http://www.michigandaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/11/18/419c8f463fce3A ‘closer look’ at election results still necessary
To the Daily:
Joel Hoard’s column (A call to surrender, 11/18/2004) makes several very valid points that anyone left of evangelical fundamentalism should take to heart when deciding what to do now. He rightly criticizes the “whining” of the past four years, advocating an honest evaluation of the current state of affairs in the country. The outcome on Nov. 2 proved that many of us need to rethink our perception of the “American people” and how to effectively communicate liberal and progressive ideals. However, to move forward without properly acknowledging the injustices of the recent past would not only be wrong, it would limit our ability to truly understand the nature of the problems we face.
As an Election Protection coordinator in Detroit, I saw and heard things that defied any of my expectations. Republican “challengers” were not simply a nuisance, nor were they serving to strengthen the system, as they claimed. Challengers in Detroit, paid $10 an hour, were told to challenge any and every voter that could possibly be convinced not to vote. This they did with malicious vigilance. In some polling places, they physically removed voters; in others, they took advantage of Spanish-speaking voters, convincing them they must speak English to vote and in perhaps the most deplorable example, challengers donned official Election Protection shirts and stood outside a polling location saying it was closed.
All of the above are unquestionable violations of state and federal law and reveal an acutely flawed system. As for Ohio, the Libertarian and Green parties have joined forces in asking for a recount, showing that the Ohio outcry is not simply partisan denial. With as many as 250,000 provisional and discarded ballots in question in a state where Bush won by little over 130,000 votes, I think a closer look is worth it. I need not say that those ballots come from precincts that overwhelmingly supported John Kerry.
International monitors have said that this election fell farther below standards for fairness than the notorious 2000 vote. In addition to disenfranchisement, failure of electronic voting and computerized ballot tabulation machines has been widespread. As a country that parades its vision of “democracy” abroad, it is somewhat embarrassing that we cannot even live up to the very basic standards of that concept at home. It is our duty to make sure the results are beyond doubt, and it is the duty of publications such as the Daily to champion the cause of voter inclusion and fair elections. If we do not hold accountable those responsible for electoral violations, we have no reasonable expectation of fairness in the future, and we will continue to live in a democracy in which 59 percent involvement is considered “outstanding.”
Matt Hollerbach
LSA senior
The letter writer is a member of the Michigan Student Assembly.
"And the OSU game sucked almost as bad as State" ~indy_azcat
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