Elections & Voting
Electronic voting machines "hack" off Democrat Jim Webb's name from November ballot
By Frank J. Ranelli
Online Journal Guest Writer


Oct 26, 2006, 00:48

Hacks, hackers and hacking off! How the right-wing machine and its "machines of voter mayhem" intend to steal your vote again by hacking off the Democratic candidate's last name from the ballot!

As being reported by the AP wire service, Jim Webb, Democratic challenger for U.S. Senator in Virginia to Republican incumbent, George "Macaca" Allen, has had his (Webb's) last name chopped off or "hacked" off by electronic voting touch-screen machines.

What is being called a "glitch" by Hart InterCivic spokespersons, three cities in Virginia -- Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville -- will not properly display Jim Webb's name on the November ballot summary screen. Voters will only see 'James H. "Jim"' on the ballot, instead of James H. "Jim" Webb.

To make matters worse, the candidates will have "their party affiliations . . . cut off" even after navigating through the summary screen nearly blind. To put some perspective and clarity to this, in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville, Virginia, voters will not be able to recognize Jim Webb by his full name OR by his party's affiliation!

The AP is also reporting, "Jean Jensen, secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections, pledged to have the issue fixed by the 2007 statewide elections." How generous of her, to have the "issue" fixed by next year! In the meantime, unsuspecting voters, in these three cities, will show up on Election Day and not even find the name "Webb" on the ballot summary screen or be able to find Jim Webb's party affiliation -- Democrat -- once they do find Mr. Webb's full name.

That is correct; the vote stealing "black boxes" of 2004 are back with a new trick! Not only are the people designing and operating these machines "hacks," not only do they allow their machines to be "hacked" into for political gain, now they program these dubious devices to "hack off" candidates names and party affiliations. Somehow, we are all supposed to believe -- after all the deception in 2004 -- that it is just another coincidence that it happened to a Democrat -- again!

Whether it's just another "oversight" by the Republican-owned and controlled electronic voting machine companies, or further proof of the malicious attempts by the GOP to suppress voter information and perpetrate election fraud, it is another glaring example of why these machines must be banned immediately.

That pungent odor now filling the air is some good ol' hometown, Republican-cooked "thuggery" that is being dished up right under our noses. The same kind of mob-like voter suppression, disenfranchisement and strong-arm tactics used in 2004 by the rapid Grand Old Party and their pack of hyenas in Ohio to deliver the vote to George W. Bush.

Besides the rancid smell of foul play, that sound you hear is a crunching noise; the crunching on the bones of Virginian Democratic voters by these hounds from hell hoping to chew up and spit out a win for Allen and his radical right agenda!

If the pen is truly mightier than the sword, then we should all write-off the failed experiment of neoconservative government, demand paper and pencil to vote and etch a valuable lesson into the consciousness of the American public -- never underestimate your opponent, especially Republican ones!