The River

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Big News


Kucinich asks for New Hampshire recount in the interest of election integrity

DETROIT, MI – Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, the most outspoken advocate in the Presidential field and in Congress for election integrity, paper-ballot elections, and campaign finance reform, has sent a letter to the New Hampshire Secretary of State asking for a recount of Tuesday’s election because of “unexplained disparities between hand-counted ballots and machine-counted ballots.”

“I am not making this request in the expectation that a recount will significantly affect the number of votes that were cast on my behalf,” Kucinich stressed in a letter to Secretary of State William M. Gardner. But, “Serious and credible reports, allegations, and rumors have surfaced in the past few days…It is imperative that these questions be addressed in the interest of public confidence in the integrity of the election process and the election machinery – not just in New Hampshire, but in every other state that conducts a primary election.”

Also, the reports, allegations, and rumors regarding possible vote-count irregularities have been further fueled by the stunning disparities between various “independent” pre-election polls and the actual election results," Kucinich wrote. "The integrity, credibility, and value of independent polling are separate issues, but they appear to be relevant in the context of New Hampshire’s votes."

He added, “Ever since the 2000 election – and even before – the American people have been losing faith in the belief that their votes were actually counted. This recount isn’t about who won 39% of 36% or even 1%. It’s about establishing whether 100% of the voters had 100% of their votes counted exactly the way they cast them.”

Kucinich, who drew about 1.4% of the New Hampshire Democratic primary vote, wrote, “This is not about my candidacy or any other individual candidacy. It is about the integrity of the election process.” No other Democratic candidate, he noted, has stepped forward to question or pursue the claims being made.

“New Hampshire is in the unique position to address – and, if so determined, rectify – these issues before they escalate into a massive, nationwide suspicion of the process by which Americans elect their President. Based on the controversies surrounding the Presidential elections in 2004 and 2000, New Hampshire is in a prime position to investigate possible irregularities and to issue findings for the benefit of the entire nation,” Kucinich wrote in his letter.

“Without an official recount, the voters of New Hampshire and the rest of the nation will never know whether there are flaws in our electoral system that need to be identified and addressed at this relatively early point in the Presidential nominating process,” said Kucinich, who is campaigning in Michigan this week in advance of next Tuesday’s Presidential primary in that state.


This is why Kucinich puts his hat in the ring for President. He knows the media will never give him a fair shot, but he is a smart politician, and his career has been about playing the game with integrity, despite the odds. What better stage to show what that looks like than the Presidential contest?

Kucinich for President.

[thanks to Marc Lord for the heads up]

Comments:
Amen, brother. Kucinich is an ass-kicker.

Thanks for the shout-back, I should put this article up for my little band.
 
what's sad is that I haven't seen anything about this on Democratic lefty sites, as they play into the media charade and post meaningless drivel such as: "A short thought for you: Hillary Clinton is running to change the President; Barack Obama is running to change our politics; John Edwards is running to change the country. Discuss."

[found at Hullabaloo today]
 
The talking heads are already passing the fabrication that it's about people being truthful when polled about whether they will vote for a black man. I suppose it COULD be that simple, but until and unless there is a hand recount in New Hampshire that construction -- should we call it "concealed racism?" -- the negative disparity between Obama's performance and his poll results is as likely to be election fraud as it is to be some closeted racist effect in the hearts of New Hampshire voters... more likely fraud, I think.
 
Yeah, the other idea floated was that Hillary became likeable with her "tear" moment (which is sort of the polar opposite of the Dean scream moment-- or rather the same thing, one used to build up, and one to tear down). But nothing of substance has been reported, such as the hand-count/optical count disparity. Pushed aside as an inconvenient truth, as it always is. Isn't this where blogging could provide a real alternative?
 
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