FEWER THAN 2/3-US, Mex & Italy Had Confidence In Accurate Vote Counts

[kpete]

Doubts about vote count strong in U.S. By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer
Thu Oct 19, 2:29 AM ET

WASHINGTON - Count on close, contentious elections to stir up public distrust in the vote count.

That could be why people in the United States, Italy and Mexico had the lowest levels of confidence in the vote count among nine countries in AP-Ipsos polling taken just weeks before the U.S. midterm elections. Fewer than two-thirds in each of the three countries said they were confident the vote count would be accurate.

That's lower than in the other countries polled — Canada, France, Germany, South Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom, where three-fourths or more in each country felt the vote count is accurate.

"If we're going to have an effective democracy, we can't lose confidence in the institutions that deal with the votes," said Gabriel Nunez, a 39-year-old sales clerk in Mexico City.

In Mexico, Italy and the United States, recent contested elections left one side feeling cheated.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061019/ap_on_el_ge/democracy_ap_poll;_ylt=AnUYdR03gyF6NJwW_fsikq_MWM0F;_ylu=X3oDMTA3OXIzMDMzBHNlYwM3MDM-