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...But
Who's Counting?
As
if the subhuman turnout in the primary weren’t bad enough,
it seems that voter fraud, the hot new trend that’s
sweeping the nation, may finally be making its way to our
hometown.
In
theory, paper ballots are the most accurate and tamper-proof
voting method available, if they are counted according to
the law, which Free Buffalo’s Randroid guru Jim Ostrowski
has graciously provided via the internet:
“S
9-100. Canvass; required. At the close of the polls the inspectors
of election shall, in the order set forth herein, lock the
machine against voting, account for the paper ballots, canvass
the machine, cast and canvass all the ballots, canvass and
ascertain the total vote and they shall not adjourn until
the canvass be fully completed.”
Instead,
the ballot boxes were transported by county sheriff’s
deputies to the Board of Elections after the polls were closed,
where they are to be counted—a week after the vote took
place. No conflict of interest there, we’re sure.
The
Buffalo News reports that “Elections officials insisted
they had no choice, saying the county's budget mess resulted
in their staff being slashed to 31 from 58 a year ago.”
Big deal. These guys have to put in a long night twice a year.
Besides, isn’t it usually volunteers who do the counting?
Seriously,
does anybody trust these people? It’s not like Elections
Commish Ralph Mohr, a Republican with obvious favorites in
this election season, is a disinterested party in the primary.
Most telling is Mohr’s Orwellian proclamation to candidates
still waiting to find out if they won or lost: "We need
to put preserving the integrity of the ballots over expediency,”
disregarding the fact that expediency and integrity are one
and the same in this case.
Elections
are meaningless if we can’t trust their results. Even
if there is no funny business going on here, the appearance
of impropriety is enough to taint the results—and a
week’s delay, pitched as a “shortcut in the law,”
doesn’t just appear improper. It’s a felony, even
if they count it right.
As
the News reported, “In a worse case scenario [sic],
said Mohr, the move could trigger a legal challenge.”
But we think this would be a best case scenario, because it
might cause things to be done properly in the next election
cycle. Democracy means nothing without accurate vote counts
achieved through a reliable process. Someone needs to sue
these asses—better yet, someone needs to prosecute them.
It
was Josef Stalin who said, “Those who cast the votes
decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything.”
Old Joe would be proud of Ralph Mohr.
More
Briefs:
1. Some People Have Spoken
3. The Red Sea
4. Bass Pro: Smell the History
5. Slaughterhouse Jive
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