150 Protesters Allege Voting Irregularities; Presidential Election Machines Draw Fire
By Samara Kalk Derby
Nathan Simmons won't be able to vote for another four years, yet he is so disturbed by what has become of the American voting system that he withstood brutal winds Sunday to protest irregularities in the presidential vote count.
"Not all the votes were counted. They use electronic voting machines because they can be hacked. I think it doesn't make sense to have a private company ruling our democracy."
— Nathan Simmons 14-year-old protester |
The 14-year-old, who attends Wingra School, was among about 150 people who turned out at the State Capitol to demand fair and accountable elections.
"Not all the votes were counted," Nathan said about last month's presidential election. "They use electronic voting machines because they can be hacked. I think it doesn't make sense to have a private company ruling our democracy."
Protesters stood in a circle at the top of the Capitol steps on the State Street side, holding a long piece of string strung with sheets of paper representing uncounted ballots.
Their signs included: "Restore global credibility," "Save our democracy," "Count all votes in O-H-I-O" and "Freedom will be defended."
The rally was organized in coordination with nationwide protests Sunday and today protesting the Electoral College votes being submitted nationally today.
"It was stolen," said kindergarten teacher Heather Gilding, 31, who held the sign "Votergate 2004: The fix was in, believe it."
"They made sure they wouldn't have a paper trail in the swing states. ... This is way deeper than Watergate and the media is so entrenched in the fraud that we will never know what happened."
Kevin McGettigan, with the Media Campaign for the Madison group No Stolen Elections, helped organize the rally. He is alarmed by the mainstream media blackout of news regarding vote suppression as well as the lack of voting machines in some areas and the number of malfunctioning ones. He is also concerned about anomalies in vote counts and errors discovered in the vote tally that favor George Bush, not John Kerry, every time.
"We want all the votes counted," he told the crowd.
More attention must be given to the recounts in Ohio and New Mexico, he said.
"We all know that we want paper ballots that can be audited," McGettigan said, noting that he is uncomfortable with the contract the Wisconsin Elections Board has entered into with the Bermuda-based firm Accenture to create a computerized voter registration system for the state.
State employee and watchdog groups have maintained it would be far less costly to create the required list using state employees.
Activists charge that Accenture helped "fix" the 2004 Florida voter roles by purging black felons, who tend to vote Democrat, but not Hispanic felons, who are more likely to vote Republican.
"When they say every vote counts, shouldn't every vote be counted?" McGettigan asked.
Mike Winter, 44, who works for TDS Telecom, held a sign that read: "Accenture contract is the DEATH knell of our democracy."
Winter said he doesn't trust the electronic voting machines one bit and wants to see the use of paper ballots in all states.
"I don't trust the integrity of electoral supervisory boards when the machines that they are using to count votes are databased. They are able to be manipulated," he said.
Jim Hinzberger, 51, of Madison, said he's been following the recount in Ohio.
About the recent presidential vote, Hinzberger said, "I think it's totally fraudulent. It's just a joke. There are no elections anymore in the United States."
NEXT MEETING
Saturday:The local collective No Stolen Elections gathers regularly and will meet again at 3 p.m. at the downtown Madison Public Library, 201 W. Mifflin St.
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