by Stephen Lendman

"Well, he might have," said Mark Crispin Miller on his blog site. He doesn't know. Nor do other voters. Corporate owned, programmed and manipulated electronic voting machines control things.

The Carter Center monitors elections globally. It refuses to do so in America because free, fair and open standards don't exist.

Jimmy Carter calls Venezuela's electoral process "the best in the world." He said America's is "one of the worst." He cited money power controlling them.

Others call US elections shams. They lack legitimacy. Nothing about them reflects democracy. Duopoly power controls things. People have no say. Half the electorate usually opts out for good reason.

Candidates are pre-selected. Key outcomes are predetermined. Media scoundrels suppress truth. Information voters most need goes unreported. Horse managed news and race journalism substitute.

Voter disenfranchisement is rife. Millions are peremptorily stricken from rolls. Violations prohibited under the 1965 Voting Rights Act are commonplace.

It prohibits states from imposing any "voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure (that may) deny or abridge the right of any citizen….to vote on account of race or color."

Intimidation not to vote or illegal deterrence happens often. Vote caging delists minorities for not answering "do not forward" registered mail sent to prior residences.

Millions of Americans can't vote because of past criminal records, no matter how minor. Millions more can't because they're incarcerated.

Elections are privatized. Corporate America runs them. Touchscreen electronic machines control voting. They're used to steal. It's easy. Manipulation controls things.

Vetting isn't done. Verifiable receipts aren't provided. Votes cast for candidate A can count twice for candidate B. There's no way to check.

Corporate run machines are inherently flawed. They're designed that way. They're used to steal.

Investigative journalist Greg Palast said "get ready for massive voter fraud." He expects 5.9 million "spoiled" or otherwise not counted votes.

On November 5, Roger Johnson headlined "How I Hacked An Electronic Voting Machine."

"What do you need to rig an election," he asked? "A basic knowledge of electronics and $30 worth of RadioShack gear" works fine.

Imagine how much easier it is by manipulating software to elect corporate choices.

Johnson heads the Argonne National Laboratory Vulnerability Assessment Team. He knows how simple it is to steal votes.

In Harper's November issue, Victoria Collier headlined "How to Rig an Election," saying "The GOP aims to paint the country red."

Rigging is as old as elections. Today it's done with electronic ease. Privatized elections were instituted without public knowledge or consent. Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting leaves no paper trail.

High-tech ballot box stuffing follows. It's done secretly and not reported. Collier calls it the "electoral equivalent of a drone strike." In 1996, Republican Chuck Hagel suspiciously defeated Nebraska's popular Democrat governor Ben Nelson.

At stake was a US Senate seat. Polls suggested a close race. Hagel won by 15 points. Few Nebraskans knew about Hagel's ties. He was part owner, chairman and CEO of Election Systems & Software (ES&S).

It counted Nebraska's votes electronically. At the time it was called American Information Systems. AIS' parent company founder, Michael McCarthy, was Hagel's campaign treasurer. His easy victory made winning suspect. His own company installed him.

Hagel, in fact, never disclosed his business ties. A Senate Ethics Committee investigation was requested. It was rejected. America's system is so corrupted, voters "have no ability to know with certainty who wins any given race, from dogcatcher to president."

Nor can ballot initiatives and referenda results be verified. On November 6, major issues are at stake in different states. They include fracking, GMO labeling, abortion and gay marriage rights, as well as real electoral reform.

Corporate controlled faith-based elections have no legitimacy. They assure dark age democracy. In other words, none at all. In 2003, Ohio-based Diebold's CEO, Walden O'Dell, promised and delivered Ohio for George Bush.

Kerry defeated him in Ohio and nationally. Vote tallies claimed otherwise. Nearly 17 million new voters registered to participate. Surveys showed most supported Kerry. Bush's approval rating hovered around 40%.

Up to then, no president since Harry Truman won a second term with less than 50%. Final tallies showed Bush got 11.6 million more votes than in 2000. He defeated Kerry by three million. Florida and Ohio made the difference.

Mark Crispin Miller's book "Fooled Again: The Real Case for Electoral Reform" discussed massive electoral fraud. He exposed progressive media denial in publications like Nation magazine.

Ohio and Florida were stolen in 2000 and 2004. Pollster Lou Harris called Ohio 2004 as dirty as he ever saw. Exit polls gave Kerry an insurmountable lead.

Final tallies in 30 states differed from exit polls. They're known for accuracy. Gallup vice president David Moore said they consistently show stronger Democrat support than election results. Fraud explains why.

In April 2011, Jonathan Simon's article headlined "To the American Media: Time to Face the Reality of Election Rigging," saying:

"How does the Big Lie flourish and prosper?" It persists behind a wall "of denial….The gruesome truth is that American elections can be rigged and are being rigged because the American media treats election rigging as something that - all evidence notwithstanding -could never happen here."

It's commonplace. Media scoundrels won't discuss it. Some progressive ones won't touch it. Neither will prominent figures who know better.

Most cheated Democrats back off. Kerry told Mark Crispin Miller he won in 2004. Publicly he denied saying it. Few politicians are profiles in courage. They'd rather grab what they can and stay silent.

Without real electoral reform, legitimate elections aren't impossible. Rampant fraud made Bush president twice. He lost both times.

In Florida, Governor Jeb Bush assured it. So did Secretary of State Katherine Harris in 2000. For services rendered, she became congressional representative for Florida's 13th district. Electronic ease can install anyone.

In 2002, Republicans regained Senate control. Diebold voting machines defeated Democrat Senator Max Cleland. He had a comfortable lead but lost. Neocon Saxby Chamblis replaced him.

On November 6, will Obama or Romney win? Polls show Obama with a slight lead. Does it matter if big money wants Romney? Wall Street does. Major banks are his largest contributors.

Corporate controlled electronic voting machine companies will have final say. On October 20, Forbes magazine headlined "Romney Family Investment Ties to Voting Machine Company That Could Decide The Election Causing Concern."

On October 24, the Washington Post reported the same thing. So did Free Press.org on September 27. Texas-based Hart InterCivic provides voting machines for local governments nationwide. It has ties to Bain Capital, Romney's former company.

Most of its directors come from private equity firm, HIG Capital. It's heavily invested in Hart. Who is HIG Capital, asked Free Press? Founder Tony Tamer used to work at Bain.

Two other partner/directors (John Bolduc and Douglas Berman) are Romney bundlers "along with former Bain and HIG manager Brian Shortsleeve."

HIG Capital employees contributed $338,000 to Romney's campaign. Bain gave him only $268,000. "Will Mitt's cronies steal our democracy the way they stole our jobs," asked Free Press?

It discussed the Spanish-based voting machine company Scytl contracted to count 25% of the November 6 vote. It has Booz Allen, venture capital and intelligence community ties. It "emerged as the most mysterious election counting company in this presidential election."

Its Baltimore, MD sales office operates from a "virtual office which has a shared secretary and serves as a mail drop."

"The ties of Hart Intercivic to Romney fund-raisers and Bain alumni should cause concern in the Obama re-election campaign. So, should the mysterious Spanish owned company, Scytl, with a US operation that seems to be an front."

Close elections favor Republicans. Rigged ones make it easy. Will money power combined with electronic manipulation decide who'll be president and win key Senate, House, Gubernatorial, and other state and local races?

Expect the worst. It's likely. The best democracy money can buy wins every time. It's done with electronic ease. It's the American way.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"

http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

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