Poor-quality ink letting Afghans vote more than once

[Judi Lynn]

Saturday, October 09, 2004
Poor-quality ink letting Afghans vote more than once

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Poor-quality ink that can easily be rubbed off may be allowing some voters in Afghanistan's first direct presidential election to cast more than one ballot, causing a headache for election workers and an uproar among candidates who say it will lead to cheating. The problem surfaced at polling stations in Kabul and the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, but could be a problem across this nation of 25 million people, who have almost no experience in organising an election.

"It is a mistake. I hope it won't be an issue in all the centers, but we are investigating,'' said electoral commission spokesman Aykut Tavsel.

About 10.5 million registration cards were handed out ahead of the election, a staggering number that even U.N. and Afghan officials acknowledge was inflated by widespread double registration.

Human rights groups say some people obtained four or five voter cards, thinking they would be able to use them to receive humanitarian aid.
Vote organisers had argued that the indelible ink would prevent people from voting twice, even if they had more than one card. But voters in many parts of Kabul showed reporters how easy it was to rub off the ink.
(snip/...)

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/10/9/latest/19244Poorquali&sec=latest

[SoCalDem]

1. So... Karzai wins with a margin of 50 million votes

:)

[Eye and Monkey]

2. +/- 3% margin of error

:evilgrin:

[daleo]

3. This ink will soon make its appearance in Florida

But only in strongly Republican areas.

[necso]

4. Many people,

before the election, thought that there were way too many registered voters, and expected significant fraud.

The BBC (I think) did some interviews with some of the major players (or their spokesmen) and it isn't out of the question that it could get real ugly if the election is seen as rigged.

The timing of this election is all about American politics -- it is too early -- and it is too questionable. And it is also a move with some risk-- not that we will hear much about anything "unpleasant" happening in the aftermath.