Election Fraud in Florida

Read what some independent statistical models have to say about election results coming from the use of Diebold and ES&S electronic voting machines in Florida.

Berkeley analysis of Fla. electronic voting finds Bush wrongly awarded between 133,000 and 260,000 votes

A study by faculty and graduate students and led by University of California at Berkeley Professor Michael Hout has concluded that President Bush was likely erroneously awarded between 130,000 and 260,000 votes in Florida alone, with 72,000 of them being in the largely Democratic Broward County alone, RAW STORY has learned.

The survey, which is the most comprehensive and detailed analysis of Florida’s 2004 election results to date, found that compared to counties with paper ballots, counties with electronic voting machines were significantly more likely to show gains for Bush between 2000 and 2004...

“No matter how many factors and variables we took into consideration, the significant correlation in the votes for President Bush and electronic voting cannot be explained,” Hout added. “The study shows that a county’s use of electronic voting resulted in a disproportionate increase in votes for President Bush.

The odds of this occurring by chance?

“Less than once in a thousand,” he said.

Will there be naysayers who disregard this? Of course, since this is only a statistical model and not a definitive smoking gun, many people will deny that this report has any credibility. Those that do such, though, are missing the point: Without documentation specifically pointing to election fraud, there's no way of knowing it happened because the votes on these machines cannot be checked manually. There is no paper receipt and no ballot backup. The fact remains that when you use an electronic voting machine, there's no way to know who you voted for. Anybody who has any concerns about our democracy, Republican or Democrat, should pay special attention to this story.

We all have a right to know who we voted for.

[Hattips: David and Rimone.]