By Garvin Karunaratne, former Government Agent, Matara District

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ US citizens are at the polls today to elect a new President. The tussle is between President Obama from the Democrats and Governor Romney opposing him. There have been debate after debate on the policies that each of them would follow.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ However I would not be surprised if instead of the voters having their say, the Electronic Voting Machines will decide the winner as did happen in 2004. A possible alternative is for the Supreme Court of the USA to intervene, like what did happen in the 2000 US Presidential Election when the Federal US Supreme Court did order the recounting of ballots in Florida Counties to be stopped, which made George W. Bush to be declared the President as up to that point in the counting of ballots he was leading. The ruling of the Supreme Court was all supreme and no one couldƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  raise any voice. In fact Vice President Al Gore, the candidate that lost said that though he disagreed with the decision of the Supreme Court he would concede. I was so puzzled by the turn of events of how the decision of the voters could be subverted by a Supreme Court ruling that I wrote a book on it: The Administrative Bungling that HijackedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the 2000 US Presidential Election(The University Press of America).

It all happened in a peculiar manner where the Secretary of State for Florida, the counter part of the Government Agent in Sri Lanka, the Returning Officer for the election, failed to make decisions onƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  submissions and protests which enabled them to seek redress at the hands of the Supreme Court. In fact the Supreme Court at Florida had ordered the recount of ballots and it was proceeding a pace.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  However seeing that the count was moving in the wrong direction, the redress of the Federal Supreme Court was sought. The recount was stopped forthwith and George W Bush was declared the winner.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ George W. Bush did rule the waves for four years and then came the 2004 US Presidential Election. In the USA, the home of technology, it so happened that once the Electronic Voting Machines declared the results no one could check to ensure as to whether the count given by the voting machine was correct because there was no paper documentation to fall back. Thus the count as revealed by the Voting Machine was accepted and thus did George W Bush continue to be in White House for another four years. In fact the manufacturerƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  of the Voting Machines had once earlier stated that George W Bush will win. This was a blatant flagration of democracy which made me write a Book: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The Electronic Stealing of the 2004 US Presidential Election(Amazon.Com)

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is my fervent hope that neither the Supreme Court will intervene to stop the counting of ballots nor will the Electronic Voting Machines will declare the winner in todayƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Vote. However it is the same Electronic Voting Machines that are used and no one can be certain.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Garvin Karunaratne

Former SLAS, Government Agent, Matara DistrictƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  6 th November 2012