Election Fraud in the USA - Essay Example

Election Fraud in the USA Analysis The 2000 elections turned out to be in the favor of George W. Bush but his victory attracted a myriad of critical analysis and skepticism. There were protests and a lot of questions were raised against the sanctity of Bush's victory. America is a democratic state in which the representatives are elected periodically after every four years. The analytical structure used analyses the role of Federal Government, the political parties and the forces at the structural level. This analytical structure is chosen with respect to the scope of this paper i.e. elections. Being a democratic state, it is of paramount importance for America that the elections must be fair, neutral and faithfully conducted. The US constitution empowers the federal government to conduct the presidential elections. Their role is, however, very questionable. In 2000, the butterfly ballots were modified with new electronic voting machines to avoid accidental votes but it failed to generate any document that proved voter’s intent to vote. Besides that, in Florida alone, a list of 50,000 ex-felons was compiled with a directive to bar them from voting but it turned out that the list had the names of almost 20,000 innocent people. That list was discarded and a new list was generated which also turned out to be flawed. Furthermore, many votes were uncounted till at the very last time. With unsatisfactory results, a recount was held which did not make much difference. According to D. Margolick, E. Peretz and M. Shnayerson, “…many of Florida's 67 counties "recounted" merely by looking at their previous tallies…” In the state of Ohio, which has always played a decisive role in presidential elections for more than a century, the results shifted dramatically in the favor of Bush. Most of the Americans living abroad did not receive their ballots or received them too late. It is alleged that many voters who applied for registration were not registered and many fake votes were cast. From the results of exit polls, it looked like Kerry would win easily as he was ahead in the polls in 10 states out of 11. It is generally the case that the outcomes of the exit polls do not deviate very much from the actual polls. Exit polls are conducted because of their brilliant accuracy. Great deviation from the exit polls means that there has been a sudden and dramatic change in the general public opinion in a very short period. The political campaigns attempted to mould the public opinion as always. In 2004, people were discontented from Bush as they regarded him to be reason for some troubles that the Americans had. Also, in Ohio, according to Robert F Kennedy Jr, “(The officials) illegally derailed a recount that could have given Kerry the presidency.” During elections, the people at the structural level might be regarded as those who help in conducting the elections at the very basic level. Many polls were understaffed and it became difficult to keep track of the votes. A lot of news reports and analysis showed that a lot of votes casted by eligible voters were neglected and a lot of them were not registered deliberately. Their dishonest role is evident from the story of two sisters who voted in different lines. The vote in favor of Bush was counted and the one in favor of Kerry was not. If the elections were rigged, the whole system is responsible. Opinion I think that most of the allegations are credible. It is because whenever the questions were raised, for example, when media revealed that almost 20,000 of those enlisted in the ex-felon list were innocent, there was no negation of this fact by the higher authorities. They simply compiled another list which was also faulty. Failure to count votes in a timely manner naturally raises some objections. Also, the actual polls deviated too much from the exit polls. If that is ratio of deviation, then there is no use of conducting exit polls to obtain the statistical data. It has been argued that the Bush campaign managed to change the public opinion in the last few days (since this is the only sane explanation of Bush’s victory.) The fact why I think that these allegations are credible is because of a very strong argument made by Robert F Kennedy Jr. According to him, “…what is most anomalous about the irregularities in 2004 was their decidedly partisan bent: Almost without exception they hurt John Kerry and benefited George Bush.” I find this argument irrefutable. The allegations made ultimately meant that there were miscounts and other discrepancies but all the imperfections in the elections benefitted George W. Bush. Robert F Kennedy Jr. gave the statement about 2004 elections but I think that it can also be stretched to 2000 elections. It is true that Al Gore worsened the situation for himself by making some careless mistakes but if we look at the early stages of 2000 elections, the anomalies benefitted George Bush. The recounts brought Al Gore closer to Bush but the ultimate result was in Bush’s favor. These allegations are a sad and shameful story for not only those who conducted the elections but for the whole American Nation. The analytical structure makes us look at the Government first. It can be seen that the recounts were not fair. I am not accentuating the statement about “recounting by looking at previous tallies”. It is a mere hearsay and should not be promoted. However, I do believe that the state governments did misuse their authority because their subordinates were not checked properly. Their subordinates were also involved due to their miscounts and too many other careless attitudes. The officials responsible for registering voters can also be blamed for their careless behavior. The elections were absolutely subpar as far as a democratic state is concerned. There is only one thing that I have learned about politics from this reading. That is the lack of honesty at each and every level. A thief who is never caught can never be better than the thief who is caught. There is only one way to end this evil and that is to start from the grass-root level. Dishonesty at the Governmental level can never be there if it is ended from the structural level. It is possible if proper checks are imposed at all levels and everyone works under proper supervision and scrutiny. In a democratic state, election rigging can cause corruption of democracy. If people lose faith in the security of their votes, they would stop believing in democracy. Dire situations may lead to coup d’état and complete chaos. If any of the elections were rigged, it cannot be undone. But the future is always in our hands and we can make sure that the mistakes committed in the past are never repeated. We should learn from those mistakes and plan for a better future ahead. References 1. Margolick, D., Peretz, E. & Shnayerson, M. “The Path to Florida.” Vanity Fair. Oct 2004: Iss.530. Print. 2. Kennedy Jr. R. F., “Was The 2004 Election Stolen.” Rolling Stone. 15 Jun 2006: Iss. 1002. Print. 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