COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The U.S. Department of Justice says it found no evidence of discrimination in the distribution of voting machines in two Ohio counties in the close 2004 presidential election.
The department, which is part of the Bush administration, began investigating after voters complained of long voting lines and alleged discrimination in Franklin and Knox counties. Investigators wanted to determine if elections officials had intentionally skewed the placement of machines.
The Justice Department said the distribution in Franklin County narrowly favored black voters. Because turnout in predominantly black precincts was lower than in white ones, machines in those districts averaged fewer votes, according to a report released Wednesday.
An unanticipated 76 percent turnout -- with many first-time voters -- contributed to the long lines in the Kenyon College precinct in Knox County, according to a report released in June. Some voters waited until 4 a.m. to cast their ballots.
President George W. Bush won re-election Nov. 2 with his win in Ohio over Democrat John Kerry.
A Democratic National Committee report released last week found more complaints statewide among black voters about voting than white voters.
Walter Mebane, a Cornell University professor who worked on the DNC report, said voters in mainly black precincts in Franklin County who showed up early to vote found fewer machines than those who voted later, which could explain some of the differences between the two reports.
Distribution of voting machines is determined by county boards of elections, made up of three Democrats and three Republicans.
Okay one more time...no fraud, no voter supression, no tampering with machines.
Kerry lost, Bush won.
GET OVER IT!
No comments:
Post a Comment