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View from Another Planet
by Josh Mitteldorf
April 13, 2005

On the flight to Nashville this past weekend, I sat next to a man who asked what I was writing. Preparing a talk, I told him, for a conference of people sharing evidence that the 2004 presidential election was stolen. Without missing a beat, he asked ‘Isn’t that next door to the convention on UFO sightings?’

I wasn’t surprised. We’ve been painted as conspiracy theorists and worse by Democrats and Republicans alike, and even the liberal arm of the press has steered clear of this issue.

But when I arrived at the Jefferson Street Baptist Church in Nashville, my doubts about the election were reinforced by a community of sober professionals, none of whom seemed overtly loony.

I met David Griscom, a retired physics prof who had spent months with his colleague John Brakey poring over election tapes, signature rosters and “consecutive number registers” from Brakey’s Tucson, AZ home precinct. They audited and verified, one by one, the 895 votes in the precinct, and here’s what they discovered: 12 innocent, and unsuspecting voters had had their names duplicated on the roster and their votes for Bush counted twice. There were 22 ‘undervotes’ where the machine had failed to register a preference for president, and these had been dutifully and meticulously converted to 22 votes for Bush. The “Republican” and “Democratic” co-directors of the polling place were a local fundamentalist preacher and his wife. 39 of their parishioners from another precinct had cast provisional ballots, which had been (illegally) converted on the spot to regular ballots and passed through the vote counter, all 39 for Bush. The net result, Dr Griscom figured, was that Bush got 394 votes when he was entitled only to 336, a swing of 13%.

I met Richard Hayes Phillips, a PhD geologist from New Hampshire who was invited to Ohio as a volunteer to study the integrity of the vote count, then gradually realized that a complete inventory of lost and miscounted votes was needed, and committed himself to the task. To date, Phillips has analyzed 15 of Ohio’s 88 counties, and by his most conservative estimate – the counts he can actually prove – has found 101,000 uncounted Kerry votes. 136,000 is the margin by which Bush officially defeated Kerry.

I heard Clint Curtis talk about working in 2001 as a programmer for Yang Enterprises in Florida. He was assigned, one day, to a meeting with State Senate Speaker Tom Feeney, who asked to have a program written into the software that controls voting machines so that the totals could be manipulated without leaving a trace. Curtis, the whistleblower, is now unemployed. Feeney, the politician, is now the U.S. Representative from Florida’s 24th Congressional district.

I was inspired to hear the travails of Ohio Attorney Cliff Arnebeck. After the Green Party raised $200,000 and obtained authorization for a recount in Ohio, Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell staged a charade, in which every State rule about the conduct of the recount was thrown out, and two hand-picked precinct captains emerged from behind locked doors to report that yes, indeed the numbers were exactly right and all was hunky dory. Arnebeck was lead attorney in a lawsuit to expose this sham, and demand a real recount. The suit was dismissed by Supreme Court Justice Thomas Moyer, who ruled on the case despite the fact that his own re-election in 2004 was part of the challenge. Arnebeck has continued to pursue the case while he fights on the side for his legal life: State Attorney General Jim Petro has brought an action to discipline Arnebeck for bringing a frivolous lawsuit that wastes the precious time of the Ohio court.

I was in Nashville to present the work of Steve Freeman, a Penn professor who was the first to point out that we do have a way to pull these horror stories together, and to know how much effect all these little scandals have had in the aggregate. The National Exit Poll by the Edison/Mitofsky consortium interviewed 70,000 voters fresh from the voting booth on November 2, and asked for whom they had just cast their ballots. 51% of them said John Kerry, and 48% said George Bush.

Now it’s Monday morning. I’m safely returned from Planet Nashville, back home in the land of ABC-CBS-NBC-FOX-AP-UPI. I find it reassuring to remember that if any of this had really happened, the Democrats in Congress would be screaming about it. I’d read about it on the front page, and it would be all over the network news. Yes, I can be sure that Nashville was just a bad dream. The reality is that President Bush won the election, and it’s time to move on. Time to move on. It was all just a dream. Yes, it’s time to move on.

---
Josh Mitteldorf lives in Mt Airy and teaches math and statistics at Temple University.

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Election Issues

"An open letter to the Election Assistance Commission"
December 25, 2005
John Gideon, Executive Director of VotersUnite.Org and Information Manager for VoteTrustUSA.Org

"Diebold hack proven in county test!"
December 17, 2005
Glenn Yeagley

"Diebold Inc. in a tailspin after resignation of CEO and filing of a class action fraud lawsuit"
December 17, 2005
VelvetRevolution.us

"Orr thinks machines make voting simpler, more secure "
December 17, 2005
Mario Bartoletti

"Diebold "hack test" - Sec. State / Black Box Lawyer square off"
December 10, 2005
Black Box Voting

"With new legislation, Ohio Republicans plan holiday burial for American Democracy"
December 6, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"Important daily voting news"
December 4, 2005
John Gideon

"Poll shock"
November 24, 2005
Robert C. Koehler, Tribune Media Services

"Ohio's Diebold Debacle: New machines call election results into question"
November 24, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"Diebold attempts to evade election transparency laws"
November 20, 2005
Matt Zimmerman

"Supreme Court stabs another GOP knife into US democracy by upholding ex-felon vote ban"
November 16, 2005
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

"Has American Democracy died an electronic death in Ohio 2005's referenda defeats?"
November 11, 2005
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

"What John Kerry definitely said about 2004’s stolen election and why it's killing American democracy"
November 10, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"Scrap the "secret" ballot - return to open voting"
November 5, 2005
Lynn Landes

"Clarification of NEDA's withdrawal of Ohio exit poll paper"
November 5, 2005
Kathy Dopp

"Clarification of NEDA's withdrawal of Ohio exit poll paper"
November 3, 2005
Kathy Dopp, National Election Data Archive

"Watergate-style money laundering indictments stoke Ohio's stolen election fires"
October 28, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"Powerful Government Accountability Office report confirms key 2004 stolen election findings"
October 26, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"Did you erase your own vote?"
October 25, 2005
Warren Stewart, Director of Legislative Issues and Policy, www.VoteTrustUSA.org

"Why can't the left face the Stolen Elections of 2004 & 2008?"
October 18, 2005
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

"Carter/Baker Report can't face how the GOP stole America's 2004 election & is rigging 2008"
September 20, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"Two Steps Forward, One Step Back"
September 20, 2005
Warren Stewart, Director of Legislative Issues and Policy, VoteTrustUSA

"FEMA Chief Brown Paid Millions in False Claims to Help Bush Win Fla. Votes"
September 19, 2005
Jason Leopold

"Ohio recount lawsuit set for trial; election workers indicted"
September 4, 2005
Blair Bobier

"Ohio Governor's ethics violations expose money trail to stolen 2004 election"
August 30, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"Diebold's failure in California"
August 7, 2005
John Gideon, Information Manager, www.VotersUnite.Org and www.VoteTrustUSA.Org

"Did the GOP steal another Ohio Election?"
August 5, 2005
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

"Conyers-Kaptur seek special counsel for Noe probe"
August 4, 2005
John Conyers, Jr. and Marcy Kaptur

"Dramatic new charges deepen link between Ohio's "Coingate," Voinovich mob connections, and the theft of the 2004 election"
July 29, 2005
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"None dare call it stolen - Ohio, the election, and America's servile press"
July 24, 2005
Mark Crispin Miller, summarized by Mary Anne Saucier, Columbus, Ohio

"Civic Engagement and the Restoration of Community from a voter activist’s view"
July 19, 2005
Terri Zins

"My report from Hocking County, July 5, 2005: An update on Sherole Eaton's unfolding Story"
July 7, 2005
Victoria Parks, Ohio Backbone Campaign

"Handbook for Ohio Voter Activists, Version 2.0"
July 7, 2005
Various activists

"Direct testimony: Presented to Election Assessment Hearing"
July 4, 2005
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.

"Log Cabin Republicans in Ohio"
July 4, 2005
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.

"With a limp election theft report, Dems prove why they're unworthy"
June 28, 2005
Harvey Wasserman and Bob Fitrakis

"Voting problems and uncounted votes in Lucas County, Ohio"
June 28, 2005
Justine Smith

"The DNC 2004 Election Report: An indictment of incompetence"
June 25, 2005
Steven Rosenfeld and Bob Fitrakis

"Corporate control of the election process"
June 22, 2005
John Gideon

"Introduction: Did George W. Bush steal America's 2004 election?"
June 16, 2005
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman

"Voter Confidence Committee Calls For Rejection of CA Special Election"
June 16, 2005
Dave Berman

"Activists from 25 states lobby for paper ballots on June 9 and 10"
June 10, 2005
VoteTrustUSA.org

"Fear of riffraff"
June 10, 2005
Robert C. Koehler, Tribune Media Services

"Electoral Politics and the War: Lessons from 2004 and What the Anti-War Movement Should do in 2006"
June 8, 2005
Kevin Zeese

"Optical scan machines hacked in Florida"
June 2, 2005
Black Box Voting

"Does ES&S really want to sell the Automark machines?"
May 28, 2005
John Gideon

"Attack on election board whistleblower and leaked Blackwell threats re-fire Ohio's election theft scandal"
May 23, 2005
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

"Franklin County, Ohio Election Procedures – April and May 2005"
May 6, 2005
Paddy Shaffer

"Carter Gets It – But Will His Electoral Commission?"
April 24, 2005
Kevin Zeese and Linda Schade

"Voter Perceptions and Political Deceptions: Federal, Ohio and Knox"
April 24, 2005
Mike Swinford

"Electoral reform groups call for James Baker's resignation from electoral reform commission"
April 17, 2005
Ilene Proctor

"National Conference on Election Reform Opens with Civil Rights Panel"
April 13, 2005
Abigail Thorton

"View from Another Planet"
April 13, 2005
Josh Mitteldorf

"Democrats! Paper “Trails” Aren’t Good Enough. Count The Damn Ballots!"
April 12, 2005
Lynn Landes

"Democrats, Paper ‘Trails’ Aren’t Good Enough; Count The Damn Ballots!"
April 1, 2005
Lynn Landes, Online Journal Contributing Writer

"Scientific Analysis Suggests Presidential Vote Counts May Have Been Altered"
March 30, 2005
US Vote Counts

"As Blackwell Says, Ohio’s in 2004 was a National Model"
March 24, 2005
Steve Rosenfeld, Bob Fitrakis, and Harvey Wasserman

"Understanding the difference between paper ballots and paper audit trails"
March 20, 2005
Gary Beckwith

"Save Our Democracy"
March 16, 2005
John Irwin

"Republicans maneuvering to get Voting Rights Act killed"
March 10, 2005
Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

"Legal filing highlights Blackwell's hypocrisy in Ohio recount case"
March 7, 2005
Blair Bobier

"Selma 40 Years Later"
March 6, 2005
Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

"Exit Poll Madness - Analyst Steve Freeman & Company Offer False Choice"
March 4, 2005
Lynn Landes

"Libertarians To Testify in Ohio House: Modernize Ohio's Election Laws"
March 3, 2005
Robert Butler

"The New Voting Rights Movement Begins Here Today"
March 2, 2005
Steven Rosenfeld

"Voting in America"
February 28, 2005
Bob Babson

"The Mighty Texas Strike Force"
February 28, 2005
Nick Mottern - Documentary News Service

"Blackwell presidential election sanctions briefs"
February 22, 2005
Various individuals

"Representative Conyers and others file amicus brief in Ohio Supreme Court"
February 17, 2005
Dena Graziano

"Congresswoman Tubbs Jones Outraged at Blackwell's Failure to Appear During House Administration Hearing"
February 12, 2005
Office of Rep. Tubbs Jones

"Ohio Attorney-General's attack on election protection attorneys draws mountain of documentation on state's stolen election, including new study on exit polls"
February 3, 2005
Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman

"Prominent Statisticians Refute 'Explanation' of 2004 U.S. Exit Poll Discrepancies in New Edison/Mitofsky Report and Urge Investigation of U.S. Presidential Election Results"
January 31, 2005
Bruce O'Dell

"The last man to concede..."
January 29, 2005
Sheila Samples

"Report on Washington DC, January 6, 2005"
January 25, 2005
Avram Friedman

"Arkansas in 2004: Did Bush Really Win?"
January 24, 2005
Max Standridge

"New links"
January 23, 2005
Free Press staff

"Voting Problems and Uncounted Votes in Lucas County, Ohio"
January 23, 2005
Justine Smith

"Plan B: Parallel Elections & Signed Ballots"
January 20, 2005
Lynn Landes

"Open Letter to Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro from Representative John Conyers, Jr."
January 20, 2005
Representative John Conyers, Jr.

"Open Letter to Warren Mitofsky and Larry Rosin from Representative John Conyers, Jr."
January 20, 2005
Representative John Conyers, Jr.

"Ohio's GOP Attorney General launches revenge attack on Election Protection legal team"
January 19, 2005
Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman

"What are they hiding in New Mexico?"
January 18, 2005
Warren Stewart, National Ballot Integrity Project

"In the Shadow of Dr. King, counting the vote remains a civil rights issue"
January 17, 2005
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman

"Did the “Liberal Media” Get the 2004 Election All Wrong? "
January 16, 2005
Gene C. Gerard

"'COUNT EVERY VOTE. EVERY VOTE COUNTS'"
January 16, 2005
Mary Anne Saucier

"Moss v. Bush moves on and movement continues"
January 13, 2005
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman

"Rally Continues Drive for Democracy"
January 9, 2005
Mark Huntress

"Estimated vote count in Ohio"
January 8, 2005
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.

"January 6 Washington, D.C. rally report"
January 8, 2005
Nick Mottern

"Together, we moved three mountains"
January 8, 2005
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman

"What the election challenge means"
January 8, 2005
David Swanson, ILCA

"Progressive Democrats lead historic voting rights protest as Congress ratifies flawed 2004 Electoral College tally"
January 7, 2005
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman

"Arnebeck letter to Congress re Presidential Electoral Challenge"
January 6, 2005
Clifford O. Arnebeck, Jr.

"Senator Barbara Boxer, D-CA and Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-OH contested the election"
January 6, 2005
Free Press staff

"The "Crime of November 2": The human side of how Bush stole Ohio, and why Congress must investigate rather than ratify the Electoral College (Part Two of Two)"
January 5, 2005
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman

"Status Report of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff"
January 5, 2005
U.S. Rep. John Conyers and staff

"Seven key reasons why the vote must be challenged at the electoral college"
January 3, 2005
Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition

"Ten preliminary reasons why the Bush vote does not compute, and why Congress must investigate rather than certify the Electoral College (Part One of Two)"
January 3, 2005
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman

"Verified election contest petitions and documents in Ohio Supreme Court "
January 2, 2005
The undersigned

"Distribution of voting machines by county in Ohio"
January 1, 2005
Andy Shifflette

"Did We Bounce An Election?"
January 1, 2005
Warren Stewart, votersunite.org

"Presidential election congressional hearing transcript"
January 1, 2005
Congresspeople Waters, Tubbs-Jones and Conyers and others

Selected articles from 2004

"Ohio's official non-recount ends amidst new evidence of fraud, theft and judicial contempt mirrored in New Mexico"
December 31, 2004

"Impossible Phantom Votes in New Mexico "
December 30, 2004

"The 2004 Presidential Election: Who Won The Popular Vote? An Examination of the Comparative Validity of Exit Poll and Vote Count Data"
December 29, 2004

"Ohio GOP election officials ducking notices of deposition as Kerry enters stolen vote fray"
December 28, 2004

"Another third rate burglary"
December 25, 2004

"Hacking the vote in Miami County"
December 25, 2004

"Update from the Ohio Frontlines"
December 24, 2004

"Lawsuit Before the Ohio Supreme Court"
December 24, 2004

"Kerry votes switched to Bush and ballots pre-punched for Bush"
December 24, 2004

"Uncounted votes in Cuyahoga County"
December 24, 2004

Related Journal articles:

"GAO report documents how easy it is to hack the vote"
November 15, 2005

"J30 Election Reform Coalition"
March 21, 2005

"The Un-mighty New Hampshire Jam Force"
March 21, 2005

"Petro sanctions democracy"
March 21, 2005

"Progressives helped concede election by conceding the moral high ground"
March 21, 2005

"We will not concede, or get over it, but we shall overcome"
January 23, 2005

"From Selma to Palm Beach to Columbus"
January 23, 2005

"Movement Heroes"
January 23, 2005

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