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To: Ol' Sparky
The percentages of spoiled ballots for punch cards may be correct.

While I was voting at a polling station with about 10 stations, a spoiled ballot was created by a voter. Arizona uses a great system where the ballots are checked while the voter is still present. While I was filling out my ballot I heard the official inform a voter that his ballot was "over-voted". He was given the option of filling out a new ballot or voting the rest of the races with that particular race ignored. He chose to accept the second option.

In the case of the old punch card systems, they usually don't check the ballot before the voter leaves. There would be no way to decide how to remedy the situation.

The assumption that spoiled ballots are the result of political purposeful partisan action is something that should be substantiated more strongly before it is suggested in a publication.

They should name names of specific people who were forced to take provisional ballots. Of course, if they did, then the Republicans would be able to point out the specific problem which resulted in the action. It's kind of hard to dispute nonspecific charges. This article is, on the face, unfair.
48 posted on 11/05/2004 12:19:34 AM PST by the_Watchman
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To: the_Watchman
It seems the author is saying that Minority precincts are targeted. He is saying that election officials, consciously trying to supress Democratic vote, arbitrarily throw out more ballots in these precincts. The amount of collusion in all of these precincts would be practically impossible to garner. Besides which, what accounts for Bush clear victories where the punch cards are not used (Bush won by 400K votes even before absentee votes were counted in Florida - the author said this was one of the disenfranchised states in 200) and this 'cheating' cannot occur. Was there a different form of cheating there?

I can appreciate a good argument and an honest one, no matter whose side it benefits but this argument has alot of holes and alot of assumptions. One of the biggest and glaring assumptions (besides the assertion that Republicans control and consciously promote racism in their oversight of all precincts in swing states) is that the Exit Polls are pure as the driven snow and not impeachable whilst the actual vote is not.

55 posted on 11/05/2004 12:34:15 AM PST by Danno (the Dems have poop in their pants...)
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