CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS! Election Reform Group

[Jo March]

(We're still looking for a name. LOL.)

Several DUers have been working on getting a list of action items together in order to keep our wonderful momentum going. Here is our mission statement:

"The mission of the Election Reform Group is to solicit solid action items and then work at those items in an organized manner to promote election reform to our elected officials, media and every American who votes."

I am now calling on volunteers to be either

a.) a point person for the action category
b.) a volunteer for a particular task.

For example, if you want to be a point person for "branding" our movement with a logo, font colors, etc., you could sign up for that category of work. You would then work with others to get all of the tasks that are needed to brand our movement completed. As we all know there is a lot of work that has to be done to get a movement started.

If you would like to volunteer for this great effort, please send me your email and what you want to volunteer for by:

*PM or
*email at [e-mail] or
*the thread linked below

The thread is a bit long, though, so here is the list:
Action Category
*Develop a database for all elected officials
- Develop database arnheim
-Link to website for easy access arnheim
-Develop "blaster" for easy use arnheim
*Create fraud packets to mail/FedEx to elected officials
-Develop "press" type packets to mail liberal43110, nashville_brook
-Develop multi-media CDs
*Create state-specific fraud packets as well
*Create database of all elected officials:
-Federal
-State
--GA rigel99
--FL imenja
-County
-Local seabeyond
*Educate the media by using media blasters
*Educate the "masses"
-Design flyers
-Design strategy for best delivery method
-Distribute flyers to team for distribution
-Infiltrate other non-political boards
*Send BBV book to elected officials
-Get permission to use emcguffie
-Give to Duer who is writing up the message for EO
*Send the Conyers report to elected officals
*Continue to call, fax, email and write with our concerns Bill Bored, Bill MI
*Develop a calling strategy
*Develop a clear and consistent message to deliver to our elected Officials (EO)
*Create a "media tree" for the organized distribution of information
*Election reform "comics" mordarlar
*Work on cleaning up registration process
-Research needs to be done on the rejected ballots
-Research and fix the registration process
-Research into the felon purges: where, when, how
*Expand your network of progressive groups
-Get list of progressive groups katinmn, emcguffie
-Distribute list to team members
-Contact other progressive groups re: our mission
*Meet with other progressive groups
-Obtain meeting schedules emcguffie
-Publish meeting schedules regularly
*Educate major corporations and businesses (especially the BLUE ones)
-Get a list of BLUE businesses
-Develop a marketing pamplet for them
-Distribute to businesses
*Rent a billboard
*Take out ads in the newspaper
*Write Letters to the Editor
*Come up with a "soundtrack" for our movement Pepper32, nashville_brook
*Create a blog for our movement
*Create a mission statement for DU movement Arnheim
*Thanking/supporting EO who act to support us frictionlessO
*Speaking with local groups & clubs
*Work on reframing our message
*Organize marches, demonstrations, etc.
-Election Reform walks
-Marches
*Write Reform Law
*Call for a special prosecutor McCamy Taylor via her thread
*Develop/retain PR firm
*Volunteer to be a Poll Worker
*Brand our movement
-logo
-color schemes, fonts, etc.

The whole list is in this post:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x262387#268616

Organization is the key. We have the numbers. We have the talent. We have the fire in our hearts. We just need to get together and get organized!

Arnheim

[Goldeneye]

1. The second link doesn't work

says its not found.

[Jo March]

2. Thanks. Try it now. It takes a while to load. nt

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Just saw the story about finally having a murder case in the 40 year old

murder of Schwerner, Cheney and Goodman. Would it be too far-fetched to compare the denial of voting rights by the Repukes in the past 4 years to what was done to these 3 men? They were murdered for trying to get black people to register to vote. While people may not have been murdered in Ohio, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, etc...they were denied the opportunity to register and to vote. The means may have been different, but the result was the same.
I think that the comparison is very valid, and should be made...loud and clear.

[ulTRAX]

4. I hate to nitpick.... but just what IS election reform?

A few days ago at the Democracy Cell blog I asked the simple question if they claimed to be working toward democracy... could they define it? None could. It was taken to be self-evident that whatever they were doing HAD to be democracy.

So when I see a mission such as

"The mission of the Election Reform Group is to solicit solid action items and then work at those items in an organized manner to promote election reform to our elected officials, media and every American who votes."

I have to ask just what specific reforms are you talking about? For instance do you intend to work toward eliminating vote weighing schemes where one citizen's vote weighs more than another's? Will you support a voting system that allows citizens to vote their conscience and not support a spoiler? How about that citizens can vote their conscience and be represented for their beliefs? Do you plan to promote 3ed parties? Or is "reform" just dealing with BBV and other such issues?

If such basic questions can't be answered... then I question the commitment to true reform. Like Democracy Cell it will be an effort with no direction.

[Jo March]

6. ulTRAX, a few answers

Election reform is a pretty vague phrase, isn't it?

Basically what we are working for is pushing for laws:

*that make elections transparent - no secret code
*that insure that voting machines are distributed equitably
*that insure that polling places are secure
*that insure that voting results are secured
*insure that election results are certified by an independent, bi-partisan organization

and much, much more.

I am a Project Manager. I realize that without a scope document for this, we won't accomplish anything.

[ulTRAX]

7. you didn't really answer my question

Under our anti-democratic federal system we can have 100% voting age participation... 100% vote count accuracy.... 100% public financing of elections... and the a vote loser can still become president... a party can Gerrymander a state to get 70% of the seats with 50% of the vote... and 50% of the Senate will still only represent only 15% of the population.

My point is simply to ask if your idea of "reform" includes making America a more democratic nation? Or is it just working to give more respectability to a system that remains deeply flawed and anti-democratic?

From your post it seems to be the latter.

[Jo March]

8. ulTRAX, what would YOU suggest?

Yes, the "reform" would be to make us a more Democratic nation considering that we aren't completely Democratic.

We don't have 100% vote-couting accuracy. Sorry. If we did, President Gore would have been running in 2004, not Kerry.

We have to start somewhere. Making our elections the sacred events that they should be to Americans is a start.

We can't change the system completely to begin with. We can work on election reform and by that I mean what I mentioned in the post above. Gerrymandering can be included. GOTV should be included.

You asked what this project is for. I outlined it. It is what it is to start with, xlTRAX. As we grow and work with other groups, the chance to make America a more Democratic nation is possible and doable.

[ulTRAX]

10. what's your vision?

arnheim wrote: "Yes, the "reform" would be to make us a more Democratic nation considering that we aren't completely Democratic."

Then why not just come right out and state your core principles and state the goals which you will be working towards?

"We have to start somewhere. Making our elections the sacred events that they should be to Americans is a start."

Yes elections are important... but I still see an emphasis on voting mechanics and not democracy.

"We can't change the system completely to begin with. We can work on election reform and by that I mean what I mentioned in the post above. Gerrymandering can be included. GOTV should be included."

Gerrymandering CAN be included? You mean opposing it is not already a core goal? It WOULD have been if your group values democracy and was determined to pursue true voting reforms.

"You asked what this project is for. I outlined it. It is what it is to start with, xlTRAX. As we grow and work with other groups, the chance to make America a more Democratic nation is possible and doable."

What I worry about most about a project like this is it lacks the core principles which will guide your reform efforts. Without a clear mission statement with long term goals... it's easy to get sidetracked. The dynamics of our dysfunctional 2 party system are insidious. It constantly corrupts all efforts to reform it. Without a vision of where you want to take America in 20-50 years.... it's going to be all too easy to try to tweak the system and call it reform instead of working towards true democratic reform.

The word democracy is used by groups like Dean's Democracy for America and Democracy Cell..... yet if you scratch the surface you find no real commitment to democracy at all. The are quite content to work within an anti-democratic structure and have no intention of calling its moral legitimacy into question or reforming it. When confronted, they can't really deal with their own contradictions. Compare that to a theoretical group that does value democracy enough to bother defining it. It becomes the filter used to critique current governmental structure. It becomes the basis to devise alternatives. It motivates them to overcome obstacles. One of the biggest obstacles is ideological: people are content to live with the Orwellian contradiction that an anti-democratic system IS democracy.

Like democracy, reform is too often a feel-good word. I'm just concerned your group is missing its chance to create firm guiding principles. And if groups like yours can't fight the good fight to bring true democratic reform to America... then 50 years from now... nothing will have changed except a rearrangement of deckchairs on the Titanic.

"ulTRAX, what would YOU suggest?"

I posted some ideas here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1316860

[Jo March]

11. It's not "my" group

We will have a group of action leaders who will work together to come up with our "in concrete" mission. Until then, it's a bit silly to debate a mission.

I appreciate your words and understand what you are saying and that might be what this ends up being.

I had rather seen it as linking all of our groups together into one large effort working for change.

I will read your post and thank you for it. :)

[MasonJar]

5. Please list the ways that we can join one of these functions.

Since I am pretty much computer illiterate, I cannot sign up for creative computer jobs, but I can march, write letters to the media and to blue list companies. I can purchase a fax machine and fax to them also. I am an English teacher, and I am a pretty good writer of anything but poetry. Just let me know how and I will sign up. My email is [e-mail].

[Jo March]

9. Thank you, MasonJar

I will add you to the list of volunteers.

We are getting the group together and will hopefully be able to do something soon.