HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
June 3, 2006 Recall the debacle surrounding the elections of 2000 and then again in the 2004 Presidential elections. Allegations abounded about the number and quality of votes cast or not. The term "hanging chads" became commonplace and top political speak in Florida where the first election was hotly contested. In addition to the "hanging chad" situation Florida refused to count the absentee votes, of which I was one. Many of these questionable votes were tossed aside and never used in the final recount which was led by the Republican's in office. My opinion is that there should have been representation from both parties in this recount! As for Ohio the second time around, many voters said that they were turned away because of the blurring of districts and polls. Others said they (names and addresses) never came up on the local or county record books. Many said that there were two and three votes cast under suspicious or similar names without checks and balances. Right or wrong it was another mess and one that should not have been under contest if the governments of each municipality had been on top of this issue from the onset. There again a balanced recount could have ended this slight. The crux of this conundrum was, and is, mistrust on behalf of both parties about the election outcomes. Why was this so? Since the election in 2000 was decided by the Supreme Court most Democrats still concede that it was cleanly won by Kerry/Edwards and not the one awarded the seat in the White House now. Florida was the sticking point then and less so in 2004. I am a long time resident and registered voter in the state of Florida and I was ashamed of that boil of an election and its outcome. I believe it was mismanaged and manipulated from the onset. I believe that the Kerry/Edwards team won and was thwarted their seat because of the political pull that Bush, Sr. welds. However, it is now a moot point. In 2004 the hot seat shifted to Ohio. Historically Ohio has been a swing state. A state where all contestants in this race campaigned often and regularly. Sort of unbelievable to me that in the two consecutive Presidential elections where Bush, Jr. was a candidate there was such widespread and noteworthy contestability. Never before in the history of the United States has there been two consecutive elections with this type of end result. It has to make even the most staunch Republican supporter question ethics, unless of course you have no ethics. Don't hate me just yet. Follow me through here to the logical conclusions. Sequioa voting machines was a player in these elections. Sequoia provides state-of-the-art election technology services to state and local governments. According to their web site, www.sequoiavote.com, all of their software is pre-tested by Federal independent testing authorities which in plan language means that there are pre-approved persons within each governmental office that are certified in the individual states to test these machines and determine if they are suitable for their particular needs. There was no mention as to how these people were specifically selected and what their special qualifications might be. Customers for Sequioa include, but are not limited to, California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, Nevada, and Washington, DC. (www.sequoiavote.com) Sequioa has been open and operating in the United States for over 100 years. Sequoia touchscreen voting machines were used in 2000 in California. Their verifiable paper printer upgrade was first used in the 2004 elections. Their optical scan/electronic version was used in Washington, DC in 2004. All in all, 52,000 machines were used across the United States in the 2004 election. (www.sequoiavote.com) CNN news ran a segment yesterday (CNN News, Friday, June 2, 2006, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and then again with Lou Dobbs) regarding the ownership of Sequoia voting machines. In March of 2005 Sequoia voting machines was sold to Smartmatic and Sequoia is now considered a subsidy of that parent company. Smartmatic is owned by a man that holds dual citizenship with Venezuela and Spain by the name of Antonio Mugrea. (www.sequoiavote.com) According to Sequoia's web site, www.sequoiavote.com, Smartmatic is a MNC (Multinational Corporation) from Curacao, Venezuela registered in Delaware and the Netherlands allowing them to operate seamlessly in all International markets with main offices in Boca Raton, Florida. Their web site additionally states that no ownership of this company is currently held by the government of Venezuela or any other government. CNN News did a little digging and found that fewer than a dozen people actually work out of their (Sequoia's) offices in Boca Raton, Florida and that the vast majority of their employees work out of Venezuela. (CNN News, Friday, June 2, 2006, The Situation Room segment with Wolf Blitzer) Sequoia's web site, www.sequoiavote.com, states that they did not have to go through CIFUS because they do not deal in military, defense, or issues of national security. I along with CNN News question this line of logic on the grounds that our votes should be an issue of national security. How do you feel about this issue? Sources; CNN News, Friday, June 2, 2006, The Situation Room segment with Wolf Blitzer and Lou Dobbs Tonight www.sequoiavote.com ------------ About the author: Michelle Malsbury was born and raised in Champaign, Illinois. Currently she resides in Florida. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Business Management and a Masters Degree in Business Management. Travels have taken her from Europe through the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and across much of the United States. She enjoys outdoor activities like sailing, water-skiing, hiking, bike riding, working out, and fishing as well as reading, music, theater, playing with her two amusing pets (Abu Chez, her 7.5 year old Australian Blue Heeler and Zack, her three year old yellow tabby cat) and writing. "Three Years With Adonis" is the first to be published of several books that she has written. It is now available in all the better bookstores, but can also be found and ordered at Amazon.com, Booksamillion.com, Barnesandnoble.com, or ordered directly from her web sites, www.3yearswithadonis.com, www.threeyearswithadonis.com, or www.MichelleMalsbury.com. In addition to "Three Years With Adonis", she has authored four other books and three screenplays while continuing to explore all that life hands her. Email Michelle Malsbury: zackywacks@aol.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
