Republicans file suit to limit King County recount (WA State)

[stevedeshazer]

SEATTLE -- The Washington Republican Party filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court Saturday afternoon to try to stop King County from including certain ballots in its recount for the governor's race.

The party is asking for a temporary restraining order against hand-counting of ballots that are rejected by voting machines and hopes to have a hearing on Sunday.

The ballots the Republicans want excluded include those rejected by a machine and checked over by hand. The party calls this process "human enhancement."

State GOP Chairman Chris Vance said Saturday evening that this hand-counting of ballots violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution in a way similar to vote counting problems in Florida after the 2000 presidential election.

more: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?category=6420&slug=WA+Recount+Lawsuit
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More Republicans that don't want your vote to count. :grr:

[elehhhhna]

1. The Constitution Tells Us Specifically What To Do

The Constitution Tells Us Specifically What To Do

Reduce Representation in Congress for States that Botched the Election

Deliver Harsh Penalties to States that Can't Count Votes Honestly


ReDefeatBush founder David Lytel gave introductory remarks entitled When Bush Comes to Shove and concluding remarks entitled Righting the Left: Rebuilding the Opposition Industry. He called on citizens to initiate lawsuits that would implement the penalties for vote suppression written into the U.S. Constitution (14th Amendment, Section 2): "But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States... is denied to any male inhabitant of such state... or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation shall therein be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of ... citizens." If investigations into election fraud conducted by honest state or local authorities turn up 550,000 violations in one of these states then OH, FL, NC, IN and other states should have their representation in Congress reduced for their inability to conduct fair elections and denying citizens the right to vote.
__________________

[TahitiNut]

13. Well, the USSC sure did support the Constitution ...

... in December 2000, didn't they? It was abundantly clear that Florida's electoral votes should've been excluded. That was the Constitutional, appropriate, and fair decision. Instead, right-wing "activist" ideologues on the Court issued the most abominable 'decision' in the Court's history.

[mulethree]

26. Loose second at 550,000

Loosing a representative when vote-denial >= 550,000 would only protect against disenfranchisement that equals or exceeds 550,000? Clearly you should loose an elector and congressman even if it doesn't reach the 550,000 level and then loose a second when it passes 550,000.

So any state which ran out of provisional ballots and denied a vote, or had a voting machine loose votes and didnt do a re-vote, or doesn't have an audit system capable of detecting errors, or removes a non-felon from the roles in a felon purge ....... so on
should loose at least one representative. Quick way to get election processes cleaned up. How about ballot access requirements that make it a lot easier for 'major parties' than for independents?

But it would lead to massive re-districting?

So serve them notice, the FBI will be monitoring their elections for the next 5 years and failure to rectify the problems will result in reduced representation?

So vote fraud people need only show inequity in elections - e.g. longer lines in minority areas, weak prosecution of voter intimidation or registration fraud etc. and they can bring a court case against the state with real teeth.

Thanks hadn't considered it till you quoted the 14th amendment.

[mulethree]

31. Here's one for Ohio

morons and the insane are not allowed to vote

The 14th amendment says you can only be denied the vote for participation in rebellion or other crime.

Are moronity and insanity crimes?

Bob and Amy work a combined 120 hours a week to support their 6 kids and just had another kid last year. They have no time or energy to help with homework and no financial reserves to send their kids to college - clearly insane.

Greg works 70 hours a week despite already having wealth to last him 3 lifetimes - clearly a moron.

Sarah talks to people who aren't there and mumbles the same phrase over and over and over. She's clearly - oh wait thats a rosary? Nevermind

[Goldeneye]

2. Funny how the reps always want to stop the recounts.

I think a recount is fair enough. Someone in another thread had a good idea: reandom recounts, to ensure the integrity of elections. Why can't the reps just sit back, and let a recount go. All it would do is validate the winner for pete's sake. What a bunch of whiners.

[boi1946]

3. Duh...So how were they counted BEFORE there were Machines?

Like back when THE CONSTITUTION WAS WRITTEN?

So who do we e-mail or call ???

[LiberalFighter]

9. In many cases it wasn't even by paper ballot...

but similar to a roll call vote.

That is they met at one place in the county and their name was called off. It wasn't a private vote... everyone knew who they were voting for.

[HawkerHurricane]

10. And where it was a paper ballot...

ballots were color coded by party, so you could show your boss (who was either at the poll or had hired someone to watch) that you were voting for the 'right' party, and could keep your job (or be paid a bonus, depending on place of business).

1800 politics. Think Boss Tweed.

[Skidmore]

4. "Human enhancement"????

Electile dysfunction...curse of the GOP.

[bunny planet]

18. Wardrobe malfunction.

[Kurovski]

38. As opposed to

electronic machinations.

[bahrbearian]

5. That won't fly in King county, Remember the WTO "Riots"

in Seattle.

[freeplessinseattle]

15. yeah, we have a progressive reputation, but definitely not freepless

contrary to my name, unfortunately. Remember how the police responded to the WTO protests? I was less than 2 blocks away when the whole melee started and was so lucky to have not been caught up in that chaos that the police only made worse and in most cases incited themeselves, with trigger happy cops shooting off tear gas and rubber pellets to anyone and eveeryone, some people were just out walking their dogs, or leaving work, but the police didn't give them near enough warning to clear out some had no idea what was going on or what direction they were supposed to go to, then the police id this silly "round weasel" I think they call it, just driving police cars rapidly around the streets with lights and sirens blaring, I felt bad for people there, they were soconfused, didn't know which direction to go, were threatened if they went in the wrong direction and not told where the hell to go. That was egg on the SPD's face for a long time. then the freakin' Mardi Gras riots a couple years back where police saw an innocent partier being beaten badly in the crowd but did nothing to help whatsoever, because *they didn't want to endanger the police*. I'm serious, that was the reason they let that poor man get beaten to death.

[bahrbearian]

21. Yes I hold the Seattle Police Responsible

they drew up a battle line to a legitimate protest.

[mondo joe]

36. The rioters weren't by and large from Seattle

And I'm proud of Seattle for that.

[Gman]

6. I wonder if they cited the nonprecedential BUSH v GORE???

The radical SCOTUS should be the ONLY court that would agree to an argument of equal protection.

Sounds like the WA GOP wants a judge to LEGISLATE what ballots can and cannot be counted.

[Cobalt Violet]

7. Repuke definitely don't like the idea of voting.

They are openly doing all they can to stop it. What is scary is to see the succeed so often.

[librechik]

8. they don't mind--al long as they get to count the votes! n/t

[HawkerHurricane]

11. "The power to vote is nothing, the power to count, everything"

J. Stalin.

"The power to decide which ones count is almost as good." - H. Hurricane

[dArKeR]

12. I worked King County, Seattle. Why do people vote repuke when they cheat

like this constantly? Is our country actually doomed because of idiot citizens unable to comprehend facts?

We had many voters who didn't darken enough the 'box' for their choice. It was the machine reader which couldn't detect the mark. Any human who looked at the ballot could instantly see the vote.

This is abosolutely disgraceful and I'm sure the republican party are Satans on Earth. Here to destroy America and the world.

The 'Good' forces left on Earth have to start labeling the Bush Crime Family party for what it is. "The republican Party of immorality" and this case proves it 100%.

[GetTheRightVote]

14. This is a black mark on our country, scrub's crime family

is taking over our country which use to be a democracy, lol, it is all getting pretty sad. I will not let myself be a subject for this kindom of Bush's. He is the dirt (sh**) beneath my foot. Is it not enough that the world hates him and he just wants to make sure we hate him too. Checking in, you are doing a good job of it schrub..........

[dArKeR]

24. Nethercutt had is daughter calling Murray a "liar." What kind of scum are

the repukes? Have your daughter on TV commercials saying dirty things for daddy! What a dirty old man. What an immoral valueless party! That's the word the Dems. have to get out. Look at the immorality of the repukes.

(His dauther looked 19, 20ish. Not an adult lesbian as Cheney's daughter.)

My last comment concerning the Christian Wrong. Since homosexuality is an act the devil/Satan. Since it's all agreed that homosexuality begins at birth it's contained in the DNA code. Thus Cheney is carrying the DNA of Satan. Thus why do Christian people vote for the party of Satan?

[George_S]

16. Damn humans!

Who the hell are they to get in the way of their machines.

Didn't Steven King write something about this?

[Zorra]

17. Machine voting and counting should be made un -Constitutional.

Voting should be done with hand marked paper ballots, counted and tallied simultaneously by one representative of each party with a stake in the respective election (under video surveillance), and should have instant concurrence between/among party aforementioned party representatives.

Too expensive or too slow a process?

I don't think so; the accuracy of vote counting and the legitimacy of elections is an essential component of establishing and preserving a democracy, and is worth any price.

Any process which leaves the casting of votes, and the counting of votes, suspect to fraud is unacceptable. The counting and casting of votes should be conducted as scrupulously as the most stringent banking process with the modifications necessary to transit from financial accounting to balloting, using the strictest ACCOUNTING methods possible.

We must make every effort to get our votes cast and counted accurately reasonable doubt of electoral mischief.

[anamandujano]

19. Wherever recounts are challenged or resisted by the GOP

might be a very good place to look for discoverable evidence of fraud. The party chair or other repuke brass most likely know the extent of the cheating and the level of the resistance is probably proportional to the level of fraud.

[DoYouEverWonder]

20. If they know they won

then shouldn't they be happy to count all the votes?

[Wordie]

22. Absolutely amazing!!! These guys trust machines more than PEOPLE!

<snip>
The ballots the Republicans want excluded include those rejected by a machine and checked over by hand. The party calls this process "human enhancement."

This is amazing. I can't believe they look at it that way. So when a machine makes a mistake, in their minds, that is just tough cookies?

<snip>
State GOP Chairman Chris Vance said Saturday evening that this hand-counting of ballots violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution in a way similar to vote counting problems in Florida after the 2000 presidential election.

Doesn't having machines make repeated ERRORS violate the equal protection clause in a much more meaningful way? I say we should go back entirely to hand counting. Use teams of four: two repubs and two dems, and somehow, make it so they don't KNOW who the vote is for when they have to decide whether any particular vote is a valid one. Like a double blind study, nobody would be able to cheat, because they wouldn't know how'.

[spotbird]

23. Based on Bush v. Gore this might work.

The only way there can be any recount is if every ballot in a state is cast in the same way, therefore any state with multiple voting systems can't have a recount.

You can't check to see if a chad was filled in correctly, or if the oval of an optical ballot is hanging or not. Unless everything is exactly the same there can be no equal protection.

What should the states do in response to this absurdity? Touchscreen voting of course.

I have to get out of this country.

[pa28]

25. The ballots in question.

Many have check-marks instead of filled in bubbles or were too lightly shaded to register on the machine. I'm sure if these ballots were located in Franklin county they would be screaming "count every vote".

Democracy is being killed by these people and nobody seems to notice.

[dArKeR]

27. Way too many people in WA smoke. I'm shocked. Even all around SU

Seattle University, young students smoking all over the place. I'm sure the US smoking rate is over the Whore Gov. published rate of 27%.

[stevedeshazer]

28. For a good "laugh", read this by Chris Vance, WAGOP chair

It is too soon to declare victory, but is certainly good to be ahead at this point! No statewide election has ever been overturned by a recount.

First, I want to thank everyone who worked so hard during the election as well as in the post-election period. We had an outpouring of volunteers working with the Rossi campaign and the State Party. These volunteers helped us track down those Republican voters and Rossi supporters who voted absentee and provisionally to make sure their vote counted. This effort continued to 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday. Overall, we turned in over 350 signatures of Rossi voters statewide.

The recount will begin this Saturday and is expected to end by Wednesday. We have been working with the Republican National Committee and the Rossi campaign to organize the staff that will cover the recount.

We know there are many of you who have questions about the election process. We have raised these questions ourselves. Rest assured that our legal team has been monitoring this closely and we will aggressively act to make sure this recount is fair and accurate.

Chairman Chris Vance

http://www.wsrp.org/


__________________________________________________________________

And they're trying to prevent votes from being counted?!

[confusa]

29. Some sense!

Well it looks like a bit of justice was indeed dealt today in favor of democracy.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?category=6420&slug=WA%20Governor%20Recount

Maybe there is some fight left after all.

Kick

[stevedeshazer]

30. Thanks!

That's worth a new thread. Since you can't start one yet, I'll do it for ya. Welcome.

On edit: Here it is... http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1010967

[newyawker99]

35. Hi confusa!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Supersedeas]

32. Equal Protection turned on its head...just another degression labeled

Progress by the Rethug spin-gollies.

Up is now down
Black is now white
and NOT counting votes is Equal Protection

[lthuedk]

33. "Human enhancement" (As opposed to "machine enhancement.")

[Zhade]

34. I thought Kerry conceding was supposed to prevent this kind of thing.

Guess that was pointless.

[mondo joe]

37. They only want to stop the recount in the most liberal county

Not the counties they expect to win in.