UNCOUNTED

UNCOUNTED - 2008

RATED - NR but probably G/PG

RATINGS - 14 Amazon (4.5/5), 347 Netflix (3.4/5), 30 IMDB (8.2/10).

STARRING - Emmy-winning filmmaker David Earnhardt

THEMES - Justice, Democracy, Freedom.

STORY - This is a documentary about the votes that go 'uncounted' for various reasons during elections. There are a variety of reasons, some through negligence and human error and others through deliberate attempts to sabotage our voting system. The story is mostly told from the Democratic' viewpoint, although it does try to be impartial. Obviously, the Democrats have been on the losing end of the national elections this century until 2006. The Republicans have no incentive to tell the story. Stripping all the politics away, this is a report about how susceptible our system, especially the electronic voting machines, is to to fraud. It's almost unthinkable that we are using a system that virtually has no check and balances to detect fraud. The same people, Diebold, that manufacture our ATM machines and verify who we are before it dispenses or takes our money and then gives us a receipt to verify the transaction, are responsible for much of the electronic voting equipment used in America. They alone have access to the computer code that control the machines so the government can't even check to see if the code has been altered after an election. It has been proven that these machines are easily rigged, yet they cannot provide equipment even as good as the ATM machines we use every day. Those with high blood pressure and heart disease may want to beware before watching this film. It will make you angry that our Democracy rests on such fragile legs and that we cannot be assured that the real winners of our elections actually get into office. The one check and balance is the exit polling that is done on election day. In both the 2004 & 2006 elections, the exit polls were significantly different from the tabulated results. Statistically, they were way beyond the margins of error from the final vote totals. Who was wrong and what went wrong? You decide. A secure and honest system is all that lies between us and the regimes that govern the countries we so oppose. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 10/12/2008.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB. BLACKBOXVOTING.COM