Vote recount to settle doubts?

[Guest guest]

Vote Recount to Settle Doubts?

Wired News

By Kim Zetter

QUOTE:

02:00 AM Nov. 17, 2004 PT

A vote recount in New Hampshire on Thursday could shed light on

anomalies with election results in that state, voting activists say.

And if the recount finds problems with voting machines there, it

could open the way for recounts in other states, such as Florida.

Presidential candidate Ralph Nader requested the recount, which will

include only a small percentage of voting districts in the state

where anomalies appeared in the election results. New Hampshire uses

a combination of traditional paper ballots and optical-scan

machines -- where voters mark a paper ballot with a pen before

officials scan it through an electronic infrared reader. The

anomalies occurred mostly in districts that used optical-scan

machines.

Today's the Day. Nader spokesman Zeese said the campaign was

closing up shop and paying off its debts when it received several

requests to look at data from a number of New Hampshire voting

districts. " There was enough to it that made it worthwhile to at

least check it out, " he said.

The data came from Ida Briggs, a Michigan voter with 20 years of

experience as a software programmer, including eight years as a

statistical analyst of databases for the telecommunications

industry. Briggs compared this year's New Hampshire votes with those

cast in 2000.

Most people would have expected Kerry's performance at the

polls this year to be similar to Al Gore's in 2000. And in 229 out

of 300 voting districts, or wards as they're called in New

Hampshire, that was the case. Kerry either matched the percentage of

votes that Gore received in 2000 in those wards or did better than

Gore. But in 71 wards, Briggs found, Bush did better in 2004 than he

did in 2000.

When Briggs broke the 71 wards down by voting equipment --

separating wards into those that used traditional paper ballots and

those that used optical-scan machines -- she discovered that 73

percent of the wards used optical-scan equipment, while only 27

percent used traditional paper ballots. Even more interesting was

the breakdown per brand of voting equipment. New Hampshire wards

used optical-scan equipment made by Diebold Election Systems and

Election Systems & Software. About 62 percent of the wards with

anomalous results used Diebold machines.

" Which is pretty high, " Briggs said. " Especially in comparison to

hand-counted paper ballots, which accounted for only 27 percent of

the out-of-trend wards. "

In one ward in the city of Manchester, the change was remarkable. In

2000, Gore beat Bush 49 percent to 48 percent. But this year Bush

carried the ward with 53 percent of votes. In another Manchester

ward where Gore won 52 percent to Bush's 44 percent in 2000, Bush

won with 50 percent to Kerry's 49 percent this year.

" The numbers could be real, " Briggs said. " But to be this

dramatically outside of the trend raises some red flags. "

Some people have explained away the numbers as a result of affluent

Massachusetts voters moving to New Hampshire to take advantage of

its tax system. These transplants would be more likely to vote for

Bush. But Briggs thinks this is too anecdotal and shouldn't be used

to dismiss the numbers.

" It's also anecdotal that urban voters tend to vote more liberal

than rural voters, but in New Hampshire we see that trend reversed, "

she said.

Briggs said the wards with surprising numbers account for about

235,000 votes, at least 200,000 of which are in wards that used

Diebold machines. This is significant because earlier this year,

activists found security flaws in the Diebold counting software that

could allow someone with access to the system to alter votes.

But Briggs stressed that there was nothing to indicate fraud.

" My take is this could simply be a glitch. And if someone made a

mistake, then it's an easy find, " she said. " Thank God New Hampshire

has a paper trail so we can just sit down and count the paper

ballots. "

Unlike states and counties using paperless touch-screen voting

machines, New Hampshire passed a law in 1994 requiring all voting

machines to produce a paper trail, so the paper can easily be used

to verify the vote results.

But this isn't why Briggs chose to examine New Hampshire's machines.

She chose the state because Kerry won there, with 50 percent of the

votes to Bush's 49 percent, and people would be less likely to view

her examination as a partisan tactic to overturn Bush's victory.

Today's the Day. The recount will consist only of 11 wards, taken

from a list of wards that Briggs supplied to the Nader campaign.

Because state officials are already busy conducting 15 recounts in

close local races, they will only be able to count five of the wards

Thursday and will do the remaining six wards at a date to be

determined.

Nader paid a $2,000 deposit to secure the recount and will have to

pay an additional amount once the state determines the full cost,

though it isn't expected to cost much more. If the 11 wards indicate

problems with the machines, Nader officials will likely ask to widen

the recount to include 44 wards.

Nader spokesman Zeese said New Hampshire officials have been very

cooperative. He said his group also evaluated information about

anomalies in Florida that were uncovered by a mathematician, but

found no reason yet to call for a recount there.

" We're open-minded about looking at any evidence that raises

suspicions that has legitimacy, " he said. " But we're not going to

just jump in and do a recount without reason. " He said they looked

at data showing that in Florida counties using optical-scan machines

numerous Democrats had voted for Bush. But he concluded, as several

academics did, that " it's not unusual, " since many Democrats in

Florida had been voting Republican for years.

But if the New Hampshire recount uncovers problems with the

machines, the Nader campaign will consider seeking a recount in

Florida, since the state uses many of the same Diebold and ES & S

optical-scan machines as those in New Hampshire. The process in

Florida, however, would be more complicated and expensive.

" New Hampshire makes it very easy to ask for a recount. But Florida

requires you to file a lawsuit. You have to get a court order, "

Zeese said. " And we need to have a compelling reason to request a

recount. "

Briggs said that interesting data has also shown up in Ohio and New

Mexico, though she has not yet been able to examine all of the

figures she needs from those states. She said states vary in the

level of data they make public and that finding numbers for

individual voting districts rather than for whole counties has so

far been difficult to do in Ohio and New Mexico. But at least two

candidates are already seeking a recount in Ohio.

s, New Hampshire's assistant secretary of state, said

he thinks the recount in his state is a good thing.

" It will put people's minds at ease, " s said. " It will assure

(voters) that things are being done right. It also may discourage

any future tampering of the machines (if people see that the

machines will be examined). So it's a good check and balance of the

process. "

Both Zeese and Briggs said whatever the recount results, the outcome

would be positive.

" It will either show that there wasn't a problem with the machines

or we'll find a problem and raise issues that need to be raised, "

Zeese said.

" Whenever there is even a perception that there is a problem, then

there is a problem, " Briggs said. " If people are raising questions

then by God you sit down and you prove it so nobody has to take

anyone's word for it. Why have four years of bitterness and doubt? "

UNQUOTE

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41464

[Guest guest]

Vote Recount to Settle Doubts?

Wired News

By Kim Zetter

QUOTE:

02:00 AM Nov. 17, 2004 PT

A vote recount in New Hampshire on Thursday could shed light on

anomalies with election results in that state, voting activists say.

And if the recount finds problems with voting machines there, it

could open the way for recounts in other states, such as Florida.

Presidential candidate Ralph Nader requested the recount, which will

include only a small percentage of voting districts in the state

where anomalies appeared in the election results. New Hampshire uses

a combination of traditional paper ballots and optical-scan

machines -- where voters mark a paper ballot with a pen before

officials scan it through an electronic infrared reader. The

anomalies occurred mostly in districts that used optical-scan

machines.

Today's the Day. Nader spokesman Zeese said the campaign was

closing up shop and paying off its debts when it received several

requests to look at data from a number of New Hampshire voting

districts. " There was enough to it that made it worthwhile to at

least check it out, " he said.

The data came from Ida Briggs, a Michigan voter with 20 years of

experience as a software programmer, including eight years as a

statistical analyst of databases for the telecommunications

industry. Briggs compared this year's New Hampshire votes with those

cast in 2000.

Most people would have expected Kerry's performance at the

polls this year to be similar to Al Gore's in 2000. And in 229 out

of 300 voting districts, or wards as they're called in New

Hampshire, that was the case. Kerry either matched the percentage of

votes that Gore received in 2000 in those wards or did better than

Gore. But in 71 wards, Briggs found, Bush did better in 2004 than he

did in 2000.

When Briggs broke the 71 wards down by voting equipment --

separating wards into those that used traditional paper ballots and

those that used optical-scan machines -- she discovered that 73

percent of the wards used optical-scan equipment, while only 27

percent used traditional paper ballots. Even more interesting was

the breakdown per brand of voting equipment. New Hampshire wards

used optical-scan equipment made by Diebold Election Systems and

Election Systems & Software. About 62 percent of the wards with

anomalous results used Diebold machines.

" Which is pretty high, " Briggs said. " Especially in comparison to

hand-counted paper ballots, which accounted for only 27 percent of

the out-of-trend wards. "

In one ward in the city of Manchester, the change was remarkable. In

2000, Gore beat Bush 49 percent to 48 percent. But this year Bush

carried the ward with 53 percent of votes. In another Manchester

ward where Gore won 52 percent to Bush's 44 percent in 2000, Bush

won with 50 percent to Kerry's 49 percent this year.

" The numbers could be real, " Briggs said. " But to be this

dramatically outside of the trend raises some red flags. "

Some people have explained away the numbers as a result of affluent

Massachusetts voters moving to New Hampshire to take advantage of

its tax system. These transplants would be more likely to vote for

Bush. But Briggs thinks this is too anecdotal and shouldn't be used

to dismiss the numbers.

" It's also anecdotal that urban voters tend to vote more liberal

than rural voters, but in New Hampshire we see that trend reversed, "

she said.

Briggs said the wards with surprising numbers account for about

235,000 votes, at least 200,000 of which are in wards that used

Diebold machines. This is significant because earlier this year,

activists found security flaws in the Diebold counting software that

could allow someone with access to the system to alter votes.

But Briggs stressed that there was nothing to indicate fraud.

" My take is this could simply be a glitch. And if someone made a

mistake, then it's an easy find, " she said. " Thank God New Hampshire

has a paper trail so we can just sit down and count the paper

ballots. "

Unlike states and counties using paperless touch-screen voting

machines, New Hampshire passed a law in 1994 requiring all voting

machines to produce a paper trail, so the paper can easily be used

to verify the vote results.

But this isn't why Briggs chose to examine New Hampshire's machines.

She chose the state because Kerry won there, with 50 percent of the

votes to Bush's 49 percent, and people would be less likely to view

her examination as a partisan tactic to overturn Bush's victory.

Today's the Day. The recount will consist only of 11 wards, taken

from a list of wards that Briggs supplied to the Nader campaign.

Because state officials are already busy conducting 15 recounts in

close local races, they will only be able to count five of the wards

Thursday and will do the remaining six wards at a date to be

determined.

Nader paid a $2,000 deposit to secure the recount and will have to

pay an additional amount once the state determines the full cost,

though it isn't expected to cost much more. If the 11 wards indicate

problems with the machines, Nader officials will likely ask to widen

the recount to include 44 wards.

Nader spokesman Zeese said New Hampshire officials have been very

cooperative. He said his group also evaluated information about

anomalies in Florida that were uncovered by a mathematician, but

found no reason yet to call for a recount there.

" We're open-minded about looking at any evidence that raises

suspicions that has legitimacy, " he said. " But we're not going to

just jump in and do a recount without reason. " He said they looked

at data showing that in Florida counties using optical-scan machines

numerous Democrats had voted for Bush. But he concluded, as several

academics did, that " it's not unusual, " since many Democrats in

Florida had been voting Republican for years.

But if the New Hampshire recount uncovers problems with the

machines, the Nader campaign will consider seeking a recount in

Florida, since the state uses many of the same Diebold and ES & S

optical-scan machines as those in New Hampshire. The process in

Florida, however, would be more complicated and expensive.

" New Hampshire makes it very easy to ask for a recount. But Florida

requires you to file a lawsuit. You have to get a court order, "

Zeese said. " And we need to have a compelling reason to request a

recount. "

Briggs said that interesting data has also shown up in Ohio and New

Mexico, though she has not yet been able to examine all of the

figures she needs from those states. She said states vary in the

level of data they make public and that finding numbers for

individual voting districts rather than for whole counties has so

far been difficult to do in Ohio and New Mexico. But at least two

candidates are already seeking a recount in Ohio.

s, New Hampshire's assistant secretary of state, said

he thinks the recount in his state is a good thing.

" It will put people's minds at ease, " s said. " It will assure

(voters) that things are being done right. It also may discourage

any future tampering of the machines (if people see that the

machines will be examined). So it's a good check and balance of the

process. "

Both Zeese and Briggs said whatever the recount results, the outcome

would be positive.

" It will either show that there wasn't a problem with the machines

or we'll find a problem and raise issues that need to be raised, "

Zeese said.

" Whenever there is even a perception that there is a problem, then

there is a problem, " Briggs said. " If people are raising questions

then by God you sit down and you prove it so nobody has to take

anyone's word for it. Why have four years of bitterness and doubt? "

UNQUOTE

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41464

[Guest guest]

Vote Recount to Settle Doubts?

Wired News

By Kim Zetter

QUOTE:

02:00 AM Nov. 17, 2004 PT

A vote recount in New Hampshire on Thursday could shed light on

anomalies with election results in that state, voting activists say.

And if the recount finds problems with voting machines there, it

could open the way for recounts in other states, such as Florida.

Presidential candidate Ralph Nader requested the recount, which will

include only a small percentage of voting districts in the state

where anomalies appeared in the election results. New Hampshire uses

a combination of traditional paper ballots and optical-scan

machines -- where voters mark a paper ballot with a pen before

officials scan it through an electronic infrared reader. The

anomalies occurred mostly in districts that used optical-scan

machines.

Today's the Day. Nader spokesman Zeese said the campaign was

closing up shop and paying off its debts when it received several

requests to look at data from a number of New Hampshire voting

districts. " There was enough to it that made it worthwhile to at

least check it out, " he said.

The data came from Ida Briggs, a Michigan voter with 20 years of

experience as a software programmer, including eight years as a

statistical analyst of databases for the telecommunications

industry. Briggs compared this year's New Hampshire votes with those

cast in 2000.

Most people would have expected Kerry's performance at the

polls this year to be similar to Al Gore's in 2000. And in 229 out

of 300 voting districts, or wards as they're called in New

Hampshire, that was the case. Kerry either matched the percentage of

votes that Gore received in 2000 in those wards or did better than

Gore. But in 71 wards, Briggs found, Bush did better in 2004 than he

did in 2000.

When Briggs broke the 71 wards down by voting equipment --

separating wards into those that used traditional paper ballots and

those that used optical-scan machines -- she discovered that 73

percent of the wards used optical-scan equipment, while only 27

percent used traditional paper ballots. Even more interesting was

the breakdown per brand of voting equipment. New Hampshire wards

used optical-scan equipment made by Diebold Election Systems and

Election Systems & Software. About 62 percent of the wards with

anomalous results used Diebold machines.

" Which is pretty high, " Briggs said. " Especially in comparison to

hand-counted paper ballots, which accounted for only 27 percent of

the out-of-trend wards. "

In one ward in the city of Manchester, the change was remarkable. In

2000, Gore beat Bush 49 percent to 48 percent. But this year Bush

carried the ward with 53 percent of votes. In another Manchester

ward where Gore won 52 percent to Bush's 44 percent in 2000, Bush

won with 50 percent to Kerry's 49 percent this year.

" The numbers could be real, " Briggs said. " But to be this

dramatically outside of the trend raises some red flags. "

Some people have explained away the numbers as a result of affluent

Massachusetts voters moving to New Hampshire to take advantage of

its tax system. These transplants would be more likely to vote for

Bush. But Briggs thinks this is too anecdotal and shouldn't be used

to dismiss the numbers.

" It's also anecdotal that urban voters tend to vote more liberal

than rural voters, but in New Hampshire we see that trend reversed, "

she said.

Briggs said the wards with surprising numbers account for about

235,000 votes, at least 200,000 of which are in wards that used

Diebold machines. This is significant because earlier this year,

activists found security flaws in the Diebold counting software that

could allow someone with access to the system to alter votes.

But Briggs stressed that there was nothing to indicate fraud.

" My take is this could simply be a glitch. And if someone made a

mistake, then it's an easy find, " she said. " Thank God New Hampshire

has a paper trail so we can just sit down and count the paper

ballots. "

Unlike states and counties using paperless touch-screen voting

machines, New Hampshire passed a law in 1994 requiring all voting

machines to produce a paper trail, so the paper can easily be used

to verify the vote results.

But this isn't why Briggs chose to examine New Hampshire's machines.

She chose the state because Kerry won there, with 50 percent of the

votes to Bush's 49 percent, and people would be less likely to view

her examination as a partisan tactic to overturn Bush's victory.

Today's the Day. The recount will consist only of 11 wards, taken

from a list of wards that Briggs supplied to the Nader campaign.

Because state officials are already busy conducting 15 recounts in

close local races, they will only be able to count five of the wards

Thursday and will do the remaining six wards at a date to be

determined.

Nader paid a $2,000 deposit to secure the recount and will have to

pay an additional amount once the state determines the full cost,

though it isn't expected to cost much more. If the 11 wards indicate

problems with the machines, Nader officials will likely ask to widen

the recount to include 44 wards.

Nader spokesman Zeese said New Hampshire officials have been very

cooperative. He said his group also evaluated information about

anomalies in Florida that were uncovered by a mathematician, but

found no reason yet to call for a recount there.

" We're open-minded about looking at any evidence that raises

suspicions that has legitimacy, " he said. " But we're not going to

just jump in and do a recount without reason. " He said they looked

at data showing that in Florida counties using optical-scan machines

numerous Democrats had voted for Bush. But he concluded, as several

academics did, that " it's not unusual, " since many Democrats in

Florida had been voting Republican for years.

But if the New Hampshire recount uncovers problems with the

machines, the Nader campaign will consider seeking a recount in

Florida, since the state uses many of the same Diebold and ES & S

optical-scan machines as those in New Hampshire. The process in

Florida, however, would be more complicated and expensive.

" New Hampshire makes it very easy to ask for a recount. But Florida

requires you to file a lawsuit. You have to get a court order, "

Zeese said. " And we need to have a compelling reason to request a

recount. "

Briggs said that interesting data has also shown up in Ohio and New

Mexico, though she has not yet been able to examine all of the

figures she needs from those states. She said states vary in the

level of data they make public and that finding numbers for

individual voting districts rather than for whole counties has so

far been difficult to do in Ohio and New Mexico. But at least two

candidates are already seeking a recount in Ohio.

s, New Hampshire's assistant secretary of state, said

he thinks the recount in his state is a good thing.

" It will put people's minds at ease, " s said. " It will assure

(voters) that things are being done right. It also may discourage

any future tampering of the machines (if people see that the

machines will be examined). So it's a good check and balance of the

process. "

Both Zeese and Briggs said whatever the recount results, the outcome

would be positive.

" It will either show that there wasn't a problem with the machines

or we'll find a problem and raise issues that need to be raised, "

Zeese said.

" Whenever there is even a perception that there is a problem, then

there is a problem, " Briggs said. " If people are raising questions

then by God you sit down and you prove it so nobody has to take

anyone's word for it. Why have four years of bitterness and doubt? "

UNQUOTE

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41464

[Guest guest]

Vote Recount to Settle Doubts?

Wired News

By Kim Zetter

QUOTE:

02:00 AM Nov. 17, 2004 PT

A vote recount in New Hampshire on Thursday could shed light on

anomalies with election results in that state, voting activists say.

And if the recount finds problems with voting machines there, it

could open the way for recounts in other states, such as Florida.

Presidential candidate Ralph Nader requested the recount, which will

include only a small percentage of voting districts in the state

where anomalies appeared in the election results. New Hampshire uses

a combination of traditional paper ballots and optical-scan

machines -- where voters mark a paper ballot with a pen before

officials scan it through an electronic infrared reader. The

anomalies occurred mostly in districts that used optical-scan

machines.

Today's the Day. Nader spokesman Zeese said the campaign was

closing up shop and paying off its debts when it received several

requests to look at data from a number of New Hampshire voting

districts. " There was enough to it that made it worthwhile to at

least check it out, " he said.

The data came from Ida Briggs, a Michigan voter with 20 years of

experience as a software programmer, including eight years as a

statistical analyst of databases for the telecommunications

industry. Briggs compared this year's New Hampshire votes with those

cast in 2000.

Most people would have expected Kerry's performance at the

polls this year to be similar to Al Gore's in 2000. And in 229 out

of 300 voting districts, or wards as they're called in New

Hampshire, that was the case. Kerry either matched the percentage of

votes that Gore received in 2000 in those wards or did better than

Gore. But in 71 wards, Briggs found, Bush did better in 2004 than he

did in 2000.

When Briggs broke the 71 wards down by voting equipment --

separating wards into those that used traditional paper ballots and

those that used optical-scan machines -- she discovered that 73

percent of the wards used optical-scan equipment, while only 27

percent used traditional paper ballots. Even more interesting was

the breakdown per brand of voting equipment. New Hampshire wards

used optical-scan equipment made by Diebold Election Systems and

Election Systems & Software. About 62 percent of the wards with

anomalous results used Diebold machines.

" Which is pretty high, " Briggs said. " Especially in comparison to

hand-counted paper ballots, which accounted for only 27 percent of

the out-of-trend wards. "

In one ward in the city of Manchester, the change was remarkable. In

2000, Gore beat Bush 49 percent to 48 percent. But this year Bush

carried the ward with 53 percent of votes. In another Manchester

ward where Gore won 52 percent to Bush's 44 percent in 2000, Bush

won with 50 percent to Kerry's 49 percent this year.

" The numbers could be real, " Briggs said. " But to be this

dramatically outside of the trend raises some red flags. "

Some people have explained away the numbers as a result of affluent

Massachusetts voters moving to New Hampshire to take advantage of

its tax system. These transplants would be more likely to vote for

Bush. But Briggs thinks this is too anecdotal and shouldn't be used

to dismiss the numbers.

" It's also anecdotal that urban voters tend to vote more liberal

than rural voters, but in New Hampshire we see that trend reversed, "

she said.

Briggs said the wards with surprising numbers account for about

235,000 votes, at least 200,000 of which are in wards that used

Diebold machines. This is significant because earlier this year,

activists found security flaws in the Diebold counting software that

could allow someone with access to the system to alter votes.

But Briggs stressed that there was nothing to indicate fraud.

" My take is this could simply be a glitch. And if someone made a

mistake, then it's an easy find, " she said. " Thank God New Hampshire

has a paper trail so we can just sit down and count the paper

ballots. "

Unlike states and counties using paperless touch-screen voting

machines, New Hampshire passed a law in 1994 requiring all voting

machines to produce a paper trail, so the paper can easily be used

to verify the vote results.

But this isn't why Briggs chose to examine New Hampshire's machines.

She chose the state because Kerry won there, with 50 percent of the

votes to Bush's 49 percent, and people would be less likely to view

her examination as a partisan tactic to overturn Bush's victory.

Today's the Day. The recount will consist only of 11 wards, taken

from a list of wards that Briggs supplied to the Nader campaign.

Because state officials are already busy conducting 15 recounts in

close local races, they will only be able to count five of the wards

Thursday and will do the remaining six wards at a date to be

determined.

Nader paid a $2,000 deposit to secure the recount and will have to

pay an additional amount once the state determines the full cost,

though it isn't expected to cost much more. If the 11 wards indicate

problems with the machines, Nader officials will likely ask to widen

the recount to include 44 wards.

Nader spokesman Zeese said New Hampshire officials have been very

cooperative. He said his group also evaluated information about

anomalies in Florida that were uncovered by a mathematician, but

found no reason yet to call for a recount there.

" We're open-minded about looking at any evidence that raises

suspicions that has legitimacy, " he said. " But we're not going to

just jump in and do a recount without reason. " He said they looked

at data showing that in Florida counties using optical-scan machines

numerous Democrats had voted for Bush. But he concluded, as several

academics did, that " it's not unusual, " since many Democrats in

Florida had been voting Republican for years.

But if the New Hampshire recount uncovers problems with the

machines, the Nader campaign will consider seeking a recount in

Florida, since the state uses many of the same Diebold and ES & S

optical-scan machines as those in New Hampshire. The process in

Florida, however, would be more complicated and expensive.

" New Hampshire makes it very easy to ask for a recount. But Florida

requires you to file a lawsuit. You have to get a court order, "

Zeese said. " And we need to have a compelling reason to request a

recount. "

Briggs said that interesting data has also shown up in Ohio and New

Mexico, though she has not yet been able to examine all of the

figures she needs from those states. She said states vary in the

level of data they make public and that finding numbers for

individual voting districts rather than for whole counties has so

far been difficult to do in Ohio and New Mexico. But at least two

candidates are already seeking a recount in Ohio.

s, New Hampshire's assistant secretary of state, said

he thinks the recount in his state is a good thing.

" It will put people's minds at ease, " s said. " It will assure

(voters) that things are being done right. It also may discourage

any future tampering of the machines (if people see that the

machines will be examined). So it's a good check and balance of the

process. "

Both Zeese and Briggs said whatever the recount results, the outcome

would be positive.

" It will either show that there wasn't a problem with the machines

or we'll find a problem and raise issues that need to be raised, "

Zeese said.

" Whenever there is even a perception that there is a problem, then

there is a problem, " Briggs said. " If people are raising questions

then by God you sit down and you prove it so nobody has to take

anyone's word for it. Why have four years of bitterness and doubt? "

UNQUOTE

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41464