Carter foresees unfair vote in Florida

AFP ^ | 09/27/2004

[Phlap]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A repetition of problems that plagued the 2000 US presidential election is likely, former US president and veteran elections monitor Jimmy Carter said, charging that "basic international requirements" for a fair vote are missing in Florida.

Reforms passed in the wake of the debacle have not been implemented due to lack of funding and political disputes, Carter observed in a hotly-worded opinion piece in Monday's Washington Post.

"The disturbing fact is that a repetition of the problems of 2000 now seems likely," he said.

"Some basic international requirements for a fair election are missing in Florida," including non-partisan electoral officials and uniformity in voting procedures, he said.

Florida's top election official four years ago also chaired the Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign in the state, and her successor is showing "the same strong bias," Carter charged.

"A fumbling attempt has been made recently to disqualify 22,000 African Americans (likely Democrats), but only 61 Hispanics (likely Republicans), as alleged felons," he said.

Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood has also appeared eager to get independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader (news - web sites) on this year's state ballot, "knowing that two-thirds of his votes in the previous election came at the expense" of Democrat Al Gore (news - web sites), Carter went on.

"She ordered Nader's name be included on absentee ballots even before the state Supreme Court ruled on the controversial issue," Carter said.

Florida's governor, President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s brother, has "taken no steps to correct these departures from principles of fair and equal treatment or to prevent them in the future," he said.

"It is unconscionable to perpetuate fraudulent or biased electoral practices in any nation," Carter wrote.

"With reforms unlikely at this late stage of the election, perhaps the only recourse will be to focus maximum public scrutiny on the suspicious process in Florida."

The Carter Center has monitored more than 50 international elections, most recently in Venezuela and Indonesia.

Carter, a Democrat, led a bi-partisan commission charged with recommending changes to US electoral processes following the 2000 vote, ultimately decided by the US Supreme Court, which halted recounts of contested ballots in Florida after a weeks-long draw.

[hsrazorback1]

Conservatism is the norm. Liberalism is not. Conservatism is job security for liberals (& Jimmah).

[F16Fighter]

The Carter Center has monitored more than 50 international elections, most recently in Venezuela and Indonesia.

The Carter Center??

Isn't that a Psychiatric Hospital?

It all makes sense now...

[upchuck]

This will be completely moot when President Bush wins by such a large amount sKerry and his minions are crushed. If President Bush can win by 10% popular vote and 40 EVs, I doubt we'll hear a peep out of the RATS.

On another topic...

"Some basic international requirements for a fair election are missing in Florida," including non-partisan electoral officials and uniformity in voting procedures, he said.

WTF??? My country has been voting just fine for over 200 years. All these internationalists can leave! More Carter politically correct BS. What a bunch of claptrap!!

Everyone, including the internationalists, has a political agenda.

[Robert357]

Good old senile Carter, setting up the basis of a "stolen election" weeks in advance.

It is becoming clear to all that Bush will win and win by a lot. The Dem's are going to have to explain why they do not have control of the US House, the US Senate or the Executive Branch to their faithful constitutent groups.

After Bush wins, and after he appoints many many judges, the Dem's are going to find out that they have dug themselves an incredibly deep hole that will take decades to get out of, if ever at all.

Because the democratic party is known for "bestowing favors on" (either rightly or wrongly) its constituency and because by the end of Bush's second term they will not have been in a position to be reponsible for handing out favors or federal jobs for many many years, I see a "Green Party" or "Socialist Party" as having a better chance than the Democratic party, of course that is pretty much what the Democratic party has morphed into, without the title changes.

When the dust settles on this election, I expect that a lot of Dem's will have wished that Nader had been their party's candidate rather than Kerry.

[Wonder Warthog]

"How the heck would you find a non-partisan electoral official in a political process? Everyone has a party affiliation."

Nope---there are LOTS of independent voters who belong to no political party. I'm one of them (conservative---yes, Republican (or Democrat)---no).

OTOH, the US has NEVER had "non-partisan" as a requirement for electoral officials at any level. "Jimmuh" is full of it.

[Polybius]

"Some basic international requirements for a fair election are missing in Florida," including non-partisan electoral officials and uniformity in voting procedures, he said.

I agree.

The corrupt Democrat election officials continue to make vote fraud way too easy.

[upchuck]

I doubt we'll hear a peep out of the RATS. Except for the usual whinning and cries of victimhood.

Sorry, I left that off.

[X-Ecutioner]

"Basic international requirements" sound real scarey....

[aruanan]

Carter foresees unfair vote in Florida

Carter is right. There are tens of thousands of Democrats registered to vote Democrat in other states who will also vote Democrat in Florida.

[IamConservative]

"I foresee Carter making an ass of himself as usual."

I foresee Carter making an ass of himself as usual.

One small edit for Mr. Peanut..

[verity]

Carter has never been the same since that rabbit attack! :~)

[LexBaird]

I still haven't figured out what the problem was with those punch-card ballots.

Quite simple, really. Some Dem operative in 2000 got the number wrong when he was gang-punching stacks of ballots. He ended up punching "Buchanan". Since this created a statistically unlikely scenario for Palm Beach Co., the Dem spin machine leaped into action with the "confusing butterfly ballot" cover story.

[EQAndyBuzz]

These are the facts about elections.

Democrats want each vote to count at least twice. To counter this the Republicans pay to have people not go to the polls.

This is like someone having 4 kings up their sleeve in a card game and the winner had 4 aces up his.

Is it wrong? Sure. But that is what is called MAD.

America is based on Social Security numbers. To vote you have to present one which gets matched up with a database. Hewre you can update where you live by showing a bill. NOw we can address the census. This is the one thing the RATS do not want us to do because alot of those Blue states(11 I think) will now go red.

[RockinRight]

Why anyone listens to one word this babbling old liberal idiot says is a mystery to me.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Dead people and their dogs can do it in St. Louis County.

[dalebert]

Evil mean ugly old man alert! We already know that any close state is going to be contested Al Gore style. The Dems will be trying to disenfranchise Military votes again.

[RockinRight]

Even if Bush wins by 3 or 4 points in Florida, or whatever state, the Dems will try and contest it. W needs over 300 EV's to make sure they can't steal it this time, 2000 was way too close.

That said, I think W's gonna win about 40 states.

[Chewbacco]

The worst President in American history and a king sized wussy. Carter is a coward and appeaser and has no business in the affairs of this country on any level.

He and Arafat should get together and polish their Nobel prizes.

Nobel Prize = Communist Terrorist

[captmar-vell]

Yep!

not to mention the nuclear debacle with North Korea

[KevinB]

Corrections needed:

Jimmy Carter is a moron and wouldn't doesn't know his ass if even with his head was up it.

There, that's better!