November 6, 2004

"Mostly Fair". Ninety-two observers from 34 countries in the Organization for Security and Cooperation reported that voting in the US election was "mostly fair." Polish observer Konrad Olszewski and his Canadian team partner, Ron Gould, said the e-voting system in Venezuela was better protected against failures and errors than the computers used in Florida. Olszewski added: "To be honest, monitoring elections in Serbia a few months ago was much simpler."

AP: "A national voting rights group [Count Every Vote 2004] said Friday it documented hundreds of voting irregularities affecting poor and minority voters in seven Southern states -- from long lines and faulty equipment to deliberate voter intimidation. ... The group sent monitors Tuesday to 700 precincts in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Democratic congressmen John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, Jerrold Nadler of New York and Robert Wexler of Florida sent a letter to the General Accounting Office yesterday requesting an investigation into irregularities with voting machines used in Tuesday's elections.

Some of the problems? A glitch in one Ohio county gave Bush 3,893 extra votes; faulty memory cards in North Carolina caused machines to lose 4,500 votes; software in Florida began subtracting votes when totals surpassed 32,000; and machines in both Florida and Ohio would either not register a vote for Kerry or would indicate a vote for Bush instead.

Another baffling "computer glitch" affected 57,000 votes in LaPorte County, Indiana.

Two graphs:
Kerry Margin: Exit Poll v Actual Vote, Paper Trail States
Kerry Margin: Exit Poll v Actual Vote, Non-Paper Trail States

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