More evidence that Fraudida was not an anomaly but
rather what the Bush cabal has planned for our
future...BTW, he study that the US Civil Rights
Commission issued after the Theft of the 2000
Presidential Election is one of the most important
documents in US history. Of course, it was almost
wholly ignored by the "US mainstream news media" and
smeared and maligned by the "vast reich wing
conspiracy" that intimidates the "US mainstream news
media" and its propapunditgandists...The LNS has
stored hard copies of it in case it "disappears" from
the Internet...Remember, 2+2=4
Andrew Gumbel, Independent: The United States may be
on the way to another Florida-style presidential
election fiasco this year because legislation passed
to fix the system has either failed to address the
problems or has broken down because of missed
deadlines and unmet funding targets. Such is the
conclusion of a damning new report by the US
Commission on Civil Rights, a bipartisan government
body which previously looked into the Florida mess and
found alarming evidence of voter disenfranchisement
among poor and minority groups, incorrectly compiled
voter rolls and other glaring irregularities. "Many of
the problems that the commission previously cautioned
should be corrected yet prevail ... Unless the
government acts now, many of those previously
disenfranchised stand to be excluded again," the
report said.
Thwart the Theft of a Second US Presidential Election,
Show Up for Democracy in 2004: Defeat Bush (again!)
http://news.independent.co.uk/low_res/story.jsp?story=513967&host=3&dir=70
US heading for another election fiasco as reforms fail
By Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles
22 April 2004
The United States may be on the way to another
Florida-style presidential election fiasco this year
because legislation passed to fix the system has
either failed to address the problems or has broken
down because of missed deadlines and unmet funding
targets. Such is the conclusion of a damning new
report by the US Commission on Civil Rights, a
bipartisan government body which previously looked
into the Florida mess and found alarming evidence of
voter disenfranchisement among poor and minority
groups, incorrectly compiled voter rolls and other
glaring irregularities. "Many of the problems that the
commission previously cautioned should be corrected
yet prevail ... Unless the government acts now, many
of those previously disenfranchised stand to be
excluded again," the report said.
The commission's criticisms focused on the failure to
implement President George Bush's Help America Vote
Act (Hava), passed in October 2002, which promised
$4bn (£2.3bn) to help states overhaul antiquated
voting machinery - notably the notorious punchcard
devices that caused so much trouble in Florida - and
sought to set up a nationwide system of provisional
voting for people who believe they have a right to
vote but find themselves omitted from the official
list.
It said that out of 22 key deadlines that have come
and gone since the act's passage, only five have been
met. Most seriously, an oversight committee designed
to advise states on streamlining their voting
procedures and implementing the act's provisions was
not appointed until last December, 11 months behind
schedule. Most states are unlikely to make reforms
before the presidential election on 2 November.
In addition, the Bush White House has consistently
proposed less money than promised by the act, so
states that have passed their own reform legislation
have found themselves crucially short of money for
implementation.
On signing the act 18 months ago, Mr Bush said: "When
problems arise in the administration of elections we
have a responsibility to fix them. Every registered
voter deserves to have confidence that the system is
fair and elections are honest, that every vote is
recorded, and that the rules are consistently
applied."
Almost half of the states have requested exemptions
from updating their voting equipment, and 41 out of 50
have requested extensions until 2006 to consolidate
voter registration lists at state level so they can
more easily be checked for accuracy. "It will be
difficult if not impossible for states to build the
necessary election infrastructure by November," it
concluded.
The commission report can only heighten the anxieties
of an electorate already alarmed by a growing
controversy over touchscreen voting machines being
introduced - with Hava money - in many parts of the
South and West. The machines make meaningful recounts
impossible and rely on software developed by companies
with strong ties to President Bush and his Republican
Party. California is expected to decide this week
whether to decertify its touchscreen machines.
The debate over the health of America's electoral
procedures is turning into a partisan fight, with
Republicans dismissing the concerns as Democratic
politicking unworthy of serious examination. When the
Commission on Civil Rights convened an expert panel in
Washington this month to discuss its report, the
Republican Party delegation walked out before the
proceedings began, one panel participant, Rebecca
Mercuri, a Harvard University voting machinery expert,
said.
In Florida during the 2000 election, thousands of
eligible, predominantly black, voters were erroneously
identified as former felons and purged from the voter
rolls by a private company hired by Katherine Harris,
who acted as the state's top electoral official and
also as co-chair of George Bush's state campaign
committee.
Also in Americas
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