“The media said nothing about the real story of the criminal disenfranchisement of American citizens.”

The weeks long ballot counting battle and Supreme Court case that followed hid the truth. The press wouldn't cover the story and Al Gore wouldn't make a case for himself or for the country. While keeping the public riveted by tales of hanging chads, the media said nothing about the real story of the criminal disenfranchisement of American citizens.

The reverberations are felt every November in every state of the nation. The Republicans have perfected the art of vote prevention and theft to maintain their hold on power while the hapless Democrats fail to acknowledge that they and the American people have been robbed.

The national media, accessories to the original crime, not only failed to tell the true story of the November 2000 election, but have not told the story of other stolen elections that have taken place since. Princeton's Center for Information Technology Policy proved the worse fears about Diebold voting machines, that is to say that they are easily hacked and thus prone to producing fraudulent results.

In Georgia in 2002, polls consistently showed Democrats winning gubernatorial and senate races, but Republicans mysteriously emerged victorious. Ohio referenda on voting rules likewise were expected to win but surprisingly came up short on election day. Provisional ballots come from overwhelmingly black districts, and end up in file “G,” never to be seen or counted again.

Emboldened by the original crime, Republicans have cooked up a new scheme to keep the most loyal group in the Democratic coalition, black people, from casting ballots. Legislators in eleven states have passed laws mandating voter identification requirements at the polls. These efforts continue nationwide and the House of Representatives has passed legislation that beginning in 2010 will require voters to have a birth certificate, passport or proof of naturalization.

Despite the flurry of fake concern, there is little evidence that impostors are showing up at the polls. A report issued by the United States Election Assistance Commission states that, “There is widespread but not unanimous agreement that there is little polling-place fraud, or at least much less than is claimed, including voter impersonation, 'dead' voters, non-citizen voting and felon voters.”

“Republicans have cooked up a new scheme to keep the most loyal group in the Democratic coalition, black people, from casting ballots.”

No matter, the Republicans have found a new tool to cement their hold on power. They are well aware that millions of Americans lack birth certificates, drivers licenses or other identification that will now be required in order to vote. They are equally aware that those less likely to have this ID are black, and concentrated in swing states that decide which party will be in control in Washington. So far the courts have stopped these schemes from being hatched, and yet Republican dirty work continues and so does Democratic inaction.

In Georgia the state board of elections sent out over 300,000 letters to voters informing them that they needed state ID in order to vote. They continued to send the letters even after the law was struck down by a court decision. Georgia now has thousands of confused and intimidated voters who are less likely to show up on voting day, just what Karl Rove would like

Two years ago John Kerry said nothing when he conceded the election to George W. Bush. Ohio Republicans combined simple schemes such as keeping voting machines in storage with the old reliable method of tossing provisional and spoiled, supposedly unreadable, ballots. More than 150,000 were thrown out. The Bush victory margin was 130,000 votes.

“Ask yourself why this crime continues without any complaint.”

Despite the recent history of Republican evil doing in the polling place, Democrats remain silent. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have said nothing about the increasing number of uncounted votes. They say little about voter ID laws. It is difficult to say which scandal is greater, the vote theft or Democratic silence about it.

If Republicans unexpectedly emerge victorious don't listen to the professional pundits who wring their hands asking why the Dems can't win. Ask yourself why this crime continues without any complaint from the people who can put a stop to it. Polling methodology may be correct, but it won't matter if votes from Democrats aren't even counted.

Margaret Kimberley's Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgandaReport.Com. When sending email, please remember to replace the (at) with @. You can read more of Ms. Kimberley's writings at freedomrider.blogspot.com.