The (mis)information age?
The online world has once again become a breeding ground for conspiracy theories, this time with...
The issue, as outlined on Commondreams.org, which bills itself as a providing "breaking news and views for the progressive community," centers on optically scanned paper ballots used in Florida. While much of the concern over electronic voting has focused on touch-screen machines, some data compiled by Ustogether.org allegedly shows that votes tallied in many Florida counties using paper ballots fed through a scanner were flipped from John Kerry to Bush, and vice versa.
Specifically, the study noted that the number of registered Republicans in several counties was far less than the actual number of votes for Bush, with the optical scanners used in those counties as the common denominator. More thoughts poking holes in the theory of that discrepancy have been posted here.
Whatever the outcome, it's clear that more of this type of information can be expected on Web sites, blogs and mass e-mailings. Just ask Dan Rather.