In fact, given an honest, transparent election in 2004, we wouldn't have this problem (an out-of-control, tyrannical executive with a 28% approval rating).
First, we have to throw Diebold, ES&S and ALL election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor'!
A temporary return to paper ballots, hand-counted at the precinct level, is an important, bottom-line condition to anything more than modest gains by the Dems (not a majority) in the House. Bushite corporations--mainly two related corporations, Diebold and ES&S, with close ties to the Bush junta and far rightwing causes--gained control of our election system in the 2002-2004 period, through the so-called "Help America Vote Act," engineered by the two biggest crooks in Congress, Tom Delay and Bob Ney, who funded a $4 billion electronic voting boondoggle for these corporations, and failed to ban "TRADE SECRET," PROPRIETARY vote tabulation programming code--code so secret that not even our secretaries of state are permitted to review it--failed to require a paper trail of any kind (let alone a real paper ballot), failed to ban partisan vendors and lavish lobbying, and permitted secret industry "testing" of the machines.
Our election system is horribly compromised. It is likely going to be a long, hard struggle to regain election integrity and transparency. Here are some things you can do, and information and activist resources...
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OVERVIEW: AMERICAN REVOLUTION II
What we now have--in addition to outright illegal suppression of Democratic votes by Bushite election officials and other operatives--is several big electronic voting corporations with very close ties to the Republican Party and rightwing causes--Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia-- 'counting' all our votes with 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY programming code, with virtually no audit/recount controls. This is the result of the infamous "Help America Vote Act" of 2002, a $4 billion electronic voting boondoggle engineered by the biggest crooks in Congress, Tom Delay and Bob Ney (and abetted by Bilderberg 'Democrat' Christopher Dodd).
Our elections are now NON-TRANSPARENT and UNVERIFIABLE, and under the control of partisan corporations. The $4 billion--and also millions in lavish lobbying--were used to corrupt election officials from one end of our country to the other. And those they have not been able to corrupt, they have driven from office (Kevin Shelly in California), or sought to intimidate (Ion Sancho in Florida, and others). This pervasive corruption, and bullying by the Bushite Feds, has resulted in the widespread purchase, by states and counties, of extremely insecure, unreliable and hackable--and very expensive--election theft machinery.
Restoring TRANSPARENT elections is a MUST DO, PRIORITY ONE, MATTER, if we want our country back. Without the right to vote, we can do little or nothing to restore lawful government. We can protest. We can be appalled. But if the will of the majority--which has always been for peace and justice, and good government, consistently over the last six years, in ALL the issue polls--cannot be enforced, then we might as well be shouting to the wind.
--------------------------------------
SOME RESOURCES FOR AMERICAN REVOLUTION II:
Practical suggestions for the immediate future:
1. ABSENTEE BALLOT VOTING. Promote absentee ballot voting. It's not the ultimate solution, by any means, but it at least provides a tangible paper record for challenging suspicious election results, and for recounts and investigations. (Absentee ballots were a great help to investigators in 2004.) Absentee ballot voting is also a form of protest against the machines. 50% of Californians are now requesting Absentee Ballots. If enough people do it, the machines will be obsolete; then we can work on getting rid of the central tabulators.
2. MONITOR THE ELECTIONS. Join with others to closely monitor the coming elections and gather and document evidence. See www.UScountvotes.org, and other resources, below. UScountvotes.org needs donations!
3. DEMAND INDEPENDENT EXIT POLLS. Demand that the Democratic Party fund INDEPENDENT EXIT POLLS. Exit polls are used worldwide to verify elections and check for fraud. The war profiteering corporate news monopoly exit polls cannot be trusted (they are doctored to match the results from the voting machines' secret programming code; rather than being used to verify elections, they are used to confirm NON-TRANSPARENT "official results"). The Democratic Party owes us, big time, for their lack of vigilance--and in some cases corruption--on electronic voting. This is one critically needed thing that they can do to help.
4. THINK LONG TERM. Saving our democracy promises to be a long hard struggle. We obviously can't get rid of these machines before the '06 elections, so focus on doing our best with the Diebold/ES&S handicap (a 5% to 10% "thumb on the scales" for Bushites and warmongers), and getting rid of these machines afterward, for '08 and beyond.
5. TELL PEOPLE THE TRUTH. They NEED to know it. Engage them in the fight. Bumper sticker: "Help Us Beat the Machines--VOTE!" There is nothing more demoralizing and disempowering than constantly losing and not knowing WHY. There is evidence that the machines CAN be beaten by massive turnout. Get people involved! Help them to SEE what's happening! THEY will solve the problem, ultimately--if they can only IDENTIFY what it is!
6. PRESSURE LOCAL/STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS. Right now, the best place to fight this fight is at the state/local level, where ordinary people still have some influence. Bush's Congress is NOT going to give us back our right to vote--they are the ones who took it away (with the collusion of some corrupt Dems). Don't look to the Feds--look to your local county registrar, your state election boards, your secretaries of state. Demand TRANSPARENT elections. Also educate and mobilize your local Democratic Party and other political party groups.
The first priority in this historic fight for American democracy is restoring our right to vote--the mechanism by which we exercise our sovereignty as a people. Without it, we have no power. We MUST change this.
Never give up on our right to vote! NEVER!
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR AMERICAN REVOLUTION II:
Hopeful signs - latest news:
California voters sue the state over Diebold:
www.VoterAction.org is suing the state of California and 18 Calif county registrars on behalf of 25 California voter/plaintiffs, on the illegal Diebold "certification" by Schwarzenegger appointee Bruce McPherson.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2180496Seven of these counties have promised the judge they would use PAPER BALLOTS, and were dismissed from this lawsuit (4/27/06).
http://kcbs.com/pages/29285.php http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2249205Maryland rejects Diebold:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x418263Florida - anti-trust accusations against Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia, re: heroic Florida election official Ion Sancho:
(FLA AG subpoenas the companies)
http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,110192,00.htmlhttp://www.tbo.com/news/politics/MGBKSY8W8LE.html(info & discussion)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2183630Utah county clerk fights back!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x419226(Tide turning?) New York Times: "New Fears of Security Risks in Electronic Voting Systems" (5/12/06)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2278829-----
INFORMATION AND ACTIVIST RESOURCES for American Revolution II:
www.votersunite.org (MythBreakers - easy primer on electronic voting--one of the myths is that HAVA requires electronic voting; it does not.)
www.UScountvotes.org (statistical monitoring of '06 and '08 elections--they need donations)
(Activist sites with links to state activist groups or info)
www.votersunited.org (good general info, and state links)
www.verifiedvoting.org (great activist site)
www.solarbus.org/election/index.shtml (fab compendium of all election info)
www.votetrustusa.org (news of the movement from around the country--caveat: $$$ connections to Choicepoint)
www.freepress.org (devoted to election reform)
www.bradblog.com (also great, and devoted to election reform)
www.TruthIsAll.net (analysis of the 2004 election)* :patriot: :applause: :patriot:
www.votepa.us (well-organized local group of citizen activists in Pennsylvania, where important legal issues are at stake, including state's rights over election systems)
Provisions of the PA lawsuit:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x423739The Voter Confidence Resolution
http://tinyurl.com/rlnr2 (“We Do Not Consent”)
http://guvwurld.blogspot.com (GuvWurld blog main page)
http://tinyurl.com/amryg (Voter Confidence Resolution
www.debrabowen.com (Calif Senator running for Sec of State to reform election system)
www.johnbonifaz.com (running for Massachusetts Sec of State on strong election reform and antiwar platform)
*Some tributes to TruthIsAll, who is very ill:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x417007http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x417231http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x675477Congressional bills:
Russ Holt's HR 550 requires a real paper ballot, bans secret software in "voting machines", and has more than 170 co-sponsors, but the audit required is too weak, it promotes electronic voting and centralized power, and the secret software might be permitted to continue in the central tabulators (the bill is not clear). At lot of discussion at DU of the loopholes/pitfalls in HR 550 (many DUers support the bill):
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x422926http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x421136http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=422967&mesg_id=422967To sign the HR 550 petition:
http://www.rushholt.com/petition.html(Note: Senate Bill-SB 330 and House-HR704 simply require a "voter verified paper audit trail" (VVPAT), which may be best for the moment.)
Also of interest:
Michael Collins (Autorank)'s searing election reform article for New Zealand's Scoop.com
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x971363 Bob Koehler (-- four recent election reform initiatives in Ohio, predicted to win by 60/40 votes, flipped over, on election day, into 60/40 LOSSES!--the biggest flipover we've seen yet; the election theft machines and their masters are now dictating election policy! Title: "Poll Shock" 11/24/05)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col321.htm Bob Koehler's latest: "Trust us: Take this box and stuff it" (3/16/06)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col337.htmMore Koehler:
www.tmsfeatures.com/tmsfeatures/subcategory.jsp?file=20051124ctnbk-a.txt&catid=1824&code=ctnbk
Amaryllis (Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia lavish lobbying of election officials - Beverly Hilton, Aug. '05)
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x380340
HOWARD DEAN remarks on electronic voting machines 04/06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x994507------------------------------------------------
Throw Diebold, ES&S and ALL election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW!
:think: :patriot: :woohoo: :patriot: :think:
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"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it." --Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence
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