Posted on 09/27/2004 7:27:50 AM PDT by Phlap
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A repetition of problems that plagued the 2000 US presidential election is likely, former US president and veteran elections monitor Jimmy Carter said, charging that "basic international requirements" for a fair vote are missing in Florida.
Reforms passed in the wake of the debacle have not been implemented due to lack of funding and political disputes, Carter observed in a hotly-worded opinion piece in Monday's Washington Post.
"The disturbing fact is that a repetition of the problems of 2000 now seems likely," he said.
"Some basic international requirements for a fair election are missing in Florida," including non-partisan electoral officials and uniformity in voting procedures, he said.
Florida's top election official four years ago also chaired the Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign in the state, and her successor is showing "the same strong bias," Carter charged.
"A fumbling attempt has been made recently to disqualify 22,000 African Americans (likely Democrats), but only 61 Hispanics (likely Republicans), as alleged felons," he said.
Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood has also appeared eager to get independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader (news - web sites) on this year's state ballot, "knowing that two-thirds of his votes in the previous election came at the expense" of Democrat Al Gore (news - web sites), Carter went on.
"She ordered Nader's name be included on absentee ballots even before the state Supreme Court ruled on the controversial issue," Carter said.
Florida's governor, President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s brother, has "taken no steps to correct these departures from principles of fair and equal treatment or to prevent them in the future," he said.
"It is unconscionable to perpetuate fraudulent or biased electoral practices in any nation," Carter wrote.
"With reforms unlikely at this late stage of the election, perhaps the only recourse will be to focus maximum public scrutiny on the suspicious process in Florida."
The Carter Center has monitored more than 50 international elections, most recently in Venezuela and Indonesia.
Carter, a Democrat, led a bi-partisan commission charged with recommending changes to US electoral processes following the 2000 vote, ultimately decided by the US Supreme Court, which halted recounts of contested ballots in Florida after a weeks-long draw.
The same court that was slaped for playing politics with their ridiclous recount ruling. What a joke.
"... which halted recounts of contested ballots in Florida after a weeks-long draw."
Lie! Bush won on election day and Al Gore put the nation through hell because he is a sore loser.
The excuses have already began for a Kerry lost and a Bush landslide.
Jimmy Carter is a moron and wouldn't know his ass if his head was up it.
Good old senile Carter, setting up the basis of a "stolen election" weeks in advance.
Carter is not loyal to America. He would have us be governed by the likes of Kofi Annan.
Uh yeah, Jimmah, umm, the Palm Beach, Broward and Dade elections officials were all Democrats, all proven to have been trying to create Gore votes out of thin air.
Every vote should count .... just not Nader votes .... and military absentee votes.
There are no "international requirements" for an election. The United States, like every other nation, determines the matter for itself, disappointing as this may be to the goo-goo former president.
This is a big set up so that on November 3 the Demo-nutcases can say "See! We told you so back in September!"
Drop Dead Carter.
"Some basic international requirements for a fair election are missing in Florida," including non-partisan electoral officials and uniformity in voting procedures, he said"
Shut up Carter. You are the same person that helped Chavez steal the Venezuelan election. How the heck would you find a non-partisan electoral official in a political process? Everyone has a party affiliation.
what few people are realizing is that the areas where the most problems cropped up in 2000 were areas where the DEMOCRATS setup and controlled the voting process. T'warn't a republican that chose butterfly ballots!
Palm Beach county is hardly a republican stronghold...
I guess the democrat anti-americans were disappointed that the nation didn't break into armed conflict in 2000/2001.
Maybe they'll get it this time . . . they may not like what they get though.
Unless, of course, Kerry happens to win.
It was all I could do to contain myself. He is truly delusional...
AND DANGEROUS!
If Nader is a candidate of the Green Party shouldn't he be included?
Who gets to choose why some parties are included and some are not....Jimmy Carter??? Puhhh--Leeese!
When is the last time Mr Carter actually said something *positive* about America?? All I hear from him (and every other Dem!) is about what is wrong with America, how we have inequities, unfairness, racism, warmongering, etc. Leave it to Carter to only find fault with the USA. I am sick of it and it is just one more reason I pray Mr Bush wins this election by a clear cut margin.
Reportedly, the rats already have an army of lawyers ready to spring into action in Florida.
Behold the second of the two DNC talking points, for November:
One: Iraq = Vietnam.
Two: Bush Stole The Election.
NOTHING about the present. All about the past.
This makes it official. Bill Clinton is NOT our worst president ever.
Florida's top election official four years ago also chaired the Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign in the state, ...
Is this true? Seems to me that there's a basic conflict of interest with an election official being involved in an election campaign. Regardless of party.
Will the real Jimmy Carter please shut up!!!!!
Florida voting officials have proved to be highly partisan, brazenly violating a basic need for an unbiased and universally trusted authority to manage all elements of the electoral process.
Duh! And the counties with the most problems are the Dem ones where they tortured every recounted ballot until it confessed a vote for Gore.
One difference I've seen between our elections and many foreign ones that need to be observed is that the foreign ones often require thumb- or fingerprints with an indelible ink to prevent multiple votes and provide proof of ID. The election officials can't even ask for a $%##^ ID from a voter, much less a thumbprint. If we were to have ID requirements, that would cut into the Dem vote fraud so Jimmah won't even discuss that.
Isn't there a hammer calling this guy somewhere?
It seems Cahtuh is throwing a tantrum because convicts' and non-residents' illegal votes are thrown out in Florida.
Carter is banking on his undeserved reputation as a moderate, conciliatory, and unbiased mediator. In truth he is as partisan as they come. With this editorial he wishes to do nothing but stack the deck in favor of the Democrats and bemoan superficial complaints about Republicans having an unfair (implying illegal) advantage in Florida.
if?
The Democrats are cracking up! Everything they talk about is negative bordering on paranoia. I really think this party is on the way out. It is disgusting that they would even promote him as a leader of the party. The worst president of the 20th century!
Jimma is the eternal hypocrite: screaming for democracy all over the planet, but in favor of restricting people like Nader from getting on the ballot in Florida. Of course, we all know why he wants Nader off the ballot: because he might sap votes from his fellow lefty, Monsieur Kerry.
Jimma's botched foreign policy in the late 70s leaves us a legacy of Iranian-based Islamic fundamentalism (which led to 9-11), along with the forthcoming birth of Iran as a nuclear power. He was and is a disaster.
Jimma, stick to building houses and stop trying to bring yet more harm to this nation and to the world.
I still haven't figured out what the problem was with those punch-card ballots. We use them in Illinois all the time, and while we certainly have some interesting elections, I've never heard any of their problems attributed to the ballot design.
Someone's trying to "jimmy" the election process. I wouldn't be surprised to find one of our x-presidents behing the CBS debacle. With this outrageous statement, Carter just put himself as a questionable player in the fraudulent docs at CBS.
Back when he was president I used to think that Carter was a well-intentioned fool.
Since then I have concluded that he is a malignant fool.
He never saw a dictator he didn't like.
He gave North Korea the Bomb.
He gave Iran to the Ayatollahs.
He tried to ensure that Saddam would get Kuwait and that the Sandanistas would still rule in Nicaragua. It's not his fault that he failed to do it. He tried very hard.
democrats are planning on cheating again? Why is this news?
My Carter-To-English dictionary says:
"Unfair Vote" = "Bush Victory Outside The Democrat's Ability To Manipulate It".
Carter is just sad.
John Fund said to me at the RNC that if this election is close then look for the liberals to contest the election in key states.
He just wiggles those scary eyebrows up and down and spits out his leftists pablem. He and John Kerry (who can't wiggle anything above his eyes) are the same guy.
The problem with the ballots is that Democrat poll workers spoiled a bunch of Bush votes by pushing long, thin rods through Dole's chads, and then pretended that the poor, ignorant Democrat voters hadn't understood how to use them.
Never mind that Democrats designed the ballots and controlled the voting booths.
He is pathetic.
Here's the truth...Florida did not have any more voting irregularities than are prevalent in all states.
It's just that ALgore decided to make Florida his battleground.
Anybody that uses any machinery to vote has under and overvotes.
The people counting the votes and the dems decided that everybody ALWAYS votes properly and that is simply not the case.
The Dems will be able to find the same problems in any state they want to contest...it's just the nature of voting...it's always been this way, but not until Algore and the Dems decided to make an issue of it did it become the "norm."
And from then on, contested elections will be the norm. Even the Dems in their primary in Florida had irregularities and that had nothing to do with disenfranchisement or partisan politics. There is no such thing as a perfect election or EVERY VOTE BEING COUNTED.
Mr. MALAISE opens his stupid mouth yet again. Keep it up Jimmuh
Anyone want to fathom a guess what the MSM's reporting would be like today if such drivel had poured forth from the mouth of Bush-41?
Ballot access restrictions are one of my biggest pet peeves. They are routinely used to eliminate legitimate competition and limit people's choices in political candidates.
I realize there needs to be some safeguard to keep Bob the plumber from getting his name, along with 2,000 other also rans, on the presidential ballot, but a candidate like Nadar should in no way be barred from the ballot. He is a legitimate candidate and people should have the opportunity to vote for him.
That the Democrats are putting so much energy into keeping him off ballots, only in the interest of improving their own candidates chances, shows how little respect they have for voters or the electoral process in America.
It's all about them.
Yes, I'm dreaming. But it can be done if enough people get tired of having non-citizens and non-producers vote themselves ever-increasing shares of OPM. <./rant>
Did they have that same army of lawyers ready when Jeb Bush won by 14%?!
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