I’m quite a politcally minded person, or at least I take an active interest in it, but I don’t wish this blog to reflect that too much. I’ve read other ‘politcal commentary’ blogs from people as semi-informed and opinionated as I, and they’re really quite dull. That said, I simply can’t help but rant about some of the things I read today. A newspaper article in ‘The Guardian’ explains it all better than I can, but let me give you a couple of the highlights.

“…there was the attempt to undertake a new purge of alleged ex-felons from Florida’s voter lists – the same practice that left up to 22,000 people, mainly African-Americans, wrongly denied a vote in 2000.”

22,000?! Apparently around 80% of African-Americans vote Democrat, so if they made up only two thirds of those excluded, that would mean at least 10,000 potential votes for Gore lost. Bush was eventually judged to have ‘won’ Florida by 537 votes. (And that was with inaccurate figures. I mean, they stopped a recount! I can’t see any excuse for ever stopping a recount.) Now it appears they are trying the same trick again.

“In earlier primary elections in Florida in 2002, according to a recent Vanity Fair investigation, one precinct using the machines recorded no votes, several others had their voter records wiped, 24 polling places opened late, and dozens of poll workers resigned.”

How a developed and stable democracy tolerates things like this, I can’t imagine. I realise I am reading a left-leaning newspaper, and that it is extremely anti-Bush and looking for things to criticise, but assuming everything in the article is factually accurate, the actions described are indefensible. OK, brief and uninteresting rant over. I shall return to normal, (inane and inconsequential), blogging immediately. At least until Bush steals the election again…