In memory of Andy: Remember 18181

What a ballot is. It is not merely a piece of paper, it is me... it is my voice. Each of us should guard it more than we would our most prized or precious possession… To me, my ballot is the most sacred sacrament of the secular religion we call Democracy… With proper auditing and truly random recounts, optical scans are the safest and most accurate way to count an election.
~ Andy Stephenson ~ 4/29/05

A Nov. 7, 2002, Associated Press story datelined Snyder, Texas, reported, “A defective computer chip in the county’s optical scanner misread ballots Tuesday night and incorrectly tallied a landslide victory for Republicans.” Poll workers became suspicious. As a result of those workers’ inquiry, a new computer chip was flown to Snyder, Texas, from Dallas. Once the new chip was installed, the computer verified that the Democrat had won the election. The question remains: Was this an innocent computer glitch or something far more sinister, an attempt to steal that election for the Republicans?

In a July 30, 2003, article published by Alternet.org titled, “The Theft of Your Vote is Just a Chip Away,” writer Thom Hartmann reported on another “Texas anomaly.” In the November 2002 election in Comal County, Republican state Sen. Jeff Wentworth won with 18,181 votes, Republican Carter Casteel won a state House seat with 18,181 votes, and Judge Danny Scheel (a conservative) won his race with 18,181 votes. All three in the same county, same day, same year, all three with exactly the same number of votes. However, no poll workers in the county asked for a new chip.

Stephenson proved his worst critics wrong by dying from the illness they claimed he never had. But it was no victory. Some, unwilling to concede to reality, wondered if he'd faked his death, or said good riddance. Remember the old tag line to the TV series The X-Files: "The truth is out there"? Well, lies are out there, too. Cruelty and savagery, also, wrought by people with no life other than spewing hate with a keyboard.