. Despite the Democratic Party's pledge, the leadership this time gave in to racial disenfranchisement once again. Why? No doubt, the Democrats know darn well that counting all the spoiled and provisional ballots will require the cooperation of Ohio's Secretary of State, Blackwell. He will ultimately decide which spoiled and provisional ballots get tallied. Blackwell, hankering to step into Kate Harris' political pumps, is unlikely to permit anything close to a full count. Also, Democratic leadership knows darn well the media would punish the party for demanding a full count.

What now? Kerry won, so hold your victory party. But make sure the shades are down: it may be become illegal to demand a full vote count under PATRIOT Act III.

I used to write a column for the Guardian papers in London. Several friends have asked me if I will again leave the country. In light of the failure—a second time—to count all the votes, that won't be necessary. My country has left me.

Greg Palast, contributing editor to Harper's magazine, investigated the manipulation of the vote for BBC Television's Newsnight. The documentary, "Bush Family Fortunes," based on his New York Times bestseller, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, has been released this month on DVD .

[Tuxedo]

Not all of Ohio uses punch cards. In Miami County they use the optical scanned "fill in the circle" type ballot. There are still some of the old lever machines around as well.

[bandleader]

Just who in GOD'S Creation is this IDIOT?I'll bet he writes a book about this and makes a fortune on Amazon!Come to think of it,maybe I will!!!!!!!!!!

[bandleader]

The first clue is"A Liberal,Investigative Reporter"!That's an OXYMORON!!!!!!!!!!

[petro45acp]

This guy is so full-0-5h17!

In Ohio, they have rules that define STATEWIDE what a vote equals. As described on FNC by some Ohio guy, "two corners of a chad disconnected from the surrounding card equals a vote" No hangers, no pregnant, no dimpled chads issue. State wide for all precincts that use the punch card ballots.

SFU!
SFD!

Top Sends

[Joe Miner]

like watching a turtle on its back

Oh that imagine is too funny!

[arthurus]

Spoiled votes are Democrat votes and must be counted as Democrat votes, regardless of the names on the ballots.

[aruanan]

CNN's exit poll showed Kerry beating Bush among Ohio women by 53 percent to 47 percent. Kerry also defeated Bush among Ohio's male voters 51 percent to 49 percent. Unless a third gender voted in Ohio, Kerry took the state.

Or people just lied to the pollster.

[stopillegalimmigration]

in the last election, i heard george bush compared to hitler. never really could understand the connection they were trying to make. but one thing's for sure: when a party systematically destroys ballots and then blames the other side

Yes, I am sure in your mind preventing Dick Tracy, Mary Poppins, a host of illegal aliens and felons from voting is bad seeing how these illegals were disenfranchising real voters. Dem politicians kids slashing tires on Rep vans to be used to get old people to the polls is fair in your mind? Dem politicians family members removing opponents signs from yards is alright by you though? Numerous Dem brownshirts breaking into RNC HQs across the country and intimidating voters, but Bush is the bad one? Drink the Kool-aid and move along troll.

[fuzzy122]

"if y'all spent as much time doing basic research..."

Hmmm, Your comments on "ballot spiking" reminds me of some of the "basic research" that I did back when it was a "Gore hole" or the 100's of megabytes of data I compiled on my Clintoon website, or the comparable amount of data I put together on Mena airport, Elian, Waco, etc. etc. etc.

I respect the opinion of someone whose been here since 1998 when I was only a little lurker, but cut me some slack.

I'm just havin' some fun - I deserve it.

After all the time and money I put in to this campaign I should be able to yuk it up at the demon-rats expense without being scolded by my "elders".

Enough said, I have to get ready to go to work at the RESEARCH LAB where I've worked for 24 years now!

Stay Strong,
Fuzzy122

[hippyhater]

Ken Blackwell is black.. just a little fyi...

[dead]

if y'all spent as much time doing basic research as you do yucking it up on threads like this, you would realize:

If y’all are still gathering research on a dirty tactic that everybody else on this site has known about since at least 2000, I can see why you don’t have the time to yuck it up.

Me? I can multi-task.

[leftcoaster]

But we know that last time, the total of Ohio votes discarded reached a democracy-damaging 1.96 percent. The machines produced their typical loss—that's 110,000 votes—overwhelmingly Democratic.

Interesting that he does not allow for any undecideds in the presidential race showing up at the polls on Tuesday. What did the last polls of OH show for undecideds? 2%?

There are many voters who leave an office blank on their ballot when they do not know whom to vote for. Just because it is a Presidential election does not mean they showed up for the purpose of casting a Presidential vote. It might have been a close House race, a state legislative office, or a local position that was this voter's biggest concern. It is easiest for the undecided voter to justify not voting in the Presidential race by rationalizing that "My one vote won't matter anyway."

Is the undervote percentage for punch cards any different than the undervote percentages for other voting technologies? I doubt it. It isn't a problem with the technology, it is a problem with the voter himself/herself.

[Bronzewound]

1. that the author of this article (as well as that berry creature) are absolutely correct in their assertion that someone is systematically destroying ballots in minority precincts

You obviously do not really believe Palast is asserting that only someone is tampering with ballots. We all know who he is accusing.

I would venture to say that most of us dumb yuckers already understand what is at stake and full well remember the spikings, etc. In other words, I suspect the basic research has been done and most would agree with your post. So, how about giving us a little credit and just a little room for some fun after a very tense election?

After we blow off a little steam, maybe we can all figure out how to make more people aware of who is actually undermining our elections. Not easy with the Old Media (who many still rely on) trying desperately to keep it's foot on the throat of the truth.

[Darkwolf377]

"if y'all spent as much time doing basic research as you do yucking it up on threads like this, you would realize:"

I know all about spiking, johnboy. I yucked it up on this thread because the article is a joke. DOn't nead lectures from him, nor from you, on the matter.

[Peach]

This must be the new math I keep hearing about.

[pickrell]

I think that you guys have gone a bit too far, this time. It is obvious that while I was raking leaves day before yesterday, that a few of you got together with this Palast, in a bar somewhere. It is equally obvious that one of you slipped him a $ 5.00 bill.

After you then pulled him up off of his knees, you explained that no, it wasn't one of Palast's normal deals, but that rather, you needed him to post some utterly preposterous rejects from the discard pile of old "X-Files" scripts.
You have to make this a little less obvious, or the liberals are going to catch on eventually, and then it will be even harder to keep them busy, and harmless.

I recommend that you limit yourselves to dealing with the "legally competent to dress themselves" crowd among the Democratic party. Both of them live in Philadelphia.

[taxesareforever]

we're going to have to be a little smarter than this, folks

You are speaking for yourself, right?

[RecallMoran]

a bunch are neatly gathered up (tap-tap on the corners) and a metal rod driven down the kerry hole (in the case of the last election).


Any bunch is gathered up? Or there is someone standing behind the machine looking for "confused" looking minorities and then they pick out those specific ballots, pile them and put a spike through? And this happens in heavily democratic precincts?

So if I want to keep minorities from voting, I get assigned to a heavily democratic precinct, somehow they let me skulk behind the machines and pull out cards, I keep a spike in my pocket, spike the ballots and then turn them into the heavily democratic precinct because they haven't been watching me at all. Sounds like a plan.
Yeeeaaaah Riiiiiight.

[jwalsh07]

You really can not get much stupider than this. But never underestimate the stupidity of a jilted liberal.