In your honour part 2 (This just in)...

BJ has written us to say that he couldn't vote today. We called him to find out why, and when he got to the poll they told him he had to go to Lubbock. He and Buddy registered in Houston together and Buddy was able to vote there, but BJ was told that he'd have to dash up to Lubbock (A 9 hour drive) to vote, all because that was where he'd voted last time.

Cosmo's aunt Bebe was also turned away. Well, not turned away so much, but when she got to the polls they told her she'd been purged from the rolls, but if she went to a different polling place she could vote there. When she got to the second polling place she was told to go to a third and when she reached the third she was told there wasn't anything they could do, she could vote in the runoff election, but not the Presidential election.

BJ thinks he may have been turned away because he was wearing a rainbow shirt, which in Texas is generally an indicator you're a Democrat - Not always, but a safe enough bet, I guess. Bebe's Mexican. It's bad enough that two people I know personally were turned away from voting. It's far worse that the reports coming in from around the States are such that it's making me actually consider that one was turned away because of his sexual preference and the other didn't get a chance because of her colour. And for once I feel justified and not at all paranoid. Terrible.

Welcome to Democracy 2004.