| Numbers don't match reality in Wood County voter 'fraud' |
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| Written by By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN/Sentinel County Editor |
| Monday, 19 November 2012 11:16 |
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Wood County is at the center of a conspiracy theory about the presidential election. But there is one major flaw in the theory — the numbers posted on numerous ultra-conservative websites don’t match reality. However, the facts haven’t kept the conspiracy theory from gaining steam and convincing more than 62,000 people to sign a “We the People” petition demanding an election recount. Several right-wing websites are claiming that the number of people voting for President Barack Obama in Wood County exceeds the number of people qualified to vote here. “The numbers are plain wrong,” said Terry Burton, the Republican director of the Wood County Board of Elections. The blogs, email blasts and websites have created quite a stir — at least until people look at the numbers, Burton said. “It’s made a splash in a small community” of people looking for any sign of a conspiracy, he said. According to the right wing websites, Obama received 106,258 votes in Wood County, even though there are only 98,213 eligible voters. The petition states, “It has become blatantly obvious the voter fraud that was committed during the 2012 Presidential elections. In one county alone in Ohio, which was a battleground state, President Obama received 106,258 votes ... but there were only 98,213 eligible voters. It’s not humanly possible to get 108 percent of the vote.” Though becoming widely circulated, none of those numbers have any basis in reality, Burton said. Wood County’s vote totals, which can be found on the board of election’s website, have Obama getting 31,596 votes in the county compared to Mitt Romney’s 28,997 votes. Burton said the only thing he can figure is that Wood County became the focus of such scrutiny prior to the election when it was deemed a bellwether county in a bellwether state. “I think we gained notoriety,” he said. And somehow, conspiracy theorists twisted numbers to suit their cause. “It’s kind of the tail wagging the dog,” Burton said. From there, the artificial numbers took on a life of their own. “It’s what the Internet does, it’s like the old telephone game,” he said. To be fair, Burton said he does understand the reason for some confusion about Wood County’s voting numbers. As of the Nov. 6 election, the county had 108,014 registered voters. But according to the latest U.S. Census, the county’s population is 126,355 — with many of those too young to cast ballots. But Burton explained the combination of three factors make the registered voter number artificially inflated. First, the rural areas have a higher registration rate than some in the state. Second, the transient population at Bowling Green State University adds temporary voters to the rolls. And third, the rules for removing inactive voters from the rolls make purging the rolls a long process. The state rules require that two federal general elections must pass after an inactive voter has been notified about the board of elections questioning their local voter registration. “We have to wait,” Burton explained. Burton estimated Wood County has 27,581 “inactive” voters who no longer reside and vote here. When that explanation is presented to the general population, most understand there is no conspiracy, he said. But meanwhile, the petition for a recount is gaining online signatures — with 62,609 as of this morning. |
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Comments
Good grief!
I was implying the possibility of fraud. That you felt the need to react so strongly only further reinforces my opinion.
It is old history and no longer relevant. Your distraction failed here.
Yes, yes. It was a vast and sinister conspiracy which resulted in thousands of voters claiming to be Mickey Mouse arriving at polling stations and voting Obama. Indeed.
And guess what: that is not just the perspective of a "liberal wacko."
Deal with it.
The tables have been turned.
There is a nice right-wing faction for you in Afghanistan to join. Your marines (that you didn't join) are clearing the way for you.
And calling the president "Odumbo" is a sure sign that Dave is speaking as an objective observer. Not.
Sounds like one side is mad that the other side won. Perhaps a scenario like that of Lance Armstrong... "the best of all the dirty cheaters" ha ha ha
2000, when the left cooked up all these same conspiracy theories about how their prince Al Gore got "robbed" of the election.
If I recall, there were a lot then saying "W isn't my president".
a) SCOTUS declared that the recounts had to be stopped and delcared a winner.
b) Republican party leadership started a mob and stopped the recounts at counting locations
c) Gore won the popular vote and lost the popular vote
d) Congressional testimony regarding a programmer who was asked to rig the voting machines in Florida.
e) Diebold (voting machine manufacturer) CEO promising to deliver the election to bush on video tape
f) statistical evidence that gore should have won on the basis of exit polls and ballot sampling
g) (incidentally) 2012 republican primary vote rigging which was proved statistically.
As to C. Williams point #3, please remember that the entire world, as well as a majority of our Senators and Representatives (privy to the same intelligence as Bush) all likewise concluded that Saddam had the capability that lead us to war.
As to MegBarber:
Point c): sounds dyslexic.
Point a): SCOTUS was following the law, as opposed to the SCOFL, who sought to alter the established law in Gore's favor.
We all remember the absurdity of "hanging chads" and those who sought to divine the intent of anonymous voters based on minute indentations on ballots, not to mention discounting the fragility of ballots handled numerous times by "investigators".
While it is true that neither side is immune from hyperbole and conspiracy hysteria, the right has proven particularly prone to that in recent years, on any number of topics, from global warming to reliable economic data to polls to election results to the president's background. It is institutionally entrenched to the extent that Republican congressional authorities suppress scientific studies that contradict with party doctrine. The left is sometimes guilty of wishful thinking, but the right engages in faith-based alternative reality fueled by an echo-chamber infotainment machine that caters to their preconceptions and leads their candidates to horrendously blind missteps.
Please tell me again about the UN's intelligence apparatus?
The simple fact is that most intelligence organizations believed Saddam had the capability to produce and deliver WMD. Moreover, it was Saddam's own gambit that caused this. Saddam was trying to balance the perception within the Gulf that he had the capability to remain a "player" in that region, while simultaneously trying to convince the greater international community that he had divested himself of these means.
He played one hand too well, and the other not well enough. After 9/11, we could no longer tolerate the ambiguity, and called his bluff. Such is life in geo-politics sometimes.
But here is the basic point: there is at present no left-right symmetry when it comes to conspiracy theories.
"Iraq admitted, among other things, an offensive biological warfare capability, notably, 5,000 gallons of botulinum, which causes botulism; 2,000 gallons of anthrax; 25 biological-filled Scud warheads; and 157 aerial bombs. And I might say UNSCOM inspectors believe that Iraq has actually greatly understated its production.... Over the past few months, as [the weapons inspectors] have come closer and closer to rooting out Iraq's remaining nuclear capacity, Saddam has undertaken yet another gambit to thwart their ambitions by imposing debilitating conditions on the inspectors and declaring key sites which have still not been inspected off limits...."
Words matter.
Again, the point is that the Bush administration actions were profoundly controversial. Suspecting the Bush administration of lying was not a fantasy position. Nor was thinking that Gore was "robbed" in 2000. In relation to the LTE, none of this makes liberal unhappiness with Bush the same kind of insane as this conspiracy theory about Obama stealing the election.
I was amazed that even after I provided facts just as Terry presented them, many still believed there was a large conspiracy, and simply stated I was blinded to the issue because I "secretly" wanted Obama to win, thus why I voted Gary Johnson.
Some of these conspiracy theories are just so ridiculous, I wonder how they actually gain momentum. If one just carefully looks at the number, even a basic glance, you see there is nothing there of concern...except Obama winning.
Sorry, had to jab. Got to work with what we got...
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