the Reason Why Trust in the System is Crucial

from a comment at daily kos (i know i said i was going to avoid that place, but i can't help it. there's nothing happening at the other blogs i read):

The freepers and wingnuts we disdain so readily here on DailyKos actually believe that it is the democracts trying to steal the election - ACORN, ACT, as well as the DNC. Mayor Daley in Chicago won the election for John Kennedy by registering an impressive number of former citizens who might well have voted for Kennedy - if they'd still been alive.

We, of course, believe that it is the Republicans looking to steal the election - but if you look at the evidence (say the fact that 35 thousand notices to newly registered voters were returned as undeliverable), with a republican eye (which sees liberal media and conspiracies everywhere), it is not surprising that they've convinced themselves that the democrats are cheating.

I would imagine that most of those returned notices were sent to the wrong address because the registration form was misread by county officials - handwriting on a clipboard in front of the grocery store is not always the most legible, and they've been so overwhelmed by the huge registration numbers this time round - and thus the addresses entered into the database are a little off, and that database is what the republicans used for their test mailings. We need to face that at least a few of those registrations are probably bad - either because the person working the booth was desperate to get his forms filled out and cut corners, or because the person signing up is not eligible for some reason - but of the some 200,000 new registrations in Ohio (I'm guessing at the number), I'd think 95% are probably good - but that still leaves 10,000 registrations that the republicans have every right to politely challenge.

The challenge for us is to be there too, and make sure that EVERY voter stays in line if things slow down, and that the challenges are carried out in a lawful, non-discriminatory, and non-intimidating way. I think we're up to it.