Today We Have Two Choices: Fix the System, or Don't Bother to Vote

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Today We Have Two Choices: Fix the System, or Don't Bother to Vote

By Guy Sturino, Guest Contributor

 

November 12, 2005

This article by Guy Sturino appeared in The American Chronicle on Oct.

22, 2005. It is reposted here with permission of the author.

 

You are a good citizen. You find out all you can about the important

political issues. You research candidates. You put signs in your yard

and stickers on your car to encourage others to see your side. You

contribute time and money to political campaigns. You brave weather

and long lines to be sure that you cast your ballot on election day.

You have performed an important, probably the most important, civic

duty. All is well with the world.

 

Or, is it? The reality is, with the advent of electronic voting

machines without a voter verified paper trail, you don't know today

how your vote was counted in the last election.

 

Before you cry foul, or insist that this can't be true, or worse yet –

that this is no more than the raving of a sore looser liberal, I

encourage you to investigate the reports from two organizations, the

General Accountability Office (GAO), and The National Election Data

Archive (NEDA), a nonprofit organization of statisticians and

mathematicians devoted to the accuracy of U.S. vote counts.

 

The GAO has issued a scathing indictment of the electronic voting

systems now in place. In part their investigation concluded that

" election officials, computer security experts, citizen advocacy

groups, and others have raised significant concerns about the security

and reliability of electronic voting systems, . . . "

 

The report went on to say, " The security and reliability concerns

raised in recent reports merit the focused attention of federal,

state, and local authorities responsible for election administration " .

 

The identified flaws are directly responsible for votes cast,

incorrect tallies of votes, and the inability of some voters to cast

votes. The GAO report suggested many actions necessary to correct the

current situation, and that, " Until these efforts are completed, there

is a risk that many state and local jurisdictions will rely on voting

systems . . . " which are " . . . potentially affecting the reliability

of future elections and voter confidence in the accuracy of the vote

count "

 

NEDA findings describe highly implausible discrepancies between exit

polls and the tallies verified by Secretaries of State. The

investigations produced a mountain of statistical evidence on which to

plant a flag of corruption. Specific papers include:

 

* Kerry Wins Presidential Election according to the Exit Polls

 

* New Mexico Precinct-Level Election Data Reveals Election Tampering

 

* " Analysis of the 2004 Presidential Election Exit Poll Discrepancies "

 

* " The Smoking Gun: Ohio Exit Poll Data Show Virtually Irrefutable

Evidence of Vote Miscount "

 

NEDA concludes that " The possibility that the 2004 election exit poll

discrepancy was caused by vote miscount has become increasingly

credible as successive (E/M(Edison/Mitofsky) and ESI(Election Science

Institute)) reports claiming support for exit-poll error have instead

provided more evidence for vote miscount. "

 

These two separate and independent investigations by the GAO and NEDA

reach the same conclusion – the voting public is left with nothing on

which to base even a minimal faith in the system. If we are to remain

a truly DEMOCRATIC republic, there is no more pressing issue than the

repair of our electoral system. If the electoral system is not

repaired, this government " Of the people, by the people and for the

people " will be lost.

 

If there is one letter that every U.S. citizen of voting age should

write, it is a letter to each and every one of their Senators and

Congresspersons insisting that the electoral system be repaired before

the November 2006 elections. If you value your democracy, do it now.

 

Our fate is in our hands.

_____________________

Guy Sturino was born in Kenosha, WI in 1940, He spent the first four

years after high school with the Marines, mostly in the far east. In

'71 he attained a B.S. in Applied Science and Technology from the

University of Wisconsin. He is retired after careers in the automotive

industry, and teaching high school. Along with C. Edward Burge, Guy is

co-founder of Mutualist Alliance, a gathering place on the web for

those interested in promoting humane coexistance and world unity.