I'm admittedly a bit of a sap, so I got misty-eyed this morning studying the newspaper photos of Ukrainians erupting in jubilant cheer. Their Supreme Court had just decided to call for a re-do of the questionable presidential election of November 21 (more precisely, there'll be a runoff between challenger Viktor Yushchenko and incumbent Viktor Yanukovich). This is magnificent! The Ukrainian people finally had their first shot at real democracy, and boy did they rise to the occasion. As soon as evidence of widespread voting irregularities and fraud came to light, hundreds of thousands of them took to the streets in a display of righteous indignation and resolve. While the anger was palpable, violence among the vast crowds was practically absent. And ultimately, the rule of law prevailed in textbook fashion. It's too early to declare this a beautiful chapter in the annals of democracy; after all, the fact that such a crucial political race was rigged is alarming, and it remains to be seen if the do-over finally brings credit to the country's election authorities. But still, what a day!
Truth be told, I now harbor a deeper admiration for the Ukrainian people than for my own fellow citizens — at least when it comes to their commitment to democracy. For the second time in a row, there was plenty wrong with America's presidential elections, and new, troubling reports keep surfacing. Across the country, electronic voting machines proved almost as unreliable as their detractors had predicted. At the Volusia County Elections Office, in the key state of Florida, officials made bold-faced attempts to hide or destroy the official voting tallies — to what end, one can only guess. In the Florida counties of Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade, among others, hundreds of thousands of votes may have been erroneously awarded to George Bush. In Ohio, the other 2004 swing state, election officials tried to dissuade throngs of likely Democratic voters from casting a ballot, employing a variety of dirty tricks. These are just a few examples from a grab bag that, at last count, contains more than 400 serious voting irregularities nationwide. The running tally, with links to additional information, is here.
Where's the outrage? Where are the demonstrations? Where is the investigative zeal of America's best journalists? Where are the cojones of the Democratic Party?
Whether it's because of election fatigue or a national phobia for unpleasant truths, America's flawed 2004 election is barely on the national radar. Over in the Bush camp, tens of millions of Americans undoubtedly think that pointing out election anomalies is nothing but poor sportsmanship on the part of Kerry supporters — sour grapes. It's over, they say. Even if they concede that a lot of things things went worrisomely awry on November 2, they tend to reason that none of it would have affected the outcome of November 2. (Well, maybe, maybe not. But it's beside the point anyway.) If you're one of those Republican voters, and you're inclined to shrug off the topic as so much conspiracy-based hooey, ask yourself if you'd feel that way if your guy had lost. Let's at least agree that there's nothing partisan about 'one man, one vote,' and that fairness and transparency are crucial to a democracy.
Ukrainians understand that. But Americans?
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