By Dan Balz and Zachary A. Goldfarb

An overhaul in how states and localities record votes and administer elections since the Florida recount battle six years ago has created conditions that could trigger a repeat — this time on a national scale — of last week’s Election Day debacle in the Maryland suburbs, election experts said. 

In the Nov. 7 election, more than 80 percent of voters will use electronic voting machines, and a third of all precincts this year are using the technology for the first time. The changes are part of a national wave, prompted by the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 and numerous revisions of state laws, that led to the replacement of outdated voting machines with computer-based electronic machines, along with centralized databases of registered voters and other steps to refine the administration of elections.

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But in Maryland last Tuesday, a combination of human blunders and technological glitches caused long lines and delays in vote-counting. The problems, which followed ones earlier this year in Ohio, Illinois and several other states, have contributed to doubts among some experts about whether the new systems are reliable and whether election officials are adequately prepared to use them.

Here’s the link to the whole story

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/16/AR2006091600885.html?nav=hcmodule

It doesn’t take a genius to figure this one out, folks.  If spending $90 million in 40 days on attack ads and a drop in gasoline prices from $3/gal to $2/gal isn’t enough to keep the GOP in power, the Republicans will simply use their good buddies at Diebold to steal the elections the way they did in Florida in 2000 and in Ohio in 2004.  Anyone want to bet that as a pattern there will be no problems in safe GOP districts and lots of problems in areas where Dems vote?  The next story you read will be a grassroots movement to change the Constitution to eliminate term limits on the Presidency.  All Hail the new Caesar, George the First.