Monday 1/31 Election Fraud, Reform, & Updates Thread

[MelissaB]

In order to organize and document I thought it would be a good idea to have a daily thread to place items related to the reform, fraud, protests, and other items. This also make it easier to "catch up" when we are away from the computer for a while.

Please help us. If you see something that isn't here post it with a link to the thread and a thanks to the author. Thanks to everyone who is helping with this project.
:toast:

Link to the thread from yesterday: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x310000#310850

[MelissaB]

1. (CO) More Ballot Scanning Trouble

Printer says ballots bear partial blame

Maintains most of fault lies with the new voting system

By Eric Bontrager
For the Boulder Daily Camera
January 29, 2005

The printer of the ballots from Boulder County's botched November election admitted Friday that printing errors caused some problems, but said the company that makes the county's new voting system and its machines carry the bulk of the blame.

In addition, Howard Harris, president of EagleDirect printing, said Hart InterCivic Inc., the company that manufactured the county's new voting system, has been uncooperative in helping his firm uncover problems since the election.

-snip-

Schaefer said EagleDirect's quality control for the ballots was hindered because, unlike past printing jobs EagleDirect has done, Hart would not supply one of its machines during the printing process.

-snip-

<http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=4740 >


Thanks to Wilms here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x309959

[MelissaB]

2. Ohio Election meeting report by BQueen

I missed the first part so I'm not sure if that contained the legal team presentation, but I didn't get the impression that anyone had addressed specific remedies. My understanding was that the first hour was to be Q&A, and I came in at the end of a brain-storming session of areas to address and putting those into subcommittees.

I volunteered to work on litigation angles, but there were no other attorneys in the group (and I'm retired/non-practicing). I attended hoping to be a foot soldier but that's not the way it's turning out. I plan on trying to contact Arnebeck this week to get a better handle on coordination of efforts. The woman heading the investigatory group seems like a great contact, and I'm sure we'll be burning up the e-mails soon.

The only suggestions I had were to begin with researching possible remedies. I figured review of the Civil Rights Comm report on Florida 2000 would be a good starting point for some of the Federal stuff. I see mandamus as a long shot, but certainly worth the effort where some BOEs are concerned as to records. Review HAVA for penalties/remedies (I presume that we need a federal DA to take that up).

Review ORC for state code violations. I plan to boil down Title 35 to the "violation" provisions in plain language/ fill-in-the-blank affidavit format. (One member is to send me a huge list of problems in Ohio). Where found in local boards, attempt to convince local prosecutor to act once we've done the legwork. If not, verify whether court accepts private misdemeanor filings on summonses, subject to a probable cause hearing. (Winning is not the essential point here, but there also must be a good faith basis for filing, obviously.) It seems to me that others have covered more of the federal angles, and that we might make some headway nibbling at them in a county here and a county there.

Also, something I forgot to mention at the meeting is that every action be used to create as precise a record as possible. (i.e., making it painfully apparent that there was a good case and that the prosecutor declined to bring it -- and that it was a good case in the event the judge decides to dismiss it...)

I didn't have too much else to add, since I was expecting to get more direction from the "team of attorneys" promised (I dunno, maybe I missed them...I was late.) All my suggestions were in the realm of "this is an area I think we need to research..." Further problems will be presented with any actions beyond criminal cases, since most would be too challenging for the voter to represent themselves (filing costs could also run high). I was thinking pro-se was a possibility, but the most likely would be mandamus, and that's a nasty standard for a lawyer, let alone a layperson.

Naturally I want to take a very close look at all of Blackwell's activities in reference to the ORC. Unfortunately, most of the rules he relied on are not readily available (certainly not on line). Furthermore, a reconnaissance of Petro's Fun-House of Potential Ethical Conflicts would not be amiss.

Guidance/advice/offers of assistance/anxiety-relief warmly appreciated....pm me if you like.

(Report by BQueen)

Thanks to Merh here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x310827#311004

[MelissaB]

3. Observations From Orlando Election Fraud Hearing 1/27

While poorly attended, Election Protection's first of three fraud hearings in Florida with regard to the 2004 presidential selection was nonetheless historic. It began a few minutes late due in part to the a false fire alarm. Fortunately, Orlando City Hall security allowed the session to proceed.

Kudos to the City Beautiful for allowing the centrally located City Hall to be utilized for the event and for the comfortable, albeit poorly lit, Council Chambers to be the room of choice.

As mentioned, the event was sponsored, organized and chaired by Election Protection. Indeed, seated in the middle chair was Reggie Mitchell, an election attorney and senior executive with the Florida branch of People For The American Way, www.pfaw.org

The other panelists were:

Joseph Egan – AFSCME

Marcia Johnson-Blanco – Lawyers Committee For Civil Rights

Myrna Caban – League Of Independent Voters

Mary Peeler – NAACP

Andy Rivera – Advancement Project

and

Nora Pachnik – Florida Consumer Action Network

While the start of the session was delayed by the first of two fire alarms, a full two hours of testimony was given by a total of one dozen witnesses, all of whom were sworn in and recorded by a court stenographer. All witnesses were given great latitude in the time allotted for them to speak but on the average, each witness' statement lasted a maximum of 5 minutes.

I have posted photos from the event on my personal website. You can go there directly by visiting

http://home.earthlink.net/~cmckconsulting

I had the best seat in the house for photographing the witnesses but as comfortable as the City Council Chambers were for listening to disenfranchised voters and poll watchers, my camera's flash simply could not compensate fully for the low lighting levels. Despite this failing, I believe that you'll find the photos an enjoyable bunch.

Providing a blow-by-blow accounting of the entire hearing would involve more time than I have available but here are the high points from the testimony of the twelve witnesses and the questions posed to them by the distinguished panel.

1) In Orange County, many voters in precinct 212 received telephone calls in the days leading up to the election from people who purported to be election employees. Those calls told voters that precinct 212 would be closed on election day and that they should report to precinct 214. In fact, precinct 212 was open and the people who believed the calls had to wait in line at 214 only to learn that 212 was open.

It also was noted that many election employees didn't understand how the new provisional balloting system would work. Various voters also left before voting because queues were excessively long.

2) The second witness was Ms. Marie Palmer, a volunteer with the Florida NAACP for more than forty years. She was an observer at Orange County's Mitchell Center, an early voting site, for twelve of the fourteen days when early voting took place. She noted excessively long queues and too few election employees. After the second day of observing long wait times, she asked the election staff on site why additional voting tables and staff were not allotted. The answer she received was that the office of the Orange County Supervisor of Elections did not anticipate a strong turn-out for the election and nothing could be done.

3) The third witness was a volunteer poll watcher in the Buenaventura Lakes area of Osceola County. In addition to noting frustration among voters due to long lines, he perceived a degree of hostility toward him for being there even though the election staff knew about his presence in advance. He noted that he had heard through his volunteer network that other precincts in Osceola County were worse than his and he observed the 50-foot electioneering boundary being moved at least twice while he was there.

4) The first three witnesses provided very moving testimony. However, the fourth might be described as providing the first major high point of the evening. Ms. Marcy Randolph (apologies on any spelling errors – witness name tags were not visible to me) is the member of the staff at Senator Bill Nelson's Orlando office in charge of election issues. She provided a plethora of details. Chief among them was the fact that starting approximately 3 weeks before the election, her office received a string of calls, which ultimately were logged in excess of 180, from voters experiencing difficulties in obtaining their absentee ballots, especially voters from Broward, Dade and Palm Beach counties who resided in Germany and the United Kingdom.

A number of overseas voters became so desperate immediately before the election that they tried to arrange to have Senator Nelson's staff send their ballots to them by Federal Express in order to be certain that they would be counted. Ms. Randolph related that some voters even provided her with their credit card number to expedite shipment by Federal Express.

When the volume of phone calls requesting absentee ballots reached a peak, Senator Nelson's office was unable to reach election staff by email or telephone in order to retrieve the ballots and had to visit the county offices in person in order to obtain them.

Lastly, Ms. Randolph mentioned that on election day itself, her office fielded several complaint calls from voters in counties with touch screen voting machines that their votes for Kerry were switched to Bush without their approval. When asked to enumerate the calls, Ms. Randolph indicated that the logs showed 15 calls about touch screen anomalies and 180 problems with absentee ballots.

5) Like the third witness, the fifth was from Osceola County but this time from the community of Celebration, near Disney World. The voter attempted to vote before work. She arrived at 7:30AM, half an hour after the precinct opened and the queue was 30 people deep. She waited a while and noticed many infractions and irregularities. At the top of the list was fact that the Osceola County Sheriff, who was up for reelection, was standing at the entrance to the precinct in full uniform, telling voters to vote for him as they entered. The voter called the Osceola County Supervisor Of Elections office to question why he was inside the 50-foot electioneering boundary and was told that Osceola County had no such law.

(NB, in Florida, the 50-foot electioneering boundary is mandatory for all counties).

Next in the list of infractions was the fact that there was a volunteer with the Republican party distributing a voting guide to people waiting in queue. It advocated a straight-line Republican ticket vote.

After that, the voter reported on the fact that the signage inside the polling station was poorly displayed which lead to confusion and further delays. She ended her testimony with the note that later in the day, she phoned the Osceola County Supervisor Of Elections office again to question the 50-foot limit and was told by a different employee that the county has no such law. In her opinion, being at the precinct that day felt like being in the Stepford Wives.

6) The mainstream media did a fair job of reporting on the lawsuits and problems associated with Florida's felon list so I won't belabor the point here. I'll just add that the next witness was a senior volunteer with Acorn in the Central Florida region who reported on widespread problems, some of them apparently stemming from confusion with regard to the felon lists. She saw with her own eyes and her office received complaints of precincts opening late/closing early, harassment by officers of the Orlando Police Department of her volunteers at early voting sites, rejection of many voters who didn't appear on the rolls, cars of voters towed for exceeding local parking limits of two hours because of excessive queues and voters being turned away because they didn't have their registration card even though they had a state-issued identification card or driver license.

= = = = = = = = = =

In conclusion, while it seemed that Election Protection held the hearing for the most part in order to take sworn testimony from people who had phoned their hotline, the ten or so other people in the audience who were there to listen and learn were gripped by what we heard. Despite having followed the disenfranchisement and fraud stories since early voting began in mid-October, I found that seeing the face and hearing the voice of people who experienced the problems first hand made them all the more real.

For my part, although I did not testify, I was a poll observer on the morning of November 2 at the Smith Center, an Orange County precinct in a low-income minority section of Orlando at the 408 and Westmoreland. While I did not observe any illegal activities, I witnessed several occurrences which fit the description of “irregularity.” I spoke with at least ten voters who had come to this precinct in error, even though its number was displayed in the street. I spoke with one voter who had changed addresses within the same precinct who was told that she had to vote on a provisional ballot because she had not changed the address on her driver license. Most disturbingly, though, I spoke with a voter who was told that she was not registered even though she had voted in the primaries and had not moved or changed her name. What's worse, her adult children, who live with her, were registered.

Election Protection's position on the session was that the testimony would become part of their national report on the problems in 2004 and would aid in their lobbying of state and federal officials to enact another round of election reform, this time making it strong enough to prevent yet another recurrence. My opinion is that their goals are too timid but they still should be commended for conducting these hearings.

Apparently, the BBV.org group will hold similar sessions in Florida in February and March. I will do my best to attend at least one and if I do, I will provide a similar report.

The address once again for the photos is

http://home.earthlink.net/~cmckconsulting


Thanks to corbett here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x310391

[MelissaB]

4. This is all I have time for this morning.

I'm off to work.

[dzika]

5. Kerry admits tape gave Bush an edge

Mon, Jan. 31, 2005

Kerry admits tape gave Bush an edge

By ADAM NAGOURNEY
New York Times News Service


WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kerry said on Sunday that the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were the ''central deciding thing'' in his contest with President Bush and that the release of an Osama bin Laden videotape the weekend before Election Day effectively erased any hope he had of victory.

In an interview on the NBC program ''Meet the Press,'' Kerry allowed that he and his campaign had made ''some mistakes,'' saying in particular that he had been too slow to respond to attacks on his Vietnam War record by other Vietnam veterans.

But overall, Kerry argued that he had done remarkably well in competing against a sitting president in a time of war, saying he had run a ''great campaign.'' He minimized the scope of Bush's victory, as well as the mandate the president could claim going into his second term.

''If you take half the people at an Ohio State football game on Saturday afternoon and they were to have voted the other way, you and I would be having a discussion about my State of the Union speech,'' Kerry said, referring to the 120,000-vote margin by which he lost in Ohio.


more
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/local/10778096.htm

[L. Coyote]

6. US Count Votes Press Release online now

Monday, January 31, 2005

Prominent Statisticians Refute 'Explanation' of 2004 U.S. Exit Poll Discrepancies in New Edison/Mitofsky Report.

President Bush won November's election by 2.5% yet exit polls showed Kerry leading by 3%. Which was correct?

"
The statisticians go on to note that precincts with hand-counted paper
ballots showed no statistical discrepancy between the exit polls and the
official results, but for other voting technologies, the overall
discrepancy was far larger than the polls’ margin of error.
"

Site provides link to PDF Report.

http://www.uscountvotes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=72&Itemid=41

[dzika]

7. Dean suffers setback in bid for lead party

10:34 a.m. ET Jan. 31, 2005

Dean suffers setback in bid for lead party
Some state Democrats backing Donnie Fowler instead

WASHINGTON - A group of state party leaders slowed Howard Dean’s fast-moving campaign to become Democratic Party chairman by backing rival candidate Donnie Fowler.

The executive committee of state party chairs voted Sunday to endorse the 37-year-old Fowler, who headed Sen. John Kerry’s successful presidential nominating campaign in Michigan last year.

Fowler has worked on campaigns in more than a dozen states and is the son of former Democratic National Committee chairman Donald Fowler.

The executive committee’s nod for Fowler was to be submitted Monday in a conference call involving all state Democratic chairs. Fowler reportedly gained ground on a second vote by the committee to put him ahead of Dean.

Dean, a 2004 presidential candidate and former Vermont governor, has already gotten the backing of state party chairs in Vermont, Washington state, Florida, Oklahoma and Mississippi. He also has the backing of dozens of other DNC members.

But some Democrats have been looking for a way to stop Dean, who was the front-runner for the party’s presidential nomination until his collapse in the Iowa primaries.


more
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6889781/

[dzika]

8. Liberals Tout Boxer for President

Monday, Jan. 31, 2005 10:49 a.m. EST

Liberals Tout Boxer for President

Sen. Barbara Boxer has always spoken up, but the California Democrat seems to have gotten a lot louder lately. Her opposition to Condoleezza Rice's secretary of state nomination was so combative that it was parodied on Saturday Night Live. That came on the heels of her decision to sign onto a House member's complaint about Ohio voting problems, forcing Congress to debate them before certifying President Bush's re-election victory.

She's being touted on liberal blogs as the Democrats' best hope for president in 2008. Conservatives are excoriating her as - in House Minority Leader Tom DeLay's phrase - the leader of the "'X-Files' wing" of the Democratic Party.

But Boxer says she is just standing up for what she believes.
"I've always been this way," she says, "and I'm trying to figure out exactly why people suddenly find this to be interesting, you know. Somehow I have touched something inside people, and I have not ever had this happen before. The only thing I can think, after reading what people said, is a feeling that I'm asking the kind of questions and saying the kind of things that they are feeling."

Maybe she's becoming a spokeswoman, or even a symbol, for voters who oppose the Iraq war or feel shut out by the Bush administration. Maybe, with the Democratic Party at sea after November's election losses, some people sense a leadership void and are looking to her to fill it.

Maybe it's not that Boxer's gotten louder but that other Democrats can barely be heard at all. At least, that's what some of her supporters are saying.


http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/1/31/105022.shtml

[dzika]

9. Picking Up Where the Rainbow Left Off

Posted January 30, 2005

Picking Up Where the Rainbow Left Off

by Nick Jahr


Conceived as a progressive challenge to the corporate-dominated Democratic Leadership Council, in just under six months PDA has organized chapters and caucuses in thirty-six states. It aims to organize in all 435 Congressional districts, providing a "philosophical home within the Democratic Party for the progressive community" that can be leveraged into support for progressive candidates. Howard Dean's insurgent run for the 2004 presidential nomination exposed just how far from the grassroots the Democratic Party has drifted and how much energy is there to be unleashed by a steadfast progressive message.
...
These examples show that, as Kevin Spidel, PDA's deputy director, puts it, "PDA is trying to facilitate a progressive movement that already exists. We see ourselves as facilitators and strategic organizers." One of the critical challenges it faces is moving beyond the predominantly white base of the Dean and Kucinich campaigns from which it has drawn its initial support. In the words of Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. during the conference's keynote address, "We speak on behalf of a rainbow coalition we have not seen yet."

PDA has made early strides on this front by appointing veteran African-American leaders to national positions in the organization and emphasizing alliance-building with venerable civil rights groups like the NAACP. In Ohio PDA served as a crucial bridge between the recount efforts of the Greens and Libertarians and the involvement of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, facilitating the alliance that brought about Senator Barbara Boxer's historic refusal to go along with the electoral vote certification.

Chris Owens, son of Brooklyn Congressman Major Owens, came to the summit looking for inspiration. "This is not an easy thing, to be a 'progressive' Democrat. We have a struggle within our party and we have a struggle within our country." Owens stayed through the weekend and seemed ready to fight.

PDA may represent the advent of the grassroots organization that the Rainbow Coalition failed to sustain. This time around, it's a movement that doesn't depend on the charisma of a Jackson or a Kucinich or a Dean. By noon Sunday, the New Hampshire caucus had tripled in size.


http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050214&s=jahr

[dzika]

10. Taxpayers foot the bill for Rossi's election challenge

Last modified Monday, January 31, 2005 12:09 AM PST

Taxpayers foot the bill for Rossi's election challenge

By REBECCA COOK
Associated Press writer

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Whoever wins the legal challenge to the governor's election, the citizens of Washington will pay.

In fact, they're already paying.

The state expects to spend about $200,000 of taxpayer money on private lawyers defending the Secretary of State's office.

And every county auditor and prosecutor is spending thousands of taxpayer dollars in staff time to respond to the Republicans' lawsuit challenging the 129-vote victory of Gov. Christine Gregoire. Some say the lawsuit is bleeding resources from other areas of government.
...
But von Sauer said it seems the Republicans are trying to paper their opponents to death. In one of the poorest counties in the state, Von Sauer said he will probably spend at least 60 hours — nearly eight full days — responding to the GOP's discovery demands and preparing for the next hearing.

"Had they sat down and really thought what is necessary, they probably would have tailored this thing down to a manageable level,'' von Sauer said.



more
http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2005/01/31/news/the_west/monwst01.txt

[dzika]

11. LTTE - How do you explain Bush leadership?

January 31, 2005

How do you explain Bush leadership?

So our commander in chief brags that he doesn't read books or newspapers. Judging from his inaugural speech, he does read comic books. How else to explain his super-hero fantasy of deposing tyranny everywhere and anywhere? Too bad he misinterpreted: "Truth, Justice, and the American Way" into: Lies, Torture, and the British Empire redux.

How else to explain an administration that initially gained the presidency by using the courts to prevent an accurate vote recount in Florida. This from an administration that cynically thwarted the voters' will by subverting successful state referenda legalizing the use of medical marijuana and euthanasia.

This from an administration that empowers the unelected bureaucrats of the World Trade Organization to regulate international trade at the expense of elected leaders and national sovereignty.

This from a President who aligns with the democracy-overthrowing military dictatorship of Pakistan (against democratic India), who turns a blind eye to the terror-funding theocracy of Saudi Arabia, and who subsidizes the sham democracy of Egypt.

This from a man who approvingly "saw into the soul" of the democracy-assassinating Russian President Vladimir Putin and who sponsored the butchers of Beijing neo-coms into the World Trade Organization.

This from a family that twice initiated wars on Iraq to make the world safe for the absolute monarchy of Saudi Arabia.

H.L. Mencken defined democracy as a system premised "on the people knowing what they want, and getting it good and hard." The great iconoclast questioned the "childlike faith" and "sloppy ethics" in "mobs, messiahs, and majorities." Call the madness of President Bush "Savior's Complex," in which, armed with neo-con puffery, he, not the Almighty, repeals original sin to save our fallen world.

JAMES ALAN WINTER
Waterville

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050131/OPINION03/501310342

[dzika]

12. Long Waits, Bad Equipment Worse than Election Fraud

January 30, 2005 by the Capital Times / Madison, WI

Long Waits, Bad Equipment Worse than Election Fraud

by Joel McNally


Once again, we are reading story after story about vote fraud that didn't happen in the November elections instead of reading stories about the voter disenfranchisement that actually did happen.

One has to admire the Republican success in promoting a nonexistent issue to the news media. But the media really should spend more time covering the real election problems instead of fraudulent Republican claims.

This happens to be a subject on which I have some direct knowledge. On Nov. 2, I was an Election Day observer for the nonpartisan Election Protection Coalition.

My wife, Kit, and I were assigned to Palmer Street School, a polling place that was to achieve some public notoriety.

Kevin Kennedy, executive director of the Wisconsin Elections Board, showed up at Palmer Street and later complained publicly that election observers there, rather than poll workers, appeared to be "taking charge" of the voting process.

There was a reason for that which has never been told. I will tell all.

But first, let's dispose of the Republican claim that there were 10,000 Milwaukee voters who registered at the polls on Election Day who cannot be sent postcards verifying their addresses.


continued
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0130-02.htm

[dzika]

13. Solarbus - New Article on Exit Polls featuring research by DU's TIA

(thanks to GaryBeck)
Hi friends,

I weaved some of TIA's numbers and tables into an article that is going out later today.

For most DUers there won't be anything new in this article.

However I felt it important to write this article for the following reasons:

-TIA's research needed to be published outside of DU

-I wanted to put out something short, in the form of an article as opposed to a report. To hopefully reach out to the more casual and uuninformed reader (people we need on board).

-Reports on exit polls have shown there is a problem and usually call for an investigation but to not mention anything about the explanation - voter fraud, electronic voting machines, etc.

Here is the article:

---

January 31, 2005

Exit Polls Made Easy
Something's fishy, and it ain't just Ohio

It's been said that exit polls are unreliable and that they can be interpreted many ways. But a look at the numbers provides some solid information anyone can understand, that is beyond interpretation.


These three facts can easily be derived from the exit poll data:

• In 43 out of 51 states (inculding DC), the "official" vote totals differ from the exit polls in the direction favoring Bush.
  
  
• Bush's victory exceeds the mathematical margin of error in 15 states. Kerry's victory does not exceed the margin of error in any state.
  
  
• Exit polls were accurate in 2000.

In short, the gap between the exit polls and official vote (nearly all in the direction favoring Bush) is extremely large. Just how large?

The question that statisticians would ask is, "What is the probability that this could happen by random chance?"

Inquiring minds would like to know, and it's not just statisticians. It's the patriotic folks who care about the state of democracy in the United States of America.



read more here
http://www.solarbus.org/stealyourelection/articles/0130-exitpolls.html


DU Thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x310989

[dzika]

14. Open election better than alternative

Sunday, January 30, 2005

Open election better than alternative

MARK TRAHANT
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR


Every day I read new evidence about Washington's corrupt election process. There's evidence of dead voters, felons who voted, fictional registrations, people who voted twice and registered at phony addresses.

Democracy itself is at stake because "they" stole our election. So there's a pitch for a new election (one that promises somehow, magically, to not be so tainted). Every new allegation is a reminder that no one can defend the election system we have; to do so is to support fraud. This is a narrative with only one side, a clear example of an election gone awry.

But beware of one-sided stories. They are flat -- and often wrong -- and the story is richer when you consider the entire sphere. This one-sided narrative ought to be part of a much larger discussion, part of a long-running debate about who should vote.

Two centuries ago, the founders of the United States feared direct democracy and with universal suffrage, the prospect of a "fraudulent" outcome.

One of the authors of the Constitution -- Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania -- thought voting should be limited to men of property because if the nation gives "the votes to people who have no property, and they will sell them to the rich, who will be able to buy them."

Even after the Constitution formed a more perfect union, lots of U.S. citizens were denied the right to vote because they were Catholic, female, American Indian, African American, Chinese, couldn't pay a poll tax or pass a literacy test.

Slowly, evolving over two centuries, this country dropped the anti-democratic restrictions. Less than a century ago, in 1910, women won the right to vote in Washington. American Indians won that same right in 1924. It was as late as 1964 that universal suffrage for African Americans supposedly was guaranteed for all with the Voting Rights Act (including a prohibition against the poll tax).


more
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/209802_trahant30.html

[dzika]

15. The common strategies of disinformers

The common strategies of disinformers

NEUTRALIZERS are people who distract patriots from defending freedom.
AMONG MANY OTHER TACTICS,

they do this by:

1. Deceiving patriots into supporting hoaxes.
   
2. Dividing patriots into fighting each other by creating strife among
   patriots
   
3. Deceiving patriots into creating class struggle by promoting ethnic
   hatred.
   
4. Attempting to waste the time of patriots, by forcing them to respond
   to personal attacks.
   
5. Using multiple aliases to create the appearance that there is
   someone, who believes them to be credible.
   
6. ABOVE ALL: Accusing the most effective patriots of being falseopposition.

THE GOLDEN RULE OF DISINFORMERS:
Always accuse your adversary of whatever is true about yourself.
IT WILL BE QUITE CLEAR WHO IT IS, THAT DOES THESE THINGS,
IF YOU JUST THINK ABOUT IT.

Disinformers generally attempt to dominate groups, where there is no functioning moderator.
Their primary tactic is using strawman insults.

Any person; who does ALL of the above is certain to be a NEUTRALIZER.

It is VERY simple.
Those who spend their time fighting tyranny, are patriots.

Those who spend their time fighting patriots are working for the advancement of tyranny.

NEUTRALIZERS generally overestimate their own importance,
believing that we will waste our time responding to them.
As explained previously, attempting to waste the time of patriots,
by forcing them to respond to personal attacks,
is one of the common strategies of disinformers.
Rather than wasting time responding to personal attacks,
it is better to respond quickly to this foolishness,
basically by sending a "form letter";
which addresses anything worthy of comment.

Then go back to work opposing tyranny.
IN THIS WAY Neutralizers ACTUALLY DO NOT waste the time of patriot
activists.
Just dispense with them, with a standard response
(This is also a standard response).

Such a quick remedy is not available to the NEUTRALIZER;
in that, it takes much less effort, and fewer words,
to explain the truth,
than to argue a fiction.

What Neutralizers generally do,
when they learn that they are not wasting my time,
is to cry like a little child,
when no one will watch him showing off.

To read THE NEUTRALIZERS by Robert Welch,

VISIT:
http://www.jbs.org/visitor/focus/refute/neutralizers.htm

There is a presence, on the internet,

of persons who attempt to distract patriots away from defending liberty,

by seducing them into all sorts of silly programs;

which would ultimately, waste resources,

make them appear to be foolish,

and cause them to lose credibility.

This includes claims that the vapor trails; that jets always leave, are a
plot to poison us.
This includes claims that the stickers, placed on the back of road signs by
manufacturer's , are some sort of trail blazing for a future enemy army.
This even includes a propaganda blitz to BAN WATER,
by using its scary sounding chemical name: Dihydrogen Monoxide

At the first glance we might be tempted to assume that it is merely madness,
that there are those among us who are telling people that the clouds,
and the street signs, are out to get us,
or that we should ban Dihydrogen Monoxide (which is also know as water)

A PATRIOT,
WHO DOES NOT FALL FOR ANY OF THIS NONSENSE,
will be distracted from defending freedom,
by having to waste all of his time responding to personal attacks.

To paraphrase Shakespeare
"Me thinks there is a method in their madness".

[dzika]

16. Kerry Praises Campaign, Plans to Build on Effort

Monday, January 31, 2005

Kerry Praises Campaign, Plans to Build on Effort
Democrat Wants to Keep 2008 Options Open

By John F. Harris
Washington Post Staff Writer



Former Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry said the popular support President Bush garnered in the immediate wake of Sept.11, 2001, and the reluctance of voters to "shift horses in midstream" during wartime were the main reasons he lost the November election.

But Kerry, in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" yesterday, praised his own campaign for coming close, and said he intends to "build on the campaign" by continuing to be a leading voice of the opposition.

"I lost, Tim, to an incumbent president by a closer margin than an incumbent president has ever won reelection before in the history of the country," the Massachusetts senator told NBC's Tim Russert. "And if you add up the popular vote in the battleground states, I won the popular vote in the battleground states by two percentage points. We just didn't distribute it correctly in Ohio."
...
Kerry can still attract the attention of the opposition. His comments to Russert on Iraq drew a blast from Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman. Asked whether Iraq is less of a terrorist threat than it was two years ago, Kerry replied: "No, it's more. And, in fact, I believe the world is less safe than it was two and a half years ago."


more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49843-2005Jan30.html

[dzika]

17. Transcript: Kerry on NBC's 'Meet the Press'

Monday, January 31, 2005; 12:05 AM

Transcript: Kerry on NBC's 'Meet the Press'

The following is a transcript of NBC's "Meet the Press" with host Tim Russert and Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.).

NBC'S "MEET THE PRESS"
SPEAKERS: TIM RUSSERT, HOST

U.S. SENATOR JOHN KERRY (D-MA)

RUSSERT: We are now joined by Senator John Kerry.

Senator, welcome.

KERRY: Glad to be here. Thank you.


continued
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50306-2005Jan31.html

[dzika]

18. ACTION ALERT - For Voter Verified Paper Ballots

From: the National Ballot Integrity Project

For Voter Verified Paper Ballots
SUPPORT VIVA 2005
Today

Action Alert Day One
January 31, 2005

Voter Verified Paper Ballots are the essential first step towards a trustworthy election. VIVA 2005 makes Voter Verified Paper Ballots mandatory for federal elections.

Senator Ensign (R-NV) will introduce VIVA 2005 if other Republican Senators will cosponsor this worthy bill. Joan Krawitz, Andy Stephensen, Warren Stewart, and Cheryl Lilienstein, of the National Ballot Integrity Project, will be in Washington DC urging Republican Senators to cosponsor VIVA 2005, this Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Please help us by making the phones of Republican Senators ring. Urge them to cosponsor VIVA 2005.

You will be making history again.

Here’s our request:

If you live in a state with a Republican Senator or two, just call them, and ask them to cosponsor VIVA 2005. I would give you the toll free number for the US Capitol Switchboard, but they just disconnected it...I guess this means they got too many calls? So, use your cell phone.

US Capitol Switchboard: [phone]. Monday-Friday 9 AM to 5 PM.

For more information, legislation text, rationale, and a direct phone line, link here:

http://www.ballotintegrity.org/action.html.

If you live in a state with a Democratic Senator or two, your task is different:

Please call your friends in any of these states and ask them to join in this effort. Here are the states:

AL, AZ, AR, CO, FL, GA, ID, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MN, MS, MO, MT, NB, NV, NH, NM, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WY

US Capitol Switchboard: [phone]

http://www.ballotintegrity.org/action.html

And please, forward this request to your lists: VIVA 2005 is the first step in election justice.

With gratitude,

Joan Krawitz
Co-founder, National Ballot Integrity Project
http://www.ballotintegrity.org

[dzika]

19. Blackwell ramps up campaign for Governor

January 31, 2005

... And they're off
Blackwell ramps up campaign for Governor

By HENRY GOMEZ

Ohioans tired of politics after a year cluttered with campaign commercials aren't getting much of a break. Three Republicans who hope to replace the term-limited Bob Taft as governor already have begun not-so-subtle jockeying for the 2006 election, with one local public relations executive likening their efforts to "guerilla marketing" tactics designed to take advantage of their current statewide offices - and the PR staffs that come with them.

Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, Auditor Betty Montgomery and Attorney General Jim Petro all plan to be on the GOP primary ballot for governor next March. Add that to the possible spectacle of a Jerry Springer candidacy on the Democratic ticket, and it's hardly surprising that the Republicans want to get an early start on gaining as much public exposure as they can.

"Guerilla marketing," an industry buzzword that refers to the practice of harvesting free publicity, is "not the way it should be done," said Ed Stevens Sr., president of Cleveland's Stevens Baron Communications Inc. and head of the local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

"But it's been done this way for years," Mr. Stevens added. "Where do you draw the line?"

http://crainscleveland.com/article.cms?articleId=38689

[dzika]

20. Christians give Bush ultimatum to ban gay marriage

Filed: 30/01/2005

Christians give Bush ultimatum to ban gay marriage

By Philip Sherwell in Washington


Conservative Christian leaders who played a key role in securing President George W Bush's re-election have given the White House an ultimatum over outlawing same-sex marriages.

In an indication of tension among Mr Bush's backers, a new coalition of powerful Christian groups issued their warning last week in a letter to Karl Rove, the President's chief adviser.

Mr Bush has said that "nothing will happen" for now on the proposed federal amendment leading to a constitutional ban on gay marriages. He did not mention the amendment in his inaugural address and the issue was not listed in the 10-point legislative agenda unveiled by Republican leaders in Congress last week.

The Arlington Group, comprising some of the President's most important conservative backers, reacted by threatening to withhold much-needed support for one of his top domestic initiatives – overhauling America's pensions system – if he does not vigorously push their own political cause.

"We couldn't help but notice the contrast between how the President is approaching the difficult issue of social security privatisation, where the public is deeply divided, and the marriage issue, where public opinion is overwhelmingly on his side," the leaked letter said.

"Is he prepared to spend significant political capital on privatisation but reluctant to devote the same energy to preserving traditional marriage?

"If so, it would create outrage with countless voters who stood with him just a few weeks ago, including an unprecedented number of African-Americans, Latinos and Catholics who broke with tradition and supported the President solely because of this issue."


more
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/01/30/wbush30.xml

[dzika]

21. REID PRE-BUTTAL TO STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

For Immediate Release

CONTACT: Tessa Hafen, 202-224-2939
DATE: January 31, 2005

REID PRE-BUTTAL TO STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

Remarks of Senator Harry Reid
(As Prepared for Delivery)
Monday, January 31, 2005
National Press Club
Washington, DC


Thank you Nancy, for that introduction and for the leadership you provide to our party and our country.

Last Thanksgiving, I traveled to Bethesda Naval Hospital to visit with some of our wounded troops. I met one young Marine who had been involved in the battle of Fallujah. He had sustained severe leg injuries but his upper body was still strong and when I came to his bedside he grabbed me by the hand and pulled me in close. He looked me straight in the eye and said, “I’m counting on you.”

The fact is, he’s counting on all of us who have the honor of serving here in Washington. On behalf of all congressional Democrats, we will not let him down.

Let me be clear: there is no partisan split in our commitment to defending this nation. America stands united in waging the War on Terror. We Democrats simply believe we need a stronger strategy for winning this war.

We believe it is time that America had a national security policy that is as strong and brave and decent as the heroes who serve in uniform.

Unfortunately, that is not the national security policy we currently have under the Bush Administration. With his reelection ­and with yesterday’s elections in Iraq, ­ President Bush has a golden opportunity to change course. To use his State of the Union Address as a chance to come clean with the America people. To outline a stronger, clearer policy to succeed in Iraq, defend America from danger and to advance the security and liberty of people around the world.

President Bush needs to do much more to live up to his obligations as Commander-in-Chief in this new term. That starts with no longer sending our troops into battle without the weapons and equipment they need.

Because this Administration’s policies have left our troops stretched too thin and shouldering too much of the burden, we need to add to our troop levels so that our fighting force has enough soldiers to do the job in both Iraq and in the War on Terror. That means increasing our Army and Marines by forty thousand troops over the next two years.

America will never be truly secure if we do not honor those we ask to serve.

President Bush must keep his promise to those that have served in the defense of freedom. All veterans should get the health care and prescription drugs they deserve. We should launch a 21st Century GI Bill that helps the soldiers of today succeed when they come home from war. And no longer should any veteran have to choose between a retirement check and a disability check. These men and women deserve better. They’ve earned it.

Our veterans also deserve a national security policy that keeps faith with their sacrifice. I think all of us appreciated the President’s words in his Inaugural Address about spreading freedom and democracy. That has always been the Democratic vision of historic leaders like Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and John Kennedy. But there is a gap between this President’s words and his deeds.

There is a gap between saying we will “seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions” and an Administration that gives the National Endowment for Democracy only one-third of one percent of what we give millionaires in tax breaks.

There is a gap between saying we are a global leader and standing on the sidelines as new international institutions and alliances take shape without us.

There is a gap between saying to reformers that “the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors” and an Administration that stands by in virtual silence as Saudi dissidents disappear.

And nowhere is the gap between rhetoric and reality greater than in Iraq.

This month, the Defense Department gave up in the search for weapons of mass destruction and the CIA announced that any links between Saddam and al Qaeda before the war were flimsy at best. But now Iraq is a breeding ground for terrorists. There are dozens of insurgent attacks every day. And the war has cost more than fourteen hundred U.S. soldiers their lives including soldiers and Marines from my home state of Nevada. It’s resulted in over ten thousand soldiers being wounded. We owe it to those soldiers to start getting things right in Iraq.

On Sunday, millions of Iraqi citizens risked bloodshed in order to raise their ink-stained fingers in a powerful symbol of democracy. But we all know that these brave men and women will never be truly free until they can walk through their cities and towns without fear.

Yesterday’s elections were a milestone, but on Wednesday night, the President needs to spell out a real and understandable plan for the unfinished work ahead: defeat the growing insurgency, rebuild Iraq, increase political participation by all parties, especially Iraq’s moderates, and increase international involvement. Most of all, we need an exit strategy so that we know what victory is and how we can get there; so that we know what we need to do and so that we know when the job is done.

Iraq is clearly important, but there are so many bigger threats to our national security and this Administration needs to do a better job focusing on the big picture.

There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but on President Bush’s watch some of the most dangerous and despotic countries in the world have been developing nuclear weapons ­ and this Administration has just been standing by.

Iran’s radical ayatollahs have been enriching uranium. But this Administration has let Europe take the lead on dealing with this problem.

North Korea has been producing enough nuclear material for as many as nine weapons and has been building missiles that could deliver a strike to the west coast of the United States. But this Administration has let China handle the negotiations.

It’s time that America stood tall again as the real superpower that we are; time that we led the world on dealing with these terrible threats and building a durable peace instead of just hanging back and letting others show the way.

We should be ready to do whatever it takes to keep the world’s most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the world’s most dangerous regimes and evil terrorists. That includes our military options but it also includes sitting down at a table. As President Kennedy said when he confronted the nuclear threats of his generation, we must “never negotiate out of fear,” but we must “never fear to negotiate.”

Nearly three and a half years after 9-11, the War on Terror has been placed on the backburners while the Bush Administration spends its time and energy putting out fires in Iraq. President Bush said we would capture Osama bin Laden “dead or alive.” But more than a thousand days later, this terrorist thug remains alive ­ and on the loose. We need to give our troops and our intelligence services all the resources they need to do their job and bring bin Laden to justice. That means adding two thousand more Special Forces troops and increasing the number of foreign language experts so that we can track down all the clues we have. It’s long past time that President Bush returned his attention to the hunt for bin Laden and the War on Terror.

And while we redouble our efforts to wage the War on Terror abroad, we need to do much more to protect American citizens here at home. We need more and better equipped and better trained firefighters and police officers ­ the frontline troops of our homeland security. But this Administration’s policies have been cutting back on them. We need to guard our ports and chemical plants and airplane cargo holds. But this Administration has chosen to look the other way. President Bush needs to do more to prevent attacks here at home ­ before it’s too late.

But we all know that the best way to stop terrorists is to prevent the rise of terrorist groups before they unleash their wrath. As the President said in his Inaugural Address, there are regions of the world that are “prone to ideologies that feed hatred.” Mr. President, these are often the places where people go hungry and live without hope.

When last month’s tsunami destroyed so many families and communities, Americans responded as individuals and as families with a generosity of spirit that reminded the world of the deep goodness of our people. And while everyone agrees that President Bush’s response took too long, I’m glad he finally stepped up to the plate with aid from our government for those that the tsunami had left in such dire straits. Those people who lost so much saw that in their moment of despair, the United States of America stood by them and cared about their future. And that will mean something to them ­ and to us ­ for years to come.

I hope President Bush learns a lesson from this. Because while December’s tragedy caught our attention, there are everyday, slow-motion tsunamis of poverty and disease and mass killings engulfing villages and nations all around our world. These places may seem far away from us, but we learned on September 11th that even Manhattan is not an island, that we live on a tiny globe and that the world’s problems have a way of reaching us here at home.

We need to dry up the breeding grounds that produce terrorism before the next generation of bin Ladens arise. Working to bring economic possibility and educational opportunity and basic medicine to places from South America to Western Africa to East Asia isn’t something we do just because we’re selfless. It is very much in America’s long-term self-interest and vital to our national security.

In 1945, at the beginning of another presidential term in another time of war, Franklin Roosevelt ­ as tough a leader in war as America has ever had ­ spoke of the lessons we had learned as a nation. He said, “We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other nations far away.” And he said “the only way to have a friend is to be one.”

President Bush…America needs to start making more friends in this world. We certainly have enough enemies.

This isn’t about some abstract theory of multilateralism. It’s about that Marine I met at the Naval Hospital. Because he really is counting on us ­ on all of us in leadership in this country. He’s counting on us to rebuild a military that President Bush has let become strained at the seams. He’s counting on us to build an alliance of democracy and opportunity so that tomorrow’s world is safer than today’s. He’s counting on us to provide him and his family with the medical care and benefits he’s earned through his sacrifice. And he’s counting on us to level with him about the challenges we face and the ways we can get past them. That’s not too much for him to ask. That’s the American promise. And, Mr. President, come Wednesday night, I believe that young Marine deserves no less.

[dzika]

22. Grunge-Rock Pioneer Stumps for U.S. Election Reform

January 31, 2005

Grunge-Rock Pioneer Stumps for U.S. Election Reform

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eleven years after the demise of his million-selling rock band Nirvana, Krist Novoselic is back on the road, but this time he's getting out of bed before noon.

Novoselic, whose bass guitar anchored one of the most popular and influential bands of the 1990s, now spends his time pushing for voting reforms that he thinks could change the cynicism many people feel about U.S. politics.
...
"What we need is a new wave of democracy, because elections are predictable and they're formulas for sustaining the establishment," he said.

In a slim book, "Of Grunge and Government: Let's Fix This Broken Democracy!," Novoselic outlines two approaches that he believes would breathe new life into politics.

Instant-runoff voting allows voters to pick several candidates for the same office, ranking them in order of preference. If no candidate wins a majority of first choices, second choices are considered.


more
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/01/31/grunge_rock_pioneer_stumps_for_us_election_reform/

[dzika]

23. Boxer - Preparing for the next fight

Support Senator Boxer!

Dear David,

Right after our tremendous victory in November, I pledged to you and all of my supporters that I would stand up and fight the big battles that lie ahead. Little did I know that those battles would begin so quickly!

January started with the Ohio vote challenge -- an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the gross irregularities that continue to plague American elections. Thanks to the Ohio debate, our Senate Democratic Leader, Harry Reid, promised me that election reform will be a key part of our legislative agenda -- and I look forward to staying on the forefront of that fight.

Then came the Condoleezza Rice hearings. Frankly, I was stunned by Dr. Rice's unwillingness to level with the American people when confronted with her own conflicting, misleading, and even untrue statements. Thanks to the 95,000 of you who signed my petition, you gave me and other Senators the support we needed to take our "advise and consent" responsibility seriously. And in the end, Dr. Rice's nomination was opposed by 13 Senators -- the most for any Secretary of State since 1825.

These were two important battles -- but the fight for our nation's future is only just beginning. And I need your help as we gear up for some even bigger battles ahead.

Stand with me in our fight for a better America -- support PAC for a Change today!

We can't afford to wait for the next fight -- we have to prepare today. If you want me to be a national leader on women's rights, election reform, judicial nominations, environmental protection, Social Security, and more, I need an organization behind me that will enable me to travel across the country to speak out on our issues, campaign hard for candidates who share our vision, and reach out to other Americans who will join our cause.

PAC for a Change is that organization. With your support, we will contribute to those candidates and causes that need our help. And with your participation, we will make our voices heard -- from the White House and the halls of Congress to the local newspapers your neighbors read, the radio stations they listen to, and the websites they visit. Only by working together to get our message out far and wide across America can we bring about the change we so desperately need.

Help me get our message out across America -- support PAC for a Change today!

The right-wing Republicans aren't going to take this sitting down. In fact, over just the past few weeks, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and others have made me a primary target, reverting to the usual extremist playbook of vicious name-calling and outrageous personal attacks. It's clear that anyone who sticks their neck out by standing up and holding this Administration accountable risks being torn apart.

But if we are ever going to take America back from these right-wing extremists, we've got to stand up and fight. We can't let them get away with this any longer.

Over the years, and over just the past few weeks, you have given me strength and courage to speak truth to power; to keep going; to keep fighting. Today, I am asking you once again to give me the financial wherewithal to back it up.

Thank you so much. We must never give up. This is our country, and we must perfect it and protect it for the sake of our children, grandchildren, and those to come.


Stand with me,



Barbara Boxer



P.S. To put your money to work immediately, I encourage you to donate online. But if you'd prefer to send your contribution by mail, please send it to: PAC for a Change, c/o Kaufman Downing, LLP, 777 S. Figueroa St., Suite 4050, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Thank you for making it possible for us to become a real positive force in American politics!

---

Invite your friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues to join Senator Boxer's PAC for a Change!
Tell-a-friend!

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for PAC for a Change.

[dzika]

24. Blackwell is keynote speaker for Black History Month celebration

Blackwell is keynote speaker for Black History Month celebration

Future is the focus
Songs, speech start celebration

By AMANDA YODER
For The Marion Star

MARION -- The Mayes Community Temple rocked with the sounds of joyful celebration Sunday when the Black Heritage Council of Marion hosted the 27th annual community kick-off program for the February observance of Black History Month.

The walls of the sanctuary seemed to swell as members of the Community Choir lifted their voices in praise.

Co-directors Martis Bracy and Katie Hairston led the choir, whose members attend several area churches. Vocal solos by Harriston and Germaine Wilson, the choir's head musician, earned applause and standing ovations from the crowd of more than 100.

The kick-off was held to encourage all Marion community members to attend any of the Black History Month events, which culminate with the annual awards banquet Feb. 26 featuring keynote speaker J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio Secretary of State.

http://www.marionstar.com/news/stories/20050131/localnews/1937848.html

[L. Coyote]

25. Palm Beach County voters' failing to receive absentee ballots ARTICLE

Forwarding ban riles many

By Jane Musgrave

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Sunday, January 30, 2005

Confusing, inaccurate or nonexistent information, computer problems and just plain old human error are likely to blame for thousands of Palm Beach County voters' failing to receive absentee ballots they requested in November's presidential election.

Although conspiracy theories still swirl around the election that produced a record number of absentee votes, a Palm Beach Post review of nearly 4,000 absentee ballots uncovered a variety of logical, albeit disturbing, reasons for the meltdown that baffled elections officials........

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/news/epaper/2005/01/30/w1a_absentee_0130.html

=====

One of the many hundred of articles on the Election Fraud, Irregularity, and Reform Headlines page.

[Wilms]

26. kick n/t

[MelissaB]

27. ACTION! LETTER OF THE WEEK#3: Bush Arrogance, Election Fraud

Proposed Sample Letter: all suggestions welcome.

I've been trying to get this letter right for a week now. The basic problem is how to combine Election Fraud with other issues. I think it's very important to do this, so I keep trying. I'm proposing this as our LETTER OF THE WEEK #3. It's a letter for ALL Democratic Senators on these terrible nominations--Rice, Gonzales--and their basis in Bush contempt for public opinion--because he wasn't elected! It summarizes the recent UScountvotes.org (9 Ph.D.s) report on the exit polls, and mentions the Ensign bill, election reform and building a progressive coalition.

We're still working on ignatzmouse's "What if...?" piece for a Letter of the Week on Election Fraud. It's an unusual, very creative piece that imagines 'what if' Democrats had done the things that Republican officials did to Democratic voters during the election.


More here thanks to Peace Patriot: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x311543

[Wilms]

28. Newsweek: A Step Forward in the Voting Wars

A Step Forward in the Voting Wars

Why has it taken so long to move toward uniform standards for electronic polling machines?

By Steven Levy
Newsweek

Feb. 7 issue - The polling places in Iraq are front-and-center this week, but the jagged scars of our own election are still far from healed. Part of the problem is that, no matter what the count, many people do not trust results from electronic voting machines. Democracy suffers when there's reason to doubt that the rightful winner is the one who gets sworn into office.

-snip-

Uniform standards for voting machines seem like such an obvious step that you may well ask why it's taken so long to get this far. Sadly, instead of working together on behalf of the voters, the various players in the election world have spent much too much time sniping at each other and looking out for their own interests. Computer scientists think that election officials are ignorant when it comes to high-tech security. Election officials think the techies are dilettantes who don't understand the nitty-gritty of voting in the real world. And the equipment makers, while excited about selling expensive new gizmos, don't like sharing the secrets of how their systems work.

The founding VSPR members hope that the collaboration itself might remind everyone of their common interest: fair, accurate, inclusive elections. "The process might change the whole nature of the conversation," says Warren Slocum, the San Mateo County, Calif., election director.

-snip-

Does this mean Diebold's machines are trustworthy? Avi Rubin, a Johns Hopkins professor who focuses on election security, charges that the Ohio testing was inconclusive, done by people who "really didn't know much about security." If the experts disagree on this, imagine how hard it is for the voter to have any confidence in the process. That's why it's crucial that efforts like VSPR reach consensus on what makes a voting system safe, easy to use, robust, accessible and fair. Who would dare cast a ballot against that?

-snip/more-

<http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6885237/site/newsweek/>

on edit: Here's the VSPR Press Release. Look out, it's a pdf file.

<http://www.vspr.org/press/vspr-press-2005-01-30.pdf>

[Wilms]

29. Journal Sentinel: City election infrastructure will get needed update

City election infrastructure will get needed update

By TOM BARRETT (Mayor of Milwaukee)
Last Updated: Jan. 29, 2005

There is little doubt that the 2004 presidential election was the most contentious election in recent memory. Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent and thousands of people were engaged in the ground battle to win the White House.

-snip-

I want a complete and thorough review of pre-election voter registration and same-day registration. The processing of pre-election registration cards is staff-intensive. Time frames are tight, and the quantity and quality of the cards are not controlled by the Election Commission.

Same-day registration has to be improved. Staffing needs, updated lists and post-election management of the cards are a few areas that I have asked the task force to review.

-snip-

Isn't that what we want -lots of people exercising their right to vote, thousands of citizens involved in campaigns and election day activities? That is something we should all be proud of, something we should never lose sight of, and something we should never discourage.

-snip/more-

<http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/jan05/297059.asp>

[Wilms]

30. THE OLYMPIAN: Election proposals swamp legislators

Election proposals swamp legislators

BRAD SHANNON

THE OLYMPIAN (WA)
Monday, January 31, 2005

State legislators, cracking their knuckles over when to have the state's primary election, say they still haven't agreed on a solution: whether it's May, June, August or early September.

The move is aimed at giving county elections officials time between the primary and general elections to send absentee ballots to military and overseas voters -- and receive them in time -- in the event of a recount.

-snip-

Senate Bill 5395 (companion measure is House Bill 1105) addresses the need for a paper trail for elections. Reed says his office is dealing with the paper trail issue by administrative rule.

Activists such as John Gideon of the group Voters Unite have testified against allowing any alternative to a paper ballot, saying software systems can develop glitches or be manipulated. They say that despite Reed's assurances, they are afraid the administrative rule will leave open the option for a technological alternative to a voter-verified paper trail in the future.

-snip/more-

<http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20050131/topstories/78923.shtml>

[Wilms]

31. Beaver County Times: State to re-examine voting system

State to re-examine voting system

J.D. Prose, Times Staff

01/31/2005
Beaver County Times Allegheny Times

-snip-

"The manually counted paper ballot is more accurate," she said.

-snip/more-

<http://www.timesonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13856408&BRD=2305&PAG=461&dept_id=478569&rfi=6>

[berniew1]

32. Documentation of vote machine fraud & dirty tricks in over 20 states

http://www.flcv.com/ussumall.html

[Wilms]

33. .