Monday, December 06, 2004

Ohio Certifies Results, Let the Recount Begin...

Now that Ohio has certified it's results giving Bush a 18,775 vote victory, the $1.5M recount begins.

Rich Lowry shoots down several conspiracy theories including voting machine errors (caught and corrected as part of the normal process), provisional ballots (similar percentage as in 2000), and spoiled punch cards (less spoiled in 2004 than in 2000), but my favorite is the following:
William A. Anthony Jr. is an unlikely candidate to help steal an election for President Bush. But that is what he's essentially being accused of by a band of left-wing conspiracy theorists who can't accept the idea that John Kerry lost the state of Ohio -- and the election -- fair and square.

The conspiracy theorists focus on Franklin County, home of the heavily Democratic city of Columbus. They allege, among other things, that long lines there on Election Day were a cagey tactic to keep blacks from voting. It just happens that Anthony is chairman of the Franklin County Board of Elections and also chairman of the Franklin County Democratic Party. "I am a black man," he told The Columbus Dispatch. "Why would I sit there and disenfranchise voters in my own community?" Good question.
If I were convinced that a $1.5M recount would convince everyone that the results were fair, it might even be worth it. The reality is, no one who is unconvinced now will be convinced even after the recount.