Vote Count Protests Blast Media Silence

[The Straight Story]

Vote Count Protests Blast Media Silence: By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
A small but vocal group of demonstrators rallied for an hour in front of the KGO-TV offices in San Francisco on Monday morning, protesting what they called “media silence on 2004 election irregularities.” Demonstrators later marched to the San Francisco offices of United States Senator Barbara Boxer where organizers met with Boxer’s staff.

Among the rally speakers was Berkeley City Councilmember-elect Max Anderson, who blasted President George W. Bush as a “thief,” saying “we need to go to Washington and make a citizens’ arrest to put that two-time loser out of office.”

Anderson likened the movement to investigate election irregularities to Berkeley’s Free Speech Movement of the ‘60s. “Just like then, we’re going to have to throw ourselves into the machine and stop its gears,” he said.

The demonstration of some 150 activists was co-sponsored by the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club of the East Bay and the Dean Democratic Club of Silicon Valley. Much of the emphasis was on the upcoming recount of Presidential ballots in Ohio, which was declared for President George W. Bush over Democratic challenger Senator John Kerry.

Demonstration organizers called for “minimum standards in the voting method throughout the United States,” “an auditable paper trail for electronic and all voting machines,” and “upholding and enforcing the Voting Rights Act to prevent the continued disenfranchisement of minority voters,” among other demands.

Demonstrators sang “Black boxes with no paper trail, as predicted they will fail” to the tune of “O Tannenbaum” and carried signs reading “Support The Ohio Recount,” “Election Fraud Is So Newsworthy,” and “End The Media Blackout Of The Election.”



http://berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?issue=11-30-04&storyID=20187