Re:Maybe it is time to let this go. . . (Score 1)

To me the scary part of this isn't that there's evidence of comprehensive voting fraud, the really scary part is the way the U.S. votes is so flawed that such fraud can't really be detected. No valid proof can be obtained. The system itself should be so squeaky clean that no one can legitimately grumble - and it isn't - it isn't by a long shot. Elections in Venezuela are cleaner than elections in the U.S.

Steven Hill writes in the introduction to his book "10 Steps to Repair American Democracy":

Respected computer experts have warned that computerized voting is subject to all-too-familiar malfunctions and viruses - not to mention tampering and fraud. It turns out that there is more oversight, security, and testing of slot machines and the gaming industry than of the nation's voting equipment or elections administration. Numerous irregularities in both the 2004 and 2000 presidential elections have raised more questions than answers. True, the National Research Commission on Elections and Voting, a panel composed of top elections scholars, found no conclusive proof of a stolen election in the 2004 presidential vote. But the commission found "pervasive breakdowns in election administration and oversight" that threaten the credibility of America's electoral process and "make it impossible to definitively put theories and accusations of fraud to rest". In other words, for the second presidential election in a row we could not guarantee the correct candidate had won. Former president Jimmy Carter, who helps monitor elections around the world refused to monitor the 2004 presidential elections in Florida because he said "same basic international requirements for a fair election are missing", namely nonpartisan election officials and uniformity in voting procedures. And that's disturbing.

Like Florida's hanging chads in 2000, the 2004 election became another national Rorschach test that allowed the partisans to see whatever they wanted to see, further damaging out ability to achieve national consensus and to serve as an international example of free and fair elections.

The U.S. is a backwards and corrupt nation when it comes to fair, transparent voting. And even worse, this somehow became a partisan issue (and hence one that will never be adequately addressed).

That is the thing that ultimately disturbs me about the situation.