My Letter to the Editor

Piece I responded to (Bristol Herald Courier):

"Was vote against Boucher rigged?

Virginia’s longest serving U.S. Congressman, Rick Boucher, is beloved by all of the people of his district, having served them through 14 terms. He received 68 percent of the vote in 2006 and was not even contested in 2008. So does anyone think it a little strange that he lost his seat garnering only 46 percent of the vote?
It reminds me of the curious result in South Carolina where an unknown, unemployed black man named Alvin Greene beat a well known state senator with 59 percent of the Democratic vote in the primary. He then lost the general election 68 percent to 28 percent to Jim Demint, the incumbent Republican.
Did Rick really lose? He deserves this theory be presented: It has been documented time and again by the best computer scientists in the country that 80 percent of America’s votes in 2010 were tabulated by hackable, inaccurate, unreliable, electronic voting machines. After a university team hacked into California machines, that state outlawed electronic voting machines for the 2010 election. In another instance, computer scientists tested the vulnerabilities of a mock District of Columbia election in 2010. They were able to infiltrate the online system and change votes without leaving a trace.
Do the research and you will find that this is a taboo subject. Perhaps it is because both parties are involved. I don’t know!
There are several documentaries out there exposing the fraud. One was produced by HBO, called "Hacking Democracy." Bev Harris at blackboxvoting.org has been on this for years. This, in my opinion, is the reason Boucher lost. It does not deserve to be pushed under the rug by those in charge of voting in the Fightin’ Ninth. Rick Boucher’s congressional career could have been terminated because of it.

Gary Carrier
Bristol, Tenn."


My response:

"Mr. Carrier is mistaken that Mr. Boucher’s loss in November was the result of a 'rigged' election. It was the result of the people of the ninth district of Virginia changing their minds about the Congressman. While the results of the election were much different from previous years, and would have to be for Mr. Griffith to win, that does not automatically point to foul play.

Boucher received 46 percent of the vote in 2010. In 2006, (the last year it was a contested race) he received 68 percent. While this 22 percent difference is quite large, Boucher himself knew it was going to be a tough race. According to OpenSecrets.Org he spent 2.9 million on media, campaign expenses, and administrative support in 2010. He only spent $828,000 in 2006 on the same items.

Boucher lost because the ninth no longer wanted his services and he most definitely saw this change coming."