Kerry conceded too soon, Jackson asserts
/Claiming Ohio's 2004 election results were more troubling than
Florida's four years ago, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry called it quits too
soon. "Kerry conceded much too quickly, before the facts were in,"
Jackson said in a conference call with reporters to discuss an ongoing
challenge to Ohio's election results. "When he pulled the plug, the
national media left as well," Jackson said of Kerry's concession on
Nov. 3, the day after the election. Since then, a Jackson-led group
claims to have uncovered a wide range of voting irregularities in the
Buckeye State, including tabulations that contradicted early exit polls
pointing to a Kerry victory, voting machine errors, absentee ballot
counting errors, and inaccurate directions given to voters trying to
get to polling places. The concerns are detailed in a 41-page petition
contesting the election before the Ohio Supreme Court. Jackson's
Rainbow/PUSH Coalition plans a "Pro Democracy - Count Every Vote Rally"
on Jan. 3. across the street from the Ohio state Capitol in Columbus.
Presidential candidates of the Green and Libertarian parties funded a
statewide recount of the Ohio vote. The recount gave an additional 346
votes to Bush and 494 more votes to Kerry. Earlier this month, Ohio
Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell certified Bush as the winner of
the state, with 2.86 million votes, or about 51 percent, compared with
Kerry's 2.74 million votes, or about 49 percent. [more]
