Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News 05.29.06 - High Impact for You Day

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We’ve had Two Stolen Elections – 2000 and 2004.

Who did anything about it? (Bonifaz)
Helped start the National Voters Rights Institute
Took the case for the recount in Ohio 2004 and kicked ass
Started AfterDowingStreed.Org (in his spare time, gees!)

A few others in the DEMOCRAIC Party, my party, did something….
But not many.

Support BONIFAZ with your TIME, or your your MONEY.
He’s the FIRST CHANCE we’ve had to get one of us in theffice
that allows us to find out how the system works and how they steal elections.
Support BONIFAZ PLEASE.

John Bonifaz, Democrat, Secretary of State, Massachusetts.

Never forget the pursuit of Truth.
Only the deluded & complicit accept election results on blind faith.
Denying that 2004 was stolen is like denying global warming.

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News May 23, 2006

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.
1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.
2. Post stories using the "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x371233
3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.
4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.
Please

"Recommend"

for the Greatest Page

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1. FL: Striking a Blow Against Democracy – New Law Discourages Registration

I’m tired of people putting Florida down for its lax efforts on the environment, its weak educational system and its lack of environmental foresight. Damn it, Florida is a leader…on the path to the new fascism. No other state, not even Ohio, can match this. Florida Republicans actually crafted a law that leads to fines if you fail to submit a registration gathered in a registration drive or even if you are late submitting the forms. It exempts both political parties. What a visionary act…stop citizen group based political drives…place all the hands of the parties, who are ex officio to begin with. Florida is a leader in the civics of incivility and disenfranchisement. Take a bow Jeb.

Florida Today:
Stifling our democracy
Florida's voter registration efforts deserve strong support, not punitive fines

May 28, 2006
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060528/OPINION/605280305/1004

Election politics in the Sunshine State never cease to dismay us.

From the infamous hanging chads in 2000, the state has progressed to harsh penalties for groups that try to get out the vote.

How ?

Last year -- while American troops were dying to give Iraqis the chance to participate in democratic elections --Florida's GOP lawmakers passed a bill that discourages those groups from running voter registration drives in the state.

The law slaps steep fines on the League of Women Voters of Florida and other public-interest organizations should they miss state-imposed registration deadlines.

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2. FL: A Reminder 2000-the Felon Purge –Launching Pad for a Disgraceful Past

Harper's Magazine:
THE GREAT FLORIDA EX-CON GAME
How the 'felon' voter-purge was itself felonious
by Greg Palast

Friday, March 1, 2002

http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=122&row=2

In November the U.S. media, lost in patriotic reverie, dressed up the Florida recount as a victory for President Bush. But however one reads the ballots, Bush's win would certainly have been jeopardized had not some Floridians been barred from casting ballots at all. Between May 1999 and Election Day 2000, two Florida secretaries of state - Sandra Mortham and Katherine Harris, both protégées of Governor Jeb Bush- ordered 57,700 "ex-felons," who are prohibited from voting by state law, to be removed from voter rolls. (In the thirty-five states where former felons can vote, roughly 90 percent vote Democratic.) A portion of the list, which was compiled for Florida by DBT Online, can be seen for the first time here; DBT, a company now owned by ChoicePoint of Atlanta, was paid $4.3 million for its work, replacing a firm that charged $5,700 per year for the same service. If the hope was that DBT would enable Florida to exclude more voters, then the state appears to have spent its money wisely.

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3. MD: Crybaby Local Elections Official Quits, Tired of Accusations of Fraud

What a shame, the Prince George’s County head of elections is quitting because people complain all the time about election fraud and lack of access to the system. Good, bye, so long, Sayonara…A) People don’t trust the government (has something to do with all those lies over time) and B) People sure don’t trust any election equipment manufacturer. But most importantly, Ms. Official, THEY DON’T LIKE THEIR VOTES COUNTED IN SECRET WITHOUT ANY PUBLIC ACCESS. HAVA nice day:)

The Capitol: Annapolis MD
Frustrated by voting system, election officials quit
By DAVID ABRAMS, Staff Writer
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2006/05_28-34/TOP

Nearly a third of the nonpartisan elections chiefs in the state have quit in the past year, and some are saying they are leaving over frustration that numerous changes to the voting system could threaten the integrity of the fall elections.

"There is a hole that's left open that people can say it's fraud," said Robin Downs Colbert, a veteran elections official in charge of operations in Prince George's County who's stepping down next month. "It's not that it is fraud, but because there may be a process that (election workers) haven't been prepared for, it can be claimed that there's fraud."

Anne Arundel County's elections chief, Barbara Fisher, is threatening to retire at the end of this year, citing the same reasons.

"It's getting more and more difficult to conduct elections," said the 30-year veteran who has been in charge of county contests for a decade. "It used to be a really fun thing to do, but it's not fun anymore."

[Kurovski]

19. "HAVA nice day"! :)

:D

It's so easy and inexpensive (fun, too!) to conduct elections with paper ballots I wonder why it can't manage to catch on. Does anyone HAVA clue as to why that is?

Wilms post:
"Paper Ballots, Hand Counted, are the 'Gold Standard' Around the World"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x430276

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4. MD: Using Computers to Solve a Problem that Rarely Turns Up

Back in the bad old days, Boss Tweed, famous election fraud perp, had “rovers” who went from precinct to precinct in NYC and voted for the Boss man’s candidates. You paid him, he paid the rovers a pittance, and it was all not so good. Those times are long past but wait! Maryland is doing a $16 million project with “electronic polling books” to prevent this problem that doesn’t really exist. Why don’t they get their heads out of the clouds and do something like open up the process, stop Republicans form disinfo campaigns in black neighborhoods BEFORE EVERY ELECTION claiming that the election date has changed. Probably take a grand or two to find out who does that. More absurdity on the long high of lost hope in democracy.

Washington Post (MD Edition):
Measure for Poll Security Another Point of Dissension
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/27/AR2006052701040_pf.html

By Matthew Mosk and John Wagner
Sunday, May 28, 2006; C04

Democrats and Republicans in Maryland don't agree about much when it comes to the subject of early voting.

But they do agree that if early voting is to take place, there needs to be some way to ensure that people don't wander from precinct to precinct, casting multiple votes.

State election officials believe the solution to that potential security gap lies with $13 million of computer hardware known as electronic poll books.

The plan is to have e-poll books at every polling station, and once someone votes, the electronic list is updated to show the precinct referees that the person has cast a ballot and should not be given another opportunity.

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5. "Who needs Diebold when you've got Jim Crow" Classic Article

FELON DISENFRANCHISEMENT costs Democrats elections ALL THE TIME. How many of you know about it?

Here's a classic article on the subject. PDF, down load and share. The quote above is from MYDD
analyzing election results.

How many Maryland folks obsessed with a $16 million project on "electronic polling book" do you think went to hear Jeff Manza speak in Baltimore a few weeks ago...THE expert on felon disenfranchisement, which is what they do in Maryland. "He's paid his debt to society." Not in Maryland, they take the vote from you after your out and it's very difficult to get it back. Pathetic!

Election fruad starts out as an effort against miniorities, blacks over the longest periods, but Latinos as well and Native Americans. Immigrants have always been targeted prior to amassing an economic base to stop the practice.

"He's paid his debt to society." That actually means nothing. Go to jail and you may never vote again.

Nice, huh.

WHO BENEFITS? (Rhetorical Question)

The classic study on felon disenfranchisement:

DISENFRANCHISEMENT

Democratic Contraction? Political Consequences of Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States.

Christopher Uggen & Jeff Manza.

http://sentencingproject.org/pdfs/UggenManza.pdf

[Kurovski]

20. It seems that if somone has "paid their debt to society"

by serving time in prison, society should allow them to once again vote.

It really pisses me off that some states are such draconian little fascists when it comes to ex-felons and voting. The policy is undemocratic.

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6. NH: Rudman Tells the Truth About $$$'s Destroying Democracy

Rudman was one of the last TruthTellers. He continues to try but who is listening, other than people who have a passion for democracy, a small group, it would seem. This is more of his outstanding work.

Concord Monitor, NH:
My Turn: We can take price tag off democracy for just $6

By WARREN RUDMAN
For the Monitor
May 28. 2006 10:00AM
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060528/REPOSITORY/605280306/1028/OPINION02

Recent scandals have shed light on Washington's toxic triangle of special interest money, elections and governing. The fundamental flaw is our reliance on private donations for financing our congressional and presidential elections, a system that encourages corruption and alienates our citizens.

There is a strong case for proposals like more disclosure or a ban on lobbyist-sponsored trips, but even the toughest lobbying reforms will only tweak the rules of the game, not change the game itself. More radical action is needed. The obvious solution is to replace the private financing system of federal elections with voluntary public financing.

I hesitate to guess how many hours I devoted to attending fundraisers during my 12 years in Washington. At the outset of my political career, I was not enamored with the idea of voluntary public financing. But times have changed, and so have I.

<snip>

Two problems arise from our current system, one rooted in reality and the other in perception. The reality is that private financing loosens a cascade of special interest money. The perception is that many Americans, or most, lack confidence in Congress or believe our system is corrupt. While this perception is unfair to the many good people in Congress, our democracy suffers nonetheless

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7. Colombia: Elections today – the big prize…for the crooks.

Talk about serious sakes! Do you know how much drug money is on the line in this election, not that it will impact the drugs coming into this country. Who ever controls the presidency controls the largest share of the drug traffic. Interesting…left and right wing factions slugging it out…in a winner take most contest to see who gets to deliver the most drugs. And the fine people of this country suffer with no one to speak up for them. Outrageous.

Miami Herald:
Colombians vote for president today amid sporadic reports of violence

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14689889.htm
BY STEVEN DUDLEY

BY STEVEN DUDLEY
[e-mail]

BOGOTA - Voting proceeded amid sporadic reports of violence in Colombia today, as President Alvaro Uribe sought to be the first president elected to a second term in over a century.

Rebel leadership from the country's largest guerrilla group known as the FARC had said in public communiqués that it would not disrupt voting today. But the Colombian army reported combat in two provinces and three soldiers were killed when the FARC ambushed their squadron in the Norte de Santander province along the Venezuelan border today. The army added that 12 guerrillas were killed in different parts of the country.

The head of the Organization of American States (OAS) observer mission, Santiago Murray, also said two areas of the country could face what is known as an ''armed strike,'' as leftist guerrilla commanders' threatened to burn vehicles and disrupt the flow of life.

Still, the vast part of the country appeared to be voting without problems, despite claims that armed groups could interfere with the elections. Murray said that over 99 percent of the voting booths were guarded by police and military personnel, which he said was an unprecedented amount of protection for voters.

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8. Egypt: Support Free & Fair Elections: Go Directly to Jail – USA For. Aid

We give Egypt some ridiculous amount of money every year, in the billions. They’re one of our few “foreign aid” recipients (we don’t give much pure foreign aid). Seems the man who opposed Mubarak is now in jail and the “Egyptian elites” are pissed off because of massive election fraud. Why do we tolerate this. I’ve spent time in Egypt. It’s a spectacular country filled with friendly intelligent people. They can make their own choices for office. We should shut down this ersatz pharaoh now.

Revolt of the Egyptian Elite

by Ahmed Amr
(Sunday May 28 2006)
http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/30782

"Unlike other countries in the Middle East, retaining power in Egypt requires co-opting the professional elite. In terms of importance, this essential pre-requisite to political dominance takes second priority only to controlling state security forces."

Half way along the Alexandria desert highway – one encounters a massive block of buildings surrounded by barbed wire. It is the penitentiary that currently serves as the new home of Ayman Nour – a prosperous lawyer who had the bright idea of challenging Mubarak in “free and fair” elections. For the supreme crime of winning 7% of the presidential ballots – he now rots away in an Egyptian mini gulag with plenty of time to repent for the political miscalculation that last year was a good year to challenge Mubarak’s grip on power.

Over the last few weeks, more than a thousand members of the Egyptian opposition have been rounded up by state security and unceremoniously dispatched to keep Ayman Nour company. Most of these ‘criminal elements’ were caught red-handed protesting the trial of two judges who had the audacity to claim that the recent National Assembly elections were plagued with fraud and vote rigging.

The bad news from Cairo keeps pouring in. A few days ago, a prominent opposition journalist and three of his colleagues were charged with felonies for committing ‘publishing crimes.’ Here again, the state had a close and shut case against Wael Al Abarashi – the editor of Sawt Al Omah, a secular weekly. His daring articles challenging the regime and the results of the elections should be more than enough to seal his fate. Targeting Al Abarashi makes perfect sense – if only because of his militant stand against the idea of hereditary rule. That means he doesn’t think much of the president’s kid and says as much.

[dweller]

9. V

for victory.


and the Roman numeral.
Peace and rock on, autorank!

dp

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10. V

for Victory and here's one of our survivors

Star of "Squirrel Overload"

[LSK]

11. Sproul and Associates

Lisa Bragg went to Kelly Services (a temp agency) and was given a "customer service job" but was not given many details on it. On attending her "orientation session" it was 1st revealed that it was no customer service job, but rather they were to take political surveys. Later she and others were told they would be working for Republicans. Bragg, a Democrat resolved to quit, but not before she gathered as much information as she could.

As it turns out, the surveyors were to take the surveys at West Virginia's One Stop stores (a Bush backer) and other convience stores. The intent was to find out if the potential voter favored Bush or Kerry. If the potential voter was a Bush voter, they were to sign them up to register to vote on the spot. If the voter was a Kerry supporter, they were told to quickly dismiss the person.

Sproul & Associates, paid staffers quite readily for each registered Republican and paid nothing and sometimes docked workers for registering Democrats.

In Las Vegas, a Sproul employee Eric Russell witnessed his supervisor tearing up registration forms of new Democratic voters. Sproul claimed that Russell was a disgruntled employee and threatened to sue him in the Arizona Republic. No suit has come forth according to Russell's lawyer.

Sproul pretended to be the partisan "America Votes" in other places (mostly campuses) and put out fake petitions to sign. They were told to temporarily become a Republican just so the petition they were signing would have more "strength". Although it was not a temporary thing.

Who is Sproul and Associates? Nathan Sproul began his career in Rep Jon Kyl's office. He also served time working for the Arizona Christian Coalition.

http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feat...oul/index.html

http://www.democrats.com/node/16

http://www.dangerouscitizen.com/Articles/1249.aspx

[Heidi]

12. .

:thumbsup:

[Peace Patriot]

13. VOTE FOR *DEBRA BOWEN* FOR SEC OF STATE IN CALIF PRIMARY!!!

California has been the particular target of Bush fascists for the installation of Diebold election theft machinery this year and last. First, they "swift-boated" our excellent Secretary of State, Kevin Shelley, and drove him from his elected office on entirely bogus corruption charges, after he sued Diebold and de-certified the worst of their election theft machines prior to the 2004 election. The new California Democratic legislative leadership hid under their desks while this occurred, or else outright colluded in Shelley's demise, with a cabal of corrupt county election officials led by L.A. elections head Connie McCormack, an advocate of unaccountable paperless voting and a Diebold shill. Next, Schwarzenegger APPOINTED a Secretary of State, Republican Bruce McPherson, who operates in secrecy, is hostile to the public, and recently illegally RE-certified the Diebold machines.

In summary, the battle is joined. The fascist forces in this country are out to turn California into a "red" state by means on NON-TRANSPARENT, UNVERIFIABLE, RIGGED elections, run on "TRADE SECRET," PROPRIETARY programming code, controlled by BUSHITE corporations.

DEBRA BOWEN is highly experienced in electronics (she was the first Calif legislator to get an email address), and is highly suspicious of electronic voting, opposes secret source code, supports paper ballots, and has held hearings on McPherson's illegal actions. We could not ask for a better candidate for Secretary of State--except perhaps a return of Kevin Shelley. Bowen received a resounding endorsement by the Democratic Party rank and file at the recent state convention. Her opponent Deborah Ortiz is not well-versed on this issue, and has made scary statements in support of electronic voting, like "trust, but verify." Trust rightwing Bushites Wally O'Dell and Howard Ahmanson, the movers behind Diebold and ES&S?! Sorry, trust is not an option! Ortiz is trading on her Hispanic constituency and other issues (health care). I hope Hispanic voters and others realize that NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW THAN WRESTING CONTROL OF OUR ELECTION SYSTEM BACK FROM THE BUSHITE CORPORATIONS WHO HAVE TAKEN IT OVER, AND WHO ARE COUNTING ALL OUR VOTES BEHIND A VEIL OF "TRADE SECRET" PROPRIETARY PROGRAMMING CODE!

This "trade secret" code--code so secret that not even our secretaries of state are permitted to review it--is present in the CENTRAL TABULATION MACHINES, not just in the voting machines, and it DOESN'T MATTER if you have a "voter verified paper ballot" (a paper receipt) if the ballots are almost never recounted. The problem is swift (fast as the speed of light), hackable, centralized, UNSEEABLE vote counting, by which tens of thousands of votes can be changed, in ways that cannot be detected. This election system was the result of a vile piece of Congressional legislation called "The Help America Vote Act" (2002) engineered by the two biggest crooks in Congress, Tom Delay and Bob Ney (and abetted by Christopher Dodd). And the only place we can fight it, with any hope of success, is in are the state/local venues where the purchases of these crapass election theft machines have been made. California's election theft machines were foisted upon us by former Repub Sec of State Bill Jones and his chief aide Alfie Charles, who now work for the third big election theft player, Sequoia. Republican-controlled electronic voting was one of the conditions needed to install Schwarzenegger as governor. It is critical that someone hold the post of Sec of State who understands this matter and has shown her independence from the election theft industry.

California is THE battleground on which this matter will be determined. As California goes, so goes the nation. Are we going to have more Bushite rule, or are we going to get our democracy back? Control over the tabulation of our votes WILL decide this one way or another, over the next two years.

Vote for DEBRA BOWEN!

See www.debrabowen.com

-----------------------

I also urge a vote for MICHAEL STRIMLING for governor.

See www.michaelstrimling.com

You will weep for joy at his REAL LEFTIST (i.e., mainstream majority) platform! Send a message to our "business as usual" Democrats Angelides and Westly!

[MelissaB]

16. VOTER'S GUIDE TO THE JUNE 6 CALIFORNIA PRIMARY

VOTER'S GUIDE TO THE JUNE 6 CALIFORNIA PRIMARY

Secretary of State

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Two Democrats, state Sens. Debra Bowen and Deborah Ortiz, are vying to take on incumbent Republican Bruce McPherson in the November general election. McPherson was appointed last year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger after Democrat Kevin Shelley resigned amid fundraising and ethics scandals. Third-party candidates are Margie Akin, Peace and Freedom; Forrest Hill, Green; Gail Lightfoot, Libertarian; and Glenn McMillon Jr., American Independent. The secretary of state is the chief elections official who coordinates statewide elections and works with county registrars to maintain voting rolls.

Issues

The dominant issue in the campaign involves questions about the security of electronic voting machines. In last November's special election, 16 of California's 58 counties -- including Alameda and Santa Clara -- used electronic voting machines. Ortiz favors electronic voting machines with proper safeguards; Bowen favors traditional voting systems that are less expensive and easier to check for fraud.

The two Democratic candidates have criticized McPherson for his administration of a new statewide voter database and new voter identification requirements imposed by the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002. Failures by voters to include on their registration cards either a driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security Number caused them to be kicked out of the system until their identity was verified. McPherson has since changed the identification requirements to make it easier for local elections officials to enter new voters into the database.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE CANDIDATES
Debra Bowen
Party: Democrat

Age: 50

Hometown: Marina del Rey (Los Angeles County)

Career history: State senator, 1998-2006; state Assembly 1992-1998; lawyer.

Education: B.A., Michigan State University; J.D., University of Virginia.

Quote: "The question isn't whether you dislike electronic voting; it's why are we spending $5,000 per machine if there's a less expensive, simpler system that's easier for people to understand, easier to train poll workers about, more transparent and more auditable?''

Accomplishments: Bowen touts her legislative record dealing with information technology issues, including a bill signed into law banning junk faxes. She was the first state legislator to have an e-mail address and wrote legislation making California the first state to allow electronic access to legislation and voting records.


More: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/05/28/INGEHJ1P7O1.DTL

[MelissaB]

14. Clergy members find a way to get their points across

Clergy members find a way to get their points across

Monday, May 29, 2006
Barb Galbincea
Plain Dealer Reporter

Ohio's liberal and conservative clergy are squaring off this election year over social and political agendas driven by religious values.

We Believe Cleveland, a group meant to counter the religious right, launched its efforts May 17.

And the governor's race already has religious overtones. The Republican candidate, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, is aligned with the conservative Patriot Pastors movement. His opponent, Democratic Congressman Ted Strickland, is an ordained Methodist minister.

Internal Revenue Service rules limit political activity by tax-exempt religious groups, prohibiting them from campaigning for or against a particular candidate. But the rules leave room to weigh in on religious or moral issues.

Here's how some clergy members plan to address religion and politics in a highly charged election year:

"Our faith and our values should be integrated into the way that we vote just as much as in the way that we live our day-to-day lives. We never, however, tell people - our members - whom to vote for, but we do teach them to vote their values."

More: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1148891420176101.xml&coll=2

[MelissaB]

15. Could tabulator simplify voting?

Could tabulator simplify voting?

BY BRENT D. WISTROM
The Wichita Eagle
To deal with widespread concerns that recent polling place consolidations will lead to long lines and discouraged voters, the Sedgwick County Election Office this week will ask county commissioners to buy 60 new vote-counting machines.

The machines, which have been criticized in some other states' elections, will tabulate ballots that voters can complete with pen and paper. The machines the county bought last year -- to comply with new federal voting laws -- allowed people to vote on-screen.

Election Commissioner Bill Gale said the vote-counters, about the size of a small copy machine, will allow several voters to fill out paper ballots at once, serving more voters in less time than the other voting machines.

Voters will darken small bubbles next to the names of their chosen candidates. Then each voter will feed theballot into the machine as if putting a sheet of paper into a fax machine.

The results will be tabulated electronically, but the original paper ballot will be kept for verification.

Gale is asking that the county buy about 60 of the machines from Election Systems & Software Inc., which supplies voting machines around the country.

Several clerks in Oakland County, Mich., who used the Election Systems M100 optical scan vote-counting machines in elections last fall reported that the machines often stopped working after reading as few as 50 ballots. The clerks often had to open the machines and feed ballots through.


More: http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/local/14692168.htm

[Wilms]

17. Video of Future EAC Chairman, Brad Friedman's Culver City, CA Speech

:D

Bootleg Brad Speaking to Culver City Dems on Election Integrity

by Brad

5/28/2006

The fine new video blogger calling himself "Hot Potato Mash" has posted a few video excerpts from a talk I recently gave at the Culver City Democratic Club about two weeks ago. He's posted about about 8 minutes from the 30 or so I yammered on about in re: Election Integrity back on May 10th in an evening that also included the lovely Arlene Pinzler from Sen. Debra Bowen's office (have I mentioned lately that Bowen is running for Sec. of State of California in a really important election for all of America and could use your support before next week's primary?)

snip/links

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002882.htm


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x430327

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18. Nation: Losing the Vote: The Impact of Felony Disenfranchisement

"WASHINGTON (AP) — Prisons and jails added more than 1,000 inmates each week for a year, putting almost 2.2 million people, or one in every 136 U.S. residents, behind bars bylast summer." 05.21.2006

THIS IS IS, the KEY resource on the impact of Felon Disenfranchisement
This is an issue we routinely ignore here. It has a major impact on how elections come out
and it's a human rights issue. Where the heck does the state get the right to take away any
persons vote. Forget restoring ex felon rights to vote...ALL CITIZENS SHOULD BE ABLE TO VOTE.

Are we at the point now where we create an incarcerated group of second class citizens?
Why should there be an incentive to rejoin society when you you have no right to participate?
If they're not able to vote, then the basis for the incarceration is lost since the rules of
the political entity are no longer applicable to one denied citizenship; and voting is the most
fundamental part of citizenship.

This is just part of the "same old same old" bull shit used to suppress the poor, minorities and
to keep any type of progressive politics from emerging...2.2 million incarcerated.

[paineinthearse]

21. Your patriotic duty

...is to nominate this post.

Great job, Auto.

:patriot:

[paineinthearse]

22. This post has been picked-up by AfterDowningStreet

Link