] The Department of State has notified elections
] supervisors that touchscreen ballots don't have to be
] included during manual recounts because there is no
] question about how voters intended to vote.

Yeah, definitely.

] The Department of State has notified elections
] supervisors that touchscreen ballots don't have to be
] included during manual recounts because there is no
] question about how voters intended to vote.

[ WHAT THE FUCK! Hang on, vision blurring, i think there's a hemorrage in my brain.

What an excellent idea... maybe even a SUPER-EXCELLENT idea: Let's give the NEW systems, already SHOWN to be error prone, if not outright FAULTY, even LESS accountability.

Holy mother of monkeys, if there's another voting fiasco this year, i swear to god there will be rioting in the streets. People are gonna lose it. End of story... minds, lost. Gone.

What a total and complete outrage. Even without the conspiracy theorist inside me thinking about how conveniently this sets up Diebold's promise to deliver a Bush victory, it's an outrage.

Some truly outstanding, unprececedented bullshit right here.

[edit: from the article
] "We're working very hard to educate the voters,
] to build the comfort level and to get rid of
] some of the myths out there," Hood said. "I think
] these things are raised for political purposes
] and distractions. Any effort to undermine that
] public confidence is a tactic that is wrong and
] I believe it weakens our democracy by causing
] voters to doubt if their vote has been counted."

The very instant that citizens start believing everything politicians say without a hint of doubt is the very instant that democracy disappears. Period.

] "Technology is going to continue to develop and
] if we can find ways to improve Florida's
] elections and process with new equipment, then
] we're going to do that," she said.

How about improving Florida's "elections and process" with oversight, transparency and proven technology. And it wouldn't hurt to put some serious pressure on anyone who appears to be engaged in disenfranchising substantial segments of the population.

-k]

] "We're working very hard to educate the voters, to build
] the comfort level and to get rid of some of the myths out
] there," Hood said. "I think these things are raised for
] political purposes and distractions. Any effort to
] undermine that public confidence is a tactic that is
] wrong and I believe it weakens our democracy by causing
] voters to doubt if their vote has been counted."

The more elections commissions managers claim that its not important to think critically about this the more likely I think it is that they are hiding more then the fact that they spent tax payer dollars on vulnerable equipment.

] there," Hood said. "I think these things are raised for
] political purposes and distractions. Any effort to
] undermine that public confidence is a tactic that is
] wrong and I believe it weakens our democracy by causing
] voters to doubt if their vote has been counted."

So actively questioning whether my vote is being counted properly is "undermin[ing]" democracy? More like ensuring a democracy by making sure my vote counted. This is like those folks who say voicing opposition to the War in Iraq/War on Terrorism is anti-American. None of these actions could be any more American.