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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: redfish who wrote (1929)	11/24/2004 2:44:29 PM
From: redfish	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 361102

Great timing, maybe Ukraine will refuse to accept our election: Federal office to probe vote procedures By Rick Klein, Globe Staff \| November 24, 2004 WASHINGTON -- The US Government Accountability Office is launching an investigation in response to allegations of voting irregularities that emerged in the aftermath of the Nov. 2 election, marking the first response by the federal government to concerns about the vote that have swirled around the Internet over the past three weeks. The investigation, which was requested by 13 Democratic members of Congress, will not be a comprehensive look at all of the tens of thousands of allegations of irregularities. Instead, it will look broadly at vote-counting procedures around the country in an attempt to address concerns about the accuracy of the count. Among the issues to be covered are potential tampering with computerized voting machines, barriers to voter registration, and varying standards for counting ''provisional ballots," which are given to voters who say they are eligible but whose names do not appear on the rolls. ''This is something of broad national interest," said Ralph Dawn, the office's assistant director for congressional relations. ''This will not be a catalog that addresses every allegation. But we will look at things from a systemic nature -- is it an anecdote or is it something we can generalize toward suggesting a problem and a potential solution?" The investigation was announced on the same day that members of a federal panel said they will hold hearings around the country on complaints of irregularities in the presidential vote. DeForest B. Soaries, chairman of the US Election Assistance Commission, said he knows of ''gaps and vulnerabilities that have got to be addressed." ''We in no way think that the lack of a crisis stemming from Nov. 2 eliminates the need for action," said Soaries, whose agency was created in response to the Florida recount four years ago. ''We know some problems existed everywhere. We just don't know the extent to which there were problems." The hearings will focus on the quality of voting machines, prevention of tampering, and ways to preserve records for recounts; statewide voter databases, which 40 states still lack, to assure that local officials do not bar eligible voters; and procedures for casting and counting provisional ballots. Even proponents of those hearings and the Government Accountability Office's investigation said they do not believe they will alter the result of the election. The House Democrats who requested the investigation say voting problems were not widespread enough to have influenced the election's outcome. In any event, the probe's expected six-month time frame means results will not be known until after President Bush is inaugurated for a second term. But the lawmakers said a thorough investigation is necessary to preserve the integrity of the voting system, regardless of who the winner was. ''What is far more important than the ultimate result is the public's confidence in it," said Representative John Conyers Jr., a Michigan Democrat who led efforts to get the Government Accountability Office involved. ''The purpose of this investigation is to figure out what systemwide deficiencies exist in voting machines and voting procedures so that those flaws can be fixed by legislation prior to the next election." Continued... 1 2 Next boston.com