Repost of my voter fraud LTTE - for those who STILL don't believe it

[debbierlus]

I posted this a couple months back - but it seems relevant. This is the letter I submitted and had published in several publications on the voter fraud issue. Dedicated to those of you who feel that there is no evidence or are still locked in the 'conspiracy theory' view:

2006 is now upon us, and with it comes the hope of restoring checks and balances in our government. Every seat of the US Congress will be open for reelection bids and challenges this November, with many states seeing senate and governorship races, as well. For many of us, this has been an eagerly awaited opportunity, a bright light to lead us out of a very dark tunnel of corrupt total Republican leadership. However, we are in very real peril of having this hope and opportunity come to nothing due to a election system that is subject to fraud, manipulation, and tampering.
The mainstream media has been underwhelming, if not out and out irresponsible, on its coverage of this vital issue. Indeed, it has been lax to the point that the many Americans still believe claims of fixed elections are in the realm of ‘conspiracy theory’. This is despite overwhelming objective and substantiated evidence of vote manipulation, insecure voting equipment that is easily subject to outside hacking, discriminatory voting policies, and unequal distribution of monies and equipment to ensure accurate and efficient voting implementation and tallying. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), tasked with investigating election reliability and security due to the widely reported problems occurring with the Presidential elections in 2000 and 2004, released a troubling report on October 21, 2005 documenting the systems widespread flaws. In addition, the GAO report indicated that national initiatives to improve voting system security and reliability of electronic voting systems either lack specific plans for implementation or are not expected to be completed until after the 2006 election. According to GAO, “Until these efforts are completed, there is a risk that many state and local jurisdictions will rely on voting systems that were not developed, acquired, tested, operated, or managed in accordance with rigorous security and reliability standards — potentially affecting the reliability of future elections and voter confidence in the accuracy of the vote count”. The full report is available at the Committee On Government Reform’s website at http://reform.house.gov.
The implications for American democracy are severe. How can citizens have any assurance of enactment of their political will in 2006 when the very system designed to reflect that will is admittedly broken? It is imperative that Americans become educated about this issue. In addition to GAO report, there are numerous resources that provide detailed accounting, factual documentation, and context for understanding this complex issue and ideas for advocacy and change. What Went Wrong in Ohio; The John Conyers Report On The 2004 Presidential Election, available from most booksellers, is a must read for every citizen vested in understanding the current situation. Harper’s Magazines September 7, 2005 article, None Dare Call It Stolen; Ohio, The Election, and America’s Servile Press is now available for free in their website archives on Harpers.org. Blackboxvoting.org and Verifiedvoting.org offer extensive archives and developing coverage of both state and federal voting issues. By understanding the context and implications of America’s broken election system, we can begin to advocate for change and demand action from our media and elected representatives before the 2006 elections.
Communist tyrant Joseph Stalin once said; ‘Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything’. It is ironic and sad that Americans now are confronted with the stark truth that we too are not exempt from the corruption of unscrupulous political power. There is every reason to believe that those vested in maintaining power and control will utilize every means available to do so including manipulating the election system. It will be the test of the character and courage of its citizens; whether they rise up and demand change or will continue to allow the powers that be to frame this debate into a partisan divide, and deny the truth that is right before their eyes, if only they choose to see.

[electropop]

1. "Election Fraud" not "Voter Fraud"

Terminology matters here: "voter fraud" makes it sound as if the fraud was committed by voters, rather than the real situation, which is that it was committed against voters.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. IT'S NOT VOTER FRAUD!!!

AACCKKK!!!

It's VOTE Fraud! Daminit! Some repug was shilling his book on CSPAN this weekend, claiming thousands of Voters are registering and voting twice, and using fake names. Made me so mad!

Maybe we should just call it ELECTION Fraud. :shrug:

[mom cat]

3. Stolen elections: K&R

[bobthedrummer]

4. Maybe we had a coup in 2000 too

and now a counter-coup...