Protesters: Election fraud ignored

Alan Morrell  Rochester Democrat and Chronicle  
Staff writer

(December 3, 2004) ? About 100 protesters rallied Thursday across from the offices of the Democrat and Chronicle, saying they were not satisfied by news coverage of what they called election fraud in this year's presidential election.

The protesters discussed circumstances from Ohio to Florida to Pennsylvania that, they said, seemed to stack the election toward President George W. Bush.

A few members of the group said they witnessed election problems first-hand and have tried to convey their stories to the media, to little or no avail. Vicki Lewin Ryder of Rochester was in Palm Beach County, Fla., on Election Day as a volunteer with the nonpartisan Election Protection Program ? a group that tried to ensure that proper voting procedures were followed ? and said she saw "voter suppression and voter intimidation."

Some voting precincts, Ryder said, had way too few voting machines, which made for long waiting lines. Some residents, she said, found notes on their doors saying their polling places had been changed when they had not.

"We have no reason to go to Iraq to impose our so-called democracy on others when we don't get it right ourselves," Ryder said.

"And we didn't get it right with this election."

Pat Carey of Irondequoit was in Youngstown, Ohio, on Election Day to monitor the voting. She shared similar stories, as well as claims that touch-screen voting machines erroneously counted votes cast for Sen. John Kerry as votes for Bush.

Carey also questioned why such stories have not been more widely reported by the mass media, which she said have frequently discounted such reports as those of an "Internet conspiracy theory."

"I was there," Carey said. "I am not a conspiracy theorist."

Protesters also asked why the media, including the Democrat and Chronicle, seem to devote more coverage to allegations of voter fraud in Ukraine than in the United States.

Thomas P. Flynn, vice president of communications for the Democrat and Chronicle, said the paper's managing editor, Jane Sutter, has met with Metro Justice members to hear their concerns.

"We respect and defend free speech," Flynn said.

"The Democrat and Chronicle has published several stories about post-election investigations of alleged election fraud in other states. We will continue to report as events warrant. A major priority for us is coverage of the community and the region. That's what our readers expect and deserve."

Meanwhile, protesters applauded an announcement issued by the office of Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, which said the Government Accountability Office has agreed to investigate irregularities in this year's election.