Judging by both first hand observation and news reports from around Steve Garfield,<\/a> in Our own experiences on Tuesday, which was primary day here is Massachusetts, As it was, voting once was probably overkill. The only primary However, our grasp on the local political situation is so tenuous that In fact, we voted for write-in candidates for almost all of the offices So we wrote in our own candidates for each of the one-man races. Our Finally, today’s Boston The tidbit that really blew our mind was the incredible contention that "Under the National Voter Registration Act — the `Motor Voter Globe oped piece<\/a><\/p>\n Steve Garfield’s Video Blog<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Following the embarrassing debacle which passed for a Presidential Election in the US in 2000, featuring hanging chads, voters turned away from the polls, lost ballots, double and triple dipping and no decisions for over a month after election day, … Continue reading ![](\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/dowbrigade\/\ngarf.jpg\")
Following
\n the embarrassing debacle which passed<\/a> for
\n a Presidential Election in the US in 2000, featuring hanging chads,
\n voters turned away from the polls, lost ballots, double and triple
\n dipping and no decisions for over a month after election day, we had
\n naturally assumed that the post-election cleanup would include a serious
\n revamping of electoral laws, voting regulations and election day enforcement.<\/p>\n
\n the country, we were sorely mistaken.<\/p>\n
\n his groundbreaking
\n video blog<\/a>, reports from several
\n polling places in the Boston area that NOBODY is respecting the legally
\n mandated 150 ft buffer zone around the actual polling place within which
\n no signs or electioneering is allowed. Steve found sign-wielding
\n campaign workers camped on the front steps and at the doorways of the polling
\n stations themselves. Their reactions when confronted by Steve are worth
\n a look.<\/p>\n
\n were equally unsettling. Voting our of habit, but for the first time in
\n our new District, we were pleased to find our name on the voter’s list,
\n and we were able to vote without showing any ID or proof of citizenship.
\n We could have been anyone! We are equally sure we are still on the rolls
\n in our previous address and could have easily voted twice had we so desired.<\/p>\n
\n race we were even aware of was for Sheriff, where a feisty black woman
\n with dreads was up against a beefy pasty while guy who looked like he’d
\n spent his entire life on the Force, some Force, somewhere. Needless to
\n say, and true to form, we wanted to vote for the Black woman.<\/p>\n
\n we had failed to realize that the aforementioned race was in SUFFOLK Country,
\n and we lived in MIDDLESEX County! Confronted with three Democratic candidates
\n for Sheriff, all with Irish Male sounding names, we cast a write-in vote
\n for the Dowbrigade for Sheriff.<\/p>\n
\n on the ballot. In most cases, there was a single official candidate
\n listed, which puzzled and pissed us off. If a candidate is the unanimous
\n choice of the party and is not being challenged, why even put him (they
\n were all hims) on the ballot at all? An election with only one candidate
\n is a sham and and show, reminiscent of the Soviet system or Iraqi elections.
\n And this was just a PRIMARY election, for Christ’s sake – why even HAVE
\n a primary if there is only one candidate?<\/p>\n
\n profligate son for Treasurer. Ecuadorian economist Norma Yvonne for Attorney
\n General.
\n Dowbrigade for Sheriff. Let the election board sort things out.<\/p>\n
\n Globe<\/a> features an excellent Op-Ed piece by Jeff
\n Jacoby titled "How
\n to Steal an Election<\/a>" in which he categorically states
\n that the United States has an electoral system that would be an embarrassment
\n in Honduras or Ghana. People voting multiple times, illegal aliens registering
\n and voting by the thousands, people registering toddlers and pets and requesting
\n absentee ballots for them.<\/p>\n
\n apparently 8 of the 9\/11 HIJACKERS, all Saudis, had registered to vote
\n in Virginia or Florida while training for their suicide mission!<\/p>\n\n
\n Law’ — states are required to accept voter registrations by mail.
\n No longer can citizens be asked to make a trip to town hall or the
\n county
\n office. No longer do they have to provide
\n proof of residence or citizenship. In fact, they don’t have to exist.
\n Motor Voter obliges election officials to add to the voter list any
\n name mailed in on a properly filled-out registration form. Anyone so
\n registered
\n can then request an absentee ballot — by mail, of course. The system
\n is not only open to manipulation, it invites it."<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n