BBV: HR2239 co-sponsors at 75... And guess what!

[GregD]

Three of the new ones are red!

The dam has been breached, the wall has been cracked, brothers and sisters rejoice and sing hallelujah, we have Republican support!

Congratulations to everyone that has been phoning - ya struck gold!

Christopher Shays (R-CT)
Tom Allen (D-ME)
William "Lacy" Clay (D-MO)
Charles Bass (R-NH)
Tom Davis (R-VA)

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:HR02239:@@@P

It would seem very appropriate to flood their offices with thank-you notes. Contact information is on the state pages of www.VerifiedVoting.org.

[Eric J in MN]

1. still not a single Minnesotan Congressperson

Fellow Minnesotans, let's keep those phone calls and emails coming asking for co-sponsors.

[RedEagle]

2. OK, There are a couple stories kicking around...

...about Republican complaints about these machines in recent elections. Send them to your representatives. This is a nonpartisan issue, and they need to get behind it.

Not only can elections be affected, but also primaries. If the bosses of any party decide who they want as a candidate, the will of the people may not prevail.

People in all parties should refuse to use machines that do not print a voter verified paper ballot. Boycott the darn things and tell the elected officials you will do so. Nothing like trying to explain to the taxpayers why you bought a system for so much money that cannot be assured to count the vote correctly, and that people won't use. Demand paper ballots at the polling place so people have an option.

Given all the problems with these machines, also demand that paper ballots be at the polling places so that people don't run out of time to vote. Too many stories about people giving up.

[Cocoa]

12. no, don't boycott voting

this is the kind of talk that worries me the most about BBV.

[BevHarris]

18. No, don't misquote when you respond. What she said:

boycott paperless voting. Insist on a paper ballot, do absentee if necessary, vote only with paper.

[RedEagle]

35. Vote on PAPER- Boycott Machines

OK Cocoa, for the record.

Vote on paper ballots.

Boycott machines that do not produce a voter verified paper ballot.

And actually, for the record, I think we should have the biggest election turnout in history- let's make it VERY hard to game the system.

[dpbrown]

20. I called Betty, I can't believe she's not a sponsor

I'll call again. Sigh.

[BevHarris]

27. Yes, call her again -- the three Republicans weren't either

until now. Something changed their minds. Betty's mind can be changed.

[mndemocrat_29]

32. I'm working on it

I'm sure Betty and Sabo will be cosponsors, along with Oberstar and Peterson. If we put some pressure on Gutknecht and Ramstad, I'm sure they'd sponsor too.

[goobergunch]

3. Tom Davis is a VERY good Repub endorsement

He's chair of Governmental Affairs and fairly well placed in the Repub leadership.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

4. Must be Northern Va. (DC area)?

don't know but am guessing.

[NewJerseyDem]

19. He is from Northern Va. (n/t)

[alfredo]

5. Good news. I believe Bev harris has posted some revisions needed

in HR2239. Go to her site and see what she said or look for her post from a few days past.

Here is her post. Read it over.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=725934

Holt's amendment is a step in the right direction, but more work needs to be done.

Still it is nice to see some from the other side of the isle who are interested in protecting our voting rights.

[Room101]

6. kICK- How many co-sponsors are we shooting for?

?

[mndemocrat_29]

33. As many as possible

n/t

[LoneStarLiberal]

7. A Sample Letter to Support HR 2239

Here's the letter I sent to my unRepresentative, Michael Burgess:

Good morning Representative Burgess. I am writing you this morning to encourage you to co-sponsor a very worthy and tremendously important piece of legislation. HR 2239, an amendment to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, otherwise known as the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003, is sponsored by Representative Rush Holt of New Jersey. Currently there are six other Texas representatives co-sponsoring this legislation, and as your constituent, I urge you to become the seventh Representative from Texas to add your name to this very worthy piece of legislation.

This legislation seeks to address the shockingly pathetic state of electronic voting hardware and software currently in use across the United States and seeks to set forth reasonable guidelines for voter assurance with regard to electronic voting platforms.

Problems with existing electronic voting systems are well-documented and consist of both shortcomings in performance and security.

HAVA was a step in the right direction. Unfortunately it was a hasty step that did not have the necessary safeguards in it to protect the rights of the American voter. HR 2239 addresses those safeguards.

None of us, Republican or Democrat, want a repeat of the 2000 debacle in Florida. Co-sponsor and support HR 2239 and help protect one of the most precious parts of being an American: The integrity of our individual right to vote.

>> I've forwarded this letter to all my co-workers and friends along with instructions on how to submit this using the House's electronic letter form.

[Eric J in MN]

25. it is a good letter

It is a good letter, but I'd recommend avoiding charged language like "shockingly pathetic" in letters
to Congress. Better to pick a more neutral phrase.

[in_cog_ni_to]

8. kick

Here's a sample letter from the web site above:

Dear Representative ,

I want my vote to count in the next election, along with yours and every other American’s. But I’m not confident that it will. 

Experts tell us the most popular voting machines are not secure against fraud and error. Courts don’t allow the software to be inspected. People who are not computer experts decide the machines that will be used in each state. Some machines are not tested thoroughly, and even thorough testing can’t reveal software errors or malicious programs that could subvert an election.

We need election systems that allow voters to make sure their ballot reflects their vote, and we need a paper audit trail so that recounts can be more than just an electronic re-tabulation of the same electronic information.

I respectfully urge you to take action to pass H.R. 2239, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003. While HAVA does much to safeguard the election system in the United States, it does not do enough to protect our democracy. H.R. 2239 would provide the necessary safeguards.

Right now this important bill sits in the Committee on House Administration. Please do whatever you can to get it out to the House floor for a vote. Then please vote for this bill and encourage other representatives to vote for it. We need to know that voting will be secure and fair in all our states.

Our democracy depends on fair and accurate elections. Please do not delay.

Sincerely,

[Epoch]

9. WHOOHOO!!

Hey,
In the last two weeks I have faxed and called 25 congresspeople about voter fraud. I have faxed them articles as well. And two of them, Chris Shays and Tom Davis (both republicans) just got on board with the bill. I can't help but think that calling works!! Get on board! Call your representative and any others you think might be interested!!!

WHOOOHOOO!!!
Yaron

[in_cog_ni_to]

10. Excellent!

If enough people do it, they cannot ignore it. It does work if they think their constituents care and won't vote for them. :) Good job! :bounce:

[redqueen]

11. This bill has been stuck in the

House Committee on House Administration for who knows how long...

I think their session ends this week...

Can anyone confirm?

[GregD]

13. The bill remains active in January,

but it would help to move it forward now if possible.

It took ages to get the Republicans, and there are quite a few who said "I will co-sponsor (or otherwise support) the bill once other Republicans do so". Well, there is a crack in the dike, and now it's a matter of getting others onboard.

Hell, they are naming post offices and congratulating sports teams, why not pass a bill to provide confidence in elections...

[redqueen]

21. Thanks for the info...

I'm so glad this is getting so much attention!

I've contacted the Reps on that committee at least three separate times to ask about the bill and always get the brush off.

[lysergik]

14. We're making progress! Keep calling those reps!

[althecat]

15. Great news......

And if three have signed up I'll be picking there are 60 odd who would like to but are so far too scared to do so.

Does anyone know how many co-sponsors members bills like this usually need in order to proceed?

al

[althecat]

16. The DECEMBER 2nd HR2239 Phone-In Campagn...

American Ether has been organising this campaign thingy over at BBV.org... is a good plan...

Exerpts of Internal emails of CHIEF Engineer at DIEBOLD (a manufacturer of electronic voting systems)

In response to a question about a presentation in El Paso County, Colorado:

“For a demonstration I suggest you fake it. Program them both so they look the same, and then just do the upload fro the AV. That is what we did in the last AT/AV demo.”
source: http://chroot.net/s/lists/support.w3archive/199903/msg00098.html

“If voting could really change things, it would be illegal.” source: http://chroot.net/s/lists/support.w3archive/200009/msg00109.html

Dec 2nd

Marking 11 months until the Election

This is a call to action of support for HR 2239 introduced into the House of Representatives creating a federal law demanding a paper trail for every electronic voting machine.

These machines have serious flaws and holes left open within the system which can easily be manipulated.
A paper trail is necessary for the voter to have as a certification of one's vote and it is necessary to have in a functioning democracy.

Diebold is a heavy Bush supporter and there is much controversy over its past record of specific elections with this technology which leads many to believe, including me, that Diebold and other companies have been contracted out from the Republican Party to rig and corrupt election results as they see fit.

Whatever the fine detailed facts may be, the one very true fact is the very serious POTENTIAL for vote manipulation with these machines, which demand to be taken seriously.

If all of us don't pick up our two feet and start walking, however far we can go, there is going to be a lot of catching up to do in the long run for this country.

I encourage you to call and/or send email or letter to your House Representative and State Senators and encourage the support and immediate implementation of HR 2239, which Rush Holt (D-NJ) has introduced.

And don't forget to pass the word along, we need all the support we can get.

If you need a reminder a day before and want to be added to the list send an email to:

[e-mail]


A cooperative action from:

http://www.americanether.net http://www.blackboxvoting.org
http://www.falloutshelternews.com http://www.legitgov.org
http://www.americansineurope.org (Berlin)

And you.

[BevHarris]

22. the ether is one of our rising stars -- another shaker and mover

We are getting more powerful by the day.

Here's something I saw RedEagle do last night (well, we triple-teamed them, actually -- no, make that quadruple teamed, Marian Beddill and Andy Stephenson were there)

She does a wonderful job of speaking in terms that public officials understand. She read a couple articles about the lawsuits in Virginia and Connecticut, ending with the case in Boone County, Indiana where the machines counted 144,000 when only 5,000 votes were cast. Then she read the statement by the Boone County election official "I have never been so shook up in my life" or something to that effect.

RedEagle looked the county auditors who attended our little meeting directly in the eye and said "I don't think you guys need that kind of stress," or something like that. She's speaking to THEIR needs.

They were very receptive. The Whatcom County auditor has made the decision not to buy anything new until Spring 2005. The Skagit County auditor had many good questions, was really seeking answers to the talking points she's had whispered in her ear.

Then I spoke about -- whatever, you know me. In there somewhere I hit the Volusia County unauthorized vote upload. This brought a Republican offical up, very concerned, he asked where he can read that chapter in the book. Andy Stephenson shook his hand, saying, "I bet I'll be the first Democrat you vote for, sir."

The cracks are widening, and you ain't seen nothing yet. I got a very good response to my call for you-know-what a couple days ago.

I have to tell you, GregD with http://www.VerifiedVoting.org has mobilized the most effective force yet for HR 2239.

We will keep pushing. We still need trustworthy voting for the primaries in January. First one is Iowa. As one man who attended last night's town meeting said: "I don't care if we have to get the cub scouts in there counting ballots, we need to count the paper ballots."

We need paper ballots. We need an emergency interim measure for the primaries, whether that be requiring the right of every voter to ask for a paper ballot, which will be given full status, NOT provisional or "challenge ballot" status. We need hand auditing in a much more robust way until the machine problem is solved, and it won't be, by the primaries.

Bev

[GregD]

23. Bev, the credit really goes to EllenT,

and the various volunteers who have worked the phones.

Ellen dug her heels in several weeks ago, after a conversation with the nice folks at MoveOn. In case people think MoveOn is not onboard with this issue, that is not entirely true. Their consulting assistance, helping us learn from their experience, has been invaluable.

Anyhow, a few weeks of focus on intense phone-calling led to many Democrats adding their support to the bill. Then she went to the most effective of those volunteers and launched "Operation Elephant" which specifically targeted "Republicans of percieved opportunity".

We heard some weeks ago that all the phone activity was resulting in MANY Representatives stopping Rush in the hallways and asking about his bill. There have been several Republicans that wanted to support the bill, and suddenly "changed their minds". Someone was blocking it. Now that 3 have broken ranks, we hope more will.

But without all the phone folks it would have been nothing. So hats off to everyone - good job done so far, but we're not done yet.


Here's an idea that has been presented to us:
During the upcoming recess, members of Congress will be making public appearances in your communities. Figure out their schedule, and make sure that you and everyone that is interested in this issue hound these guys everywhere you can find them. Get in their faces and tell them we are all expecting them to act in our interests...

[BevHarris]

26. Thanks. And Washington State rocks, doesn't it?

Ellen T is from our neck of the woods.

Bev

[BevHarris]

17. This is absolutely fantastic.

The dam has been breached. HR2239 for general election 2004, but we need injunctions to halt use of the machines before then, and we must have auditing, including for optical scans.

It is one step forward, and a big one. Keep up the pressure!

Bev

[frank frankly]

24. your progress is remarkable

I am deeply impressed and inspired...

thanks!

:hi:

[dusty64]

28. Good news.

:kick:

[elperromagico]

29. Rep Mike Ross (AR-4th district) is on the list

Remind me to vote for this fellow.

[knight_of_the_star]

30. SWEET!

14 Californians co-sponsored it! Who says we don't have any sense out here?

[Eric J in MN]

31. quick way to email your Congressperson on this issue

As some of us have already done, filling out this form will automatically email your Congressperson to ask support of The Voter Confidence Act.

http://action.eff.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=2821

[ThirdWheelLegend]

34. excellent, and of course I see Kucinich is a co-sponsor

as usual Kucinich on top of it...

"Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. - 7/25/2003 "

:)

This is awesome to hear!

kick

TWL

[ripplingwater]

36. Cool!

woo hoo!

[BevHarris]

37. And speaking of CONGRESS: Big honkin' new report

http://www.epic.org/privacy/voting/crsreport.pdf

40 pages, a big synopsis of all that's come out during the past 12 months. Well, most of it. By the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

(vanity note: It references Black Box Voting four times.)

Bev Harris
http://www.blackboxvoting.org
also go here
http://www.verifiedvoting.org

[dusty64]

38. Kick.

:kick:

[RedEagle]

39. Even Republicans have to back honest voting

With a few exceptions, ignoring this issue will cost them in the polls- and at the voting booth.

I'll wager many in congress are stewing over being told to "stifle" on this issue.

Even Edith had to tell Archie off once in a while.

Where's Ron Paul of Texas on this? There's one who should already be on to HR 2239 list there. Anyone in his district?