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In reply to the discussion: Thinking that the WI election was "rigged" sets the stage for losing. [View all]snot
(10,480 posts)23. Here's a summary of the existing uncertainty/lack of transparency re-
whether voting results were tampered with:
From http://www.bradblog.com/?p=9332#more-9332 :
The early Exit Poll results had reportedly predicted the race between Republican Gov. Scott Walker and Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett a virtual tie, leading media to plan for a long night tonight. A second round of Exit Polls results, however, were said to have given Walker a broader lead over Barrett. Even so, we were told, the race based on the Exit Poll data alone was still "too close to call." . . .
Of course, the raw, unadjusted Exit Polling data itself is no longer entrusted to us mere mortals. It can only be seen by members of the mainstream media, and we are simply left to trust them to report it all accurately to us or not. And when, after all, have we not been able to rely on the mainstream media to report everything accurately to us? But never mind the Exit Polls. We've got real polls, real votes, actual ballots now to tell us who won or lost. If only we'd bother to actually count them...
Instead, those ballots --- Wisconsin votes on mostly paper ballots --- are tabulated by computer optical-scan systems like the ones in Palm Beach County, FL which, in March of this year, had named several losing candidates to be the "winners". And like the ones in New York City which, in 2010, managed to toss out thousands of valid votes, including as many as 70% in one South Bronx precinct. And like the ones in Oakland County, Michigan where officials found the same machines failed to count the same ballots the same way twice in 2008. And like the ones in Leon County, FL which, in 2005, were hacked to entirely flip the results of a mock election.
In Palm Beach County, FL the failure was discovered during a state mandated post-election spot-check of 2% of the paper ballots. In New York City, it took nearly two years before the failures were discovered after the New York Daily News was able to examine the paper ballots via a public records request. In Oakland County, MI, election officials were lucky enough to discover the failure during pre-election testing. And in Leon County, FL, the hacker --- a computer security expert --- revealed the op-scan system flaw he exploited to flip the results of the election in an Emmy-nominated HBO documentary.
(Links to more info in quoted portions are omitted but can be found in the link above.)
Let me be clear, I whole-heartedly agree that we must continue to work for campaign finance reform and other reforms as well; but electronic voting is an ongoing travesty that we can't afford to ignore.
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Thinking that the WI election was "rigged" sets the stage for losing. [View all]
MineralMan
Jun 2012
OP
because a lot of DUers can't comprehend the fact that there are people who believe differently
dionysus
Jun 2012
#4
I agree with you. That was the point I tried to make that we need to continue to fight in each
truckin
Jun 2012
#39
That is true, some believe every election that doesn't go our way is rigged. However,
truckin
Jun 2012
#56
People believe it was stolen because there's no reason to trust the system.
freedom fighter jh
Jun 2012
#33
I have raised the issue generally, many times, before it pertained to any particular election.
freedom fighter jh
Jun 2012
#55
Bullcrap. We have seen mountains of evidence of Republican cheating for years and years.
rhett o rick
Jun 2012
#111
LOL. I am saying that Repukes cheat at every turn and you call me a Republican?
rhett o rick
Jun 2012
#114
I will say it again very slow. There is a ton of evidence that repukes cheat.
rhett o rick
Jun 2012
#120
So then the choice is between unreliable results and an unmanageable situation?
freedom fighter jh
Jun 2012
#76
True in this particular instance, but I was considering the larger impact
The Velveteen Ocelot
Jun 2012
#19
You are probably right that Walker won fair and square but would you agree that
truckin
Jun 2012
#37
A much better explanation than anything else I've heard. It amazes me that there is *no* theft when
SlimJimmy
Jun 2012
#47
Walker got about 38% of union housholds. Add to that fact that about 60% said they
SlimJimmy
Jun 2012
#88
That makes absolutely no sense, whatsoever. It's not that difficult to understand.
shcrane71
Jun 2012
#90
In para. 3, photo ID and registering at the polls have nothing to do with election fraud
AllyCat
Jun 2012
#52
Voters were deluged by media that re-inforced the idea the recall was illegit. n/t
EFerrari
Jun 2012
#72
NBC called it while people were still voting. NYT's called it prior to polls closing.
shcrane71
Jun 2012
#78
+1. I'm disgusted to see so many people who are ok with this election & so invested in
HiPointDem
Jun 2012
#104
"Fixing an election to produce the results that actually happened would be almost impossible"
Bluenorthwest
Jun 2012
#69
There seem to be an awful lot of threads encouraging us to conform and cooperate.
Prometheus Bound
Jun 2012
#123
yeah, forget about any tools citizens have outside the regular rigged elections.
HiPointDem
Jun 2012
#106
Of course you keep fighting. But you also acknowledge that there are major problems
truckin
Jun 2012
#124