The Informed Citizen's Guide to the 2004 Election

Almost two months have passed since the Presidential Election, on November 2, 2004. The day after the election, the mainstream media and most of America let out a collective sigh of relief that President Bush had collected over 270 electoral votes, and that he had a three million vote "mandate".

There would not be another Florida; no more hanging or pregnant chads, no more litigation, no more uncertainty. The media was all too happy to accept the election, and after November 2nd, pundits moved on to more important issues, like Scott Peterson or Paris Hilton. Americans, too, were glad to put months of bitter campaigning behind them, and went about their daily lives.

But for a small and vocal minority of Americans, November 2nd changed everything.

For the reasons set forth below, these Americans believe that President Bush did not win Ohio's 20 Electoral Votes, and possibly did not win in other states as well. They believe John Kerry was the legitimate winner of the 2004 Presidential Election.

Labeled conspiracy theorists, sore losers, and "dissidents" by the media, they have spent the last two months gathering data and investigating "irregularities." There are dozens of websites that seeks to compile the daily evidence of such irregularities, filled with links upon links to charts or articles. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the evidence collected so far.

Here, in these pages, are the fruits of their labor, as well as other data and information that bring into doubt the claim that the 2004 was a "clean and legitimate" election. The focus is on Ohio primarily because it was the last state called, thus putting President Bush over the 270 votes needed to win. Also, other circumstances surrounding the Secretary of State and highly publicized instances of irregularities make Ohio the ideal candidate for closer examination.

If you are looking for a smoking gun here, you will not find it. Instead, you'll read about a series of complex and seemingly impossible events, from voter suppression, to vote tampering, to possible cover-ups. It is the totality of the circumstances that compel, at the very least, a full-blown Congressional investigation into the matter. Is this enough evidence to cast doubt over the election of George W. Bush? Was Ohio really a "blue state" in this election? As you read, you'll realize that the weight of the evidence strong suggests such a conclusion.

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