Those who mock the idea of vote fraud in the 2004 election are quick to point out that the possibility of a coordinated, systematic attack on the vote, across hundreds of districts, and using disparate methods of processing is beyond the laugh test.

True, any particular instance of irregularity by itself seems insufficiently compelling to foster the current groundswell of suspicion. Taken en masse, however, the evidence seems to suggest an incomprehensible conclusion -- at least to the uninformed and those in denial.

They refuse to acknowledge the resourcefulness and "do-it-yourself" moxie of their fellow Republicans -- those who make them proud to be a part of the GOP.

As we know, when the word goes out with a wink and a nod, each and every winger out there is thinking of how they can make their contribution to the Bush 04 vote pool. Each one takes it upon themselves to assist in the election of the candidate chosen by God himself. Since there is no higher power, there is no guilt involved and no deferral to an alternate authority...not the constitution...not Democracy...not integrity...nothing. It is a means to an end -- the rationale for multitudes of politically and ideologically driven actions throughout the years.

Could these same people who dismiss vote fraud ask themselves how every 'irregularity' favors Bush? If such irregularities were nonsystematic, unintentional, and/or coincidental, then some (about half) of them would have to favor Kerry.

They don't.

Step forward with the latest evidence of voter fraud:

Check out these maps in their full detail (click on the images) to discover the overwhelming correlation of problematic long lines on election day (read suppressed voters) to the population density of blacks in that area. Absolutely astounding. And for those who wish to poo-poo this away with a dismissive quip about these areas being unwilling to invest in more machines, read below the fold about the deliberate reallocation of voting machines AWAY from these areas.

(Click on the image for Detail)

(Click on the image for Detail)

And then there are these...

* The latest analysis of the Nov. 2 vote by a coalition of Ohio voting rights activists.

In analyzing the still-unofficial results, the totals reveal that C. Ellen Connally, an African-American Democratic candidate from Cleveland for Ohio Chief Justice, received 257,000 more votes than Kerry. [Editor's note: Rev. Jackson was referring to Connally's margin of votes as a benchmark, not actual more votes.

In Butler County, Connally the Democrat received 59,532 running against Republican Chief Justice Moyer who received 66,625 votes. Connally received 5347 more votes than Kerry. For example, in Butler County, the difference between Connally and Moyers's votes was 7093. Bush received 106,735 votes and Kerry received 54,185 votes, with a difference of 52,550. Subtracting 7093 from 52,550 equals 45,457. Statistically the margin is significant only as a place to look for votes that could have been electronically shifted from Kerry to Bush. The 52,550 difference in Butler County between Bush and Kerry, when contrasted with the 7093 vote difference between Moyer and Connally provides a place to investigate and recount.

The Connally race should be seen as a Democratic benchmark in Republican counties with the sample ballot, since she is endorsed by pro-choice and civil rights groups. While the vote totals for Bush and Kerry should be higher than for Connally and Moyer, the percentage by which they won should not be so different. Moyer wins over Connally with 52.8% eliminating minimal third party votes, Bush won over Kerry with 66%. See below for details.*]

The reason these vote counts are suspect is because Connelly, a retired African-American judge, was vastly outspent in her race, and did not have the visibility of the presidential race.

“This looks like a computer glitch or a computer fix,” said Bob Fitrakis, a lawyer, political scientist and Editor of the Columbus Free Press (http://freepres.org) who has written about election irregularities since Bush was declared the winner. Fitrakis is among the team of lawyers who announced they would soon file an election challenge in the state’s Supreme Court.

“Statistically, Kerry, as the Democratic presidential candidate, should have more votes than Connally. In a presidential election, most voters have the priority of casting a vote for president and the votes for president are almost always much higher than those of candidates farther down the ticket. When voters vote for Democratic candidates farther down the ticket, it is usually being driven by a sample ballot from the Party, starting at the top with president. Many voters simply don’t vote for Supreme Court justices. It is highly improbable that Connally’s vote totals would be so much higher than Kerry’s,” Fitrakis said.

The fact that Warren County has such odd vote counts is no surprise to Fitrakis. “The Republican-dominated county threw out all the media and independent vote watchers when votes were being counted at the end of Election Day, claiming ‘homeland security’ issues. This would have easily allowed for the wholesale shifting of a large amount of votes from Kerry to Bush. If you’re behind closed doors, it is easy enough to do. The November issues of Popular Science and Popular Mechanics magazines show how easy it is to hack the vote and steal an election. The articles are called ‘E-vote emergency: And you thought dimpled chads were bad’ and ‘Could hackers tilt the election?’ I think they did,” explained Fitrakis.

* From an 'Ohio recount update' listserve we have the following analysis from Richard Hayes Phillips. He's analyzed the available data by wards, precincts and voting machines. His analysis shows that the refusal to supply adequate voting machines to democratic strongholds was a deliberate strategy. The information is worth reading in its entirety.

OHIO RECOUNT: STEALING VOTES IN COLUMBUS

The Free Press on Election Day posted a disturbing story, later confirmed by the Columbus Dispatch.

The Free Press reported that Franklin County Board of Elections Director Matt Damschroder deliberately withheld voting machines from predominantly black Democratic wards in Columbus, and dispersed some of the machines to affluent suburbs in Franklin County.

Damschroder is the former Executive Director of the Franklin County Republican Party. Sources close to the Board of Elections told the Free Press that Damschroder and Ohio’s Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell met with President George W. Bush in Columbus on Election Day.

The idea was to discourage turnout in Democratic wards by forcing voters to wait in long lines at the polling places. Such a strategy would be far more effective than encouraging turnout in Republican wards.

Elections are all about margins. There are 74 wards in Columbus. George W. Bush won 12 wards, with a margin of 7.35%. John F. Kerry won 62 wards, with a margin of 37.62%. Affecting Kerry’s turnout would greatly reduce his margin of victory in Columbus, giving the Republicans a much better chance of overtaking Kerry given a strong enough showing in suburban and small town Republican strongholds.

Read the analysis...

* And finally (for now) there is this:

NY Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez reports today unbelievable spikes in 3rd party candidates in African-American neighborhood precincts in Cleveland - uncovered by Gonzalez and his colleague, reporter Larry Cohler-Esses. They found the vote surge in 3rd-party counts for Michael Peroutka (Precinct 4-F ) and Michael Badnarik (4-N ), and similarly for 12 other Cleveland precincts. Example- Kerry 318, Badnarik 163, Bush 21 (precinct 4N). Next example - Kerry 290 , Peroutka 215, Bush 21 (4F). Peroutka is an ultra-conservative. "That's terrible, I can't believe it," said City Councilman Kenneth Johnson (4th ward rep since 1980) "It's obviously a malfunction with the machines."

The combined 3rd party votes last time around - in 2000 - including Nader was just 8 votes in all for the 2 precincts, F and N.

[...]

That many black votes for Peroutka is about as likely as all those Jewish votes for Buchanan in Florida's Palm Beach County in 2000.

Mysteriouser and mysteriouser.