Article by a reporter who hand counted ballots in the Washington recount

[EQPlayer]

This is a GREAT article about how a hand recount should be done, with no ability for partisan interference. I especially like the quote from the Republican counter:

I'm so impressed with this system," McClellan said. "It's near impossible to corrupt, and it seems much more sensitive than a machine count. All the criticisms I hear about what we're doing are wrong."

It just goes to show that the Repukes continue to corrupt people's minds with their complaints about counting votes fairly. When are Democrats going to realize this is a REAL issue that people care about and either make it into a solid plank in their platform or get the laws fixed?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002123626_danny18.html

On a separate note, if Kerry is thinking about running again in 2008, he damn well better have some proposals to submit to Congress on January 3rd, 2005 to fix the voting problems in this country, or he will never get my vote.

[merh]

1. Thanks for the link

I like honest reporting, it is so rare and refreshing.

Welcome to DU. :hi:

[librechik]

2. thanks for the article--really cheered me up! n/t

[EQPlayer]

3. Glad to hear

it cheered you up! Now we just need to convince someone that this is the only valid way to count votes!

[IndyOp]

4. Way cool -- I really love the bipartisan cooperation described here...

"With all the recent news about uncounted votes and ballots being found in the side pockets of precinct machines, I expected a slipshod operation.

I was completely wrong. I am now convinced that in the counting of votes, humans are unquestionably superior to machines.

My team of three sorted and counted 5,544 votes during a nine-hour shift. We agreed unanimously — the Republican, the Democrat and I, the county worker — about who should get EVERY ONE of those votes."

Reminds me of the Harry Chapin song lyric -- "It's funny when you get that close, it's kind of hard to hate."

:bounce:

[BlueDog2u]

8. Washington State

Like Oregon, has a proud tradition of bipartisan political culture. Both states have produced some of the finest Republicans in the history of the party. Regretably, they are the sort who are unlikely to flourish under the present climate of BushCo. But it is good to hear that, at the grassroots at least, such Republicans still exist in Washington.

[IndyOp]

9. Thank you for letting me know...

It is too easy to fall into black/white patterns of thinking about social phenomena -- such as all state & national politicals is highly partisan -- when it isn't. We need to search out and hold up examples of real long-term bipartisan cooperation to let people know it isn't extinct and to show the good it can do.

:kick:

[BlueDog2u]

10. A story

Dan Evans used to be the Governor of Washington, before he became a senator. When I was an undergraduate at Evergreen State College 1978-81, Evans was the College President. He had been instrumental in its founding in the early 1970s, as a liberal/radical public college stressing interdisciplinary studies.

Evans was a liberal Republican who was smart enough to know that the radical energies of the 1960's needed an institutinal voice. He got behind Evergreen and it attracted some of the brightest young scholars of that generation.

Every year the wacko wingnuts of both parties from the Eastern part of the state tried to shut down the school, but Evans and other Republicans of vision recognized the school's value and protected and nurtured it.

I had considerable opportunity, at a small campus on which I was a college newspaper editor, to interact with Evans. Every interaction, including some in difficult circumstances, confirmed to me that he was a man of integrity.

[MarkusQ]

5. Thanks! (n/t)

[cyn2]

6. Thanks. Good article...

no head-splitting conclusions, but depiction of good honest work. It helps a lot.

[crispini]

7. Wow.

That IS a great article. thanks for sharing!

[Blue State Blues]

11. Makes me hopeful for democracy n/t

[GetTheRightVote]

12. After volunteering at the Ohio recount I needed to read an article like ..

this one, I really needed it. I am going to email my experience to Danny and thank him for sharing his own experience. What a difference in them and I believe in the hand count now as well.

My story:

They are only counting the precincts they have choosen rather then a random sample, they have it all figured out in the counties of Ohio, they are sand bagging us all with the set ups that they are controlling. I helped in the recount of Ohio and they only let us look at the precincts that they choose to let us research, they did not do a random selection as they were suppose to, nor did they let us look at the polling books, absentees and provisional ballots which would have helped us with verifing totals recorded by the counties. The Director where I assisted told us in fact that he did not want to use to many machines in the recount and wanted the closes precincts that would total to the 3% needed for the recount. This was a little fishy but along with this the poll workers who were helping in the recount effort did not seem to know how to take care of any problems concerning the scanners. After working the polls on election day you would think that they would be more then a little effienct with the machines but they were not. In fact, they complained about having to even do the recount and acted like it was a total waste of time and effort not that this was a Democracy at work. In fact they were upset to the point that they kept asking if this was the last time they would have to do any recounting since it was such a waste of time and effort, a very negative additude towards a recount for sure. The Deputy Director had to keep coming over to fix the machines for them, now how would this work during election day ??

The Director and Board also told us that if the voter did not vote in two federal electons sequencely that the voter would be dropped off of the registion list. This I found to be very disheartening but along with this issue I also saw overvotes where a voter had mark a candidate but then also wrote in the same candidate but this vote was not counted even though it was obvious to all who they were voting for, it was Bush, boo, but still it was an uncounted vote. We were told that there were not many of these kinds of votes and not to worry about them anyway, I was upset at the casual way these votes were dismissed by this board. I told them perhaps I was a little extreme but if a vote was obvious why not count it, and they had no answer for me but because the machine could not read it, how many other obvious votes were not counted because a machine could not count it ?? How many voters could not vote though they had not moved because they did not vote in the last two federal elections ?? Are these not examples of voter disenfranhisement ?? After my experiences these last few weeks, I am aware I do not live in a Democracy but a dictatorship of the many officials who run these elections for us right up to the top of the Republican party because they make up the rules. Are we going to allow this to continue and put flowers on the bed of Democracy's grave or fight to bring her up from the dead ??? I hope it is as obvious to you as it has become to me that our elections are manipulated by these self serving individuals.

I am one deeply concerned American Citizen.

[EQPlayer]

13. Thanks for sharing your experience

It seems to be these election workers are typical of a pattern in America -- a lack of personal ownership and responsibility in the job they are being paid to do. Ultimately, this will be the downfall of our great country. This sense of entitlement without any effort cannot last for any extended period of time.

The ultimate irony is that, while * talks about creating an "ownership" society, he is completely unwilling to take any ownership or personal responsibility for any of his actions. Tax cuts we can't afford? Well it helps the economy. Abu Ghraib? Poorly trained troops. (Well who exactly was responsible for training them, huh?) Iraq disaster? Well, who exactly is he blaming for that, or is he still refusing to see that one. OBL getting away in Tora Bora? Well, he wasn't really there. (Amazing how Tommy Franks gets a medal for revisionist history.)

The biggest problem is people are too lazy (or too busy working 2 jobs) to actually call him out on this crap. And those who do are quickly labeled patriotic. I blame the Democrats for this as much as I blame Fox News. We are WAY behing the 8-ball in terms of who a decent chunk of the country believes. Rove and Fox News have managed to convince these people that anything that comes out of the Democrats mouth that isn't consistent with what * says, is just wrong. The number 1 battle we have to fight is to re-open these people's minds to be willing to hear the truth. And it's going to be a touch battle, but if we don't win it, I weep for the country my children will inherit.