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Thursday, January 5, 2012

Putin's Idea of Electoral "Transparency"

Posted by on Thu, Jan 5, 2012 at 11:58 AM

It would be funny if it weren't true:

Since the protests started, Putin has asked the electoral commissioner to look into the situation. Chief electoral officer Vladimir Churov has since come back with the fix: 60,000 transparent ballot boxes. Hey, the protesters wanted more systemic "transparency," right? Well, here it is, in the form of an actual see-through object.

Yes, transparent ballot boxes can show that there's no ballot-stuffing beforehand. But in Putin's Russia (where authorities in the last election suddenly created 59 surprise polling places in factories, universities, and offices on the Sunday election, then blocked observers from observing them, then showed over 90% of the votes going to Putin's party at those sites), it's impossible to say what happens after they get carted away.

 

Comments (5) RSS

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Geocrackr 1
As the last decade of American elections have proven, it's not who cast the votes that matter, it's who "counts" the votes.
Posted by Geocrackr on January 5, 2012 at 12:03 PM
2
I admire their honesty about their dishonesty at the very least. No mealymouthed declarations, no doublespeak. If a Russian politician wants to fuck with you, you're fucked. The results are the same but at least I feel less dirty about it than when Santorum or Romney talk down to me.
Posted by NateMan on January 5, 2012 at 12:04 PM
undead ayn rand 3
State GOP operatives must be masturbating furiously to this sort of election fraud porn.
Posted by undead ayn rand on January 5, 2012 at 12:56 PM
4
It is nice to know that the KGB didn't lose it's sense of humor with the fall of the USSR.
Posted by Westside forever on January 5, 2012 at 12:58 PM
treacle 5
In Putin's Russia, elections monitor you!
Posted by treacle on January 5, 2012 at 1:08 PM

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