1/1/05 Election/Fraud/Recount Thread

[MelissaB]

In order to organize and document I thought it would be a good idea to have a daily thread to place items related to the recounts/fraud. This also make it easier to "catch up" when we are away from the computer for a while.

Please help us. If you see something that isn't here post it with a link to the thread and a thanks to the author. Thanks to everyone who is helping in this project.


Link to the thread from yesterday here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x215662

[MelissaB]

1. Former Congressman Peter Deutsch to Assist Challenge of Ohio Electors

The Committee to ReDefeat the President, a federal PAC better known by the name of its popular ReDefeatBush.com Web site, has secured the assistance of Peter Deutsch, who will conclude his tenure as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives at noon on Monday 1/3/05. Deutsch will help ReDefeatBush and other organizations that are working on a Constitutional Challenge to the electoral votes of Florida, Ohio and potentially other states.

Preparations are underway for a public forum on Wednesday afternoon at the Capitol at which Deutsch will publicly question some of the key witnesses to activities that may have surpassed the boundaries of normal partisanship and crossed over into illegal activity in Florida. For the benefit of Members of Congress considering supporting the challenge Deutsch will be publicly questioning Bev Harris of Black Box Voting, who witnessed the unlawful disposal of original voter registries that are required to be archived under Florida law and other key witnesses and experts.

"I am enormously pleased to be working with Peter Deutsch," said ReDefeatBush founder David Lytel, "because I am sure that he can explain what happened in Florida on election day with great clarity. Peter's intellect, integrity and his standing with his former colleagues make him the ideal person to help us with this," Lytel added.

more... http://nostolendemocracy.typepad.com/blog/2004/12/former_congress.html

Thanks to NVMojo here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x219310

[dzika]

5. Friday 12/31 Highlights

Recap of stories from Friday 12/31
(and a few from previous days)

• Ohio Fraud News
  
  
  • 12/28 - Free Press: Ohio GOP election officials ducking subpoenas as Kerry enters
    
  • 12/28 - Internet Vote Fraud: TRIAD has Means, Motive, and Opportunity
    
  • 12/28 - Congresswoman Maxine Waters Will Challenge Ohio Electors
    
  • 12/28 - TEFLON KERRY: MORE SLICK MOVES ON PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FRAUD
    
  • 12/28 - New Media Communications--fascinating octopus of electoral
    
  • 12/29 - Chief justice refuses to remove self from vote challenge
    
  • 12/30 - truthout Report - Conyers to Object to Ohio Electors, Requests Senate Allies
    
  • 12/30 - Cobb Calls On Congress to Reject Tainted Electoral College Votes
    
  • 12/30 - Video Clip - Obermann says that Conyers will Challenge Ohio Electors
    
  • 12/30 - Candidates Want Second Ohio Recount
    
  • 12/30 - Ohio Judge Denies Knowing Of Presidential Election Fraud Plot
    
  • 12/31 - Cobb Asks for New, Meaningful Recount
    
  • 12/31 - Ohio's official non-recount ends amidst new evidence of fraud, theft and judicial contempt mirrored in New Mexico
    
  
  
• New Mexico Fraud News
  
  
  • 12/28 - Legal Fight Over New Mexico Recount Could Continue For Weeks
    
  • 12/28 - New Mexico Recount Goes Back to Court
    
  • 12/28 - Recount Fight Still On in NM; Candidates Plan To File Notice of Appeal
    
  • 12/30 - Free Press has "Impossible Phantom Votes in New Mexico"
    
  • 12/30 - Recount Ruling Does Not Jibe with New Mexico State Law
    
  • 12/31 - Ohio's official non-recount ends amidst new evidence of fraud, theft and judicial contempt mirrored in New Mexico
    
  
  
• Texas Fraud News
  
  
  • 12/27 - Texas Election Scandal - Forty Faxes and a Whisper
    
  • 12/27 - (3 PDFs for dl)
    
  
  
• Washington Recount News
  
  
  • 12/29 - Gregoire to be certified as governor, but Rossi won’t concede
    
  • 12/29 - Republican seeks revote in Washington governor's race
    
  • 12/29 - Rossi's letter calling for new election
    
  • 12/30 - Democrat Declared Wash. Governor-Elect
    
  • 12/30 - Washting Gov. Race Continues to "Rock the Vote"
    
  • 12/30 - The WA Gov. campaign's over; the law must rule now
    
  • 12/31 - Gregoire focuses on becoming Wash. gov.
    
  • 12/31 - A look back at 58-day wait and 3 counts in WA
    
  • 12/31 - WA: Rossi continues campaign for new election
    
  • 12/31 - Rossi vs. Gregoire - What About The Other Counties?
    
  • 12/31 - WaPo -Reversal of Fortune
    
  
  
• Act Now!
  
  
  • 12/27 - eFax Senators to Demand They Investigate the Election Fraud
    
  • 12/28 - action alert to send your own senators + rep from deanpeople
    
  • 12/28 - TURN UP THE HEAT ON ASKING CHUCK SCHUMER TO OBJECT TO CERTIFICATION
    
  • 12/29 - Important Ohio Action Memo from Progressive Democrats of Illinois
    
  • 12/29 - Ideas For Those Who Can Make Financial Contributions
    
  • 12/30 - Send a fax to targeted Senators here, asking them to stand up Jan 6th
    
  • 12/30 - TheDeanPeople - This link will get your own state Senators a fax!!
    
  • 12/31 - ACTION ALERT: CONTEST THE VOTE NOW!
    
  
  
• Protest/Rallies
  
  
  • 12/28 - Daily Vigil at Senator Kerry's House, Dec. 28-Jan. 5
    
  • 12/28 - What political activities will you be undertaking in January?
    
  • 12/29 - TN: THE THIRD GATHERING TO SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY SUNDAY, 01/02/05
    
  • 12/29 - January 5th Freedom Ride From Columbus to Washington
    
  • 12/29 - Rally For The Republic at Boston's Faneuil Hall on Jan. 3
    
  • 12/30 - Press release from NYC coordinator of 51capitalmarch.com
    
  • 12/30 - Save Our Votes March -- Baltimore, Maryland, to DC -- Jan. 4th - 6th
    
  • 12/30 - Rally for the Republic - San Francisco, California - Tuesday, January 4th
    
  • 12/30 - Rally - Monday, January 3rd - Columbus, Ohio with Jesse Jackson
    
  • 12/31 - TN Protest Organizers insist that congressional inquiry needed
    
  • 12/31 - Yahoo - Citizens Stage 'Boxer Rebellion' in San Francisco
    
  
  
• Other Media/Opinions
  
  
  • 12/27 - Ukraine Exit Polls Leave No Doubt that John Kerry Would Have Won
    
  • 12/28 - Montana Court declares "one or more" ballots invalid, Dem. Windham wins
    
  • 12/28 - Do Not Believe the Misinformation Being Fed by the Corporate Media
    
  • 12/29 - OpEdNews: Assassins of Democracy, Votergate 2004 Continues
    
  • 12/29 - The 2004 Popular Vote Needs Thorough Investigation
    
  • 12/30 - BradBlog - Email 'Contradicts' Feeney Statements to 'Florida Commission on Ethics'
    
  • 12/30 - Newsweek - Jesse Jackson on why he thinks John Kerry really won the election
    
  • 12/30 - Why Did All the Voting Errors Favor Bush?
    
  • 12/30 - Rep. David Wu on Voting Suppression
    
  • 12/31 - UN Observer - An Urgent Message From A Longtime Contributor, Ken Reiner
    
  • 12/31 - Blame Schwarzenegger for eVote Problems in CA
    
  • 12/31 - BRAD BLOG: Feeney's OTHER Hometown Weekly Reports 'Vote-Rigging' Charges!
    
  • 12/31 - US Secretary of State - 2004 U.S. Elections Results Finally Complete
    
  • 12/31 - Small steps correcting the Wrongs of the “Right”
    
  • 12/31 - Election fraud: Ignored by everyone -- even Ripley’s Believe it or Not!
    
  • 12/31 - BuzzFlash - Congress Dropped the Ball in 2001, Will They Do So in 2005?
    
  • 12/31 - Stage Last Stand for Democracy: "Boxer Rebellion" Set for Noon on Jan. 3
    
  • 12/31 - NC Election problems voted top story of '04
    
  • 12/31 - Election 2004: Vote count smoother, still some problems
    
  • 12/31 - Election 2004: Vote count smoother, still some problems
    
  
  
• Resources
  
  
  • 12/27 - Evidence of Fraud and Disenfranchisement in Ohio: A Partial List
    
  • 12/27 - Update from PFAW Election Protection Hotline
    
  • 12/27 - Election Fraud in America - Comparing Mythologies: US, Ukraine, Venezuela
    
  • 12/27 - An Awesome Collection of Links about Fraud 2004! - 350+ Links
    
  • 12/28 - IN ONE SPOT: RECENT HORROR STORIES - A series of posts by DU's TruthIsAll
    
  • 12/29 - Calendar of Events Leading to Constitutional Challenge of Electors on 1/6
    
  • 12/29 - Who Won The Popular Vote? Comparative Validity of Exit Poll and Vote Count
    
  • 12/29 - A Roundup Of The Recent Events Surrounding Election Fraud in Ohio
    
  • 12/31 - Raw Story - National exit poll data leaked
    
  • 12/31 - Majority of Florida provisional ballots thrown out in November
    
  
  
  
  
  
  

[berniew1]

2. Documentation of vote machine fraud in Ohio, Florida, and N.Mexico & suppr

Free Press site has lots of documentation of systematic suppression of minorities and both machine fraud and other types of fraud in Ohio,
along with affidavits from voters, experts, officials
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19

as does Richard Phillips site: http://northnet.org/minstrel/alpage.htm

and documentation of widespread vote machine fraud and suppression of minorities in Florida at
http://www.flcv.com/fraudpat.html

[berniew1]

3. Do you know how to contact him; can you send him this documentation?

[Al-CIAda]

4. Vote challengers accuse Blackwell of trying to let 'clock run out'

Article published Saturday, January 1, 2005
Vote challengers accuse Blackwell of trying to let 'clock run out'
By JAMES DREW
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF
COLUMBUS - Partisan activists contesting the presidential election results in Ohio said the state's highest court appears willing to "allow the clock to run out" so that the Electoral College results become official on Jan. 6.
Cliff Arnebeck, an attorney who filed the election contest on behalf of a coalition of activists led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, said Secretary of State Ken Blackwell has chosen to not appear at a deposition to answer questions under oath about the Nov. 2 election.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050101/NEWS09/501010374/-1/NEWS


sueZhope DU thread-
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x219480

[dzika]

6. We're ready for recovery: WA Election exhilarating, exhausting

Saturday, January 01, 2005

Althea Cawley-Murphree / NEXT team
We're ready for recovery: Election exhilarating, exhausting

The gubernatorial race between Democrat Christine Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi has been so close, it's taken surgical precision to determine the winner.

-snip-

Gregoire was officially declared governor-elect Thursday by Secretary of State Sam Reed. Rossi and the Republican Party are considering whether to contest the election.

Today, I can't imagine picking a governor any other way.

For 51 days, the political doctors came in and out with predictions and prescriptions. Well-wishers delivered cookies, casseroles and spreadsheets penciled on napkins. In an anxiety-ridden, sleep-deprived, adrenaline-fed stupor, we all realized the election was far from over, and we got down to work.

Few Americans have the opportunity to get up close and personal with democracy. Candidates usually stay at arm's length from voters as they compete at the wholesale level for blocks of votes, not individual ballots.

In this historic election, we've all come to see voters as individual people. That's a good thing for Washington.


Link:
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=nextrecount02&date=20050101

[dzika]

7. OAKLAND - Marijuana backers sue over recount

(What has your eVote machine been smoking?)


Saturday, January 1, 2005


OAKLAND
Marijuana backers sue over recount
Patrick Hoge



Medical marijuana activists have sued the Alameda County registrar of voters over the handling of a recount of a closely contested Berkeley ballot measure that would have eased restrictions on medical marijuana sales and possession.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, seeks access to backup data from individual electronic voting machines, as well as audit logs of activity on the machines, logic and accuracy test results and chain-of-custody records concerning electronic vote records.

-snip-

County Registrar Bradley Clark ruled that the only electronic data to be used in the recount would come from memory cards used to collect data from the individual voting machines. Those cards can provide vote totals or generate prints of individual ballot images for counting by hand. Clark's office also is recounting all paper absentee and provisional ballots by hand. Results are expected next week.

Americans for Safe Access, a pro-medical marijuana group that is the lead plaintiff, calls the county's method for recounting electronic votes a "reprinting'' and insists that without the backup data it is impossible to know whether error or fraud occurred.

Link:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/01/01/BABADIGEST3.DTL

[dzika]

8. 2004 - Voting machine technology surge doesn't solve problems

Monday, January 3, 2005

Mergers, Dot-Com Resurgence Marked 2004
BY IBD STAFF


...Electronic ballots. After Florida's problems with punch-card ballots in the presidential election of 2000, electronic voting systems were supposed to cut down on Election Day snafus.

But as computers were readied for the 2004 election, they brought their own set of headaches.

Some 30% of ballots in 2004 were paperless compared with 12% in 2000. The systems were praised in many areas and found easier to use than old-fashioned ballots. But the Verified Voting Foundation, an advocacy group, found 900 instances of electronic-voting irregularities.

Among the complaints: E-voting machines lost votes in North Carolina and miscounted votes in Ohio — the state that pushed President Bush over the top. In New Orleans, they broke down altogether, the group said.

Another issue: Many electronic-ballot systems don't provide a printed receipt. Election watchers worry the machines would be easy to tamper with, and a lack of any printed record would make fraud harder to spot.


Link:
http://www.investors.com/editorial/tech.asp?v=1/1

[dzika]

9. Znet Magazine - Re-Vote Ohio

(a good and thoughtful read)

January 01, 2005


Re-Vote Ohio
by Ted Glick


...unbeknownst to them, many of their votes were not even counted.

Concerns that the votes of African Americans and other Ohio voters were not fairly counted were one of the main reasons that David Cobb of the Green Party and Michael Badnarik of the Libertarian Party demanded a recount of the votes in Ohio. Now that the recount is finished, the picture is a lot worse than any of us thought. Not only were African Americans in huge numbers denied the right to vote on Election Day, but something even more shocking was discovered: we have no idea who won the presidential vote in Ohio.

And because we have no idea who won the vote on November 2, we must immediately raise the call for an Ohio re-vote.

The vote totals we are seeing in the newspapers assume that there has been no tampering with the vote totals.

While no one has as yet proven definitively that there was vote tampering, any impartial observer can say with certainty that it would be impossible to say that there was NO tampering.

How can we say this so unequivocally? Private company technicians from Triad and possibly Diebold had unsupervised access to ballots and vote counting machines after the initial vote counting and before the recount.


continued...
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=90&ItemID=6944

[MelissaB]

10. OR Dems sign resolution to stand with Conyers!

We encourage and will support our elected officials as follows:

U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, Darlene Hooley, David Wu, and Greg Walden we encourage and support

* a public and aggressive participation, alongside Congressional Representatives Conyers, Nadler, Wexler, Holt, Scott, Watt, Baldwin, Miller, Slaughter, Filner, Lee, Meeks, Olver, and Schakowsky in calling upon the Government Accountability Office (GAO), to perform a timely and thorough investigation into all voting irregularities nationwide
* a public pledge to challenge the electors from any and all states where irregularities and possible fraud have surfaced

Senators Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith, we encourage and support

* a public pledge to step forward and concur with any such challenges to state electors brought by members of the U.S. House of Representatives

http://www.dpo.org/news/documents/1780.html


Thanks to JoMama49 here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x219595

[dzika]

11. Firtik's blog - New Year's Update; Jackson Jr. to Contest Electoral Vote

by Bob Fertik on 01/01/2005 5:29am. - revised 01/01/2005 1:05pm


Stolen Election 2004: New Year's Update


We've made a New Year's Resolution: to use every legal method available to remove Dictator Bush and his neo-fascist regime from power.

We hope you'll join us in this resolution!

Better than eggnog! We're still high from John Conyers' declaration that he would lead the challenge to Ohio Electors and his letter to every Senator asking their support.

This morning Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) said he and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) would join Conyers

to object to the counting of the Ohio Electoral votes due to the numerous unexplained irregularities in the Ohio presidential vote when the Congress meets in a joint session on January 6 to certify each states' Electoral College votes. In the spirit of Senator John Kerry's commitment to stand with the people until every vote is fully and fairly counted, Representatives Jackson, Conyers and Tubbs Jones - and many grassroots people around the country - are urging members of the U.S. Senate - including Senator Kerry, who should stand up for all Americans who voted believing their vote would count for the candidate of their choice - to join with these House members and sign a letter to object to the counting of the Ohio Electoral votes on January 6.

"The result of at least one U.S. Senator and one member of the U.S. House stating their objections in writing would be a stoppage of the counting of Electoral Votes and a two hour debate in each chamber of Congress until the objection is finally disposed of. It would enable members of Congress to debate and highlight the problems in Ohio - which are very prevalent virtually everywhere else in the country as well - that disenfranchised innumerable Ohio voters.

"A more detailed list of the voting problems in Ohio will be released shortly, but Ohio did not follow its own procedures and meet its obligation to conduct a free and fair election.

"If Dino Rossi, Republican candidate for Governor of Washington can say to Democratic candidate Christine Gregoire - 'Our next governor should enter office without any doubt about the legitimacy of his or her office. The people of Washington deserve to know that their governor was elected fair and square. Unfortunately, the events of the past few weeks now make it impossible for you or me to take office on January 12 without being shrouded in suspicion.' - then we can say the same thing about the President of the United States. This is especially true after the debacle of 2000 when a partisan Supreme Court selected our President, " Jackson concluded.

continued...
http://blog.democrats.com/node/2269

[MelissaB]

12. Alabama and ES&S

King: Board must be consulted on voter registration system
By Dana Beyerle
Montgomery Bureau

MONTGOMERY -- Attorney General Troy King has told Secretary of State Nancy Worley she cannot award a $2 million contract for a new voter registration system without advice from an appointed advisory board.

>>>snip
Travis said Tatum regularly convened board meetings. But Tatum's position was absorbed by Worley's office, and her authority to call meetings was canceled. Tatum resigned under pressure from Worley who had threatened to fire her, Tatum has said.

"Now I'm completely in the dark what happens with the voter registration advisory board because we have not been meeting,'' said Travis, who is the AEA UniServe director in Tuscaloosa.

Burkhalter, who is also a member of the HAVA board, said the HAVA board voted to advise Worley to choose Election Systems and Software to replace the state's voter registration system.

Travis said Tatum regularly convened board meetings. But Tatum's position was absorbed by Worley's office, and her authority to call meetings was canceled. Tatum resigned under pressure from Worley who had threatened to fire her, Tatum has said.

"We last met Dec. 14 and we unanimously recommended that ES&S-Unisys be awarded the contract,'' said Lee County Circuit Clerk Corinne Hurst, who is president of the Alabama Circuit Clerk's Association. "As I recall, (Worley) said she would take it under advisement.''


Link: http://timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041231/NEWS/412310319/1065/ARCHIVES30

[dzika]

13. TocqueDeville - The 2004 Election Was Stolen

The 2004 Election Was Stolen
by TocqueDeville

This is my first post regarding the possibility that the 2004 election was rigged. Some may be surprised by that since I've had a few post advocating severe scrutiny and focused attention by the blogging community.

But through all this time I've waited before reaching a conclusion. This is because I've always believed that if there was foul play in this election it would be accomplished through electronic means and the only way to know would be through exit polling.

So I've been waiting patiently for a comprehensive analysis of exit poll data by qualified analysts. That moment has slowly, but finally, arrived. The latest is the analysis posted below in its entirety (converted from PDF for convenience and posterity) by Jonathan D. Simon, J.D. and Ron P. Baiman, Ph.D. from Institute of Government and Public Affairs - University of Illinois at Chicago. This paper, combined with others, namely Freeman, is as close to a "smoking gun" as you will ever find.


continued...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/12/30/223723/91

Text version is here (if you can't get to the source)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bushsshitlist/message/2642

[Al-CIAda]

14. Warren Stewart: Did We Bounce An Election?

Saturday, 1 January 2005, 1:33 pm
Opinion: www.votersunite.org

Did We Bounce An Election?
By Warren Stewart, votersunite.org

I'll admit it; my checkbook is not very tidy. Like many people, I don't scrupulously reconcile my bank statements and I don't record every trip to the ATM or check card purchase the way my dad taught me. Usually everything works out fine but every once in a while I bounce a check and suffer the consequences of my sloppiness. It seems our public officials are being just as reckless with our votes. An examination of the New Mexico canvass report of the November 2 election suggests that the state might be running the risk of bouncing an election.

The canvass report (available as a pdf from the Secretary of State's website http://www.sos.state.nm.us/Election/cntyindx04.html) is the official record of the election results. It is certified by the state Canvassing Board (consisting of Governor Bill Richardson, Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron and Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Maes) and is used as the basis for determining who will represent the people of New Mexico in public offices and, in a presidential election, which slate of electors will be chosen for the Electoral College. With so much at stake, one would expect the canvass report to be a lot cleaner than my checkbook. That is not the case.

Much has been made of New Mexico's dubious honor of leading the nation in undervote percentage. I recently wrote an article pointing out the alarming number of phantom votes lurking in the New Mexico canvass report. Just what are undervotes and phantom votes and what do they tell us about our election process?

Con't-
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00014.htm

[Wilms]

15. "Vote challengers accuse Blackwell of trying to let 'clock run out'"

TOLEDO BLADE

-snip

"If George Bush indeed won this election, there would be no one with a greater interest in proving that to be the case," Mr. Arnebeck said at a news conference yesterday. "They want the clock to run out. They want to win by default."

-More-

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050101/NEWS09/501010374/-1/NEWS


Thanks to DU SueZhope on this thread...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x219480

[dzika]

16. 57,000 voter complaints - How many more went unreported?

01.06.2005


57,000 voter complaints - How many more went unreported?
Submitted by Newgenfilms presents


57,000 voter complaints of "irregularities" in the 2004 election reported to the House Judiciary Committee. How many more went unreported?

I've watched the videos of people who waited in line for 2, 3, 4...up to 9 hours to vote because there were not enough voting machines in the predominantly minority and low income precincts. Or those who were got to the head of the line after 3 hours and were told they should have been in the other line across the room. Or those who were told that they were registered to vote beforehand and yet were only given a provisional ballot which may or may not have been counted when they went to the polling place. I've listened to the congressional hearings on the matter and the stories people have told about the problems with Republican voting machines and, more recently, the problems with the so-called "random" recount of the precincts in Ohio.

And yet nothing has been done. Can you really blame the Republicans though? I mean, this strategy worked in 2000 and many would say in 2002 as well. Why should they care about people who probably weren't going to vote Republican anyway?

I guess no one has the guts to say that these irregularities are blatant civil rights violations and, dare I say, election fraud -- so they use the much more innocuous term of voting "irregularities." Doesn't that make it sound so much nicer?

But do you see any of this on the mainstream right-wing media (CNN, NBC, CBS, Fox, ABC)? (People who say that the media is "liberal" are the biggest joke.) You may get bits and pieces on the MSM but only enough to dismiss it as a "conspiracy theory." Thanks for all your "fair and balanced" coverage.


continued...
http://newgenfilms.com/drupal/node/6826

[MelissaB]

17. Dr. Freeman has updated his paper on exit pollling

http://www.appliedresearch.us/sf/epdiscrep.htm

Thanks to YBR31 here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x219744

Excert from from the thread above from Clark2008:

National Election Pool pollsters have acknowledged that their polls deviate from official totals by 1.9% nationwide (a 3.8% shift from Kerry to Bush) and intimated that this deviation was caused by disproportionate numbers of Bush voters refusing to participate in the polls. Analysis of the available data and theory, however, strongly suggests that at least part of the discrepancy is due to miscount. Moreover, a review of 2004 election processes suggests little reason for confidence that the count reflects either the intent of the electorate or the way that the votes were cast.
I expect this claim will meet with incredulity and anger. The idea of mass-scale electoral fraud in a US Presidential election may be difficult to fathom - or to stomach.

[MelissaB]

18. Bus Leaving Chicago for Columbus on 1/3/04

Thank you Chicago!!


CHICAGO VOLUNTEER WEBSITE
http://www.IllinoisforKerry.com

The vote tally in Ohio still is not resolved! Senator Barack will be
sworn in on Tuesday, Jan 4th. As a U.S. Senator he has the
power to bring the issue: Ohio voting irregularities to the floor.
Join me in Ohio with others. The bus leaves Chicago early
Monday morning. When I get the exact details I will post!

Contact: Jerry Thomas
773-677-6378
773-256-2714
[e-mail]

Tannis Williamson
773-256-2718
773-425-1931
[e-mail]


www.rainbowpush.org

Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and other Grassroots Organizations to
Hold Pro Democracy Rally in Ohio

CHICAGO - (December 23, 2004) The Rev. Jesse Jackson and
the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, along with a coalition of
grassroots organizations from across the nation, announced
today plans for a ÒPro Democracy Count Every Vote Rally,Ó in
Columbus, Ohio, on Monday, January 3, 2005.

The rally, which will be held at the Capitol Theater, 77 S. High
Street, across from Ohio State Capitol, begins at 2:00 PM.
Coalition partners include Ohio Congresswoman Stephanie
Tubbs-Jones, MoveOn.org, Progressive Democrats of America,
the anti-war coalition United for Peace and Justice, Ohio State
Senator Joyce Beatty, CASE Ohio and others.

The Rainbow/PUSH Coalition is a progressive organization,
which seeks to protect, defend and gain civil rights, even the
economic and educational playing fields in all aspects of
American life and bring peace to the world. The organization is
headquartered at 930 E. 50th St. in Chicago. For more
information about the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, please visit the
organizationÕs website, www.rainbowpush.org, or telephone
[phone]. For information on the Pro Democracy - Count
Every Vote Rally, contact Butch Wing at (510-701-8955).


Thanks to JoMama49 here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x220003

[dzika]

19. A Partial Compilation of AR Electronic Voting Machine Problems since 2000

Saturday, January 01, 2005


AR Voting Machine Problems

AR Voting Problems - since 2000


Below is a compilation of just a few problems that Arkansas has experienced on electronic voting machines since 2000. These instances were discovered during my research on AR problems. Both touchscreen DRE's and optical scanners have brought about some serious anomalies and miscounts in our state. I've included some other voting problems that have occurred to provide a more comprehensive overview. The machines have been fraught with problems and most election officials still say that our elections went *smoothly*. *Note, these problems do not include the long 1-3 hour waits at the polls incurred by voters, including mine during the November '04 election.

-snip-

November, 2004

Pike Co. a 'sensor' problem with the ES&S optical scanner forced an ES&S technician to be flown in from Dallas...

Crittenden Co. optical scanners did not count 1 in every 10 votes cast for president according to the Scripps Howard News report. Employees report they use Sequoia machines there...

Pulaski Co. vote totals did not match, resulting in their certification being amended. Excerpt: "Ours is generated off of the voting system," Inman said. ES&S iVotronic touchscreens are used there with known software bugs that tell the machines to garble the vote data and delete memory areas full of vote counts. Election officials there were informed of this problem in July, and used the machines anyway...


continued
http://arkansaspoliticalpress.blogspot.com/2005/01/ar-voting-machine-problems.html

[dzika]

20. POLLSTERS, MEDIA IMPLICATED IN VOTE FRAUD

Updated December 31, 2004


BALLOT SCAMMING

POLLSTERS, MEDIA IMPLICATED IN VOTE FRAUD

By Christopher Bollyn



While Congress has yet to decide if there will be a formal inquiry into the U.S. election of 2004, its preliminary investigation is exposing the most serious flaws in the system. But don’t expect to hear about it in the mainstream media—it’s part of the problem.

Rep. John Conyers of Detroit, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is investigating the possibility of computer vote fraud being perpetrated through remote access to the vote tabulators. He is also looking into how the media and pollsters use exit polling data on Election Day.

While the body of evidence that vote fraud occurred during the election is growing by the day and is easily found on the Internet, the mainstream media has largely avoided the story.

Asked by Tim Grieve of Salon.com if there were Democrats in Congress who support his investigation, but who won’t come forward and say so publicly, Conyers said: “Well, there are Republicans who support what I’m doing who haven’t been willing to come forward. Look, calling for fair elections is not the most radical thing in the world. We’re not positing some revolutionary theory here. We’re asking that the people who complained be given a fair hearing.”

American Free Press journalists have investigated vote fraud for decades, but why has the subject of computerized vote fraud been ignored by the mainstream media? Why has it been left to the smaller independent media outlets, Internet journalists and bloggers to investigate?


continued
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/ballot_scamming.html

[dzika]

21. Important NM Recount Press Conference in Santa Fe on Tuesday

Saturday, January 01, 2005


Important NM Recount Press Conference in Santa Fe on Tuesday


On Tuesday, January 4, NOON at the Capitol Rotunda in Santa Fe, Help America Recount will be holding a press conference regarding the Audit of the Canvass commissioned by the Secretary of State. Despite the Secretary of State stating that the audit showed the election went well, facts to the contrary confirm our conclusions.


Link:
http://www.democracyfornewmexico.com/democracy_for_new_mexico/2005/01/nm_recount_pres_1.html

[dzika]

22. Action Needed at Home and Abroad - Reject Ohio's Tainted Electoral Votes

Saturday, January 1, 2005

Action Needed at Home and Abroad


As 2005 begins, here's to a better year for all of us. 2004 ended on a somber note, with the tainted elections in Ohio and New Mexico, and then the overwhelming devastation caused by a massive tsunami on December 26th. As we prepare to protest the tainted Ohio Electoral College votes over the next few weeks, please support tsunami relief efforts to help provide food, temporary shelter, and clean water to those in urgent need.

Reject Ohio's Tainted Electoral Votes

Please contact your Representative and Senators (especially Republicans) and ask them to reject Ohio's Electoral College votes, and conduct a full Congressional Investigation of the massive disenfranchisement of minority voters in Ohio and elsewhere.

In addition, plan to join the demonstrations starting January 3-6 in Ohio, Washington, D.C., and in your state. It's our democracy, and we won't "get over it"!

Ohio Electors met on December 13 to cast votes for George Bush even though the Ohio recount had not yet started. These tainted votes must be rejected and a new recount ordered when Congress convenes on January 6 to count the Electoral College votes.
Among the problems that must be remedied were the votes that the Ohio Recount — under Ohio law — was not allowed to consider, because they were never counted. These are the "spoiled" ballots, the rejected provisional ballots, the people who were not allowed to cast a vote.

Thousands of Ohio voters, including elderly and disabled, and parents with children, were forced to wait in line for hours in the rain and the cold. As the video shows, many of these men and women, after standing in the rain for hours waiting to vote, were turned away, given provisional ballots, or had to leave and could not vote at all.

These are the people whose children stand on the front lines in Iraq. Who will speak for these people? Who will defend and protect them on our own shores? It is time to end this shameful chapter in American history once and for all.


Link:
http://www.votecobb.org/recount/daily_update/

[renate]

23. I'm easily confused, I guess....

... is Arnebeck's case still on? Or was it stopped by that judge who refused to recuse himself?

[dzika]

24. There are several Cases, Filings and Motions

This thread might give you the answer:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=207901

[dzika]

25. Wash. GOP governor candidate seeks revote

Jan. 1, 2005


Wash. GOP governor candidate seeks revote


Olympia, Washington --

Edged out of the closest governor's race in state history, Republican Dino Rossi urged his opponent to accept a revote, saying the uncertainty surrounding the back-and-forth election was bad for the state. Democrat Christine Gregoire's camp immediately rejected the idea as "irresponsible."


Link:
http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2005/01/01/revote/index_np.html

[dzika]

26. Democracy Week - Ohio Recount Steeped in Fraud

January 1, 2005


Ohio Recount Steeped in Fraud
There is something you can do.

Democracy Week Commentary


The presidential vote recount in Ohio is over - or is it? The Green and Libertarian Party candidates who paid for the recount may have a claim of fraud against election officials and at least one voting machine company. If they can't get a new recount, they ought to at least get their money back.

Here's what happened.

Any Ohio county did not have to do a full hand recount if a random sample of three percent of the ballots in their county matched the original count.

The first fraud count: Not all the counties, if any, pulled the test precincts at random, nor did they allow the trained observers to see how the test precincts were selected.


continued
http://democracyweek.org/index.html

[dzika]

27. Open Letter To Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer

January 01, 2005


Open Letter To Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer


Dear Senator Clinton and Senator Schumer,

I am writing both of you to ask that you join with the Maxine Waters and John Conyers and the other Representatives who will object to the Electoral College votes of one or more states on January 6, 2005. By now, you have received Representative Conyers' letter, and numerous communications from American citizens, acquainting you with the alarming irregularities and violations that occurred in the 2004 presidential election. I won't rehearse the facts here.

Instead, I am going to make a moral appeal to you, based on the merits of my father, whose name was Paul Greenberg. Both my parents are New Yorkers, children or grandchildren of Jewish immigrants for whom New York City held all the promises of the great American democratic ideal. My father passed away in 1997. If he were still alive, he would be one of your constituents, and he for sure would be writing you this letter. I live in Boston now, but it is up to me to tell you his stake in your actions as Senators on January 6, 2005.

My father devoted his entire working life to the betterment of New York City and New York State. In the 40s and 50s he was an organizer for a number of unions and eventually Assistant President of the United Furniture Workers. In the mid to late 60s, he was Executive Director and Legislative Representative for the Liberal Party of New York. In 1967 he was Executive Staff for the New York State Constitutional Convention.

Perhaps one of his most notable contributions was to the New York City School Board election system. From 1969 to 1973 my father oversaw the change of the NYC School Board elections to a proportional representation system. He was Executive Director of the Proportional Representation Committee to change the electoral system. And in 1973 he was Director of Special Unit For School Board Elections to supervise the first election under the new system. My father did this enormous task because he believed it would lead to a more truly democratic process that would be more inclusive for the minority communities who are served by the New York City Schools.

My father's beliefs about democracy were deeply influenced by his work for a previous employer in the early 1960s. In 1962 and 1963, he was Special Assistant to the President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. My father worked for Dr. King in the New York City office of the SCLC, raising money and performing other administrative functions. He also worked in Birmingham in 1963, in the midst of the famously intense and dangerous struggles that went on in that year. Like many other participants in the Civil Rights Movement, my father worked incredibly hard, many times risking his life, because of his conviction that the values of American democracy should apply to all Americans.

Though your experiences have not been the same as my father's, I am certain that you share his conviction that American democracy ought to be a democracy for all. I am also certain that if you were to spend just thirty minutes getting acquainted with the known irregularities and violations in the 2004 Presidential election in Ohio, and with the sham recount that is now "complete," you would be persuaded that we have no way to tell what the result was in that state. If you spend more than thirty minutes, if you spend a fraction of the time citizens devoted to preserving American democracy have spent in the months surrounding the election, you will know that what is at stake is not the result of this election but the very life of our democracy.

My father devoted his life to strengthening American democracy. I think he died believing he had been to the mountain and seen the promised land where his children and grandchildren would reside. From where I stand today the mountain is very far. In just a few months we will celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. Yet if my 23 month old son were to ask me today if I will get to the mountain and see what his grandfather saw, I think I would have to hang my head and say I just don't know.

I am doing my part, working with Coalition Against Election Fraud. And there are dozens of organizations and thousands of individuals who also want to make the journey. As United States Senators both of you have a unique opportunity, with your colleagues from the House of Representatives, to lead the way. Objecting to the Electoral College votes of Ohio, New Mexico and Florida may be a political risk. It is also your sacred duty. Our democracy hangs in the balance.

Sincerely,

Benjamin Greenberg
Coalition Against Election Fraud (http://caef.us)
No Stolen Democracy (http://nostolendemocracy.typepad.com)


Link:
http://nostolendemocracy.typepad.com/blog/2005/01/open_letter_to__1.html

[MelissaB]

28. Challenge picked up by associated press in Cleveland

Voting expert says allegations identify problems but won't change result

By JOHN McCARTHY, Associated Press Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The allegations of fraud outlined by challengers to President Bush's victory in Ohio identify some of the problems in the state's election system but aren't enough to change the election's result, a professor who studies voting systems says.

The challenge filed Friday in the Ohio Supreme Court alleges fraud including computer hacking, post-election vote switching, fraudulent absentee ballots and the denial of public inspection of voting records at county boards of elections, among other things.

Some of the problems -- such as long lines on Election Day and the disqualification of 92,000 punch-card ballots because the voter's intent could not be determined -- should be fixed, said Daniel Tokaji, an assistant professor of law at Ohio State University who has been following the Ohio vote and its aftermath.

snip

The challenge filed on behalf of 37 Ohio voters by a group led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Columbus lawyer Cliff Arnebeck is based on comparison of reports of exit polling data with the official vote. Arnebeck and other lawyers on the case say they would like to see the supporting data that produced the exit poll results.

They also allege that ballots cast by someone other than registered voters were added to the legitimate votes and the votes they replaced were "destroyed or altered."

"These are allegations of good old-fashioned ballot stuffing," Tokaji said. "Ballot stuffing can happen.

The challenge also said Blackwell ordered county boards to deny public inspection of poll books until the vote was certified on Dec. 6. However, while the vote is being certified, the books must be kept locked to reduce the chance of tampering, Blackwell spokesman Carlo LoParo said.

more.. http://www.woio.com/Global/story.asp?S=2552458&nav=0rd1...%20

Thanks to Jazzjunkysue here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x221018

[dzika]

29. TN Rally to focus on election fraud on Sun., Jan. 2nd - 2 to 5 PM

Saturday, 01/01/05

Rally to focus on election fraud claims

By HOLLY EDWARDS
Staff Writer


Organizers insist that congressional inquiry needed

Civil rights leaders, social scientists, elected officials and local activists will rally tomorrow afternoon for a federal investigation into allegations of fraud in the November presidential election.

-snip-

''After looking at all the evidence, this appears to be a fraudulent election,'' said Bernie Ellis of Murray County, who organized the rally. ''In the future, we need an election that's verifiable with a paper trail. The sanctity of the voting process is in question and we're tampering with the future of our democracy here.''

-snip-

Controversy about the machines surfaced last year after the chief executive of one of the main providers of the machines, Diebold, Inc., wrote that he was ''committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president.''

The CEO, Walden O'Dell, later changed his company's policy to prohibit top officials from engaging in any political activity except voting.

-snip-

If you go

The third Gathering to Save Our Democracy will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Vanderbilt University's Benton Chapel. The public is invited to attend.

Holly Edwards can be reached at 259-8035 or [e-mail]


Link:
http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/04/12/63568178.shtml?Element_ID=63568178

[dzika]

30. NYT - So What Happened in That Election, Anyhow?

(Does NYT suck? I think it might.)



So What Happened in That Election, Anyhow?
By ADAM NAGOURNEY

Published: January 2, 2005


ITH the exception of a few Democratic outliers in Ohio, few people dispute that the election for president is done and decided: President Bush won and John Kerry lost.

But as the new year begins, no such consensus exists among Democrats about why Mr. Kerry was defeated, and the party is locked in a battle of interpretation over just what went wrong. Was it values? Terrorism and Iraq? A better Republican get-out-the-vote operation or a rush of Hispanics to President Bush? A gawky candidate with little to say?

Presidential elections often produce a clear story line, a lesson for winners and losers alike. Not this one, at least not yet, and that is a matter of increasing concern for Democrats who would like to learn from the past as they face a series of critical decisions, including picking a new party chairman and laying out a plan to avoid even more losses in the 2006 Congressional races. And there is the immediate tactical question of how stridently to push back against Mr. Bush's efforts to change Social Security and the tax code.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/02/weekinreview/02nago.html

[EMunster]

47. Naourney shorter: I am writing a whole article on what really

happened in the bizarre election without even hinting what really happened because I'll look uncool to the rest of the msm.

[dzika]

31. Natl Critics of E-Voting Jan 7 to speak to NC E-Voting Committee

(thanks to WillYourVoteBCounted)

Joint Select Committee on Electronic Voting Systems:
The Joint Select Committee will study and make recommendations on the fate of electronic voting in North Carolina.
See bottom of page for detail.

NEXT MEETING - January 7, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. Friday.

Speakers: Rebecca Mercuri and Chuck Herrin

Rebecca Mercuri, leading national critic of electronic voting for the past five years.
She is on the faculty at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, long time verified voting advocate will present testimony.
Her website:
(http://www.notablesoftware.com/evote.html /)

Chuck Herrin, professional "white hat hacker" hired by Fortune 500 Companies to test their security.
Will be presenting testimony on security, standards and auditing. 2 more meetings planned after,
January 14th and 21st, with goal of writing legislation for VVPB. Chuck's website:
(http://www.chuckherrin.com /)
There also will be a speaker opposed to voter verified paper ballots.

Meeting Location:

Room 643 of the Legislative Office Bldg
16 West Jones Street, Raleigh N.C. 27603 directions
Committee website: here
(http://www.ncleg.net/help/directions.html )

Listen to the hearings live online, see the Appropriations Committee Room (Rm 643) link:
(http://www.ncleg.net/Audio/Audio.html )

Sign up for email alerts on the Electronic Voting Committee Meetings.
Go to the General Assembly's website, to this page titled "Receive Interim Committee/Commissions Notices", here
(http://tinyurl.com/4wu69 )
then click on the "Select Committee/Commission" drop down bar, and choose "Electronic Voting Systems,
Joint Select Committee on" then provide your email adress and submit.


Read our blog on the December 13 and 20th meetings: here and short synopsis below:
(http://nc-voter.blogspot.com /)

SECOND MEETING - 20 December 2004. Topic: county election problems and some voting systems were shown to committee members.
FIRST MEETING - 13 December 2004. Justin Moore's presentation here (need ppt viewer) on the vulnerabilities in electronic voting systems.
(http://tinyurl.com/17a )
Clears up myths of hackability and security.

Purpose of Joint Select Committee on Electronic Voting:
The Committee shall study the issue of whether direct record electronic (DRE) voting systems should be prohibited
in North Carolina unless each unit of the system produces a voter-verifiable paper record that is suitable for a recount
or a manual audit and that is equivalent or superior to the paper record produced by a paper ballot system.

In conducting the study, the Committee shall consider DRE voting systems, compliance with the Help America Vote Act of 2002
(HAVA) and with voting-systems standards to be adopted under HAVA, including providing sufficient opportunity for access and participation, and privacy and independence, to all voters regardless of disability.
The Committee shall consider any other issue related to the use of electronic voting systems.

Complete information and clickable links here:
http://www.ncvoter.net/alerts.html

please share with media, email and others

DU Thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x221453

[dzika]

32. New Yahoo Group - People-v-NewMexico-n-Nevada

New Yahoo Group - People-v-NewMexico-n-Nevada

Category: Voting

Description
We need to collect complaints of voter fraud and corruption in states like New Mexico and Nevada that occurred in the November 2 Election. We also need to find lawyers or even go at it ourselves. We need to reverse the ILLEGAL results. Kerry must be elected, and screw the concession speeches. We need to file suit soon.

IT'S MISSION CRITICAL!

RULE: When sending contact e-mail addresses to legal groups, verify that you confirm with the contact person if he/she would accept the evidence and other correspondence, otherwise don't post the contact e-mail address.

Hank Ramey, Owner


Link:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/People-v-NewMexico-n-Nevada/

[dzika]

33. Vote by Mail in Oregon

January 1, 2005

Vote by Mail


Oregon’s Secretary of State, Bill Bradbury has a piece on voting by mail in today’s Washington Post.

While many states were embroiled in fights over touch-screen voting machines and provisional ballots and struggling to find enough people to staff polling places, Oregon once again quietly conducted a presidential election with record turnout and little strife.

Perhaps now that we’ve had two badly run presidential elections in a row, Oregon’s innovation will get some respect. Please forward this article to your congressional representatives! Going to a national vote-by-mail system presents a reasonable solution to many of the problems experienced in Florida and Ohio.

Vote by mail works. It’s cheaper, turnout is higher, and it provides an automatic paper trail. The biggest criticism I hear about it now is that people miss going to their polling places because of the social aspect. On the other hand, they like having two weeks to sit down with the state-provided Voters’ Guide and think about what and who they’re voting for.

Concerned voters everywhere should push this solution to their state legislators, as they’re the ones who can truly pass election reform. It’s so reasonable–and it saves money.

Link:
http://www.reachm.com/amstreet/archives/2005/01/01/vote-by-mail/

[PinkPantherChick]

35. Hi everyone. I spent my whole day emailing a letter to every

Senator (even the repugs) and I am pasting the letter here so you can read if you like. Let's have them all on the run. \

Dear Senator,

This is a letter to make a request as a citizen, hopefully, with bipartisinship set aside for a moment, in the interest of fair and unquestionable elections in our country. This is an AMERICAN problem,not a democratic or republican problem.

There is an overwhelming abundance of evidence that our
2004 election was literally "stuffed" with impropriety and actual fraud, especially in the state of Ohio. This letter is to request
that you STAND UP AND OBJECT to certifying the vote in the
state of Ohio when Rep. John Conyers calls on Senators to do
so on January 6, 2005.

This request is not based on partisinship or to seek the unseating of any official. This request is being placed in the hands of ALL of
our U.S. Senators and your vote on this matter will be closely tallied. As a citizen, and as a concerned voter, both myself and thousands of others interested in cleaning up the vote will be in the trenches every day of the next year and for years to come, to get the dirt our of our electoral system.

I hope that you will take this request seriously because if you choose to say nothing or do nothing, the mid-term elections will show all Senators just how
serious that WE are in getting rid of our representatives who are not
interested in listening to us, the voters.

Thank you,

Michelle McRight:silly:

[dzika]

34. Long, Hard Voting Season to Culminate in Verifygra Rally

01/01/2005

Long, Hard Voting Season to Culminate in Verifygra Rally


PROTEST TO URGE SENATOR BOXER TO THINK TWICE BEFORE VOTING TO CERTIFY BUSH ELECTION

After a long and hard election season, many pro-democracy activists didn't get any satisfaction from the widespread reports of vote fraud and inaccuracies nationwide. Votergate protesters are going to attempt to stimulate their local senator to attract her to the issue of "electile dysfunction" this week with a Pro Democracy/Count Every Vote Rally on Monday, January 3rd and a Verifygra Rally on Thursday, January 6th outside of Senator Barbara Boxer's San Francisco office. The rally will be from from 12:00 Noon to 1:30 pm at 1700 Montgomery St, near Chestnut and Embarcadero. Publicity materials state that VERIFYGRA was "tested and proven effective in Ukraine --- and now available in the United States" They are encouraging people to ask John Kerry and other Senators to get on Verifygra and stand up against the inadequate recount in Ohio, and ultimately, to refuse to certify the election on January 6th.

Link:
http://www.indybay.org/archives/archive_by_id.php?id=2762&category_id=45

[emlev]

36. Strategy question re: alternate slates of electors

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=220133&mesg_id=220133

[dzika]

37. Keeping elections alive

January 2, 2005

Expresso: James Patterson

Keeping elections alive


Court challenges can keep elections alive long past voting day. For example, recent votes in the U.S. and Ukraine.

A recount in Ohio gave President Bush the state's 20 electoral votes. He won by more than 118,000 votes out of 5.7 million. In a state where the majority of counties still use the punch-card method that caused so many problems in 2000, numerous lawsuits have been filed over the counting of provisional ballots. Civil rights groups have also demanded investigations into allegations of ballot tampering, fraud and intimidation in urban areas where voters stood in line for hours.

Speaking of political rallies, thousands of Ukrainians answering the call from presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko descended on Kiev's Independence Square to block Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych from returning to his offices following his apparent defeat. A court nullified Yanukovych's win in the first election. Yushchenko won last Sunday's runoff.

Link:
http://www.indystar.com/articles/0/206196-2130-021.html

[dzika]

38. Rossi should take a cue from Gore

Sunday, January 2, 2005

Rossi should take a cue from Gore

By MARK TRAHANT
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL COLUMNIST

On Wednesday, Republican Dino Rossi, whose title of governor-elect will now be marked with an asterisk, offered a different message for this Washington.

"Our next governor should enter office without any doubt about the legitimacy of his or her office," Rossi said in a letter to Democrat Christine Gregoire. "The people of Washington deserve to know that their governor was elected fair and square. Unfortunately, the events of the past few weeks now make it impossible for you or me to take office on Jan. 12 without being shrouded in suspicion."

Rossi says we need a new law, creating a new election.


continued
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/206065_trahant02.html

[dzika]

39. Christine Todd Whitman breaks party silence - B* has lowest margin ever

Sunday, January 2, 2005; Page A09

It's Her Party and She'll Cry If She Wants To

By Mike Allen and John F. Harris
Sunday, January 2, 2005; Page A09

Christine Todd Whitman, the former New Jersey governor who was President Bush's first administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, is violating the omerta of Bush alumni with a memoir that touts the importance of moderates to the future of the Republican Party and flays Bush and his team for ignoring the country's middle. Whitman charges on Page 3 that Bush's three-percentage-point margin in the popular vote is the lowest of any incumbent president ever to win reelection.

"The numbers show that while the president certainly did energize his political base, the red state/blue state map changed barely at all -- suggesting that he had missed an opportunity to significantly broaden his support in the most populous areas of the country," Whitman writes. "The Karl Rove strategy to focus so rigorously on the narrow conservative base won the day, but we must ask at what price to governing and at what risk to the future of the party."

Whitman was a bit of a misfit in the Bush Cabinet, coming in as a supporter of abortion rights and taking a job that is not a quick route to popularity in a GOP administration. She left in June 2003, clearly unhappy.

continued...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41511-2005Jan1.html

[dzika]

40. ACTION - Thank Senator Kerry for Getting Involved!

(thanks to Twist_U_Up)


Thank Senator Kerry for Getting Involved!

Senator Kerry's involvement in this issue is key for keeping media attention focussed on it, as well as for making it a priority in congress. Please use this form to encourage Senator Kerry to stay involved.


Link:
http://www.auditthevote.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=270

DU Thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x222102

[dzika]

41. ACTION - Urge Sensenbrenner to Hold Judiciary Committee Hearings!

(thanks to Twist_U_Up)


Urge Sensenbrenner to Hold Judiciary Committee Hearings!


Rep. John Conyers and other House Democrats held a "member briefing" on Wednesday, December 8, 2004 in DC and again on the 13th in Columbus, Ohio to look into the Ohio voting irregularities.

Many members of the committee were absent from that briefing. Without the blessing of Committee Chairman the Hon. James Sensenbrenner, the whole Judiciary Committee won't hold hearings. Please urge him to make this a priority for the entire House Judiciary Committee.


Link:
http://www.auditthevote.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=274


DU Thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x222102

[dzika]

42. Man who tossed Dem registrations, invited to Bush's private XMas party

(thanks to George Oilwellian)

We're dreaming of a White (House) Christmas . . . Several of Arizona's leading GOP muckety-mucks secured treasured invitations to Bush's swanky Christmas party Thursday. Actually, Bush holds at least three of these parties to glad-hand with delegations of big donors and politicos from all the states, or at least the red ones.

<snip>
Also spotted, petition gatherer to the stars Nathan Sproul. Bush, it seems, doesn't have much of a problem with the allegations in several states that Sproul's employees misrepresented themselves as nonpartisan during a Republican National Committee voter registration drive and were accused of tossing out registrations from Democrats.

Link

More on Mr. Sproul:

Searching for information on the voter registration fraud stories breaking tonight in Nevada and Oregon, I kept coming across the same name: Nathan Sproul of Sproul & Associates in Phoenix, Arizona.
Nathan Sproul is the former head of the Arizona Republican Party and of the Arizona Christian Coalition (ah, the irony... a Christian).

Sproul is connected with the Republican National Committee-funded voter registration organization, Voter Outreach, Inc., a group that used paid registrars to register voters in a number of states including Nevada, Oregon, Arizona and perhaps more, including Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maine and Missouri. (Others states pending, particularly swing states.) Sproul's organization also recruited registrars by fraudulently telling recruits that they would be working for America Votes, a legitimate nonpartisan GOTV operation!

But Nathan Sproul may have made one fatal mistake in his efforts... He got greedy. Yes, he failed to pay many workers and he didn't pay his rent. He pissed some people off. And he raised suspicions. There is a good chance that this may be fraud on a MASSIVE scale...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/10/13/32821/029

DU Thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x222016

[dzika]

43. SNL - GB to JK: "I can find more for votes for you in Ohio...."

In the opening segment if SNL, GWB says (with an evil grin) to John Kerry: "I can find more votes for you in Ohio. Trust me, I know where to look."

Real Media
http://www.edwardsdavid.com/BushVideos/SNL_050101-01.rm

Transcript:
http://snltranscripts.jt.org/04/04ebush.phtml

DU Thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x221677

[dzika]

44. AAR - Fitrakis and Arnebeck on Laura Sanders Sunday nite

(thanks to kitkat65)


Sunday, January 2

What, O what happened in Ohio? Next week, we'll see the first challenge of the Electoral College vote in Congress in decades. It hinges on what happened in Ohio on Election Day. We replay the riveting hour from the weekend after the election, featuring BOB FRITAKIS of FreePress.org, CLIFF ARNEBECK , attorney for Common Cause (OHIO) and The Alliance for Democracy founder and journalist RONNIE DUGGER . Then from the very next day, fresh-post election thoughts from The Nation writer JOANN WYPIJEWSKI , MATT FOREMAN Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and Sojourners magazine Editor-in-chief JIM WALLIS , convener of Call to Renewal. We end with folk-rock legend RICHIE HAVENS , whose music is still filled with hope and heart.


Link:
http://www.airamericaradio.com/shows/lauraflanders/index.asp

DU Thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=221780

[dzika]

45. Letter to Leahy and Jeffords contends election was fraudulent

January 2, 2005


Letter to Leahy and Jeffords contends election was fraudulent


The Rev. Jesse Jackson has pronounced voter fraud in the recent November elections the biggest issue since Selma, Ala., where rampant voting suppression of blacks generated a civil rights march 25,000 people strong.

U.S. Representative John Conyers, D-Mich., ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, recently conducted hearings on voter fraud in the critically important swing state of Ohio. His hearing and other public hearings in Ohio have received sworn testimonies that document "thousands of complaints of voting irregularities" favoring George Bush. Election observers have testified under oath that more than a dozen voting machines switched Kerry votes to Bush votes while voters watched in amazement.

In many Ohio counties there were voting machine shortages in largely Democratic precincts, leading to waits of over 10 hours to vote. There was also a Watergate-type burglary in the Lucas County Democratic campaign headquarters in Toledo, Ohio, in October, and voter turnout rates of an improbable 98.55 percent reported in parts of Miami County that voted heavily in favor of Bush.

The November vote, said one observer, was "the crime of the century."


continued
http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050102/NEWS/501020312/1022

[dzika]

46. Hope 2005 - I am placing Hope on the top of my priorities

(thanks to kerrygoddess)

1 January 2005


We're all waiting with great anticipation for Jan 6. Some of us have hope, some have doubt.

I think the greatest thing that we as Democrats can all do in the next few days and over the next year is hold on to our hope. Whatever the outcome is on Jan 6, I will not loose hope!


Hope 2005
1 January 2005

I am a realist and an optimist. For 2005, I am putting my optimism in the forefront and I am placing Hope on the top of my priorities list. I think, sometimes it is the little things in life that give us hope... A blue jay perched on the ledge by the door, a candle burning in window, the pureness of the year’s first snow; these are all signs that “hope is on the way.”

I ended 2004 with a couple of those little things, lighting up the darkness and giving me hope.

More...
http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=181

DU Thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x220202

[dzika]

48. Liberals hope Gregoire will repay support

Sunday, January 02, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.





Liberals hope Gregoire will repay support

By David Postman

Seattle Times chief political reporter


OLYMPIA — If Christine Gregoire can hold off a potential Republican legal challenge and take her oath as governor Jan. 12, liberal Democrats will be awaiting her thanks and expecting even more.

The unprecedented statewide hand recount of the governor's race was paid for in part by donations from the left wing of the Democratic Party, attracted to Gregoire only in near-defeat. They saw her drawn-out struggle with Republican Dino Rossi as a surrogate for the battles they had hoped to wage on behalf of first Al Gore, then John Kerry, in their close races with George W. Bush.

continued
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2002138165_gregoire02m.html

[dzika]

49. When will the denial of Election Fraud cause American's head's to explode

I'm wondering when the cognitive dissonance in the brains of those Americans who can't admit that the American election was rigged will cause their heads to explode. The exit polls all showed that Kerry won (by the way, the raw exit poll data has been suppressed). There are thousands of known incidents of vote suppression and vote fraud. Many votes were collected on computers expressly set up to ensure that a proper recount is impossible. Despite this, the key state of Ohio is doing everything possible to avoid having its legally required recount. Now we find out that mere weeks after an election in which George Bush supposedly received the largest number of votes ever received by a Presidential candidate, surpassing even the sainted Reagan, Bush will have the lowest job approval rating in the last 80 years of any President at the time of his inauguration! Eric Boehlert writes:

continued
http://xymphora.blogspot.com/2005/01/unpopular-winner.html

[dzika]

50. Action Memo from Progressive Democrats of Illinois - Jan. 1st

January 02, 2005

Action Memo from Progressive Democrats of Illinois - Jan. 1st

Happy New Year!

Rep. John Conyers sent a letter to all Senators 12/30 calling for Congressional Debate on 2004 Elections on Jan. 6 and of the intent of House Members to challenge the Ohio electoral vote. Activists who are presenting the facts to Democratic Senators say that 10-15 senators are seriously considering signing on. THIS IS HISTORIC! THIS WILL ENSURE THAT THE FACTS ARE BROUGHT OUT IN DEBATE! NOW IS THE TIME TO SEND FAXES or PHONE CALLS URGING SENATORS TO SUPPORT THE CHALLENGE AND OUR DEMOCRACY! MAKE THOSE CALLS or FAX YOUR LETTERS STARTING at 8am Monday, Jan 3rd and PLEASE do not stop until the close of the day on Wed, Jan 5th!!! We can change the course of history with your help!!! Pass on to all your contacts- this is the most important thing you can do for yourself, your country and the world!
1) Remember 1-800-839-5276 or 1-877-762-8762 to Congress
2) See list below of Senator's fax #s.
3) See sample letter attached – or do your own or,
4) To fax link to http://www.thedeanpeople.com/ or http:miamedia.com/news/2004-12-28.efax.your.senator.html


Fax to: ARK: Pryor-D 202-228-0908 / Blanche-D 202-228-1371 CA: Boxer-D 202-228-3972 / Feinstein-D 202-228-3954 CONN: Dodd-D 202-228-1683 / Lieberman-D 202-224-9750 DE: Carper-D 202-228-2190 / Biden-D 202-224-0139 FLA: Nelson-D 202-228-2183 HI: Akaka-D 202-224-2126 / Inouye-D 202-224-6747 IL: Durbin-D 202-228-0400 / Obama-D 202-228-1372 and 312-427-6401 IN: Bayh-D fax, 202-228-1377 / Lugar-R 202-228-0360 IOWA: Harkin-D 202-224-9369 LA: Landrieu-D 202-224-9735 MD: Mikulski-D 202-224-8858 / Sarbanes-D 202-224-1651 MAINE: Snowe-R 202-224-1946 MASS: Kerry-D 202-224-8525 / Kennedy-D 202-224-2417 MI: Stabenow-D 202-228-0325 / Levin-D 202-224-1388 MN: Dayton-D 202-228-2186 MT: Baucus-D 202-228-3790 NV: Reid-D 202-224-7327 ND: Dorgan-D 202-224-1193 / Conrad-D 202-224-7776 NJ: Corzine-D 202-228-2197 / Lautenberg-D 202-228-4054 NM: Bingaman-D 202-224-2852 NY: Clinton-D 202-228-0282 / Schumer-D 202-228-1218 OH: Voinovich-R 202-228-1382 / DeWine-R 202-224-6519 OR: Wyden-D 202-228-2717 RI: Chafee-R 202-228-2853 / Reed-D 202-224-4680 SD: Johnson-D 202-228-5765 VT: Jeffords-I 202-228-0776 / Leahy-D 202-224-3476 WASH: Cantwell-D 202-228-0514 / Murray-D 202-224-0238 WVA: Rockefeller-D 202-224-7665 / Byrd-D 202-228-0002 WI: Feingold-D 202-224-2725 / Kohl-D 202-224-9787

Dear Senator , With your help,January 6, 2005 may be a day that shines in American history when the fundamental right of citizens to choose their President will be upheld! PLEASE PROTECT OUR RIGHT BY CHALLENGING THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTE AND DEMANDING INSTEAD A FULL JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HEARING AND INVESTIGATION INTO THE BLATENT VOTE FRAUD IN OHIO AND ACROSS AMERICA. I and millions of people across America (40 million per Zogby 12/28/04) believe that the election was illegal. Thousands of people in Ohio have testified publically and submitted affidavits documenting the massive illegalities including: 1) systemic, widespread voting machine irregularities including machines preset to vote for Bush. 2) highly improper intervention by federal authorities - closing down Warren County tabulating during the count. 3) impossible vote totals: Franklin County Precinct 1B gave Bush 4,258 votes to Kerry’s 260 while records show only 638 voters cast ballots in that precinct. Many, many similar instances throughout Ohio. 4) openly partisan election officials - illegally disallowed access to poll log books during recount. 5) untrustworthy vendors of election machinery, including illegal tampering with machines days prior to the recount. 6) unreliable and inadequate numbers of voting machines only in poor and working class areas (non-Republican) causing 2-8 hour lines resulting in disenfranshisement when people couldn’t wait. Hustling people into the wrong precinct line where they had to cast provisional ballots, which were not counted because they ended up voting in the wrong precinct. And the list goes on and on…..

The question for you and our elected officials - Is this version of “democracy“ a fitting tribute to the sacrifice being made by our troops fighting in Iraq, or the families mourning the 1,300 loved ones , or the 20,000 wounded, or the 100,000 Iraqi civilians killed in this illegal war? Is this acceptable in the eyes of the free world who depend on America as a beacon of freedom and democracy? It is evident that this regime. should no longer be tolerated. It’s policies are an abomination, destructive, secretive, and illegal. America deserves better, the world is crying out for more responsible leadership. DEMOCRACY BEGINS AT HOME!

I urge you to support the courageous members of the House of Representatives who will bring the challenge to the joint session on January 6, 2005. THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING! Your Signature!

Hello to all,
Just a note to let you know the Obama contact was made successfully at his going away party on Dec 30th. With him at that party was Jesse Jackson Sr. and Jr., Danny Davis, Bobby Rush and Emil Jones. Rep. John Conyers and the Black Caucus have already lobbied Obama, you can be assured of that, so consider him 1 of the 15 or so Senators who are strongly considering this challenge, he needs your encouragement. He is being sworn in on Jan 3rd so he will be an active member of the Senate on the 6th.
When you call the Senators suggest to them that there is safety and strength in numbers, that this challenge would work best if all the Democratic Senators were on board. Also state that this issue has gone beyond Kerry and now involves the integrity of our Democracy! We can not allow another stolen election and still hope for fair elections in the future! State that you must draw your line in the sand here, that corruption unchecked just grows stronger! As you can see we are recommending you also contact a few of the Republicans; McCain, Lugar, Snowe, Chafee and Voinovich + DeWine from Ohio, they need to be thinking about this challenge too.
Moveon has asked that we all send a note about the DNC chairperson ASAP, these are overlapping issues and I used this issue in my note to get accross the point that there is a schism so wide between the DNC and the Democratic populace that it might be irrepairable unless the Dems come through for us, www.moveonpac.org/dncchair/ .
One last request, please call Rep. John Conyers and thank him for his tremendous efforts and dedication to the right of every American to cast their vote and get it counted correctly!
If anyone makes a last minute decision to go to Washington for the rally on the 6th, www.patrioticoutrage.com and can't find a ride at www.51capitalmarch.com , please contact Ted Greenfield if in Chicago at 1-847-824-1002 or Andrew Chusid in the Chicago suburbs at 1-309-838-0880, they may be able to help.
I am leaving for Washington soon so this will be my last e-mail to you all, I wish everyone God's speed and blessings, let's go change the course of history!
Dr. Lora Chamberlain
[e-mail]
Progressive Democrats of Illinois


Link:
http://nostolendemocracy.typepad.com/blog/2005/01/action_memo_fro.html

[dzika]

51. Lytel - Conyers show tactical brilliance; releases letters to Senators

January 02, 2005


A Letter from David Lytel
Conyers show tactical brilliance; releases letters to Senators

Come to Herbst Theater, San Francisco, Tuesday January 4th 7:00 p.m. to Rally for the Republic!


Washington, DC December 31, 2004: Yesterday Michigan Congressman John Conyers showed more of the tactical brilliance and moral leadership that have marked his illustrious 40-year Congressional career. Conyers is the second most senior Member of Congress, and throughout his tenure has shown clarity of thought and a willingness to act that puts him head and shoulders above most of his timid and hesitant colleagues. Conyers called for Nixon's impeachment in May of 1972, a month before the Watergate burglary, because he could see that Nixon's prosecution of the war in Vietnam and its expansion into other countries was illegal.

Yesterday Rep. Conyers released copies of his letter sent to each member of the Senate, announcing a Constitutional challenge to the electors from Ohio and asking the Senators to join him. Not only has Conyers established a reward for the first Senator to step foward, but he's started the clock on the construction of perhaps his most important coalition and given it enough time to grow to sizable proportions.

I have met and spoken many times in the past week with key Congressional staff from the offices of key Senators (Durbin, Jeffords) and Representatives (Conyers, Tubbs-Jones) and what follows is what I expect to see in the momentous week ahead of us.

But first let me say that this activity inside Congress must be met with a mobilization of public support or it will not succeed.

We need you to join us at the Herbst Theater on Tuesday 1/4 at 7:00

for an examination of this illegitimate election and a declaration of intent to reclaim our republic. Emily Levin, project coordinator for Richard Hayes Phillips' precinct-level analysis of Ohio voting anomalies, will describe findings entered as evidence in Moss v. Bush showing that Ohio's 20 electoral votes were won by John Kerry. In Linda Byrket's documentary Video the Vote you will witness the shameful voter suppression tactics deployed to deny predominantly African American communities of Ohio their right to vote. Researcher-analyst Warren Stewart will describe the mysteries of New Mexico's national record for undervotes and phantom voters that resulted in a 1% margin awarding the state's electors to Bush.
ReDefeat Bush founder David Lytel will provide an insightful preview of the crucial electoral contest starting just days from now.

We will have an abundance of factsheets and petitions to activate you and your Congressional representatives. And for levity to keep us sane, we've invited wards of the Ronald Reagan Home for the Criminally Insane to sell us on Verifyagra, the cure for electile dysfunction. We continue to add speakers and performers for this not-to-be-missed event. See RallyfortheRepublic.org. for updates.

Please join us Tuesday January 4 in Herbst Theater. We need you to stand up for democracy NOW, not after it is all over.
401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco Civic Center.



Map and directions. Admission is free, but our expense is major and we will be asking donations (suggested $5-$10).

What the coming week will bring: On Monday there will be a staff-level strategy session, and although I cannot promise our plan will be adopted or set in motion, what I foresee is that on Wednesday afternoon former Florida Congressman Peter Deutsch will present to an informal yet televised hearing on Capitol Hill his understanding of what happened in Florida. Deutsch is the ideal for this for his intellect and integrity and his standing with his former colleagues. He is taking an active role in studying the facts of the case and is being backed up by Wayne Madsen, an experienced analyst and investigator who previously worked for the National Security Agency, by Bev Harris and the team at Blackboxvoting.org, and by Clint Curtis, the Florida whistleblower who has exposed Congressman Tom Feeney's actions to rig Florida elections by changing the distribution of votes on electronic voting machines. I can tell you that we have the active collaboration of all of these people.

We are hoping that former Congressman Tom Sawyer, previously the third-ranking member of the House Democratic leadership, will present the facts on Ohio. He will be briefed and backed up by a host of people, including Washington election law attorney Cynthia Butler and Ohio attorney Steve Chaffin, both of whom have been engaged for this purpose. It is not clear yet who may present the facts of the case for NM, NV, or IN although I have approached former Senate candidate and White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles to talk to us about what happened in North Carolina.

At the end of the afternoon, in a scene meant to be evocative of the signing of the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, I would hope to see Members walk over to a table and sign the actual challenge that will be handed to Vice President Cheney who will be presiding over the joint session. This dramatic flourish for the cameras of C-SPAN and the foreign press -- you should expect Viacom (CBS), Disney (ABC), General Electric (NBC) and News Corp. (Fox) to remain resolute in their refusal to cover this news -- will lend symbolic dimension to our coalition. This is crucial because if we have about 8 Senators and about 50 Representatives by the time the sun comes up on 1/6 we have a shot at holding the Democratic caucuses of both the House and Senate united on the key challenges. That would make Nancy Pelosi our leader in the House and represent an achievement of historic proportions even before the session begins at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday 1/6.

The rules for a challenge come from the disputed election of 1876 but have never yet been used. There will be an alphabetical rollcall of the states, and if there are objections they must be in writing and signed by at least one member of each chamber, whereupon the House and Senate return to their respective houses and engage in a two-hour debate in which each Member may speak for no longer than 5 minutes. After both houses vote they return to joint session. If both houses agree, then the electors for that state are set aside. Then the joint session returns to the rollcall and to further objections, if there are any. The legislators may recess each night until the fifth day, when the rules say they must remain in continuous 24-hour session. If at the end of the process of counting electoral votes no one has a majority of the whole number of possible votes, then the House of Representatives gets to decide, with each state casting one vote. If that happens Bush gets reinaugurated since there are just too many of those underpopulated rectangular states in the middle of the country, even though half the country's population lives in states that voted for Kerry.

However, the longer the dispute goes on the better off we are for some truly dramatic change. If the contest enters a third day it should surely occur to 16 or so moderate Republicans in the House and 5 in the Senate that if they bargained with the Democrats they could control the U.S. government. While that is unlikely it is not implausible, since they are the most abused and underappreciated faction in the Congress and they have no greater tolerance for the brutal tactics of the Bush faction of the Republican Party than you do.

Please join us on Tuesday 1/4 at 7:00 at the Herbst Theater. Bring friends and questions and laughter since we will always need more of each of those things. Don't settle for symbolic victories until it is certain that you cannot have a real, substantive victory. And thanks to the leadership of John Conyers, if I can borrow the words of Pete Townsend, "the bids have all got longer overnight."

Help ReDefeat Bush Rally the Republic! (After all, who else would bring you an event like this?)

As you might expect, we're as hung out there on the edge financially as we are rhetorically, tactically, strategically and in every other way you can think of. But we believe in what we are doing and that you will reward us for being your advocate, emissary, and messenger in Washington. Here is a list of what we spend your money on so you can see where it goes. If you can contribute $5,000 or more please do so at the new Robert Morris Fund and if you have less than $5,000 you can contribute you can do that at the standard ReDefeatBush contribution page. Every dollar is worth a dollar, no matter how many you have to give. And if you are still not convinced we merit a financial contribution check out this list of 30 things we have done for you

since election day when virtually every other national-level progressive group has disbanded or gone silent. If you want us to keep doing more of what we're doing, please contribute and we will put the money into the cause.
-- David Lytel for ReDefeatBush


Learn more about the Constitutional Challenge

Get our calendar of events in January

Online discussion of Constitutional interpretation, legislative strategies and parliamentary tactics

Get your hot new Bush Cheated 04 buttons and bumper stickers

Come to the ReDefeatBush CounterInaugural Ball in Washington on 1/20/05 for just $30 -- what a deal!

Please forward this message widely so we can fill the Herbst on Tuesday January 4
If you want to get active with Bay Area ReDefeat Bush, please contact:

Dan Ashby

SF Bay Area Field Organizer

ReDefeatBush.com

e-mail: [e-mail]

cell: [phone]


Link:
http://nostolendemocracy.typepad.com/blog/2005/01/come_to_herbst_.html

[dzika]

52. Lytel - Conyers show tactical brilliance; releases letters to Senators

January 02, 2005


A Letter from David Lytel
Conyers show tactical brilliance; releases letters to Senators

Come to Herbst Theater, San Francisco, Tuesday January 4th 7:00 p.m. to Rally for the Republic!


Washington, DC December 31, 2004: Yesterday Michigan Congressman John Conyers showed more of the tactical brilliance and moral leadership that have marked his illustrious 40-year Congressional career. Conyers is the second most senior Member of Congress, and throughout his tenure has shown clarity of thought and a willingness to act that puts him head and shoulders above most of his timid and hesitant colleagues. Conyers called for Nixon's impeachment in May of 1972, a month before the Watergate burglary, because he could see that Nixon's prosecution of the war in Vietnam and its expansion into other countries was illegal.

Yesterday Rep. Conyers released copies of his letter sent to each member of the Senate, announcing a Constitutional challenge to the electors from Ohio and asking the Senators to join him. Not only has Conyers established a reward for the first Senator to step foward, but he's started the clock on the construction of perhaps his most important coalition and given it enough time to grow to sizable proportions.

I have met and spoken many times in the past week with key Congressional staff from the offices of key Senators (Durbin, Jeffords) and Representatives (Conyers, Tubbs-Jones) and what follows is what I expect to see in the momentous week ahead of us.

But first let me say that this activity inside Congress must be met with a mobilization of public support or it will not succeed.

We need you to join us at the Herbst Theater on Tuesday 1/4 at 7:00

for an examination of this illegitimate election and a declaration of intent to reclaim our republic. Emily Levin, project coordinator for Richard Hayes Phillips' precinct-level analysis of Ohio voting anomalies, will describe findings entered as evidence in Moss v. Bush showing that Ohio's 20 electoral votes were won by John Kerry. In Linda Byrket's documentary Video the Vote you will witness the shameful voter suppression tactics deployed to deny predominantly African American communities of Ohio their right to vote. Researcher-analyst Warren Stewart will describe the mysteries of New Mexico's national record for undervotes and phantom voters that resulted in a 1% margin awarding the state's electors to Bush.
ReDefeat Bush founder David Lytel will provide an insightful preview of the crucial electoral contest starting just days from now.

We will have an abundance of factsheets and petitions to activate you and your Congressional representatives. And for levity to keep us sane, we've invited wards of the Ronald Reagan Home for the Criminally Insane to sell us on Verifyagra, the cure for electile dysfunction. We continue to add speakers and performers for this not-to-be-missed event. See RallyfortheRepublic.org. for updates.

Please join us Tuesday January 4 in Herbst Theater. We need you to stand up for democracy NOW, not after it is all over.
401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco Civic Center.



Map and directions. Admission is free, but our expense is major and we will be asking donations (suggested $5-$10).

What the coming week will bring: On Monday there will be a staff-level strategy session, and although I cannot promise our plan will be adopted or set in motion, what I foresee is that on Wednesday afternoon former Florida Congressman Peter Deutsch will present to an informal yet televised hearing on Capitol Hill his understanding of what happened in Florida. Deutsch is the ideal for this for his intellect and integrity and his standing with his former colleagues. He is taking an active role in studying the facts of the case and is being backed up by Wayne Madsen, an experienced analyst and investigator who previously worked for the National Security Agency, by Bev Harris and the team at Blackboxvoting.org, and by Clint Curtis, the Florida whistleblower who has exposed Congressman Tom Feeney's actions to rig Florida elections by changing the distribution of votes on electronic voting machines. I can tell you that we have the active collaboration of all of these people.

We are hoping that former Congressman Tom Sawyer, previously the third-ranking member of the House Democratic leadership, will present the facts on Ohio. He will be briefed and backed up by a host of people, including Washington election law attorney Cynthia Butler and Ohio attorney Steve Chaffin, both of whom have been engaged for this purpose. It is not clear yet who may present the facts of the case for NM, NV, or IN although I have approached former Senate candidate and White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles to talk to us about what happened in North Carolina.

At the end of the afternoon, in a scene meant to be evocative of the signing of the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, I would hope to see Members walk over to a table and sign the actual challenge that will be handed to Vice President Cheney who will be presiding over the joint session. This dramatic flourish for the cameras of C-SPAN and the foreign press -- you should expect Viacom (CBS), Disney (ABC), General Electric (NBC) and News Corp. (Fox) to remain resolute in their refusal to cover this news -- will lend symbolic dimension to our coalition. This is crucial because if we have about 8 Senators and about 50 Representatives by the time the sun comes up on 1/6 we have a shot at holding the Democratic caucuses of both the House and Senate united on the key challenges. That would make Nancy Pelosi our leader in the House and represent an achievement of historic proportions even before the session begins at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday 1/6.

The rules for a challenge come from the disputed election of 1876 but have never yet been used. There will be an alphabetical rollcall of the states, and if there are objections they must be in writing and signed by at least one member of each chamber, whereupon the House and Senate return to their respective houses and engage in a two-hour debate in which each Member may speak for no longer than 5 minutes. After both houses vote they return to joint session. If both houses agree, then the electors for that state are set aside. Then the joint session returns to the rollcall and to further objections, if there are any. The legislators may recess each night until the fifth day, when the rules say they must remain in continuous 24-hour session. If at the end of the process of counting electoral votes no one has a majority of the whole number of possible votes, then the House of Representatives gets to decide, with each state casting one vote. If that happens Bush gets reinaugurated since there are just too many of those underpopulated rectangular states in the middle of the country, even though half the country's population lives in states that voted for Kerry.

However, the longer the dispute goes on the better off we are for some truly dramatic change. If the contest enters a third day it should surely occur to 16 or so moderate Republicans in the House and 5 in the Senate that if they bargained with the Democrats they could control the U.S. government. While that is unlikely it is not implausible, since they are the most abused and underappreciated faction in the Congress and they have no greater tolerance for the brutal tactics of the Bush faction of the Republican Party than you do.

Please join us on Tuesday 1/4 at 7:00 at the Herbst Theater. Bring friends and questions and laughter since we will always need more of each of those things. Don't settle for symbolic victories until it is certain that you cannot have a real, substantive victory. And thanks to the leadership of John Conyers, if I can borrow the words of Pete Townsend, "the bids have all got longer overnight."

Help ReDefeat Bush Rally the Republic! (After all, who else would bring you an event like this?)

As you might expect, we're as hung out there on the edge financially as we are rhetorically, tactically, strategically and in every other way you can think of. But we believe in what we are doing and that you will reward us for being your advocate, emissary, and messenger in Washington. Here is a list of what we spend your money on so you can see where it goes. If you can contribute $5,000 or more please do so at the new Robert Morris Fund and if you have less than $5,000 you can contribute you can do that at the standard ReDefeatBush contribution page. Every dollar is worth a dollar, no matter how many you have to give. And if you are still not convinced we merit a financial contribution check out this list of 30 things we have done for you

since election day when virtually every other national-level progressive group has disbanded or gone silent. If you want us to keep doing more of what we're doing, please contribute and we will put the money into the cause.
-- David Lytel for ReDefeatBush


Learn more about the Constitutional Challenge

Get our calendar of events in January

Online discussion of Constitutional interpretation, legislative strategies and parliamentary tactics

Get your hot new Bush Cheated 04 buttons and bumper stickers

Come to the ReDefeatBush CounterInaugural Ball in Washington on 1/20/05 for just $30 -- what a deal!

Please forward this message widely so we can fill the Herbst on Tuesday January 4
If you want to get active with Bay Area ReDefeat Bush, please contact:

Dan Ashby

SF Bay Area Field Organizer

ReDefeatBush.com

e-mail: [e-mail]

cell: [phone]


Link:
http://nostolendemocracy.typepad.com/blog/2005/01/come_to_herbst_.html

[dzika]

53. 2004 recount highlights problems once again

Originally published January 2, 2005


2004 recount highlights problems once again
Election: Ohio officials confirmed Bush's victory there, but revisiting the results cast light on the process.

By Jules Witcover
Special To The Sun


...The third-party candidates have filed a suit before a federal court in Columbus, charging that due process was violated in the recount by not assuring uniform standards in counting, and seeking preservation of all ballot and voting machines for further scrutiny. But Congress is expected to accept Ohio's chosen Bush electors when it meets to certify Bush's 34-electoral-vote margin this week.

While the long recount in Ohio did not change Bush's victory there, it did shine a spotlight once again on the troubled presidential elective process. As a result of problems uncovered in Ohio, Congress and the states must face the reality that reforms enacted in the wake of the 2000 fiasco in Florida have fallen far short of completing the job.

Irregularities reported Nov. 2 in Ohio and many other states - including Florida, which supposedly cleaned up its act after the 2000 election - cry out for further nationwide reforms, critics say. Congress did not go nearly far enough in 2002 in writing the Help America Vote Act and voting $3.8 billion for states to upgrade their machines and processes, they add.

Several witnesses at a House Judiciary Committee hearing last month, called by ranking Democratic member Rep. John Conyers Jr. of Michigan (but boycotted by Republican members), said national uniformity is the prime reform needed.

continued...
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/perspective/bal-pe.vote02jan02,1,1469689.story?coll=bal-perspective-headlines

[dzika]

54. Thread for Sunday 1/2/2005

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=222625#223039