Berkeley Researchers Report Unexplained Discrepancy in FLA Vote Totals

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http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/04/11/ana04028.html

 

November 18, 2004

 

Berkeley Researchers Report " Unexplained Discrepancy " in FLA Vote Totals

 

Study released Thursday indicates the probability is that electronic

voting machines may have awarded 130,000 - 260,000 or more in excess

votes to Bush in Florida

 

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

 

BuzzFlash was a telephone media participant in a 10 AM (Pacific Time),

November 18th, news conference conducted by the Survey Research Center

of the University of California at Berkeley. This is our report.

 

A research team at UC Berkeley reported Thursday morning that

irregularities associated with electronic voting machines may have

awarded 130,000 - 260,000 or more in excess votes to President George

W. Bush in Florida in the 2004 presidential election. The study showed

an unexplained discrepancy between votes for President Bush in

counties where electronic voting machines were used versus counties

using traditional voting methods.

 

Discrepancies this large or larger rarely arise by chance -- the

probability is less than 0.1 percent. The research team, led by

Sociology Professor Michael Hout, formally disclosed the results of

the study at a press conference and called for an immediate

investigation by Florida officials.

 

" The three counties where the voting anomalies were most prevalent

were also the most heavily Democratic counties, not the [conservative]

Dixiecrat counties you've all heard about before, but the more heavily

Democratic counties that used e-vote technology, including Broward,

Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties in order of magnitude, " said

Professor Hout.

 

The statistical patterns in counties that did not have e-touch voting

machines predicted a 28,000 vote decrease in President Bush's share of

the 2004 vote in Broward County, but the machines actually tallied an

increase of 51,000 votes for a net gain of 81,000 votes for the President.

 

With the research team's statistical model, it was expected that

President Bush should have lost 8,900 votes in Palm Beach County but

instead he gained 41,000, a difference of 49,900 votes.

 

And President Bush should have gained only 18,000 votes in Miami-Dade

County but in fact gained 37,000, for a difference of 19,300 votes.

 

" The disparity in favor of the incumbent President Bush cannot be

explained away by other factors. The study shows that counties that

used electronic voting resulted in disproportionate increases of votes

for the President, " said Professor Hout.

 

Furthermore, statistical adjustments for the size of the counties, the

number of votes cast, income, ethnicity and other factors, do not

explain or account for the discrepancy why the President received so

many votes in heavily democratic counties that used electronic voting.

 

Hout made this appeal: " For the sake of all future elections involving

electronic voting, someone needs to explain the statistical anomalies

that we found in Florida. We're calling on officials in Florida to

take up this task and to take action now. "

 

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS