| Bush 15 perc above new hampshire exit polls { November 16 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/11/16/national1226EST0548.DTLhttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/11/16/national1226EST0548.DTL
Nader activists ask for New Hampshire recount, question accuracy of optical vote-scan machines - KATHARINE WEBSTER, Associated Press Writer Tuesday, November 16, 2004
(11-16) 10:02 PST CONCORD, N.H. (AP) --
New Hampshire is about to become a test case for the accuracy of optical scan vote-counting machines because third-party presidential candidate Ralph Nader has asked for a recount.
The request covers 11 of the state's 126 precincts that use Diebold Inc.'s Accuvote optical scanning machines to count paper ballots. Depending on the results, his campaign could ask for recounts in other states, spokesman Kevin Zeese said Monday.
Nader doesn't expect to change the outcome: In New Hampshire, Democrat John Kerry defeated President Bush, 50 percent to 49 percent, while Nader got less than 1 percent from the state's 301 precincts.
However, the former consumer advocate wants to address concerns that the machines are inaccurate or can be tampered with, Zeese said.
Backers urged Nader to request a recount after a statistical analysis posted on the Internet appeared to show that some New Hampshire precincts using the Accuvote machines gave President Bush up to 15 percent more votes than had been expected on the basis of exit polls and the 2000 presidential vote.
Claims of vote fraud are "spreading like wildfire around the Internet, and if it keeps going people are going to be suspicious always, so why not check it out?" Zeese said.
The Secretary of State's office said the recount will begin Thursday. Ida Briggs, a Michigan software developer and database manager who did the statistical analysis, said she found that precincts using the Accuvote machines deviated from the expected voting trend more often and by larger margins than those using a different optical scanning system or hand-counting.
State election officials are skeptical, saying that in past recounts they have not found significant miscounts by Accuvote machines.
Although Diebold, of North Canton, Ohio, has faced criticism over problems with its touch-screen voting machines, it said its optical scanners have proved reliable over years of use.
"I think they're rushing to judgment," spokesman David Bear said of the recount advocates.
On the Net: Statistical analysis of New Hampshire vote: www.invisibleida.com
Diebold scanner: www.diebold.com/dieboldes/accuvote_os.htm
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