For OpEdNews: Mark Crispin Miller - Writer
Well, well, well. First we find out, happily, that We the People may not be incorrigible racists after all, as Election '08 has debunked the (feeble) theory of "the Bradley effect."
And now it turns out that Americans--at least those in gay-friendly California--may not really be as hostile to gay marriage as the outcome of that state's election has apparently suggested.
As we think about the possibility that Prop 8 was not really passed by California's voters, let's note something that the press, and others, won't discuss: i.e., that the entire apparatus of computerized voting in this country--the e-voting machines and op-scans and central tabulators, etc.--is largely owned by members of the Christianist far right.
Diebold and ES&S were both begun by Bob and Todd Urosevich, two ardent
Oklahoma theocrats, while Triad, which makes the central vote tabulators used in Ohio in 2004, is owned by the Rapp family. SmartTech, the company that helped Bush/Cheney steal that state, is owned by evangelical Jeff Averbeck; and his associate Mike Connell, owner of GovTech Solutions, which also helped to steal Ohio, among other races, was motivated to such work by his desire "to save the babies," according to Stephen Spoonamore.
Because the rigging of elections is the only way that that fringe movement ever could impose its theocratic program on the rest of us. As Paul Weyrich used to say out loud, the Christianists despise democracy. After all, that system, if allowed to stand, would put the sinful secular majority in charge--and that can't be allowed.
And so, whether or not it turns out that Prop 8 was rigged to pass, we need to take a good hard look at those machines, and at the companies that own them--and keep them out of our elections.
Meanwhile, let's all stop assuming that last week's outcome was legitimate, and look closely at the evidence around Prop 8.
MCM
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Election Irregularities Surfacing Re: California's Proposition 8!
Exit Poll Shows DEFEAT of Same-Sex Marriage Ban!
Volunteers Needed NOW to Monitor Post-Election Procedures
Link Below to Flyer: Please Print and Circulate at Tomorrow's Protests! The Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender (GLBT) Community and its supporters nationwide are mourning and organizing in the wake of last week's announced 52-48% passage of Proposition 8, which eliminates the rights of same-sex couples to marry in the state of California. But an accurate count of the votes may not yet have occurred, according to early indications.
The integrity of an election takes time to investigate, and it's far too early to draw conclusions. However, consider the following:
Around the world, exit polls are used to determine the need for investigation of elections. In the U.S., the National Exit Poll (NEP, also known as Edison/Mitofsky) now adjusts results to match vote counts before issuing its final polling numbers.
Election Defense Alliance downloaded NEP numbers from the internet on election night, however, before poll results were changed to match the official vote count.
This is the exit poll from early in the evening of election night. There were 2,168 respondents, and they break down as follows (a "yes" vote is a vote against same-sex marriage):
Males:
Yes on Prop 8, 48%
No on Prop 8, 52%
Females:
Yes on Prop 8, 48%
No on Prop 8, 52%
This is the exit poll from later in the evening. There were 2,240 respondents -- 72 more respondents than in the earlier poll -- and they break down in a very different way:
Males:
Yes on Prop 8, 53%
No on Prop 8, 47%
Females:
Yes on Prop 8, 52%
No on Prop 8, 48%
This discrepancy should be ringing alarm bells. Something doesn't add up.
Because exit polls adjusted to match election results are of limited usefulness, this year
independent exit polls were conducted in several states by a group including Ken Warren of the Warren Poll, Jonathan Simon of Election Defense Alliance, and Steve Freeman of Election Integrity. This team is still analyzing results of their exit polls, but Simon told Velvet Revolution that their California exit polls, some of which were conducted by Judy Alter and
Protect California Ballots, tend to corroborate the findings of the above exit poll that show a defeat of Prop. 8.
What is proven by discrepancies between exit poll results and official vote counts? That an investigation must be conducted to determine whether the vote count is accurate.
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