The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.

Parent article: 2004 U.S. presidential election controversy

After the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, there were many allegations of fraud including, but not limited to, forging of vote totals, miscounting of votes for one candidate as votes for another, widespread voter intimidation, and irregularities with the distribution of voting machines. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... (Redirected from 2004 U.S. presidential election controversy) Introduction After the 2004 U.S. presidential election there were allegations of data irregularities and systematic flaws which may have changed the election result, if proven. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ...

Voter registration

Map of election controversies in the U.S.

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”). 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. ...

There were also complaints about the rejection of registrations by government agencies. College students encountered difficulties in registering where they attended school. [1] Some officials rejected voter registration forms on grounds that were contested, such as a failure to use paper of a particular weight (Ohio)[2] or a failure to check a box on the form (Florida).[3]

Aside from such official actions, there were disputes about other voter registration activities. A nonprofit organization supporting Democrat candidates, ACORN, was accused of submitting false voter registration forms and of carelessly or deliberately failing to submit some valid ones that it had received. [4] Acorns of Sessile Oak The acorn is the fruit of the oak tree (genera Quercus, Lithocarpus and Cyclobalanopsis, in the family Fagaceae). ...

In Nevada and Oregon, a company hired by the Republican Party solicited voter registration forms, but was accused of filing only the Republicans’ forms and discarding those completed by Democrats. [5] This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Official language(s) None Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 9th  - Total 98,466 sq mi (255,026 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 2. ...

KLAS-TV reports on voter registration companies whose "bosses trashed registration forms filled out by Democratic voters because they only wanted to sign up Republican voters":

"Russell worked for a company called Voters Outreach of America ... [He] says he got into a beef with the company over a pay dispute, and witnessed his bosses ripping up registration forms that had been filed by Democrats. "They were thrown away in the trash. I grabbed them out..." Russell doesn't know how many democratic registrations were tossed in the trash but guesses the number could be very high since Voters Outreach of America operated in Las Vegas for more than two months.

The FBI confirms that it is gathering information about the case but stopped short of calling it an investigation ... Nevada Democrats came out swinging Wednesday. "Most disturbing is that Voter Outreach of America is being paid by the National Republican Party and we ask how can people have faith in government if a national party is involved in trickery in depriving people the right to vote," said Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates. Local party officials said there is no way the GOP would instruct the company to trash democratic registrations.

However, similar problems have been alleged elsewhere. In Washoe County, the registrar says he too has turned over information to the FBI about Republican backed registration efforts. In Oregon, the same company that was operating here has been criticized for its tactics in signing up voters. There, it used the name America Votes, which is actually the name of a Democratic organization. Employees in Las Vegas say they too were told that the name of the company was America Votes. "They confused us with the name. They told us one thing and told the temp force something else. They told us America Votes," Russell said.

Russell was a disgruntled employee. He admits that if he had been paid, he probably wouldn't have talked. Even so, discrediting him doesn't explain the existence of the trashed registration forms.

Voter registration in Ohio

Above is a map of voting registration incidents reported to the EIRS. The two red counties (over 100 incidents), are Cuyahoga and Delaware.

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has botched the registrations of more than 10,000 voters, preventing them from heading to the ballot box next week, according to a lawsuit filed late Monday.

The Citizens Alliance for Secure Elections, the Alliance of Cleveland HUD Tenants and seven residents sued the board in federal court and claimed election board employees failed to enter new registrations on voter rolls, update changes sent in by voters and enter addresses correctly...

...On Sept. 17, there were more than 10,000 names on the list. As of Monday, the suit claims, few errors have been corrected. [6]

Mr Arnebeck said that hearings held in Ohio cities have brought to light new evidence of malpractice. He said one voter of a pro-Republican group caught destroying Democratic registration documents in Nevada before the election, had also been operating in Ohio. [7]

2004 us election, ohio registration problems File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... 2004 us election, ohio registration problems File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Absentee ballots

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.) The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (born February 27, 1934) is an American attorney and political activist. ...

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. [8] Broward County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. ... A previous USPS logo The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent establishment of the executive branch of the United States government (see ) responsible for providing postal service in the United States; it is generally referred to within the United States as the post office. ...

In one widely reported instance, 5 Princeton University students (Theo Ellis, Luke Goodwin, Kelsey Johnson, Alison Hess, and Katharine Brandes) drove 40 consecutive hours from New Jersey to Florida and back in order to vote. Hess, who lived in the affected region, had never received the absentee ballot she applied for months in advance. The students rallied behind their friend, leaving at 11PM the night before the Presidential election to take her to vote in person in Florida. Numerous Get out the vote groups used the students' tale as an example to encourage other youths to exercise their right to vote; one Democratic-activist group allegedly reimbursed the 5 students for their gas expense.[9] Get out the vote, sometimes GOTV, is a term used to describe two categories of political activity, both aimed at increasing the number of votes cast in one or more elections. ...

Absentee ballots and Diebold (Postal issues)

The handling and processing of absentee ballots can be, and has been, subcontracted out. This is deemed a "high risk" fraud issue [10], since at the point of sorting, there is no auditable prior knowledge of the number of ballots received.

The prison release documents of Jeff Dean (Diebold) state that he was employed by Postal Services Inc (PSI), the company which counted these votes. The job was later subcontracted to Diebold's mail division, which he ran before passing it on to John Elder, another felon he met in prison. (See related article on Diebold management) After the 2004 U.S. presidential election there were allegations of data irregularities and systematic flaws which may have affected the outcome of both the presidential and local elections. ...

"There are two ways to manipulate absentee election results if an unscrupulous person gains access to the mail sorting process:

• Vote suppression — Lose outgoing ballots to a portion of voters in key precincts, forcing them to call and ask for a replacement ballot.
• Vote reduction — Lose or replace incoming ballots for a portion of voters in key precincts.

"PSI ... initially sorted just outgoing ballots, but now also sorts the incoming ballots. PSI Group employees have access to the most high-risk attack point for absentee ballot security. Though King County may claim that it employs an audit method, counting the ballots received before they go out to PSI Group, in fact they are unable to do this consistently. ... on some days up to 60,000 ballots at a time arrive, and King County is not staffed to do this. Therefore any ballots that disappear will have no audit trail."

Source: [11]

Misdirection of voters

• Voters were told to vote at different locations than was correct.
• Fliers were sent advising voters that different ID was required, or that they were not able to vote, or that criminal records would be checked.
• Voters in some areas were told that their voting day was two days later on Nov. 4, after the election. [12]

These measures appear to have impacted disproportionately on ethnic minorities such as Afro-American voters, who are more likely to be Democratic voters.

One instance of calling voters with erroneous polling information triggered a lawsuit filed by the Ohio Republican party against the Ohio Democratic Party, Greene County Democratic Party and ACT Ohio, a 527 political action committee. The suit claimed that Democrats misinformed Republicans about the date of the election and told them certain documentation would be needed to vote. A temporary restraining order was issued.[13] The Democratic Party chair for that county acknowledged that mistakes may have happened, but said that Democrats had made no attempt to mislead voters.

Provisional 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 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...

In 2004, there was contention over the standards for determining whether to count provisional ballots. In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, although the original procedure had stated that the voter was not required to provide a date of birth, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell had issued a ruling disqualifying a provisional ballot if date of birth is not written on the envelope [14], but ultimately, that ruling was cancelled. [15] [16] John Kenneth Blackwell John Kenneth Blackwell (born February 28, 1948), currently serves as the secretary of state for the U.S. state of Ohio and is the Republican nominee for Governor of Ohio in the 2006 election. ...

Lawsuit: Democratic Party v. Blackwell

Ohio passed a law saying that provisional ballots cast at the wrong precinct would go uncounted. This was part of a contentious pre-election lawsuit. Ken Blackwell, who is the Secretary of State as well as the chair of the Ohio Bush/Cheney campaign, was in favor of the precinct rule. Democrats wanted provisional ballots to be accepted at any precinct in the same county, in accordance with federal law (HAVA, Sec. 302). John Kenneth Blackwell John Kenneth Blackwell (born February 28, 1948), currently serves as the secretary of state for the U.S. state of Ohio and is the Republican nominee for Governor of Ohio in the 2006 election. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Blackwell announced that, in keeping with Ohio State election law, any person who appeared at a polling place to vote but whose registration could not be confirmed would be given only a provisional ballot. If it was later determined that the voting took place in the wrong precinct, even if in the correct city, even if in the correct building where many precinct tables were located, the ballot would not be counted in any election totals. The Democratic party immediately filed a lawsuit charging that the policy was "chaotic" and "intended to disenfranchise minority voters", and claiming that it violated federal election law. [17] 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...

On October 21, 2004, U.S. District Court Judge James G. Carr issued an order rejecting Blackwell's policy. He stated, "Blackwell apparently seeks to accomplish the same result in Ohio in 2004 that occurred in Florida in 2000." (Redirected from 2004 U.S. presidential election controversy) Introduction After the 2004 U.S. presidential election there were allegations of data irregularities and systematic flaws which may have changed the election result, if proven. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ...

Blackwell immediately appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. Joining him in the appeal as a citizen intervener was Thomas Noe who would become the key figure in Coingate. The Appeals Court reversed the District Court decision on October 26, 2004. (pdf)(pdf) In accordance with the Appeals Court ruling, none of the provisional ballots cast in the wrong precincts were counted in Ohio's 2004 elections. Thomas W. Noe, (B.1955), is a longtime resident of Toleda, Ohio[1] is currently† a member of the Ohio government in the United States and has had an impressive array of jobs and positions within the government of Ohio and even the federal government. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Composition

In Ohio, provisional ballots were more likely to happen in Democratic counties. Details in Ohio Provisional Composition. This could be because Democrats were targeted, but it could also be explained by Democrats being more likely to have inaccurate registration data (for instance, due to moving more often). But it also means that provisional ballots are expected to benefit Kerry. If provisional ballots merely mirror the vote breakdowns in their respective counties, Kerry would make up about 300 votes. But most expectations were for him to make up several thousand votes, since the majority of provisional ballots might have been in certain Dem-heavy precincts in those counties.

Counting

Provisional ballot counting in Ohio began Saturday November 13 and finished, by law within 4 days. The number of provisional ballots was greater than the vote difference between the two leading candidates. Most of the challenges were made by supporters of the Republican candidate.

Lawsuit: PFAW v. Blackwell

One third (33%) of the 24,472 provisional ballots cast in Cuyahoga County, Ohio (8,099) were thrown out. The norm in Ohio is 9%. On November 27, People for the American Way filed a lawsuit seeking to have provisional ballots re-examined. [18] [19] The suit demands that provisional ballots be accepted regardless of the precinct they were filed in, in accordance with Ohio state law, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and HAVA (Sec. 302) and that registration be checked against voter registration cards, rather than just electronic voting lists. The United States Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed requiring would-be voters to take literacy tests and provided for federal registration of African American voters in areas that had less than 50% of eligible voters registered. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Voting machine shortages

Election incidents reportedly involving long lines Source: EIRS

Long lines at voting stations are suggested by some as a way in which voting was selectively suppressed. By making it more time consuming to vote, voting is claimed to have been deterred more in some locations than others, and that the impact was to selectively deter voters in high-population areas which were known to be principally Democratic. EIRS information - # of long lines incidents, 2004 election Source: EIRS File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... EIRS information - # of long lines incidents, 2004 election Source: EIRS File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Long lines, though seemingly benign, were a problem with the 2004 election. In many places, lines were over 6 hours long. Two causes contributed to this:

• Precincts being given insufficient ballots.
• Precincts not being allocated enough voting machines.

These two factors influence the saturation point of voting stations. Number of machines * Max. votes per hour per machine * hours poll is open = max. number of votes precinct is able to process. Every voter over this limit is effectively disenfranchised as the precinct runs out of voter-time-slots. Most polling places stayed open to accommodate all voters who were in line as of the official closing time, but large numbers of voters were unable to wait the many hours before they could cast their vote, and many who had attended to vote ultimately left without voting for this reason.

Precincts sometimes had less than half the machines requested and were well outside the limits of processing capacity, effectively disenfranchising an undetermined number of voters. For example, approx. 17% of voting machines in Columbus were operating at 190%-200% "optimum capacity".

This may explain the discrepancy between expected voter turnout in high-population areas and counted voter turnout in these areas. Since high-population areas are predominantly Democratic, this would primarily affect the Democratic constituency, and appear on the surface to reflect inefficacy in the Democratic get-out-the-vote effort.

Reports of broken or non-functional voting machines seem to be clustered tightly in minority neighborhoods in Cuyahoga County and Franklin County. The overwhelming majority of reports of non-functional voting machines come from minority neighborhoods in Cuyahoga and Franklin Counties. Voters at many precincts were reporting that half or more of voting machines actually delivered were not working. [20] Cuyahoga County is a county located in the state of Ohio. ...

In democratic counties in Ohio with at least three reported long line incidents, counties with higher voter turnouts have more long line incident reports per registered voter. Statewide voter turnout is 69.86%, whereas in said counties, which make up 34.34% of registered voters in Ohio, voter turnout averaged 66.01%, and elsewhere it averaged 71.87%, for a difference of 5.85%.

1357 incidents of this type have been reported, 459 of which are from Ohio [21], and 191 of which are from Florida [22]. Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Cuyahoga County, Ohio

141 such incidents (over 1/9 of the national total) are from Cuyahoga County, Ohio [23]. This amounts to an average of 0.098 per precinct, over eight times the avg. outside of Cuyahoga of 0.012 per precinct. Likewise, reported long line incidents in Cuyahoga per person is more than eight times as high as outside of Cuyahoga. Voter turnout in Cuyahoga compared with the rest of the state was 4.5% less than usual. Cuyahoga County has an inverse relationship between voter turnout and support for Kerry. This means that, where support for Kerry was high, the voters didn't turnout, for whatever reason. This could possibly be explained by vote suppression (such as significant machine shortages in black neighborhoods), but more analysis is necessary. [24]

This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...

Detailed analyses indicate that reports of malfunctioning voting machines were tightly clustered in black neighborhoods, further exacerbating machine shortages. Of the 82 precincts for which voters reported that one or more voting machines were not working, the vast majority were in neighborhoods where over 75% of the population were black, while non-working machines were reported in only five precincts where less than 5% of the population were black. In one precinct 7 of 17 voting machines were not working. In another, 3 of 9 voting machines were not working. In yet another 2 of 3 voting machines were not working. In two precints, all the machines were not working for a significant period during the day. In addition to reports of machines not working at all, there were multiple reports of voting machines that would not accept a vote for the presidential race, multiple reports of voting machines which highlighted a vote for Bush when Kerry's button was pressed, and multiple reports of voting machines that indicated that a vote for Bush had been registered on the summary screen, despite repeated attempts to select Kerry. [25]

Lucas County, Ohio

Lucas County, Ohio, shows the same trend as Cuyahoga.

When the precinct numbers are combined into totals for each ward, a clear and unmistakable pattern emerges. The 14 wards with the highest reported turnout were won by John Kerry by a margin of 11 to 7 in the aggregate. The 10 wards with the lowest reported turnout were won by John Kerry by a margin of 6 to 1 in the aggregate. The more competitive the ward, the higher the reported turnout. Conversely, the less competitive the ward, the lower the reported turnout. [26]

Franklin County, Ohio

54 incidents have been reported in Franklin County, Ohio, an avg of .065 per precinct. Franklin County has sparked particular attention because the long lines were disproportionately in poor and African-American communities, and largely due to machine shortages in those precincts, in possible violation of the Equal Protection Amendment. Franklin County is a county located in the state of Ohio. ... An African American (also Afro-American or Black American) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to sub-saharan Africa. ... Amendment XIV (the Fourteenth Amendment) of the United States Constitution is one of the post-Civil War amendments and includes the due process and equal protection clauses (Section 1). ...

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (700x905, 144 KB) Licensing Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ...

The pattern of machine malfunctions identified in Cuyahoga county also occurs in Franklin County. Reported incidents of malfunctioning voting machines are tightly clustered in neighborhoods where a large percentage of the population is black. 24 of 27 precints in which malfunctioning voting machines were reported were precincts in which the majority of voters voted for Kerry. [27]

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (952x884, 250 KB) Licensing Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Fc_machines. ...

"An analysis of data provided by the Franklin county board of elections reveals disparate voter to machine ratios. It went from as low as 108 registered voters per machine in Gahana, to as high as 550 in the Ohio State University area.

An analysis of the distribution of voting machines also raises questions. This year nearly 2/3 of the precincts that lost machines went for Kerry. And, nearly 2/3 of the precincts where elections officials placed additional machines, favored President Bush." NPR

*The vertical scale of the second graph is twice that of the first. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (833x558, 20 KB) easily reproducable from public data, creator understands wikipedia licensing and has given permission. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (837x590, 21 KB) easily reproducable from public data, creator understands wikipedia licensing and has given permission. ...

Voting machines in Franklin County were well over capacity, averaging 184 recorded votes per machine. The amount the machines in a precinct were over capacity (measured by "active", not registered voters) was directly proportional to the percentage of voters in that precinct voting Kerry. As the graph below shows, this led to suppressed turnout in Democratic precincts. [28]

franklin county, turnout per active per machine File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Voter turnout in Franklin County was expected to be significantly higher than normal, but was in fact significantly lower than normal.

Although low population precincts were allocated relatively many voting machines and were well within the limits of processing capacity, high-population centers often were not "Is there inner-city election suppression in Franklin County, Ohio?":

"Document reveals Columbus, Ohio voters waited hours as election officials held back machines. One telling piece of evidence was entered into the record at the Saturday, November 13 public hearing on election irregularities and voter suppression held by nonpartisan voter rights organizations. Cliff Arnebeck, a Common Cause attorney, introduced into the record the Franklin County Board of Elections spreadsheet detailing the allocation of e-voting computer machines for the 2004 election. The Board of Elections' own document records that, while voters waited in lines ranging from 2-7 hours at polling places, 68 electronic voting machines remained in storage and were never used on Election Day.... An analysis of the Franklin County Board of Elections' allocation of machines reveals a consistent pattern of providing fewer machines to the Democratic city of Columbus, with its Democratic mayor and uniformly Democratic city council, despite increased voter registration in the city. The result was an obvious disparity in machine allocations compared to the primarily Republican white affluent suburbs."

"The ... Republican enclave of Upper Arlington has 34 precincts. No voting machines in this area cast more than 200 votes per machine. Only one, ward 6F, was over 190 votes at 194 on one machine. By contrast ... 17% of Columbus’ machines were operating at 90-100% over optimum capacity while in Upper Arlington the figure was 3%. In the Democratic stronghold of Columbus 139 of the 472 precincts had at least one and up to five fewer machine than in the 2000 presidential election. ... 29% of Columbus’ precincts, despite a massive increase in voter registration and turnout, had fewer machines than in 2000. In Upper Arlington, 6% had fewer machines in 2004. One of those precincts had a 25% decline in voter registration and the other had a 1% increase. Compare that to Columbus ward 1B, where voter registration went up 27%, but two machines were taken away in the 2004 election. Or look at 23B where voter registration went up 22% and they lost two machines since the 2000 election, causing an average of 207 votes to be cast on each of the remaining machines ... Thus, in four years, the ward went from optimum usage to system failure."

Ballot spoilage

These are the same type of punch card machines used in Florida in the 2000 election. Anyone paying attention to the coverage of the Florida recount may be aware of the need to remove the chads underneath the grid ("punch guide") inside the punch card machines. If this is not done, voters would be unable to punch out the perforated chads, creating the infamous dimpled, hanging, and pregnant chads. Worse, if enough chads build up beneath the grid, the stylus - the metal pin that actually punches out the chad - can't even push the chads through the holes in the grid. When this happens, you have a "broken" machine. Since there was no coverage at all - neither local nor national - of the large number of machines "broken" on election day, there is no way of knowing if this was the problem - we can only speculate. But if chad build-up was not the problem, then why were there "broken" punch card machines in 34 polling places, consisting of 70 precincts, in the Cleveland area? And where were these broken machines located? In heavily Democratic, pro-John Kerry, predominantly black communities. [29]

File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

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 and other organizations resulted in a settlement in which the state agreed to restore eligible voters to the rolls and take other steps to improve election procedures. [30] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), is one of the oldest and most influential hate organizations 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. [31] Faced with media documentation that the list included thousands of errors, the state abandoned the attempt to use it. [32] Some of the voters improperly purged in 2000 had not been restored as of May of 2004. [33]

Precinct squeeze

"Of Ohio’s 88 counties, 20 suffered a significant reduction — shutting at least 20 percent (or at least 30) of their precincts. Most of those counties have Republicans serving as Board of Elections director, including the four biggest: Cuyahoga, Montgomery, Summit, and Lucas.

Those 20 counties went heavily to Gore in 2000, 53 to 42 percent. The other 68 counties, which underwent little-to-no precinct consolidation, went exactly the opposite way in 2000: 53 to 42 percent to Bush."

From: (Boston Phoenix).

Testimony and official views

Democratic party

Source [34]

Dec.7 - "...the Democratic National Committee said it would appoint an expert panel to review voting problems in Ohio - including long lines, voting machine errors and understaffed polling stations - that it said had disenfranchised voters in predominantly Democratic urban districts."

"Democratic officials, walking a fine line between their angry liberal base and centrist voters who consider the election over, said they were not contesting the results. But they said they planned to use the results of their investigation, which is to be completed by the summer, to demand changes to the electoral systems in Ohio and other states."

"Like Florida in 2000, which gave us a lot of information and evidence that we used later on to improve our election system, Ohio will play that role for us this year," said Donna Brazile, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute. "There's no question that there's been a long pattern, a chilling pattern, of voter intimidation, voter suppression across the country over the years."

Views of Democrats, however, are not unanimous. Steve Rosenthal, former political director of the AFL-CIO disagreed with many of the reasons given around vote suppression, stating in a Washington Post editorial that "The reason Kerry lost the election had much more to do with the war in Iraq and terrorism than the political ground war in Ohio." [35]

Free Speech Zone Video

Excerpt from the source Press Release

"For the second Presidential election in a row African American voters have been subjugated to second class citizens through systematic efforts by Republicans to suppress, intimidate, and disenfranchise our vote," said Rev. Bill Moss, the original Plaintiff in Ohio, and founder of the Center for Freedom and Justice. "Whether its Katherine Harris or Kenneth Blackwell, the purpose is the same: do everything in their power to ensure George W. Bush becomes President. If those in power are willing and able to thwart democracy and abuse the civil rights of American voters, right in the face of the press and public, what won’t they do? I am contesting this election because tyranny, particularly in the guise of democracy, is our civic duty to fight."

The video footage provides a first hand glimpse of what transpired in Franklin County on Election Day, only in heavily leaning Democratic precincts, including unexplained voting machine shortages, organized campaigns directing voters to the wrong polling places, malfunctioning voter tabulation equipment, election worker confusion and incompetence, and a host of other problems. However, as detailed in an official affidavit by Richard Hayes Phillips, a geomorphology Ph.D. from University of Oregon, the extent of voter disenfranchisement was systematic and widespread in African American precincts throughout the state.

Video Footage:

(clip1: video, wmv) (clip2: video, wmv)

See also

• U.S. presidential election, 2004
  • U.S. presidential election, 2004, exit polls
  • 2004 U.S. presidential election controversy and irregularities
    • 2004 U.S. presidential election controversy, exit polls
    • 2004 U.S. presidential election controversy, vote suppression
    • 2004 U.S. presidential election controversy, voting machines
    • 2004 U.S. presidential election recounts and legal challenges
      • Moss v. Bush
    • Timeline of the 2004 U.S. presidential election controversy and irregularities
    • 2004 U.S. election voting controversies, Florida
    • 2004 U.S. election voting controversies, Ohio
• People involved:
  • Cliff Arnebeck
  • Kenneth Blackwell
  • Barbara Boxer
  • David Cobb
  • John Conyers
  • Tom Feeney
  • Bob Fitrakis
  • Jesse Jackson
  • Stephanie Tubbs Jones
• Organizations involved:
  • Common Cause
  • Government Accountability Office
  • U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary
• Subject background:
  • Voting machine
  • Electronic voting
  • Exit poll
  • Voter suppression
  • Electoral fraud
  • Vote-rigging

(Note: the presence of any link above involving election irregularities is for those seeking further information on those irregularities in a general sense. It is not an opinion on this specific election.)

Presidential election results map. ... The exit polls were conducted by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International for the National Election Pool. ... This article provides detailed coverage of these issues, along with other central aspects, with many links to external sources. ... After the 2004 U.S. presidential election there were allegations of data irregularities and systematic flaws which may have affected the outcome of both the presidential and local elections. ... After the 2004 U.S. presidential election there were allegations of data irregularities and systematic flaws which may have affected the outcome of both the presidential and local elections. ... After the 2004 U.S. presidential election there were allegations of data irregularities and systematic flaws which may have affected the outcome of both the presidential and local elections. ... This article details the vote recount effort and related legal challenges that took place after the 2004 U.S. election with a focus on states that had a high discrepancy between unadjusted exit poll results and official results in the US presidential race. ... Moss v Bush was a lawsuit filed in the Ohio Supreme Court on 13 December 2004 (Supreme Court of Ohio Case No. ... After the 2004 U.S. presidential election there were allegations of data irregularities and systematic flaws which may have changed the election result, if proven. ... During the 2004 U.S. presidential election, there were numerous problems with the election process in Florida, including but not limited to missing/uncounted votes, machine malfunction, machine shortage, turnout reaching above 100 percent, and abnormal statistical discrepancies such as 77 percent Democratic precincts voting 77 percent Republican, and the... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Cliff Arnebeck is the Chair of Legal Affairs Committee of Common Cause Ohio and a National Co-Chair and attorney for The Alliance for Democracy. ... John Kenneth Blackwell (born February 28, 1942) is an American politician of the Republican party, who currently (as of 2005) serves as the secretary of state for the U.S. state of Ohio. ... Barbara S. Boxer (born November 11, 1940) is an American politician and the current junior U.S. Senator from the State of California. ... David Cobb appealing for votes at the annual Fighting Bob Fest in Baraboo, Wisconsin, September 2004 David Keith Cobb (born December 24, 1962 in San Leon, Texas) is an American ex-lawyer and activist, and was the 2004 presidential candidate of the Green Party of the United States (GPUS). ... John Conyers John Conyers, Jr. ... Thomas Charles Feeney III, usually known as Tom Feeney (born May 21, 1958), is a Republican politician from the state of Florida. ... Bob Fitrakis is a Professor of Political Science in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department at Columbus State Community College, as well as the Editor of The Free Press (freepress. ... Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (born October 8, 1941) is an American politician, civil rights activist, and Baptist minister. ... Stephanie Tubbs Jones (born September 10, 1949) is a Democratic politician who currently serves as a member of the United States House of Representatives, for the 11th District of Ohio. ... Common Cause is a U.S. nonpartisan citizens lobbying group (both professionally on Capitol Hill and grassroots advocacy in the states). ... The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is the audit, evaluation, and investigative agency of the United States Congress. ... U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, or (more commonly) the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. ... A voting machine is a device to record and register votes to be counted as per any voting system, with or without printing a ballot for the voter to verify. ... Electronic voting machine used in all Brazilian elections and plebiscites. ... An exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. ... Voter suppression refers to the devious use of governmental power, political campaign strategy, and resources aimed at suppressing (i. ... Electoral fraud is the deliberate intentional interference with the process of an election. ... Electoral fraud is the deliberate interference with the process of an election. ...

External links

• Ohio vote suppression news [36]
• Vote Suppression list at Shadowbox [37]
• Vote Suppression in Cuyahoga County, Ohio at Shadowbox [38]
• Vote suppression preliminary report released by People for the American Way (pdf)
• Voters leaving voting lines (video, wvx)
• Ohio voting machine distribution, county-resolution (pdf)

2004 United States Presidential Election

Candidates (full list) George W. Bush • John Kerry • Ralph Nader General articles Election timeline • Detailed results • Democratic primaries • Republican Convention • Democratic Convention • Effects in Canada Controversy Controversy and irregularities (timeline) • Exit polling inconsistancies • Vote suppression • Voting machines • Moss v. Bush • Florida • Ohio • Kerry military service • Bush military service Election results by state/district Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • District of Columbia • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming Other 2004 elections House • Senate • Gubernatorial Presidential election results map. ... This article is about the presidential campaign of George W. Bush, the incumbent President of the United States and victor of the 2004 Presidential Election. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Ralph Nader ran for the office of U.S. Presidency in the 2004 election, as he also had in several previous elections. ... The following is a timeline of events during the 2004 U.S. presidential election: 2002 May 31 - Vermont Governor Howard B. Dean III forms a presidential exploratory committee. ... John Kerry arrives at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, where he was officially designated as the Democratic Party nominee. ... 2004 Republican National Convention Logo President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney accepted their partys nomination to run for second terms. ... 2004 Democratic National Convention logo The 2004 Democratic National Convention culminated in the arrival of John Kerry on July 29 to address the delegates. ... This article provides detailed coverage of these issues, along with other central aspects, with many links to external sources. ... After the 2004 U.S. presidential election there were allegations of data irregularities and systematic flaws which may have affected the outcome of both the presidential and local elections. ... Moss v Bush was a lawsuit filed in the Ohio Supreme Court on 13 December 2004 (Supreme Court of Ohio Case No. ... Florida was under the national spotlight prior the 2004 Presidential election, being the swing state with the largest number of electoral votes (27), and with the memory of the controversy surrounding the 2000 Florida vote still fresh in the minds of voters. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The John Kerry military service controversy describes a political issue that gained widespread public attention during John Kerrys candidacy in the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign. ... 1st Lt. ... Arizona confirmed once again that the state is a Republican stronghold, by voting for President George W. Bush again in 2004. ... In 2004, California confirmed its reputation as a blue state by voting for the Democratic challenger, Senator John F. Kerry. ... In the 2004 Presidential election, Colorado was a swing state, and voted for the incumbent President George W. Bush. ... Statewide winner in bold. ... This article describes the electoral results for the District of Columbia in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. ... Hawaii used to be a Democratic stronghold in U.S. Presidential elections (Al Gore won it by 18. ... A mainly rural and conservative Midwestern state, Indiana did not vote Democratic in a Presidential election since 1964. ... Massachussets is one of the most democratic and liberal states of the nation. ... Minnesota was a swing state that eventually went for democratic candidate John F. Kerry in 2004. ... Nebraska, a rural Great Plains state, is a Republican and conservative stronghold. ... In 2004, New York continued its trend of voting for the Democratic presidential candidate. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 109th Congress were held on November 2, 2004. ...  Republican holds  Republican pickups  Democratic holds  Democratic pickups The United States Senate election, 2004 was an election for the United States Senate which coincided with the re-election of George W. Bush as president and the United States House election, as well as many state and local elections. ... Election Results Map, Republican win in Red and Democratic win in Blue The U.S. gubernatorial elections of 2004 were held on November 2, 2004. ...