Tonight was a good night.

[Andy_Stephenson]

I debated Laura Ruderman and got an overall grade of "B", Ms Ruderman was given a B- to a B. So overall the debate went well. As a note...Ms Ruderman is talking "voter verifiable paper ballots" not quite the "voter verified paper ballot" that I call for. Which leads me to wonder as to her sincerity. Her web site still says "Produce a verifiable paper trail (Satire) so that when you vote on an electronic machine, you can be sure your vote is counted properly." She has yet to come around to "Citizen owned open source software and sourcecode" said we "weren't there yet." I reminded her and the crowd of the Open Voting Consortium's project and that it would not cost the billions now being spent on substandard voting equipment. What could we buy, with the nearly $10 million spent in King County on Diebold?

Move on today posted this statement on their website.

"Every voter should be able to verify his or her vote on a paper ballot. Election officials must make sure electronic voting terminals produce Voter-Verified Paper Ballots, and they must provide backup paper ballots in case the terminals aren't working. "

I applaud Moveon.org for taking this position. I have called for a vvpb, almost from the moment I joined this movement. I would now challenge Moveon.org, to take the next step and call for "open sourced citizen owned software and source code" as well as robust random auditing of the entire process both before, during, and after elections.

Now speaking of the apathy, guys, come on...we really need to address this. I haven't busted my buttt for 2 years for nothing. On election day get up and vote! Without your vote we cannot make the changes that need to be made. On voting day...take several friends from the neighborhood with you...Have a voting party at lunch. Make sure any elderly folks have access to an absentee ballot or a way to the poll. Encourage neighborhood 18-24 year olds to register and vote. Throw a pizza party or bar-b-que in the back yard. This will work, do you know any teens that turn down food? Be sure to have registration forms handy...get them excited about voting. Get their e-mail addresses and remind them to vote via email on voting day. Young Americans need to be brought into the fold. They are a vital part of the "experiment", and we can no longer ignore this group of voters.

We are a mighty force to be reckoned with. "We The People", what a powerful statement that is, really, when you think about it. No matter what our party affiliation, we are all united in the belief that our vote is sacred. We may not always choose to vote...but we always want our voted counted as cast when we do. If we are to save our Republic now is the time and the place.

Andy

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. I KNEW you'd do good!!!!

:yourock:

[LWolf]

2. Good job, Andy.

I'm not sure where I'll be living come November 2nd, but where ever it is, I'll be out there getting people to the polls.

Unfortunately, it won't be Washington, or you'd have this vote!

[Andy_Stephenson]

3. Thannks ya'll

it was a lot of fun

[Andy_Stephenson]

4. Kick for the day crowd

in case you missed this.

:kick: