I have some good news and some bad news about democracy. First, the bad news. The Associated Press reports that many election reforms mandated in 2002 will not be ready by 2006:
"Deadlines are looming to make sure the election changes demanded after President Bush's disputed 2000 victory are in place by the Jan. 1, 2006, date ordered by Congress. But many states are not going to make it, many of the nation's secretaries of state warned Monday."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=512&ncid=703&e=8&u=/ap/20050208/ap_o
n_go_co/election_worries
Good news after the fold.
Looks like Bush and Co are going to keep our balloting processes hobbling along so that they can do whatever flim-flam they want and keep winning.
On the bright side, the "Fraud-buster Four" election protection attorneys raised over $19,000 thanks to the generosity of Kossacks and others, so they were able to enter a mountain of documents into the Ohio Supreme Court record. They also report on their website (http://www.freepress.org/index2.php) that Rep Conyers will be submitting an amicus brief supporting the four attorneys by this Friday.
At minimum they have won by putting evidence of voting "irregularities" in the official record for posterity (including full transcripts of the hearing they convened in Ohio after November 2nd). At maximum, they will win by not being sanctioned by the Ohio Supreme Court and by exposing the rampant electoral abuses in the state.
More:
http://www.votecobb.org/newsclips/2005/feb/news2005-02-03.php
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1138