Update on that AFA poll—they’re removing chunks of votes for options they didn’t like. Oh yeah, dishonesty is SUCH a lovely “family value!”
Edit: I emailed the AFA, and received this reply:
Cynthia,
Your message regarding the alleged deletion of votes in our Marriage Poll was forwarded to me. I don’t know if anyone else from AFA has responded to you, but I will be happy to.
Here’s the long and short of it. We had someone from the pro-homosexual side of the issue use an automated script that generated thousands of false votes in favor of homosexual marriage. Certainly, we felt it was in the best interest of everyone involved, no matter which side of the issue they were on, for these automatically generated votes to be deleted. And, we have incorporated some technology into the poll to prevent this from happening again, on either side of the equation.
Currently, the numbers you see on the poll are from what we believe to be valid signers. We have no intention of skewing the poll either way, nor any reason to do so.
I’m sure you understand the need to maintain the integrity of the poll. Too bad someone from the pro-homosexual side of the issue felt the need to use such underhanded tactics.
Paul Chaney
Email List Administrator/Online Marketing Manager
American Family Association
I replied, offering assistance in tracking the IP address of the person using the script. I then received this response:
Yes, we got his IP, and are considering whether to report this to his ISP. Thanks for your offer though. I appreciate it.
Edit: I don’t know why, but the edit I’d added to this message on the 18th was just totally gone today (the 19th), so I’m re-adding it.
Yet another edit on 12/21: Someone has in fact confessed to using a script to add 2700 votes to the poll.
