by Nicholas Beaudrot of Electoral Math
I've long thought that the conspiracy theories about software-based vote-rigging are overblown. After all, there are many, many ways to stack the deck in an election without quite so obviously breaking the law. Take, for instance, the upcoming New Orleans City Council races. The Council has just voted to move polling locations for the May 20th runoff, a mere nine days before the election. Coincidentally, 8 of the 10 affected precincts voted strongly against incumbent Councilman Jay Batt (R)—one gave as much as 85% of their vote to other candidates. They're not even hiding their intenions [emphasis mine]:
Hundreds of polling places were changed, in some casesseveral times, after Hurricane Katrina flooded most of thecity and left many of the former voting sites unusable.
The precincts affected by the latest changes are in areasthat did not flood. Officials did not explain why theMagazine Street and Dublin Street sites were no longeravailable.
It's hard to imagine a more naked attempt to disenfranchise your opponent's supporters.
Jay Batt's opponent is Shelley Stephenson Midura (D). You can contribute over the web.
