Black Box Voting

Grand Theft Election: Karl Rove's turd droppings all over this one

By Wayne Madsen
Online Journal Contributing Writer

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November 5, 2004�Karl Rove, the political sorcerer who is called "Turd Blossom" by his political master, George W. Bush, has his nasty fingerprints all over the 2004 Election in a scam that can best be called "Grand Theft Election."

There was something very wrong in Ohio, which Bush claims he won handily. Not only had the head of computer voting machine maker Diebold and Ohio's Republican establishment of Governor Bob Taft and Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell conspired to suppress registration and voter turnout in heavily Democratic precincts, but the Ohio Secretary of State�s web site was only reporting results from nine counties as of 11:30 a.m. on November 3, just three hours before John Kerry conceded the election to Bush. Totaling the results from the nine counties (Fayette, Fairfield, Geauga, Jefferson, Portage, Mahoning, Trumbull, Richland, and Washington), John Kerry was clearly ahead. A tenth county, Columbiana, suspiciously showed up as "NO RESULTS."

The totals from the 8 Ohio counties reported on the Secretary of State web site were: BUSH 267,771, KERRY 294,648.

There has to be a way for those of us who voted for Kerry and Edwards to sue Diebold Chief Executive Walden O'Dell and Diebold board member W.R. Timken for conspiring to deliver Ohio's electoral votes to Bush. O'Dell and Timken are also top fundraisers for Bush, so-called "Pioneers." O'Dell told the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 2003 that he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year."

The fact that Diebold machines were used in the Ohio rip-off should make O'Dell and Timken the subjects of criminal investigations. Of course, that will not happen in a GOP vassal state like Ohio. But why not a civil suit by those of us nationwide who voted for Kerry and had our presidency stolen from us as a result of racketeering and corrupt practices by a cabal of Republicans and fat cat corporate types? In a civil suit, through the process of discovery, O'Dell's and Timken's emails, letters, and other records could be ordered open by a judge. They could also be deposed as witnesses before plaintiffs' attorneys.

Then there were the strange hiccups with the official election websites reporting results in states and counties across the nation.

During the morning of November 3, attempts to access the Pinellas County, Florida, election website were met with the following:

The page cannot be found.

The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.

At 11:52 a.m. on November 3, the St. Lucie County, Florida election website showed no returns, long after the polls closed:

"Welcome To St. Lucie County Live Election Returns

�Election results will appear shortly."

Attempts to access Miami-Dade County's election website during the morning of November 3 were similarly unsuccessful.

On the Florida Secretary of State website there appeared some verbiage about a link to the Marion County election website. But there was no link. Ditto the same for Nassau County, a county that saw widespread voter intimidation and suppression of African-American votes in 2000.

Indian River County, Florida election results were also of interest and indicated fraud:

Registered voters as of October 4, 2004 included Republican: 41,866; Democratic: 24,515 ; Independent: 15,262. Votes on Nov 2 were Bush: 36,744; Kerry: 23,850

Democrats had almost complete turnout if you match turnout to their registered voters. Republicans were down some 4000, but what happened to the Independents' votes? There were less than 1 percent for the third party candidates. We were told Independents were breaking for Kerry. Even if 23, 850 for Kerry included a majority of the Independents and even a few moderate Republicans, the results from Indian River don't indicate that.

In pivotal New Mexico, by mid morning on November 3, the state election website was missing several returns from areas with large Native American populations: Cibola and San Miguel Counties were missing in addition to one precinct in Dona Ana County with the following close returns listed: Bush: 26 072; Kerry: 25,608

One precinct in McKinley County with the following returns listed: Bush 7,132; Kerry: 12,725

One precinct in Sandoval County with the following close returns listed: Bush: 22,482; Kerry: 21,215

Fifteen precincts in Socorro County with the following close returns listed: Bush: 3,197; Kerry: 2,638

New Mexico was eventually declared for Bush in a close election, even though it went for Gore in 2000.

There were also missing returns from a very close race in Nevada.

Clark County (Las Vegas) had 271,465 people vote early and 220,501 vote at polls on election day.

Kerry received 279,575 votes to Bush's 253, 432 in Clark.

If, as we were told, early votes were breaking 60-70 percent for Kerry in areas he won, it looks like he should have had more like 300,000 votes in Clark County, which would have tipped the state to him. Kerry lost Nevada "officially" by only 21,000 votes. This does not include the 50,705 absentee votes in Clark County (which also likely broke for Kerry). There were also 10,000 undervotes and write-ins reported statewide, which seems very high for a small population state like Nevada.

The turnout in Virginia was an all time high, especially in heavily Democratic counties and cities. Early on election night, NBC said it could not call Virginia because the returns were close. Yet, an examination of the vote count as compared to 2000 reveals that the massive 2004 turnout, especially with African Americans, young people, and Hispanics was not reflected in the final vote counts and percentages.

I personally witnessed two-hour-plus waiting lines at polling places in Arlington and Fairfax Counties. This was unprecedented but it is not reflected in the vote count. This could be the result of both tampering with computer machines and voter suppression.

Arlington County; Kerry 63,705 (67.57 percent); Bush 29,545 (31.34%), versus, in 2000: Gore 50,260 (60.15%); Bush 28,555 (34.17%).

(Only a 7-point jump for Democrats from 2000 to 2004. That does not reflect the huge turnout countywide).

Fairfax County: Kerry 215,223 (52.58%); Bush 189,371 (45.61%), versus, in 2000: Gore 196,501 (47.49%); Bush 202,181 (48.86%).

(Where is the huge Democratic turnout reflected in these numbers, considering a mere 5 percent rise for the Democrats from 2000 and a 3 percent drop for the Republicans).

Henrico County (Richmond suburbs): Kerry 60,810 (46.26%); Bush 71,765 (53.85%), versus, in 2000: Gore 48,645 (42.58%); Bush 62,887 (55.04%).

(An obvious Democratic surge is not reflected in these numbers.)

Prince William County: Kerry 56,234 (46.25%); Bush 64,431 (52.99%), versus, in 2000: Gore 52,788 (44.52%); Bush 44,745 (52.52%).

(Bush jumped dramatically in numbers from 2000 to 2004 but remained almost the same percentage wise. Democratic numbers barely increased even though the county had a huge turnout among minorities, particularly African Americans and Hispanics.)

Alexandria City: Kerry 40,807 (66.77%); Bush 19,764 (32.34%), versus, in 2000: Gore 33,633 (60.93%); Bush 19,043 (34.50%).

(This does not reflect massive African American turnout in Alexandria. The Democratic percentage budged upward only 6 percent)

Richmond City: Kerry 51,703 (70.02%); Bush 21,633 (29.30%), versus, in 2000: Gore 42,717 (64.80%); Bush 20,265 (30.74%).

(Republican percentage of the vote went down in the state capital, yet Bush�s statewide percentage was 53.90 to Kerry�s 45.23. This is mirrored in other counties. Gore received 44.4 percent and Bush 52.5 percent in 2000. The slight uptick for Kerry does not reflect Democratic turnout statewide. Voting in 2000 was 68.51 percent statewide in 2000. It was only 68.54 percent statewide in 2004. That just does not make any sense considering the massive numbers of newly registered voters and the huge turnout in northern Virginia, Tidewater, and the economically-depressed southwest part of the state).

When Diebold machines were forced on Prince George's County, Maryland, the country's election administrator, Robert J. Antonetti, bitterly complained about them. He told the Baltimore Sun in 2003, "I feel very uneasy about it. There are too many loose ends."

On November 2, Prince George's County election officials reported a number of problems with Diebold encoders. The Prince George's County Gazette reported that a number of polling places opened up to 45 minutes late because the wrong Diebold encoder had been delivered to polling places and voters could not vote until a new encoder arrived. It is not known how many records the Prince George's County maintained on problems with Diebold, but it is very interesting that early in the morning of November 3, the Associated Press reported:

"UPPER MARLBORO, Maryland (AP)�Fire broke out Wednesday at the Prince George's County courthouse, engulfing a large section of the ornate building.

�About 100 firefighters were at the scene, fire and emergency medical service

spokesman Chauncey Bowers said."

And Washington, DC News Channel 4 reported: " . . . pictures from Chopper 4 shows that almost the entire building is completely ruined and a section could be in danger of partial collapse. Thick billowing black smoke can be seen for miles."

Early reports were sketchy on what records may have been destroyed by the flames in both the old courthouse building and an adjoining newer structure, but one report on Channel 4 stated that records had definitely been destroyed. Later reports claimed no records were stored in the burned out building.

But next time you see a Diebold employee, you may want to ask him, "Hey, pal, gotta match?"

Wayne Madsen is a Washington, DC-based journalist, author, and commentator. He is the author of the forthcoming (but suppressed) book �Jaded Tasks: Big Oil, Black Ops, & Brass Plates.� He served in the National Security Agency (NSA) during the Reagan administration and has written extensively on intelligence and national security issues.