Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Friday 5/27/05

[Melissa G]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Friday 5/27/05

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.

If you can:

1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.

2. Post stories using the "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x371233

3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.

4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.



If you want to know how post "News Banners" or other images, go here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=371233#371391

Link to previous Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=372622&mesg_id=372622

All previous daily threads are available here:
http://www.independentmediasource.com/DU_archives/du_2004erd_el_ref_fr_thr_calenders.htm

Please "Recommend" for the Greatest Page (it's the link just below).

[Melissa G]

1. FOCUS | Texas Court Rules Against DeLay's PAC

Judge Rules against DeLay Group Official
By Kelley Shannon
The Associated Press

Thursday 26 May 2005

Austin, Texas - The treasurer of a political committee formed by US House Majority Leader Tom DeLay violated Texas election code by not reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, a judge ruled Thursday in a civil case brought by Democratic candidates.

State District Judge Joe Hart, in a letter outlining his ruling to attorneys in the case, said the money, much of it corporate contributions, should have been reported to the Texas Ethics Commission.

The ruling means Bill Ceverha, treasurer of the group, called the Texans for a Republican Majority political action committee, will have to pay nearly $200,000. It will be divided among those who brought the suit against Ceverha, five Democratic candidates who lost legislative races in 2002.

The Democrats who sued TRMPAC claimed Ceverha violated the state election law, designed to keep elections free from "the taint of corporate cash."

FOCUS | Texas Court Rules Against DeLay's PAC
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/052605X.shtml

[Wilms]

2. NC needs help! Critical election reform stuck in committee

Urgent - help us get the Verified Voting bills out of committee!

Thanks to WillYourVoteBCounted for posting:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x372933

[Wilms]

3. Big update to listing of organizations

http://www.solarbus.org/election/links.shtml#reformgroups

Talk to Gary:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x372659

[Wilms]

4. VIDEO: America's Illegitimate Election 2004

Never forget what happened on November 2nd, 2004... Here's a video to help...

We've updated the short video compiled by a few Velvet Revolutionaries from Democratic Underground.

It is our hope that this video may serve as the definitive record of what happened in American during the 2004 Presidential Election. It documents -- in a few short minutes -- how your American right to a free, fair and transparent electoral system has been taken from you by the cynical and un-democratic powers-that-be.

This sort of thing should never happen in the world's most important democracy. And yet -- again in 2004 -- it did. Enough is enough.

It's time for the people to take both our country and our democracy back. If you still have any questions about that, please take a look at this video:

http://www.velvetrevolution.us/#020505


Thanks to MelissaB for posting here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x372908

[Algorem]

5. Flopping Tom

http://www.clevescene.com/Issues/2005-05-25/news/firstpunch_2.html

As co-chair of President Bush's reelection campaign, Uncle Tom Blackwell never missed a chance to smear John Kerry for incessantly changing his mind. But now that he's running for governor, Blackwell is flopping like a three-eyed walleye on the Edgewater Park pier...


It started with Ohio's $150 million effort to buy new voting machines. In 2003, Blackwell barred Sequoia Voting Machines from selling in Ohio. Sequoia sued, and a judge ordered Blackwell to let the company in. Blackwell defied the court order, saying it "would be ultimately detrimental to the public's confidence in the entire process." Three weeks later, he reversed himself.

Then, in January, he barred counties from buying computerized voting machines, instead ordering them to buy optical scanners. Three months later, he made an exception for computerized machines made by Diebold of North Canton. Though the machines don't actually meet state requirements, company executives have given millions to the Republican Party. That's good enough for Tom.

Then Blackwell approved House Bill 1, which overhauled state campaign-finance laws. But after the law passed, he suddenly objected to portions of the bill. So he did what any true moron would do: He sued himself...

[Algorem]

6. Ohio Republican Party to require ethics training for candidates

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/news-17/1117190626306730.xml&storylist=cleveland

5/27/2005, 6:57 a.m. ET
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Saying he's "mad as hell" over recent ethical missteps by Republicans, state GOP Chairman Robert Bennett is planning to require all candidates seeking party support to undergo ethics training.

Bennett expressed concern Thursday about the political ramifications of recent scandals involving Republicans, like the current inquiry involving coin dealer Thomas Noe of Maumee.

Noe is a former Lucas County Republican chairman and a contributor to GOP officeholders.

Bennett acknowledge that the Noe situation, along with fundraising investigations involving former state Treasurer Joseph Deters and former House Speaker Larry Householder, could enhance Democrats' chances in the 2006 elections....

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!

[AtLiberty]

7. Salon: My Right Wing Degree

MY RIGHT WING DEGREE

How I learned to convert liberal campuses into conservative havens at Morton Blackwell's Leadership Institute, alma mater of Karl Rove, Ralph Reed, Jeff Gannon and two Miss Americas

By Jeff Horwitz
May 24, 2005
Salon

One recent Sunday, at Morton Blackwell's Leadership Institute, a dozen students meet for the second and final day of training in grass-roots youth politics. All are earnest, idealistic and as right wing as you can get. They take careful notes as instructor Paul Gourley teaches them how to rig a campus mock election.

It's nothing illegal -- no ballot stuffing necessary, even at the most liberal colleges. First you find a nonpartisan campus group to sponsor the election, so you can't be accused of cheating. Next, volunteer to organize the thing. College students are lazy, and they'll probably let you. Always keep in mind that a rigged mock election is all about location, location, location.

"Can anyone tell me," asks Gourley, a veteran mock electioneer, "why you don't want the polling place in the cafeteria?"

Stephen, a shy antiabortion activist sitting toward the rear of the class, raises his hand: "Because you want to suppress the vote?"

"Stephen has the right answer!" Gourley exclaims, tossing Stephen his prize, a copy of Robert Bork's "Slouching Toward Gomorrah."

*snip*

There is no better place to master the art of mock-election rigging -- and there is no better master than Morton Blackwell, who invented the trick in 1964 and has been teaching it ever since...

Go to Salon and click the one-day pass:

www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/05/25/blackwell/

[MelissaB]

8. Freedom of the Press (Conyer's forum)

http://inside.c-spanarchives.org:8080/cspan/Pictures/Programs/186879/186879-m.jpg

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Forum
Freedom of the Press
U.S. Capitol
Washington, District of Columbia (United States)
ID: 186879 - 05/24/2005 - 2:29 - $24.95



Conyers, John Jr., U.S. Representative, D-MI
Miller, George, U.S. Representative, D-CA
McDermott, Jim, U.S. Representative, D-WA
Faleomavaega, Eni, Congressional Delegate, D-American Samoa
Sanders, Bernard, U.S. Representative, I-VT
Pastor, Ed, U.S. Representative, D-AZ
Nadler, Jerrold, U.S. Representative, D-NY
Woolsey, Lynn, U.S. Representative, D-CA
Jackson-Lee, Sheila, U.S. Representative, D-TX
Fattah, Chaka, U.S. Representative, D-PA
Rendall, Steven, Senior Analyst, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
Jackson, Jesse Jr., U.S. Representative, D-IL
Kucinich, Dennis, U.S. Representative, D-OH
Kilpatrick, Carolyn Cheeks, U.S. Representative, D-MI
Lee, Barbara, U.S. Representative, D-CA
Franken, Al, Comedian
Watson, Diane, U.S. Representative, D-CA
Clay, William Lacy Jr., U.S. Representative, D-MO
Madison, Joe, Talk Show Host, XM Satellite Radio, "The Power"
Sanchez, Linda T., U.S. Representative, D, California
Rhodes, Randi, Talk Show Host, Air America Radio, Randi Rhodes Show
Webb, Justin, Senior Correspondent, BBC, Washington
Alterman, Eric, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
Lloyd, Mark, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
Aravosis, John, Internet Columnist
Wasserman-Schultz, Debbie, U.S. Representative, D, Florida
Brock, David, President and CEO, Media Matters for America




Representative John Conyers (D-MI) will hold a forum on the state of the free press in the United States.

[Wilms]

9. CRNC Officer Promotes Voter Supression

Smart Ass
The Official Blog of College Democrats of America.

May 25, 2005

CRNC Officer Promotes Voter Supression
College Republican National Committee Treasurer (and leading candidate for CRNC chair) Paul Gourley, on the record...

One recent Sunday, at Morton Blackwell's Leadership Institute, a dozen students meet for the second and final day of training in grass-roots youth politics. All are earnest, idealistic and as right wing as you can get. They take careful notes as instructor Paul Gourley teaches them how to rig a campus mock election.

It's nothing illegal -- no ballot stuffing necessary, even at the most liberal colleges. First you find a nonpartisan campus group to sponsor the election, so you can't be accused of cheating. Next, volunteer to organize the thing. College students are lazy, and they'll probably let you. Always keep in mind that a rigged mock election is all about location, location, location.

"Can anyone tell me," asks Gourley, a veteran mock electioneer, "why you don't want the polling place in the cafeteria?"

Stephen, a shy antiabortion activist sitting toward the rear of the class, raises his hand: "Because you want to suppress the vote?"

"Stephen has the right answer!" Gourley exclaims, tossing Stephen his prize, a copy of Robert Bork's "Slouching Toward Gomorrah."

The students, strait-laced kids from good colleges, seem unconvinced. The lesson -- that with sufficient organization, the act of voting becomes less a basic right than a tactical maneuver -- doesn't sit easy with some students at first. Gourley, a charismatic senior from South Dakota and the treasurer of the College Republican National Committee, assures them: "This is not anti-democracy. This is not shady. Just put somewhere where you might have to put a little bit of effort into voting." The rest, Gourley explains, is just a matter of turnout.

http://www.collegedems.com/blog/archives/000369.php

Thanks to kevin_pdamerica for posting:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3741010

[Wilms]

10. Colorado bills 198 and 206 await Ownes' signature

Senate Bill 05-206

http://www.leg.state.co.us/Clics2005a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/438F7319D35687C987256F5E0078CE65?Open&file=206_enr.pdf

Senate Bill 05-198 http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics2005a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/902196947278857887256F4D0069B29F?open&file=198_enr.pdf

I heard on radio that Governor Owens isn't for these bills because of their related cost - yeah right. Please contact his office and "urge" him to sign them to get voter verified paper records in Colorado. These records would be auditable by the elector before we cast our votes and can be used for manual audits and recounts.

Governor Owens' contact information is here http://www.colorado.gov/governor/contact.html

Also, here is the web site for Coloradoans For Voting Integrity http://www.cfvi.us

Thanks to eleny for posting:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=142x4106

[Wilms]

11. LA TIMES Editor on Lack of 2000 & 2004 Vote Rigging & Suppression Stories

DU yurbud Reports

I've had an ongoing email exchange with the California editor of the LA Times about their non-existent to tepid coverage election abuses, and this is his latest response.

He finally got to the point of saying he COULD NOT explain the very belated coverage of black voter disenfranchisement in Florida except to say it was too low on someone's to do list.

In discussing the difference between the Ukraine and here, he mentions suspicious turnout levels of 98% were a bigger factor than the exit polls although exit polls became the signature of the story since it was the piece that came out first. I seem to remember 100% plus turnout figures in some precincts. Does anyone have the specifics and authoritative sourcing on that?



From: David Lauter (LA Times California editor)
Subject: RE: exit polls and evoting
Date: May 26, 2005 8:01:22 PM PDT
To: yurbud, aka Professor Smartass

I have no idea why we were so late in covering the story about black voters in Florida. If I had to guess--and this is only a guess--I'd guess the usual answer, which is never particularly satisfactory: it was on someone's list to do, and they just didn't get to it fast enough. No one (including us) ever likes that answer, but generally when we're late on stories, that's what it is. There's always a lot to do and never enough people to do it all, and sometimes folks just make bad decisions on what to do first.

You asked which pollsters I think are reliable -- there are actually several. Gallup is generally pretty good, so are the three major media polls (CBS/NYT, WashPost/ABC and our own LATimes Poll). Mason/Dixon does a lot of polls for local TV stations around the country and tends to do them with small samples to make them inexpensive. As a result, they're often not very good. Zogby got a big reputation because he was very close to the mark on the 1996 Clinton/Dole election, and Republicans, in particular, thought he was great because he didn't have Clinton as far ahead as some others did. But his overall track record is very mixed, and his methodology is questionable. (If you're interested in the details, there was a good profile of Zogby in the New Yorker back in the fall; it's available from the magazine's web site). No one's right all the time and even a blind pig gets a truffle every now and then.

As for the exit poll issue. The Ukrainian exit poll showed Yuschenko with a 54%-43% lead -- and those were final results, not preliminary -- as compared with the official results that showed Yanukovich with the victory margin you noted. But that was hardly the whole of it. There was widespread evidence of significant irregularities. To give just one example of many, there was the district in the Donetsk region that reported a turnout of more than 98% (compared with 75% in the first round of voting) and an overwhelming margin for Yanukovich. The exit poll came first and therefore got the headlines, but it was concrete evidence of widespread, large-scale fraud that brought about the reversal of the election. The election was more than six months ago now, and lots of people--including reporters from this newspaper and others--have spent huge amounts of time examining it. No one's come up with anything in Ohio (or other states) that comes close to the sort of irregularities that were glaringly apparent in Ukraine within days.

Does that conclusively prove that nothing was amiss? No. You can't ever prove a negative. There's always a chance there's something that everyone's overlooked, or something so well hidden that no one's found it despite extensive searching. But I doubt it. In such things, I'm a staunch believer in Occam's razor.

You can see more of this exchange on yurbud, aka Professor Smartass blog:

http://professorsmartass.blogspot.com

Yurbuds discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x373066

[Wilms]

12. .