It sure looks that way, LB...It's a Mess! Here's some Letters to the Editor....Remember, most of Seattle is a heavy Blue town, except for the suburbs...and even then, parts of them are young techies....who vote Leftie...
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Letters to the Editor....Seattle Times: The final vote
First it's Rossi; then it's Gregoire; now, it's undependable
seattletimes.nwsource.com
Editor, The Times:
It appears Seattle can join the ranks of cities like Chicago and Philadelphia with its Monday-afternoon surprise: 9,000 "extra" ballots discovered, most of which conveniently favor the trailing Democratic candidate for governor Christine Gregoire ("More ballots found in King County; Gregoire edges ahead," Times Web site, Nov. 16).
Not only that, but they've conveniently set aside an additional 4,000 ballots awaiting a final count on Wednesday, just in case a certain candidate needs the extra push.
Incompetence or corruption? I guess in King County it doesn't matter.
— Joe Waldron, Bellevue
Counting recoup
If Christine Gregoire falls behind in the vote count again, does anyone doubt King County's officials will "discover" 10,000 more ballots?
— Ed Davis, Issaquah
Ill postino
I voted by absentee ballot from Verona, Italy. My absentee ballot arrived on Oct. 28. I mailed my ballot on Oct. 29, but it is likely (in part due to a Nov. 1 holiday in Italy) that my ballot arrived after Election Day ("It's time to toss outdated election rule," editorial, Nov. 11).
The current election rules take into account voters abroad who may live in countries where the postal service is not as efficient as in the U.S.
The election law is made for all voters to assure their vote is counted. This is surely more important than an occasional short delay in exceptionally tight races.
— Daniel Block, Verona, Italy
Crossed in the mail
I am a Seattle resident who works overseas and votes by absentee ballot and I can testify that all Washington state voters benefit from the current system that allows absentee ballots to be postmarked on Election Day ("Earlier deadline urged for absentee ballots," Politics, Nov. 6).
Secretary of State Sam Reed's proposal denies equal voting power to absentee voters. Absentee voters would "lose" at least one extra week to vote and would be unable to make an informed and conscientious decision.
If something suddenly happened in the campaign's last week that persuades absentee voters to shift their support, the earlier deadline would eliminate their opportunity to vote as they would want to.
Sam Reed and The Seattle Times seem more concerned with fast results than preserving our ability to make the best decisions possible in our elections. The Times arrogantly says that "Voting by mail is a convenience, not a right." On the contrary, it is our constitutionally guaranteed right.
The Times' comparison of Oregon's mailed ballots fails to point out that Oregon's entire balloting is done by mail, so that system is uniform and infringes on no one's rights.
We absentee voters do our part for democracy and vote each election; Reed should do his and count our votes without curtailing or freedoms.
— Dennis Behrend, Kobe, Japan
Ruse ex machina
What about the problems with the election?
Until our election system is improved, with better mechanics and greater trans-parency, we cannot expect voters to have full confidence in the announced results.
Electronic voting proved to be, as critics warned, a problem. In Franklin County, Ohio, one precinct reported nearly 4,000 votes for President Bush, although the precinct had fewer than 800 voters ("Ohio to begin final tally," News, Nov. 9).
In Broward County, Fla., election officials noticed that, when the absentee ballots were being tabulated, the vote totals began to go down instead of up.
Voters in several states reported that when they selected John Kerry, it turned into a vote for President Bush.
There is also no way to be sure that the nightmare scenario of electronic voting critics did not occur: votes surreptitiously shifted from one candidate to another inside the machines, by secret software.
It's important to make it clear that there is no evidence such a thing happened, but there will be concern and conspiracy theories until all software used in elections is made public.
Voters who use electronic machines are entitled to a voter-verified paper trail, so they can be sure their votes were accurately recorded.
The outrageous decision by Warren County, Ohio, to lock down the building where votes were being counted is an extreme example of another serious problem with the elections: a lack of transparency.
We need to find out what happened in the election.
— Linda Smithe, Olympia |
