Home > Kerry: Trickery Kept Voters From Polls

Kerry: Trickery Kept Voters From Polls

by Open-Publishing - Monday 11 April 2005
9 comments

Parties Elections-Elected USA

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press Writer

BOSTON - Many voters in last year’s presidential election were denied access to the polls through trickery and intimidation, former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry told a voters’ group Sunday.

"Last year too many people were denied their right to vote, too many who tried to vote were intimidated," the Massachusetts senator said at an event sponsored by the state League of Women Voters.

"There is no magic wand. No one person is going to stand up and suddenly say it’s going to change tomorrow. You have to do that," he said.

Kerry supporters have charged that voting irregularities in largely Democratic areas made it difficult for voters to cast ballots in the November election. A lawsuit in Ohio cited long lines and a shortage of voting machines in predominantly minority neighborhoods, but the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed the suit.

Kerry also cited examples Sunday of how people were duped into not voting.

"Leaflets are handed out saying Democrats vote on Wednesday, Republicans vote on Tuesday. People are told in telephone calls that if you’ve ever had a parking ticket, you’re not allowed to vote," he said.

Kerry has never disputed the outcome of election, saying voting irregularities did not involve enough votes to change the result. Bush won the pivotal state of Ohio by 118,000 votes, giving him enough electoral votes to win re-election.

The Republican National Committee dismissed Kerry’s comments Sunday.

"While President Bush and members of Congress are working to move our country forward, it’s disappointing that some Democrats are focused on rehashing baseless allegations more than five months after the election," RNC spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt said.

Earlier this year, Kerry joined Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., in filing voting reform legislation. The Count Every Vote Act would create a federal holiday for voting, require paper receipts for votes and authorize $500 million to help states upgrade voting systems and equipment.

Congress’ investigative agency, the Government Accountability Office, has also begun looking into the handling of provisional ballots and malfunctions of voting machines. The study could lead to changes in the election process.

Kerry, using crutches as he recovers from knee surgery, suggested the United States should spend as much time promoting democracy at home as it does abroad in countries like Iraq.

"We need to go about the business of making our own democracy in America work better," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=sto...

Forum posts

  • How can John Kerry come foward now and complain that no one person is going to fix our election problems? The thing is, he was the one person that could have done something. Why did he leave the American people to fight the fraud all by themselves? Why did he allow the media to blackout all info? Why did he leave during the election challenge? Why didn’t he ask for his own recount of Ohio which would have made it happen sooner and in time to have made a difference? First Teresa Heinz comes foward and says she doesn’t trust the election results, and now John Kerry. Is this some sort of joke? Why didn’t he at least offer some money to the green party to pay for the recounts? Why wouldn’t he help get the recount in New Mexico and Nevada where there were some very obvious problems?

    • I guess Kerry says there was trickery and intimidation but not enough to change the results so it was okay.

      But would they really go through all the trouble if they weren’t going to change the results?

    • Why does Mr. Clinton join a mourning party with a bunch of murderers: Bush and Rice? The democrats might be not the answer, they might be the problem. False unitiy, corruption and fear of being "democratic" makes them hard distinctable from republicans.

  • I agree with another poster’s message I just read. In a nutshell, yes----why now? why is John Kerry talking about Ohio and the small numbers which supposedly would make no difference in the electoral college count. Frankly I just "don’t get it". Maybe he IS a flip-flopper, and now in April 2005 he has decided to flip over, again, and tell us that Yes, he lost the election. What has he really been telling us now? Nothing, that’s what he’s telling us. I am just a tad weary of it all. He has mentioned the possibility of running for president again, in 2008. I don’t think that would be a very good idea, do you? Heh I hope with all my heart and soul we Democrats will finally find our winning candidate..........please? Russ Feingold (D;WI) has mentioned his interest in running. Well, I am off topic, I have a propensity to do that, doggone it.

    Getting back to John Kerry. I don’t know why I should say anything like this, that I really did not care all that much for Kerry anyway. He is certainly by far a better man than George Bush (isn’t everyone?) and definitely with more functioning brain cells, but darn it, he just didn’t have "IT". You know, "It"? Charisma. Appealing, like Bill Clinton, we all wanted to be close to him and hug him. Well, anyway. All I want in November 2008 is a Democratic president in the White House. But first we must rally the Democratic troops next year and try to get Democrat senators elected in those states where the seat will be open. We need six seats to regain control of the House. Hmm, with thoughts of *that* daunting task for Democratic control, I think I will go now.

    • You might have a dream, but you will get Jeb Bush as third president of this evil dynasty.

    • Get a clue, people. John Kerry is just another billionaire scumbag of the fascist cabal running the country.

      If I saw this a-hole on the street, I’d have a hard time figuring out whether to kick him in the nuts or spit in his face. Hopefully, I would do both.

      Here’ the real message:
      Earlier this year, dirtbag Kerry joined slimeball Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., in filing vote-rigging legislation. The Your Vote Doesn’t Count Act would create a federal holiday for vote-rigging so that hackers could get double-time pay, require paper receipts to be used as toilet paper, and authorize $500 million to help states install more Diebold voting machines so the American electorate could be sure that all elections in the soon-to-be-a-third-world-nation banana republic of United States would continue to elect fascist leaders even right down to cities and towns.

      Said Karl Rove, architect of the the new world order, "We’ve only just begun. I think more slave-masters are needed at the local level. The American people are still too free and need to be brought into line. We need to make sure that anyone even thinking about voting for anyone but our selected "candidates" will be shot before casting any vote. Our program of voter-population-thinning will eliminate those pesky long lines. Eventually, all voting will be done for the people by electronic fiat. After all, only we know what’s best for them."

  • What was the last time the U.S. put a whistleblower in the White House? It wasn’t 2000, and it won’t be 2008, either.

    Kerry is letting it be known that the whistle’s blowing without getting the d-mn thing near his mouth. Can you blame him?

  • After the way he let us down on November 3rd, when he quickly conceded, there is no way I’d vote for him again! His speaking out now is too little and way too late.

    Dennis Kucinich is our best hope for getting America back on track.

    I don’t want some Republican in Democrat’s clothes! Politicians like Lieberman, Salizar, Kerry and Hillary C. don’t cut the mustard with me!

  • As a result of Kerry’s not fighting the fraudulent results of Nov. election I changed my Party affiliation from Dem. to unenrolled.
    Unlessand until the voting machines are accurate I will vote for the only Party that fought the erroneous Nov. 2 results...The Green Party!! They are the REAL ANSWER! I like Dennis K. but I don’t trust anyone with a R. OR D. By their name.
    They are 1 big Party and this is becoming more and more apparent with each joint appearance of Clinton and Papa Bush. On Hiliary’s recent trip to Iraq she said "We are making progress", what a Bush kiss-up!
    GO GREENS!!!!!