Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 10 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds   

What Election Fraud Looks Like

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   No comments
Message Michael Richardson
Become a Fan
  (2 fans)
What Does Election Fraud Look Like?
By Michael Richardson

The face of election fraud has changed over the years keeping pace with technology. Prior to the adoption of paper ballots, election fraud was unnecessary because voter intimidation was sufficient to alter the course of elections.

Then came party-issued paper ballots, but because each party ballot looked different it was still possible to intimidate voters by observing which ballot they carried into the polls. The party-issued ballots also provided an opportunity for election fraud when counterfeit ballots were distributed with alternate candidates listed thereby splitting the vote totals of a particular party.

Finally, government issued ballots came into being and election fraud shifted from outside the polling place to inside. Ballot box stuffing was the new technique and suddenly even dead voters were casting ballots.

Lyndon Johnson owed his admission to the U.S. Senate to ballot box stuffing. In 1948, Johnson was in a tight primary run-off race with his opponent and it looked like he was coming up short when election officials in Alice, Texas announced the discovery of 203 uncounted ballots in Precinct Box 13. Remarkably, 202 of the 203 ballots were for Johnson giving him a winning margin of 87 votes. The "voters" who cast the ballots voted in alphabetical order and were recorded in the register in different ink and handwriting than the other entries. Eleven of the mystery "voters" had courage enough to come forward and say they had not voted. However, Johnson controlled the south Texas courts and the rest is history.

That was then and this now. Old-fashioned ballot boxes have been replaced by electronic voting machines that remove the human element. Instead of stuffed ballot boxes, election fraud in the computer age looks like "undervotes". Self-deleting malicious computer software code can now steal or flip votes and then delete any trace that election fraud occurred.

In 2006, some 18,000 "undervotes" in Sarasota, Florida have likely changed the outcome of a Congressional race and everyone is scrambling to find a reason. Probably the voters themselves will be blamed. The Congressional race was on the same screen as the Governor contest and already "ballot design" is the leading excuse. The idea is that voters were not bright enough to figure out there were two places to vote. Another theory that is more complimentary to the voters is that they decided to boycott the Congressional race because it was such a dirty campaign. That notion might even hold some water if other voters in the district also "undervoted" in large numbers--but they didn't, just those on the paperless machines.

If the election officials in Sarasota cannot succeed in blaming the voters then unknown, but innocent "glitches" in the machines will be the culprit. The idea that a single person might have been able to steal 18,000 votes without detection will not be entertained. However, it should be.

In this modern age of electronic voting machines, election fraud looks like "undervotes". There will never be more proof, no cyber fingerprints, no confessions, just "undervotes" that can never be figured out. Failure to recognize what modern election fraud looks like dooms us to more of it.

The solution is hand counting paper ballots in the open, in full view of the public.

[Permission granted to reprint]
Rate It | View Ratings

Michael Richardson Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Michael Richardson is a freelance writer living in Belize. Richardson writes about Taiwan foreign policy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Black Panther Party. Richardson was Ralph Nader's ballot access manager during the 2004 and (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

J. Edgar Hoover personally ordered FBI to initiate COINTELPRO dirty tricks against Black Panthers in 'Omaha Two' case

Angela Davis Demands 'Omaha Two' Be Freed

FBI agents that spied on Martin Luther King also ran COINTELPRO operation against 'Omaha Two'

Did RFK's search for JFK's killers lead to his own murder?

FBI used United Airlines in planned COINTELPRO action against Black Panthers in 'Omaha Two' case

Roger and Julian Lin are at center of Taiwan Civil Government fraud allegations

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend