Election reform: get up, stand up, show up, speak up -- or be silenced.

Fly by night

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Sun Oct-16-05 10:55 AM
Original message

Election reform: get up, stand up, show up, speak up -- or be silenced.

Edited on Sun Oct-16-05 11:07 AM by Fly by night

Lately, there has been more hand-wringing on DU about whether the election reform movement is slowing down, whether the concerns about stolen elections are fading, and whether we can do anything to prevent the continuing theft of democracy in our country. Don't drink that kool-aid -- we are having an impact across this country and those of us in the trenches right now can certainly use some reinforcements. In many counties and states, we have already proven that 6 or 7 committed voting rights activists can make a difference. Just imagine what 60 or 70 election reformers working together in each of our communities can accomplish.

Better yet, don't imagine it -- make it a reality NOW.

Here in Tennessee, every presentation we have made to any group (be they county or state election commissions or groups of interested citizens) starts with reviewing the abundant evidence that our election system is broken, that tolerating voter intimidation and suppression and allowing private companies to count our votes in secret are (and always were) bad ideas -- and that the evidence for how this privatized system is now being manipulated is very clear.

Following on that premise, we then discuss the fact that HAVA is now being manipulated here in the Orange State to further this paperless electronic voting trend, not to retard it. And that in every state, the existing HAVA plans need to be revisited to insure that our elections are free, fair and verifiable -- not clear sailing for election thieves. I don't know how many other states have had the good fortune of catching their Coordinator of Elections in a series of lies about what HAVA requires, as we have. Revealing those lies -- and getting county election commissions to purge the kool-aid from their veins in order to make decisions (like keeping punch-card systems or choosing op-scan systems over DREs) that will protect the integrity of our elections -- are the best things we can be doing now. Anyone who ignores the juggernaut that is HAVA and who doesn't fight against a misrepresentation of that law stands the risk of losing verifiable voting for the next generation.

If you're interested in election reform in your state, you have less than 90 days to do something that will make a difference. And the best way to make change is to start from the premise that, in most states, our election systems are broken (based on the abundant evidence of election fraud) and must be fixed. Not in the ways that corrupt election officials want them fixed, but in the ways that any small "d" democrat knows are obvious.

So don't just sit there typing about the problem -- get up, stand up, show up and speak up -- NOW. Or be silenced forever. Go to your county and state election commission meetings. Write and call your state representatives. Demand that all voting systems start with or produce voter-verified paper ballots. Demand that mandatory random MANUAL audits occur in every county in every election. Insist on voting machines with no wireless (i.e., hackable from a distance) capability. Implementing those three steps alone will make a huge difference.

Folks, we don't have much time left. If you're waiting on the Orange State before you get started, you are backing up. And if you're an Orange Stater and want to do more, PM me -- we have an oar waiting for you to start rowing with. And if you're working for election reform in other states, use this thread to announce yourself and invite your fellow state residents to get in touch with you.

We are the ones we have been waiting for. So why wait any longer. If we never stop fighting, we cannot lose. Peace out.