After the November 2, 2004 election in the United States, concerns were raised, by some democrats, about various aspects of the voting process, including whether voting had been made accessible to all those entitled to vote (and no one else), and whether the votes cast had been correctly counted. More controversial was the charge that these issues might have affected the reported outcome of the presidential election, in which the incumbent, Republican President George W. Bush, defeated the Democratic challenger, Senator John Kerry. There was generally less attention paid to the Senate and House elections and to various state races, but some of them were also questioned. November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 59 days remaining. ... This article is about the political process. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... The United States Senate is the upper house of the U.S. Congress, smaller than the United States House of Representatives. ... John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Elections to the 109th United States House of Representatives were held on November 2, 2004. ... A U.S. state is any one of the 50 states which have membership of the federation known as the United States of America (USA or U.S.). The separate state governments and the U.S. federal government share sovereignty. ...

Kerry himself conceded the presidential election to Bush on November 3. Some of his supporters criticized him for doing so, arguing that Bush's apparent win in Ohio was so narrow that it might be reversed if improprieties were corrected and the still-uncounted provisional ballots were largely in Kerry's favor. A subsequent partial recount in Ohio did not significantly reduce Bush's victory margin there. (Some of the alleged improprieties in the election could not be addressed by a recount.) There is an ongoing debate about possible changes for future elections. November 3 is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 58 days remaining. ... State nickname: The Buckeye State Other U.S. States Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Governor Bob Taft Official languages None Area 116,096 km² (34th)  - Land 106,154 km²  - Water 10,044 km² (8. ... In U.S. elections, when someone shows up at a polling place to cast a vote, but is not on the list of people who may vote there (is not registered in that precinct, or his registation is otherwise invalid or inaccurate), he may be allowed to cast a provisional...

Among the issues raised in 2004 were:

• Obstacles to voter registration.
• Improper purges of voter lists.
• Deliberate voter suppression.
• Practical impediments to voting, such as excessively long lines.
• Accuracy and reliability of voting machines, especially those employing electronic voting.
• Other inaccuracies in the official count of votes cast on Election Day, whether through carelessness or deliberate tampering.
• Problems with absentee ballots and provisional ballots.

Specific issues concerning the voting process

Voter registration

Facilitating voter registration was the main goal of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. States were required to make registration more widely available, notably through driver's license agencies (hence the nickname "Motor Voter Act"). In 2004, however, there were incidents in several states in which people who had submitted registration forms through a motor vehicle agency were not found on the voter rolls on Election Day. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993, commonly known as Motor Voter, was signed into effect by President Clinton on May 20, 1993. ... Driving licences within the European Union are subdivided in different categories. ...

There were also complaints about the rejection of registrations by government agencies. College students encountered difficulties in registering where they attended school. [1] (http://www.dailyiowan.com/news/2004/09/20/Opinions/Disenfranchising.Youth.Minorities-723650.shtml) Some officials rejected voter registration forms on grounds that were contested, such as a failure to use paper of a particular weight (Ohio) or a failure to check a box on the form (Florida). State nickname: Everglade State, Sunshine State Other U.S. States Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Governor Jeb Bush Official languages English Area 170,451 km² (22nd)  - Land 137,374 km²  - Water 30,486 km² (17. ...

Aside from such official actions, there were disputes about other voter registration activities. In Nevada and Oregon, a company hired by the Republican National Committee solicited voter registration forms, but was accused of filing only the Republicans’ forms and shredding those completed by Democrats. [2] (http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2421595&nav=168XRvNe) A nonprofit organization, ACORN, was accused of submitting false voter registration forms and of carelessly or deliberately failing to submit some valid ones that it had received. [3] (http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20041018-093522-3974r) State nickname: Silver State, Battle Born State (official) Other U.S. States Capital Carson City Largest city Las Vegas Governor Kenny Guinn Official languages None Area 286,367 km² (7th)  - Land 284,396 km²  - Water 1,971 km² (0. ... State nickname: Beaver State Other U.S. States Capital Salem Largest city Portland Governor Ted Kulongoski Official languages None Area 255,026 km² (9th)  - Land 248,849 km²  - Water 6,177 km² (2. ... The Republican National Committee (RNC) of the United States provides national leadership for the United States Republican Party. ... ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is the largest community organization of low and moderate-income families in the United States. ...

Purges of voter lists

State efforts to purge voter rolls have led to disputes, notably in Florida. Before the 2000 election, Florida officials purged scores of thousands of registered voters on the grounds that they were convicted felons (and therefore ineligible under Florida law). Many of those whose names were purged were "false positives" (not actually felons). (See Florida Central Voter File.) A post-election lawsuit brought by the NAACP, the People for the American Way Foundation, and other organizations resulted in a settlement in 2002 in which the state agreed to restore eligible voters to the rolls and take other steps to improve election procedures. [4]  (http://www.naacpldf.org/content.aspx?article=80) [5]  (http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=4206) This article needs cleanup. ... The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, is one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States. ... People for the American Way Foundation is the charitable arm of People for the American Way, a progressive advocacy organization in the United States. ...

The issue returned to prominence in 2004 when Florida announced another planned purge, again based on a list of felons. The state government initially attempted to keep the list secret. When a court ordered its release, it was found to contain mostly Democrats, and a disproportionate number of racial minorities. [6] (http://www.tampatribune.com/MGBOPBXS5WD.html) Faced with media documentation that the list included thousands of errors, the state abandoned the attempt to use it. [7]  (http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/9298887.htm) Some of the voters improperly purged in 2000 had not been restored as of May of 2004. [8]  (http://www.votelaw.com/blog/archives/001835.html)

Voter suppression

The term "voter suppression" is used to describe methods of discouraging or impeding people from voting. The government agency or private entity doing so believes that the would-be voters thus turned away would have been more likely to vote for an opponent. For example, Representative Dennis Kucinich described voter suppression in his state, Ohio: The House of Representatives is the larger of two houses that make up the U.S. Congress, the other being the United States Senate. ... Dennis John Kucinich (born October 8, 1946) is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, for the 10th District of Ohio ( map). ...

Dirty tricks occurred across the state, including phony letters from Boards of Elections telling people that their registration through some Democratic activist groups were invalid and that Kerry voters were to report on Wednesday because of massive voter turnout. Phone calls to voters giving them erroneous polling information were also common. [9]  (http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1110-31.htm)

Political parties generally pay lip service to the ideal of encouraging turnout. Occasionally, however, an incautious but revealing comment is publicized, as when a Republican state legislator in Michigan said, "If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we're going to have a tough time in this election cycle." [10]  (http://www.freep.com/voices/columnists/eholl27_20040727.htm)

Practical impediments

In every election, some voters encounter practical impediments to voting, such as long lines at the polling place. In 2004, however, the issue received increased attention. In many places, some voters had to wait several hours to vote. Among the factors thought to be at work were: the general increase in voter turnout; a particular increase in first-time voters whose processing required more time; and confusion about the providing of provisional ballots, which many states had never used before.

In addition, some of the instances may have been caused, in whole or in part, by a form of voter suppression. Many previous elections have seen charges that a governing party allocated more voting machines or otherwise facilitated voting in areas where it was strong, while doing the opposite in the opposing party’s bastions. That issue arose again in 2004. There were also allegations of delays caused by such tactics as frequent challenges of voters, or even police roadblocks set up to impede access to certain polling places.

Electronic voting machines

Before 2004, the increasing use of electronic voting machines had raised several issues:

• Software. An electronic voting machine could produce an incorrect report of the votes if its software contains a bug that causes such a malfunction or leaves the machine vulnerable to deliberate manipulation. Government agencies buying the machines were often denied access to the software by the manufacturer. Even when the software was available for review, there were concerns that the agencies lacked the technical expertise to find problems or to monitor changes to the software.
• Voter verification. A voter using a paper ballot, a punch-card ballot, or an older lever-type voting machine has much greater ability to ensure that his or her vote has been recorded accurately.
• Recounts. A recount of an electronic voting machine is not a recount in the traditional sense. The machine will simply re-report the same total.
• Partisan ties. Democrats noted the Republican or conservative ties of several leading executives in the companies providing the machines.

The 2004 election brought new attention to these issues. In particular, many critics of electronic voting machines pointed to widespread discrepancies between exit polls conducted during Election Day and the officially reported results. They argued that the official results were more favorable to Bush than were the polls, and that these discrepancies were more likely to arise where electronic voting machines were in use and/or in swing states. They concluded that the exit polls showing a Kerry victory were probably correct and that the official totals from the machines were wrong. Expert opinion was divided concerning what implications should be drawn from the cited discrepancies. A computer bug is an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program that prevents it from working correctly or produces an incorrect result. ... An exit poll is an opinion poll taken after voters have exited the polling stations and is designed to give an early indication as to how an election has turned out as the actual result may take hours to count (such as in UK General Elections) and are usually done... In United States presidential politics, a swing state (also, battleground state) is a state in which no candidate has overwhelming support, meaning that any of the major candidates have a reasonable chance of winning the states electoral college votes. ...

Other inaccuracies on Election Day

In the 2000 election, especially in the disputed recounts in Florida, there were issues concerning the ambiguities and uncertainties that arose from punch-card ballots, such as the hanging chads (incompletely punched holes). In 2004, the punch-card ballots were still widely used in some states. For example, more than 90,000 votes cast in Ohio were discounted, many because of hanging chads. [11] (http://www.cleveland.com/election/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/109956457262001.xml) Map The U.S. presidential election of 2000 took place on Election Day, Tuesday, November 7. ... State nickname: Everglade State, Sunshine State Other U.S. States Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Governor Jeb Bush Official languages English Area 170,451 km² (22nd)  - Land 137,374 km²  - Water 30,486 km² (17. ... Chads are paper particles created when holes are made in a computer punched tape or punch card. ...

Provisional and absentee ballots

Provisional ballots are for would-be voters who assert that they are registered but whose names cannot be found in the list available at the polling place. The voter completes a written ballot, which is placed in a sealed envelope. The ballot is opened and counted only if the voter is subsequently found to be registered.

In 2004, there was contention over the standards for determining whether to count provisional ballots. In several states, officials said that they would not count provisional ballots, even those from properly registered voters, that were submitted at the wrong precinct. In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, although the original procedure had stated that the voter was not required to provide a date of birth, a new rule issued a week after the election called for rejecting any provisional ballot that lacked a date of birth. [12]  (http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/3/2004/985) Cuyahoga County is a county located in the state of Ohio. ...

Absentee ballots were also an issue. There were reports of absentee ballots being mailed out too late for most voters to complete and return them in time. (In some instances, officials argued that last-minute litigation over Ralph Nader’s ballot status or other issues had prevented them from finalizing the absentee ballots as early as they wanted to.) In Broward County, Florida, some 58,000 absentee ballots were delivered to the Postal Service to be mailed to voters, according to county election officials, but the Postal Service said it had never received them. [13] (http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/nation/10032170.htm) Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (born February 27, 1934) is an activist attorney who opposes the power of large corporations and has worked for decades on environmental, consumer rights, and pro-democracy issues. ... Location of county in the state of Florida County Seat Fort Lauderdale, Florida Area  - Total  - Water 3,418 km² (1,320 Population  - Total (2000)  - Density   1,623,018 520/km² (1,346/mi²) Time zone Eastern: UTC_5 Latitude Longitude 26°728 N 80°1458 W External link: Official... A USPS Truck at Night A U.S. Post Office sign The United States Postal Service (USPS) is the United States government organization responsible for providing postal service in the United States and is generally referred to as the post office. ...

Racial discrimination and other bias

Some of the issues described above have created problems for voters generally. Others, however, by accident or (it is charged) by design, have disproportionately affected racial minorities. For example, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights determined that, in Florida in 2000, 54 percent of the ballots discarded as "spoiled" were cast by African Americans, who were only 11 percent of the voters. [14]  (http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/vote2004/elect04.pdf) People for the American Way and the NAACP catalogued a number of voting problems with discriminatory impacts through early 2004 in this report (http://www.naacp.org/inc/pdf/jimcrow.pdf), with a subsequent update  (http://www.naacp.org/news/2004/2004-11-01.doc). African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or black Americans, are an ethnic group in the United States of America whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan and West Africa. ... People for the American Way (PFAW) is a prominent liberal advocacy organization in the United States, founded by television producer Norman Lear in 1980. ...

The 2004 election continued the well-established trend that African Americans were much more likely to vote for Democratic candidates. As a result, a disproportionate reduction in the African-American vote would tend to hurt the Democrats. Beyond that factor, many Democrats alleged that other election-related problems affected their supporters more heavily. Some argued that, if the election had been conducted without improprieties, Kerry would have won the presidency. [15]  (http://www.tompaine.com/articles/kerry_won.php)

Recounts

Ralph Nader filed a request for a recount of the presidential votes in New Hampshire with that state's Secretary of State. Nader's request cited "irregularities in the vote reported on the AccuVote Diebold Machines in comparison to exit polls and trends in voting in New Hampshire" and added: "These irregularities favor President George W. Bush by 5 percent to 15 percent over what was expected." [16] (http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showfast.html?article=46674) As one of the candidates on the ballot, Nader had the right to demand a recount, but was required to pay for it (because he lost by more than 1 percent of the vote). Based on the payment submitted by the Nader campaign, the state agreed to begin a partial recount. State nickname: The Granite State Other U.S. States Capital Concord Largest city Manchester Governor John Lynch Official languages English Area 24,239 km² (46th)  - Land 23,249 km²  - Water 814 km² (3. ...

In Ohio, two minor-party candidates, Michael Badnarik (Libertarian) and David Cobb (Green, though not on the ballot in Ohio) cooperated in requesting a recount. Their joint press release cited "numerous press and independent reports of voter intimidation, mis-marked and discarded ballots, problems with electronic voting machines and disenfranchisement -- apparently by design -- of African-American voters." [17] (http://www.sierratimes.com/04/11/11/Presidential_Candidates_To_Demand_Ohio_Recount.htm) A partial statewide recount occurred after the certification of election results in early December, but it did not significantly change the results. [18] (http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/special_packages/election2004/10194829.htm). Legally binding recount begun December 13, 2004 (http://www.votecobb.org/) Badnarik accepting the presidential nomination in May 2004 at the Libertarian National Convention in Atlanta. ... The Libertarian Party is a United States political party created in 1971. ... David Cobb David Keith Cobb (born 1963, San Leon, Texas) is an American lawyer and activist, and was the 2004 presidential candidate of the Green Party of the United States (GPUS). ... Categories: Government stubs ...

Around the country there were also recounts of races for state and local office. Most of them reflected simply the closeness of the official tally, but some also raised issues of election irregularities. These included the elections for:

• Governor of Washington, between Dino Rossi and Christine Gregoire. After a statewide recount, the candidates were separated in vote totals by only 42 votes out of 2.8 million cast.
• North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture, between Britt Cobb and Steve Troxler. The number of votes lost due to a voting machine malfunction in Carteret County (over 4,000) exceed the reported margin of about 2,000. A new election has been called by state election supervisors.
• Governor of Puerto Rico, between Anibal Acevedo Vilá and Pedro Rosselló. Nearly 30,000 ballots are in dispute in this race, where the two candidates are separated by just under 4,000 votes.

As of mid-December 2004, all these races still face legal challenges and neither candidate has conceded defeat. This is a list of governors of the U.S. state of Washington. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Governor Christine Gregoire Christine Chris OGrady Gregoire (born March 24, 1947) is the Democratic governor of the U.S. State of Washington. ... Categories: Stub ... Steve Troxler is a tobacco farmer and the Republican Commissioner of Agriculture for the U.S. state of North Carolina, sworn in February 8, 2005 after an extended election dispute following the November 2004 statewide election. ... Carteret County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Seal of the Governor of Puerto Rico The Governor of Puerto Rico is the Head of Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. ... Aníbal Acevedo Vilá (born February 13, 1962) is the eighth and current democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico. ... Pedro Juan Rosselló González (born April 5, 1944) was the sixth democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. ...

External links

• "Election Law" (http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/) - litigation analysis and documents
• Election Incident Reporting System (https://voteprotect.org/) - maintained by Election Protection
• "Vote Watch 2004" (http://vote2004.eriposte.com/) - information and links about many incidents (pro-Kerry viewpoint)