John Kerry never quit fighting - and YOU can fight too!

[mzmolly]

Shortly after the election was stolen, and before the GAO report (which activists helped to bring to fruition) John Kerry and others in the Senate put forth legislation to address voting "irregularities."

http://www.johnkerry.com/features/count/

The Count Every Vote Act of 2005 seeks to address concerns about the security of voting machines and the inability of the majority of voters who may use these machines to be able to adequately verify their vote and ensure that the vote they intended was both cast and counted. The act also addresses many other problems in our Federal election system – including long wait times in which to vote, the erroneous purging of voters, voter suppression and intimidation, and unequal access to the voting process – remain. The bill establishes, among other initiatives, a voter-verified paper trail for use by all individuals, including language minority voters, illiterate voters and voters with disabilities; and mandates national standards in a variety of areas, including the registration of voters and the counting of provisional ballots.

All provisions of this legislation are to be in effect no later than the November 2006 Federal election. The Count Every Vote Act requires that all provisions be in place for the next major election cycle in 2006.

Representatives from civil rights organizations and voting rights advocates have praised the legislation, including People For the American Way, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, NAACP, Common Cause, the National Voting Rights Institute, DEMOS and the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium.

More information is available http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oId=18049">HERE.

I want to remind people that John Kerry did not QUIT, he continues to fight in a manner that can actually effect change.

It's OUR TURN TO HELP, if you haven't already:

Urge YOUR Members of Congress to Co-sponsor the Count Every Vote Act by clicking HERE

I hope that everyone who cares about this issue will act now.

Additionally, it might not be a bad idea to kick this thread now and again.

:kick:

[madame defarge]

1. Thx. & kicked n/t

[mzmolly]

2. Thank you. I wonder if all those complaining about Kerry will do their

part? :hi:

[babylonsister]

3. "Count Every Vote". Now there's an idea that all political

persuasions should be able to get behind if they're being honest. The 'honest' part is what's debatable. Thanks, mzmolly; I'll be urging my congresscritters and wait to see just how honestly they deal with the issue.

[garybeck]

17. Unfortunately this bill does not actually say to count every vote

if you read the bill, it only says we should count 2% of the votes. the other 98% just sit there and we blindly believe whatever Diebold says the total is, with no verification whatsoever.

[mzmolly]

22. NO it says we want a paper trail and a 2% audit verification!

Big difference.

The verification prodedure would be arbitrary and would double check 2% of all precincts in every state in full.

Further, if we demand a recount with a paper trail, we can have an accurate recount.

[MH1]

37. 2% audit, properly done, will verify 100%.

That's what an * audit * does.

Many, many things that you encounter in your daily life, such as manufactured products and pharmaceuticals, are validated through a sample that is some small percentage of the whole production output. If the validation procedure is designed correctly, there is no need to minutely inspect every item coming off the line.

[helderheid]

4. recommended kicked and clicked!

[mzmolly]

5. Thanky!

:hi:

[helderheid]

21. my pleasure and

:kick:

[Sydnie]

6. Done and Kicked

I still support Kerry ... and I hope he runs again. We need a grown up in the WH!

[liberalnurse]

7. I wanted nothing less that a full fledged assault

on the corruption of the 2004 Election results. I'm taking this information under advisement. My gut call last year was one of grave disappointment.

[mzmolly]

8. If you read the link above with all the info, every issue is addressed.

It doesn't come out and say "the election was stolen" but it does say "I don't want them stealing any more elections!"

:hi:

Thanks for considering the information, please urge your local legislators to support this act.

[liberalnurse]

13. Hi there.....mzmolly...

:hi:

I know your intentions are made with the deep seeded passion. I will take this serious. I'm actually for moving forward and making tomorrow a true democracy. We have survived this long but we really need to evoke our position. To do so will require a diligent fight. I want to know that Kerry is not just posturing.

[mzmolly]

15. Well, after reading the particulars, I don't think it's posturing.

And, I think if he'd come out to strong initally this bill would not have had a chance. I don't think you can say to the majority republican party 'please support my bill because they stole election.' But you can say 'please support my bill to ensure a stong democracy' ~ KWIM? When we are in the minority, we have to play the game a bit differently IMHO.

Thanks again for your fair consideration LN!

[second edition]

9. Thank you for posting this Kerry reminder! He still has our back! n/t

[jsamuel]

10. ./

[AmBlue]

11. Done, nominated & passed it on!!!

:kick:

[mzmolly]

12. Thanks!

:hi:

[TayTay]

14. Do it for Rosa

and for every other brave hell-raiser who stood up and demanded that America live up to it's promise to let all people vote.

It's about them. It's about us. It's about making this the country we want and not taking shit from anyone who wants to hold back equality and civil rights.

Do it for Rosa Parks. There can be no better tribute.

[garybeck]

16. Kerry basher checking in here.

With all due respect. I voted for Kerry and I wish he were president. However.


If Kerry supports it, the Count Every Vote Act, great. Too bad he didn't want to count when it really mattered.


In regards to us "having our back" that is complete nonsense. He gave up way too early, when at least 100,000 votes had not been counted in Ohio. He fought AGAINST the recount efforts there when he should have been leading them.

And lastly I must remind everyone that the "Count Every Vote Act" DOES NOT IN ANY WAY call for the counting of every vote. It is titled wrong. It only calls to count 2% of the votes. The other 98% of the votes are never counted. There are some other things in the bill that I like but let's not overstate its affectiveness on dealing with the DRE issue. It doesn't.

I still think it's a good bill, but I think it has a low chance of passing because it is has so many controversial provisions. HR550 is much simpler and to the point and may get passed some day.

--edited because I WAS WRONG in suggesting Kerry didn't introduce the bill. he did. --

[mzmolly]

18. He is one of the "introducers" and was a driving force behind it.

Thus, I stand by my original statement, which you've proven correct:

Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. KERRY, Mr. LAUTENBERG, and Ms. MIKULSKI) introduced the following bill

Let's not parse words, let's get busy!

CAVA requires a papertrail and ensures that votes can be counted. The 2% provision is simply a check for system accuracy.

Here is more info:

The Count Every Vote Act would (briefly):

1. Require that all voting systems produce a paper record that can be verified by the individual voter and that would constitute the official record for any recount;

2. Require a mandatory recount of voter-verified paper records in 2 percent of all polling places or precincts in each state;

3. Set minimum standards for the number of voting systems and poll workers at each precinct, and require that every precinct have at least one machine that can provide audio and pictorial verification and that is accessible to language minority voters;

4. Establish new security standards for voting equipment manufacturers, including a ban on using undisclosed software and wireless communications devices in voting systems.

More Opportunuties for Citizens to Register to Vote and Cast Their Ballots

1. Allow voters to register and cast a ballot on election day;

2. Require states to provide in-person early voting opportunities before Election Day;

3. Prohibit states from demanding excuses from voters who request absentee ballots;

4. Give voters more options for proving their identity to election officials;

5. Prohibit election officials from rejecting voter registration applications that are missing information which has no effect on the specific voter's eligibility.
Back to Top

Discourage Partisan Manipulation and Deceptive Practices in Elections

1. Make certain federal election campaign activities off limits to chief state election officials and top-level executives and owners of voting system manufacturers;

2. Require states to act in a uniform and transparent manner when attempting to purge voters from state registration lists;

3. Provide for the prosecution of those who engage in deceptive practices to keep people from voting in federal elections.

Expand the Right to Vote

1. Require states to allow ex-felons who have completed their prison, parole and probation terms to register and vote in federal elections.
Ensure That All Votes Are Counted

1. Require that provisional ballots be counted state-wide, allowing voters who are registered in a state but cast provisional ballots in a wrong precinct to still have their votes counted for all eligible federal races.

[Mass]

20. Actually, Boxer is the one who offered it first, for the record

(at least talked about it first).

Only one person can sponsor a bill, even if several work on it. Clinton is the one who did it. All the people listed here are the ORIGINAL co-sponsors and where at the original press conference .

[mzmolly]

26. Gary, thanks for mentioning HR 550 by the way.

I'd be happy with either 550 or 450.

Here is more info/analysis on the bills under consideration now:

http://www.verifiedvoting.org/article.php?list=type&type=13

I just want people to be aware that Kerry did fight, but he has to do so within certain guidelines in order to remain effective.

:hi:

[garybeck]

31. I would differ on your statement

"I just want people to be aware that Kerry did fight, but he has to do so within certain guidelines in order to remain effective."

I disagree 100%. There is a LOT he could have done and he would be no less effective now. At the very minimum, he should have asked for a recount in Ohio. There were other states like NM that were even closer and showed glaring discrepancies and he did nothing.

[mzmolly]

32. A recount of what exactly?

We had no paper trail.

[MH1]

38. And, you cannot recount suppressed votes.

If the vote was never cast, then it certainly won't show up in the recount. One of the most heartbreaking visuals out of Ohio was the people standing so long in line waiting to vote in certain precincts, while other precincts breezed right through. And then to find out that there were machines sitting idle that were never distributed.

We lost thousands of votes through suppression, and CEVA does address that problem.

I do not believe that there was any mechanism in place to prove and address the fraud / incompetence / malfeasance that cost the election in Ohio, and Kerry knew that. Hell, there was plenty of proof of the malfeasance of the voting machine distribution, but your average American just didn't care. And that's not Kerry's fault.

[mzmolly]

41. Agree fully!

:hi:

[blm]

39. And no doubt the electronic machines were ERASED IMMEDIATELY.

No evidence to be had of the actual crime we know they committed. And therein lies the biggest problem.

THAT is why we need to expose the machines and those who have the control over them.

[mzmolly]

42. EXACTLY!

:hi:

[ohtransplant]

19. Thanks for setting the record straight.

The easiest thing to do here is point a finger.

We didn't get in this situation over night and won't fix it quickly either. Election reform will be a long hard tough slog and there will be setbacks along the way.

It's heartening to see J. Kerry hasn't quit and is taking action on several fronts (CEVA above, continuing lawsuits, grassroots development and campaigning)to fight for fair elections.

Apparently he continues to battle whether the media covers it or not.

Go JK!

[mzmolly]

23. And most who complain would rather do so, I'm convinced.

:hi:

[ohtransplant]

34. Instead of just complaining,

why not get into the game and maybe work off some of the frustration.

Check out www.reformohionow.org.

Much help is needed.

Ohioans can contribute and volunteer.

Those outside Ohio can contribute $$ like we did last year for the recounts.

[mzmolly]

35. Here here!

:toast:

[WiseButAngrySara]

24. Thanks so much for this encouraging post mzmolly!

:kick:

:kick::kick:

:kick::kick::kick:

:kick::kick::kick::kick:

:kick::kick::kick::kick::kick:



and Recommended!

[emulatorloo]

25. kicking n/t

[mzmolly]

27. Adding: OTHER ACTS ARE UNDER CONSDERATION ALSO.

http://www.verifiedvoting.org/article.php?list=type&type=13

[karynnj]

28. Paper Trail - Yay!!!!!!!

[sepia_steel]

29. Signed, igned up, faxed, kicked, recommended, and THANK YOU.

.

[lonestarnot]

30. Yes!

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

33. Done. eom

[ginnyinWI]

36. kick

[texpatriot2004]

40. kick

:kick:

[Old and In the Way]

43. Done, thanks!

[Native]

44. Kick

[MH1]

45. ..

:kick:

[ProSense]

46. Keep it up! n/t