Originally posted by Shrike
Considering how partisan the entire issue is, I don't trust anyone regarding it. Considering the arguments I've read over it before, I'm quite sure I could find some 'vote irregularities' of equal magnitude perpetrated by the losing side.
Fortunately, Shrike, the details of the case are backed up by unconcerned third parties (IE a british newspaper) as well as several independent studies done here in the US. Given that the various reports agree on the major details and many of the minor ones--without referencing each other--I'd say that indeed, the details are accurate.
The illegally disenfranchised voters are a matter of the public record and are easy to verify for any US citizen. The changes in Florida voting laws are on the record, and are verifiable by pretty much anyone willing to look. The lists sent to the database company were voting rolls, and as such are a matter of the public record and can be requested by any citizen.
One fact that was not listed in that little flash thing was that the database company was told to use Soundex to match names as well. Soundex is a system by which phonemes are matched to mathematical abstractions. These abstractions are matched against each other to find words that 'sound alike'. Its a notoriously inaccurate system generating a rather huge (upwards of 25%) rate of false positives. Thus, if your name 'sounded like' a convicted felon according to soundex, you were removed from the rolls as well.
Not that it actually matters. Facts are irrelevant when all you want is to sell the country a lie.
