Ohio Recount is over and gues what, Bush still wins by over 118,000 votes!!

[Andrew]

That 285 vote gain for Kerry is going to cost the Ohio taxpayers 1.5 million dollars.  I hope the Greens and Liberterians are proud of themselves. 

There is no evidence that the recount cost anything like that.  That estimate was based on the idea that there would be hand recounts.  Almost all of the counties ignored the legally required recount procedures; as a result, almost all of the votes were recounted by machine.  At least one county board indicated that the $10 per precinct would be more than enough to cover the cost--and any extra money goes into the counties' general funds.

The $1.5 million is what you call a "talking point."

Oh, and for what it's worth, no Greens or Libertarians served in the Ohio legislature that wrote the law requiring only $10 per precinct for a recount--and no Greens or Libertarians have served in the legislatures that have chosen not to revise that law in the years since it was enacted.

[Andrew]

Two responses:

1.  Ohio was targeted because of the many reports of irregularities there.

2.  Ohio was not singled out.  Efforts have been made in New Mexico, Nevada, New Hampshire, Georgia, Florida, and elsewhere.  They are still in court in New Mexico, trying to get the recount underway.

[Andrew]

In Alabama's recount of the Amendment 2 (to remove segregationist language from the Constitution) vote, the totals changed from 691,300 NO - 689,450 YES to 690,376 NO - 688,530 YES.  The margin decreased by only four, but the total votes decreased by 1844.

Why do we tolerate a system in which we get such large-scale changes each time the votes are counted?  We wouldn't tolerate our banks doing such a half-assed job.

[Andrew]

What about the tire slashing in Wisconsin.

Apparently, tires on about 20 cars that Republicans were planning to use to take voters to the polls were slashed.  The good news is that Republican volunteers offered up their own cars for the party to use.  Although it is not known who slashed the tires, a local Democratic party spokesman specifically condemned the tire-slashing.

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I don't know what you are saying here.

[Andrew]

Perhaps we should start agatating about voter supression and Bush really won WI and doesn't need OH.  :-)

If you really believe that there was voter suppression and/or election fraud in Wisconsin, then you should.

I don't think you get it:  fair elections/voting rights/election fraud is not a partisan issue.

Unfortunately, it seems that most Democrats and virtually all Republicans don't care about it.