Last month there was a primary election in Illinois. In Cook County, where about 40 percent of the state's population lives, optical scan and touch screen balloting was used for the first time. Up until this election, punch card ballots were used.
And it took days for all the votes to be counted in Cook County. The blame for the slow tally was placed on--depending on was asked--either on the Sequoia Voting Systems, the supplier of the machines, or on poor training of election judges.
Now there is a new villain: Venezuela and its president, Hugo Chavez.
Alderman Edward Burke, one of the most powerful legislators on Chicago's City Council, is making this shocking claim:
We've stumbled across what could be the international conspiracy to subvert the electoral process in the United States of America.
The Chicago City Council has it's share of eccentrics and characters, Alderman Burke, chairman of the body's Finance Committee, is considered to be a one of the shrewdest legislators on the council.
On a side note, the alderman's wife, Anne, was appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court this week. (She is also a member of DePaul University's Board of Trustees.)
From ABC 7 Chicago:
Alderman Burke says at least 15 Venezuelans, who may not have been in the country legally, worked side-by-side with Chicago election officials on primary night March 21, which turned out to be a vote-counting nightmare.
Burke says the fiasco may have been politically motivated, because the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, is considered an enemy of the United States and may be connected to a Venezuelan company that owns a US firm (my note, Sequoia Voting Systems) that provided Chicago and Cook County with the new voting machines that contributed to the election night problems.
"I don't know how anybody could hire a company that's ownership is hidden, and traces its roots to Venezuela, where they've been involved with the dictator of Venezuela who Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld says is an enemy of the United States," said Burke.
No one is taking Burke's allegation seriously. However, Hugo Chavez has not been contacted yet about last month's election in the Land of Lincoln.
Still, someone better get elections expert Jim Lampley on the story real fast. It could be the biggest story of our lives.
Previously on Marathon Pundit: Bring back the punch card ballots?
Technorati tags: Chicago Illinois Elections Hugo Chavez Venezuela chavez Politics DePaul Cook County Jim Lampley conspiracy
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