An absentee ballot isn't considered provisional by default. That's just weird.

Yeah, I'm going to contact the commission and see what's up.

Why should this surprise you? It is not that they don't want to count it. They are Arkansas, a red state that you guys said was full of low IQ redneck Jesus lovers with poor educations. Perhaps they just don't know HOW to count, given your description of them, it seems reasonable.

It is full of low IQ Redneck Jesus-Lovers with poor educations. But that doesn't give them the right to be stupid, not when we are paying them.

Besides Big Dog, i would think you would be equally disturbed by the non-counting of votes, unless you have some other agenda?

Big Dog, who said that? If it was me, I was drunk.

MasterRa, don't be an idiot.

Oh I know, you're just saying that because Bill Clinton is from here, right Big Dog? Everybody in Arkansas is a pervert just like "Bubba". Of course, Bush is no Rhodes Scholar.

I, of course, was making light of the fact that many from the left derided those in the red states as being a bunch of low IQ rubes. I remember seeing a link on this site to some IQ comparison but I am unable to find it. I do not have a problem with all the votes being counted. I do take issue with the way it is presented. You lead people to believe that this only happened to democrats. I am sure there are quite a number of people on the right who got the same letter.
I am tired of people whining about the election and the results. You are not crying about the governor's race in Washington where a republican won the election, won the first recount and is now losing because of some miricle ballots that surfaced. The democrats are stealing this election yet no one has spoken out. If you truly want fairness then you want it for EVERYBODY not just those who vote the way you do. I want all votes to count. I think if Ohio gets a recount then the donks should have to pay for a recount in every state their candidate won by less votes than he margin of loss in Ohio. They will not recount those because they are obviously correct....
Look, the election process is not perfect. There should be an ID requirement and citizenship should be verified before someone is allowed to register. Until that happens there will be problems but no one stole the election, there were just as many problems on both sides. There were wrong acts commited on both sides. Neither party is immune to wrong doing. The problem is you guys only focus on the right and do not look at the over all picture.
BTW, I do not have an agenda. I am well educated, make a good living in a good career field. I would match my record to anyone who writes here and I believe it would be comparable.
Lastly, what makes you think you have a right to say what these people who you are paying do? If you think someone who gets your tax money should be held accountable you are beginning to think like a conservative. No I don't think all people from AR are perverts because Clinton is from there. Clinton is a New Yorker who passed through Arkansas.

I seem to remember an IQ comparison as well. Let me look after I write this. I think it was a comment after the election.

Anyway. Ohio is being contested because of the number problems there. As far as Washington goes, I don't really care. I know there are some issues there but it doesn't feel worth writing about. Nader was asking for a recount in New Hamshire where Kerry won. Maybe he's just still mad at the Dems, but I imagine there is a good reason for wanting one.

There are a lot of problems in Ohio but nobody is really saying much about it in the media. I guess there just isn't a blood bath story for them there.

My point is that I care that votes get counted. If I was sure that all the votes were counted properly then I'd call Bush my President. But right now most people are not addressing Ohio and instead just saying the election is over. I guess it is over when most everybody stops caring. The Republicans sure aren't calling for a recount in Ohio. I'm sure the Democrats wouldn't either if they won the election. That is pretty stupid.

As for comparing lives, I'm trying to finish my education. I make poor money working at a library. I think you got me beat.

But you don't have an agenda Big Dog? If you can call what I do an agenda then you have one too. No big problem there though.

I'll let MasterRa deal with the accountability comment . I always joke and call him conservative anyway.

I didn't question your record, i beleive you are well educated, though not everyone is.

What are you talking about with the tax money? Why in the world would I, or anyone (liberal or not), not want the government to be held accountable? For anything? or everything?

I must have misunderstood you. The way i see it, we pay these yahoo's a shitload of money, and they throw it all away. I'm not sure where it goes, but what i do know is that i work for a company (and i have worked for others), that could get a whole lot more done with less money. I know the government isn't quite run the same (and it shouldn't be), but still, it seems like an awful lot of money gets lost.

As for the voting stuff, i agree that it should be fair for everyone, but it cleary wasn't. If a single vote is not counted, something is wrong. And It sure is wrong around here..

Big Dog:

Here is the comment you mentioned I think. The one near the bottom by rosalyn.

The person writes: "Also just received a this table of states by IQ recently sent to my husband by a US military officer. Yup, you guessed it. It is blue on top, swing state in the middle and red below."

I simply asked for the charts, I didn't say I agreed. Don't acuse me of thinking like that, please.

I am not acusing anyone of anything wrong. I just pointed out, in what i thought was a witty remark, that the blue states think the red ones have less intelligent people in them. Adam, you are in college so i imagine you are half my age. When I was 19 I was making less than $600 a month in the Army. I worked up to where I am as I am sure you will when you get finished with college and get your degree. I will concede that if I accused you of having an agenda then it is fair to say the same about me. I think that we both want what is best for the country we just have different ideas about how to get what is best (or about what is best). Bush won Ohio no matter what they are now doing. In all contests there is a winner and a loser and no matter what Bush was declared the winner so we need to move on. I like it you don't but that is why we are the greatest country in the world, differences and the freedom to express them.
BTW, truth be known I live in a blue state and am well educated though I know many people here who are not. Just like I know Adam lives in a red state and he is definitely not an uneducated bumpkin. I can tell by the things he writes that he is well educated and passionate about his beliefs.

As far as tax money, I agree. There is no oversight on how our money is spent. We pay far too much in taxes and we are not paying our own retirement, we are paying those who are now retired. The government does not produce anything it only consumes. I too work for a private company and if I mismanaged money the way the government does I would get fired.
Folks, thanks for the debate. I appreciate people who present their opinions and are able to argue their positions. I might not agree with you but I will die fighting for your right to say it. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy, and safe New Year.

Same to you, Big Dog. I'm going to have some downtime possibly around here in the next few days. The server is changing again. I might also lose power due to ice on power lines (damn this Red State!), so I'll talk to you later.

Re: The letter to the voter from Izard County Election Commission regarding her provisional ballot not being counted.
I am a voting rights activist in Arkansas working in conjunction with computer scientists and other voting rights organizations across the nation. I also work with verifiedvoting.org and votersunite.org. I would suggest that you send that letter to votersunite.org or email the letter to me at lburks@conwaycorp.net and I'll send it to them to post it on thier site. If I can be of further assistance regarding any AR voting matter, don't hesitate to contact me. And feel free to visit my blog at arkansaspoliticalpress.blogspot.com/ for plenty of voting news and information.

I strongly suggest that your mother contact the State Board of Election Commission and file a formal complaint, also file a complaint with the Izard County Election Commission. Without a formal complaint begin filed, there is no problem. Formal complaint can be filed with:

State Board of Election Commissioners
501 Woodlane Drive, Suite 122
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 682-1783 Fax (501) 682-1782

Lisa Burks
National Coordinator
National Coalition for Verified Voting
Arkansas Headquarters
lburks@conwaycorp.net
http://www.verifiedvoting.org/article.php?id=1127