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Post by Boomer Chick on Jan 5, 2005 14:28:29 GMT -5
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Post by Boomer Chick on Jan 6, 2005 12:09:55 GMT -5
www.truthout.org/docs_05/010705Z.shtmlBoxer to Stand With Conyers By William Rivers Pitt t r u t h o u t | Report Thursday 06 January 2005 Sources with Rainbow-PUSH have confirmed that Senator Barbara Boxer of California will stand with House members to protest 'irregularities' during Ohio's presidential election. Details and statements will follow shortly. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go to Original Democrats to Force Debate on Ohio Results By Alan Fram The Associated Press Thursday 06 January 2005 WASHINGTON - A small group of Democrats agreed Thursday to force House and Senate debates on Election Day problems in Ohio before letting Congress certify President Bush's win over Sen. John Kerry in November. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., signed a challenge mounted by House Democrats to Ohio's 20 electoral votes, which put Bush over the top. By law, a challenge signed by members of the House and Senate requires both chambers to meet separately for up to two hours to consider it. Lawmakers are allowed to speak for no more than five minutes each. While Bush's victory is not in jeopardy, the Democratic challenge will force Congress to interrupt tallying the Electoral College vote, which is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. EST Thursday. It would be only the second time since 1877 that the House and Senate were forced into separate meetings to consider electoral votes. "I have concluded that objecting to the electoral votes from Ohio is the only immediate way to bring these issues to light by allowing you to have a two-hour debate to let the American people know the facts surrounding Ohio's election," Boxer wrote in a letter to Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, a leader of the Democratic effort. The action seems certain to leave Bush's victory intact because both Republican-controlled chambers would have to uphold the challenge for Ohio's votes to be invalidated. But supporters of the drive hope their move will shine a national spotlight on the Ohio voting problems. Bush defeated Kerry, 286-252, with 270 electoral votes needed for victory. -------
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Post by Boomer Chick on Jan 6, 2005 15:01:35 GMT -5
bradblog.com/IT'S OFFICIAL! OHIO ELECTORS CHALLENGED! Joint Session Concludes to Debate Issue in Both Houses! First Time since 1877!... LIVE BLOGGING!... Moments ago, in the joint session of Congress, the Electors from the state of Ohio were formally challenged by Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones of Ohio and Senator Barbara Boxer of California... Dick Cheney, presiding over joint session: "The two houses will withdraw from the chamber and will deliberate separately and report back after Debate." All cable "news" nets...Even Fox...now covering... (Though Fox's Major Garrett incorrectly informs us that "all 88 counties were fully recounted" and adds other apologies on behalf of the Republican Party.) ...MORE... Most "news" nets back to commercials and occassional coverage. C-SPAN carries full coverage. Tubbs-Jones speaking now... ...CONTINUING...LIVE BLOGGING IN LIEU OF COVERAGE BY "NEWS" NETWORKS... Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH) quotes Kerry's concession speech. Says, "Their challenges is no more than an excercise to obstruct, destroy and divide..." FIRST MENTION of "Conspiracy Theories"! And "Michael Moore" as a bonus! Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) asks and receives unaminous consent request to include the full 102-page report, "Preserving Democracy: What Went Wrong in Ohio?" into the record. Is speaking now..."Not a single official in Ohio has given us an explanation for the many irregularities in Ohio...Read the full report on our website..." Flipping back and forth between House Hearings (on C-SPAN) and Senate Hearings (on C-SPAN2)...Both live streaming at C-SPAN.org... ..."Attny Jimmo" -- a BRAD BLOG commenter/troll -- is thoroughly discredited today and any credibility (if any existed in the first place) for the Freeper is lost....His Tuesday comment, "What are you going to drum up on Friday, the day after ZERO Senators and ONE nutty Representative challenge the electoral votes?" and Wednesday's comment, "After you get cold shouldered tomorrow by the Democrats; you are welcome to join us in the light of the GOP"...demonstrate "Jimmo's" lack of knowledge on, well...anything...that dispute, if there was one, is now over... In Senate...Durbin and Kennedy speak in support of Tubbs-Jones/Boxer challenge... Kennedy: "The voting standards did not live up to standards worth of our democracy."..."I commend the many thousands of citizens in Massacheusettes and other states" who insisted that we challenge this..."No democracy worth the name can allow such a flawed election process to take place again". Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) demands a paper trail... Rep. Nancy Pelosi in House: "Rule of law is sacred...Today's electoral challenge is not to overthrow the election...it is about Election Reform...not about the Election Results. The members today are speaking up for their constituents who may have been disenfranchised...This is the only opportunity to do that...The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy...A discussion of that foundation should not be considered frivilous."..."Supreme Court: 'Other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the Right to Vote is forsaken'"... More Pelosi: "We are a nation of laws...we must never forget our example as a beacon of freedom to the rest of the world...By sending a message to the world that we are truly, truly protective of our constitution and we honor the oath of office that we take to protect and defend the constitution"... CNN Reports: "Republicans are completely flabbergasted by this"... Back to Senate, Hilary Clinton: "Increasingly I worry that if this body...this congress...doesn't stand up on a bipartisan basis for our right to vote here at home, our moral authority will be weakened...Freedom is our most precious value...This year we will celebrate the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. It will be an opportunity for us to look at this landmark legislation and make sure it does what it was intended to...I would be saying this no matter who won the election...We are on a slippery-slope as a nation...My colleagues introduced legislation last year to call for a voter-verified paper ballot...we didn't get anywhere with that. It didn't even get a hearing...That is just one of the many issues that we can deal with technologically"...
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Post by Boomer Chick on Jan 6, 2005 15:01:57 GMT -5
Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV): "Today our armed forces are working to bring free and fair elections to Iraq...The sacrifice of our military demands that we work to ensure that our own elections are fair...History has shown us that the Right to Vote demands constant vigilance and attention"...
More Reid: "While the poll-taxes and Jim Crow laws are gone...More incidious disenfranchisement continues to threaten our system...Calls were made to Democratic voters to tell them Election Day was on a different date....There was a company hired by the Republican National Committee to register only Republicans, and they threw away Democratic registrations. That investigation is still under way...
More More Reid: "Last year my colleague and I introduced legislation for a voter-verified paper trail...We look forward to action on a bill that we will reintroduce again in a few days"...
Sen. Tom Harkin: "The Right to Vote and the need for citizens to have confidence that their votes were counted is basic to our democracy...So I thank Senator Boxer as well as Rep. Tubbs-Jones for this responsible action...This is not about whether George Bush won the election or not...It's about taking a hard look at the voting system in America...Figuring out how we can make it better...People had to wait 4, 5, 10 hours (in Ohio) to vote...Standing in line for 10 hours is like throwing acid in the face of Democracy"...
More Harkin: "4.6 machines per precinct in Bush districts, and 3.9 in so-called Kerry counties. Now who made that decision? The Secretary of State made that decision...Mr. President, a system where software is kept secret has been allowed to be the standard...clearly we need legislation that requires the review of the software used in these machines...What we saw in Ohio are continuing problems with the whole election process that need to be fixed...We need to find ways to maximize the way for citizens to excercise their right to vote...not find new ways to keep them from voting...We need a Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing the Right to Vote...It would come as a shock to most Americans to find that this is not a Right in the Constitution"...
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL): "What I observed as a citizen of Illinois four years ago that not every vote was counted...What I find is troubling is that folks who show up to the polls four years later are still being kept from voting...This body must take it on itself once and for all to reform this system...At a time that we are encouraging Democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq...This is something that we can fix. We have experts on both sides of the aisle who know how to fix it. What we've lacked is the political will...Too many voters have had political partisan officials throw up obstacles to keep them voting...We have an obligation to fix the problem...It is not a partisan problem...I would ask that all of us rise up to address this problem"...
Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) speaking in support...
Back to House...
Rep. (Missed her Name, but Republican): "Fantasy and conspiracies..."
Rep. (Missed his name, but Republican): "The objection today is about undermining our election process and our President. Our boys are fighting in Iraq...and we hear complaints about how long it took to vote."...
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD): "What we are trying to do is make sure that every single voter has the Right to Vote and that there vote is counted...This is not a black and white issue, not a Republican/Democrat issue. This is a Red, White and Blue issue...When we take away our right to vote, we are destroying our democracy...I wonder if it was your wife or child who had their right to vote taken away if you would have a problem with that...It upsets me that you keep saying these things about 'denying Bush his opportunity to be President' and all those things...It's not about that."...
Rep. (Missed name) (D-GA): "It is clear from the work of the Judiciary Committee...that this congress has a lot of work to do...It is not only our responsibility but our right to ask for democracy here at home...And we do that here today...It is time to shine a light on our precious Right to Vote..."
Rep. David Drier (Allegedly Gay Republican from CA): "The votes from Ohio has already been recounted" (ed note: That is untrue. Drier still, however, allegedly gay)...Still speaking...
More from the allegedly homosexual Republican, Drier: "Small imperfections do not a conspiracy make...'The fact is the system worked pretty well' that came from the most liberal paper in Ohio, and one that endorsed John Kerry...There is no evidence whatsoever that suggest this election was anything other than legitimate... (ed. note: Other than 102 pages from the house we guess)...This objection is without any merit whatsoever, Mr. Speaker...We should look forward together as we move towards the Inauguration."...
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL): "It's about an election system that's broken and needs to be fixed...As we try to spread democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan it's appropriate to examine our own democracy...Americans do not have the explicit Right to Vote in their constitution...From Bush v Gore, the Supreme Court said, 'The individual citizen has no constitutional right to vote for Electors for the President of the United States of America'...The right to vote is a states right, not a Federal right"...
More Jackson: "The United States is one of 11 nations that does not have an affirmative Right to Vote in the Constitution...The bible says if you build a house on sand when the wind and rains come it will not stand...As a result, the people of America are gradually losing confidence in the system...We need to build our democracy on the individual citizen right in the Constitution for the Right to Vote...So we don't have so many separate and unequal system"...
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Post by Boomer Chick on Jan 6, 2005 15:10:32 GMT -5
BC's blog on the Congressional debate. Most were bipartisan on their stances and whether in the House or Senate the speeches were similar along party lines.
HOUSE
Republican whip:
Whole purpose: should be handled at a different time. Every member was elected, all elected under the same rules and regulations, I don't know that we help the process by casting doubt on the people who work on elections. No Republican did anything on election day by themselves. Democrats were involved. We did exactly as we should have done, verified, certified in a bipartisan way. He talks about the difference in votes. Democrats and Republicans. Wrong time wrong place the wrong job for the federal government... should be done in Ohio. Purpose is the certify the results, unquestioned, unquestioned by anyone involved in the processs, count electoral votes, and do the federal gov. way. Continue to do that, committed to that, attack the process we cast doubt on the fabric of democracy. People do have to have confidence that the process, no need to be perfect, nota closely decided election... 3 percentage point advantage.. we need to get on with our job and work in the proper way at the proper time.... is not the case...
Keller.... other side would be wise to learn... get over it... refuse to move on... moveon.org... Michael Moore
North Carolina: Watt... elections cycles the world's model has fallen short as the world's best democracy... willing to fight for democracy while not being willing to do whatever is necessary to gurantee the vote of all of our citizens here at home ... equal access... econoic status race or any other variable shouldn't come into play.. Our democracy should be protected and not treated as frivolous for not being allowed to vote.... proud of Ms. Tubbs for leadership... Bush and Kerry not part of this discusssion, nothing more basic than the right to vote. Improve Help America vote act...take additional steps... every singel person should have the right to vote... yield
Napolitano: CA... insuring the vote of every American to vote and be counted. Hispanics, Latinos have died and fought... many feel disenfranchized... democracy depends on the process...ask Congress to insure elections and proclaim a model for the rest of the world
OHIO : sad day, debating this issue, breed resentment... campaign... loser accepted defeat,.... bitterness and resentments.... individuals do not like the results... losing candidate accepted defeat... wish those challenges... not frivolous... no such thing as a perfect election... mistakes were made... did the mistakes cause a different outcome? much has been criticized (mentioned various things) Ohio run by boards, decisions by boards not the secretary of state... franklin county.. long lines not by machines... by high voter turnout... ballot... Anthony not part of it...he's Democrat... conspiracy theorists "accusing me of suppressing the Black vote" ... what's the point? ... bottom line simply cannot accept GB, bipartisan hearings... are not frivolous... doesn't change the outcome... doesn't elevate and debases all of us
OHIO: recount... funding by cobb badnarik... no gains... one county... Lake not one ballot changed... people were not registered... Summit... Cuyhoga... net swing 23 votes for John Kerry
Minority Leader.. Pelosi... We are witnessing democracy at work... not frivolous...fundatmental to our democracy... representatives of the American people 1 right to vote is sacred 2 a dutey represent 3 rule of law is the hallmark of our nation ... we will accept the outcome... no question... this isn't about rejecting that outcome... let's be respectful of eachother... not intended to overturn the results... discuss real problems of Ohio and elsewhere... not about the result but about reform... disenfranchisement... only opportunity... it is appropriate... no other venues... thsi is the opportunity... the right to vote is the foundation of our democracy... not considered frivolous... a voice in the election of those who make the laws underwhich we as citizens must live... illusory... if the right to vote is undermined... one person one vote sacred... we must do everything to uphold it... still legit concerns over the integrity of elections... one person one vote, access, and counted remove not throw up obstacles to participation, before during and after and in all 3 phases there were problems in Ohio and elsewhere,,, absentee ballots, registration problems, purging, Ohio SS made decisions that some found questionable... wide spread problems to disenfranchisement... minority areas had fewer machines... hours... you can deny it but it is a matter of public record... voter suppression on election day intimidation and disinformation... unequal treatment under the law undermining the principle... one vote per person under the law... loss of confidence without paper trail... responsiblity to improve our election system now... we must work with elections people to improve the HAVA, etc. etc. commend Mr. Neigh, Nay, Hoyer, broader array of people... Congress must seize the op to reform and make improvements... confidence... it is not a conspiracy theory, it's about a Constitution of the United States. America is a beacon of dem to the world, the power of our own example... freedom.. let's respect this debate for what it is about... assuring the foundation of our very own democracy... protective of our Const and our oath of office to protect it... join together for electoral reform.
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Post by Boomer Chick on Jan 6, 2005 15:10:53 GMT -5
New York: R bipartisan support, HAVA of 2002, scheduled hearings for the future, Captain Onada, was a member of the Imperial Army, 30 years later, his fate considered now... Bush won more votes than any candiate in history... Ohio votes certified... those advances wild eyed conspiracy theories are speaking nonsense... Dems can't accept Kerry's word... American people have spoken... join us in facing the challenges of the future, Bush this and that.... Moveon.
OHIO: Regula: R: other party... completed and verified recount... bipartisan county boards verfied... true message to the world... our system works... rigeed in some way not plausible... in Ohio our boards take great pride... blah blah... accept the votes cast for the state of OHIO.
OHIO: unimous consent: D stood in lines for hours, and since election day heard form both Dems and Repubs who lost their right to vote... was secretary of state... the role of the O sec. serves two main functions to encourage the right to vote, our sec of s failed... riddled with unnecessary problems... stood in line up to six hours, hispanic and white working class precincts.. panic calls, broken machines... denied the right to vote... registration problems... not allowed to vote...Ohio voters should never again have to wait or lose their right... not just about Ohio...about our system of dem... saddened that Repubs can't aknowledge problems... defending the right to vote should be the concern of Dem and R's alike.
OHIO: D: fell short... HAVA... Blackwell.. Republican outnumbered Dems.... took actions to make the vote more difficult... Bush ad appointed members so late... confirmation a full year later to recommend standards... forced people to buy flawed equipment... sec of state made mistakes and didn't insure proper voting for all citizens... paper weight standards... fighting provisional ballot availibility... denied prov. ballots... ridiculous... believe me, 100, ooo of Ohioans do have questions... 118, 000 vote difference... full investigation by Congress is necessary...proud of Tubbs etc., Republican colleagues please join
ARIZONA: R This may be to remind that it is the hallmark of our gov and Conts. to operate by the consent of the governed. A corrolary: in a free sytem where the people choose, necessary for contestants who lose to accept the outcome. A member has chosen to dispute the oucome of the voting in the state of OHIO. They accept the verdict of the election. This is a vitally important point: the problem we confront with this debate is that it serves to plant the insidious seeds of doubt in the electorial process. .......... blah blah blah! disrupt the electoral college is not the proper use of the people's time.. with all due respect... net effect is this: to place doubt and institutionalize forever the verdict of the people... sour grapes... sad to see...
SENATE
OBAMA: disenfranchisement in Ohio... Kerry got more votes... not about the election outcome with the election process... the election process which prove that many experienced problems in Ohio and other places, too... this chamber and the House should take upon itselves to reform the system. Encourage democracy that we have the legit of our elections challenges... we can fix.. we have experts... we lacke political will... too many voters etc. these differences even by race, partisan, etc. etc. in such circumstances we have an obligation to fix the problem.. is not unique... long record of such problems on both sides... amend this problem
Thank Boxer Dodd: review what has occurred... imperfect system... Reid for commending this body for HAVA... not a perfect piece but a good effort... first time to address voting problems... prov. ballots... we need to work on things... comprehensive piece of leg. for HAVA... possible for disabled Americans in private... sibling...every vote counted and every person teh right to vote... bipartisan support
HOUSE-- R -- Miller -- in favor of fair votes for all... mentioned a Dem in her experience that was... fantasy conspiracies... bipartisan manner... selective outrage... righteous indignation based in fantasy... TURKEYS!
OHIO D... processes are abused weakend in meaning, rights placed in peril... demeaning and the alarm... weakens future real attacks... goal today to protect the right to vote... why not pick a state instead of Ohio? Afghanistan and Iraq ? the right to vote? some great fraud where there is none.. those people do harm not good
Maryland: New York D...insure that everyone has the right to vote and every vote be counted... reforming a broken election system
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Post by Boomer Chick on Jan 6, 2005 16:04:50 GMT -5
Brad's Blog:
Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-OH): "Every board of elections director serves at the discretion of the Secretary of State Blackwell who was the Co-Chair of the Bush/Cheney Election Committee...There are irregularities across the country...and we as Congress have the responsibility to make sure these irregularities are corrected...We should have a National Holiday for Election Day...This is an important enough issue that all the people across America want us to deal with this and correct it."...
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI): "This debate will not change the election results...but out of this debate, the congress will respond to the challenge for a better system of voting. A challenge has been made today to hold true bi-partisan hearings on not just what went on in Ohio...but what went on all over our country...This is the first time since 1877 [that we have come together for such a debate]...We should never fear this debate...and I hope that four years from now we can have an election that all our citizens can be proud of"...
Ethics Violator, Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX): "What we are debating here today is a shame. The issues here are gravely, gravely serious...The purpose of this petition is not justice, but noise. It is a warning to democrats across the country sole-searching after their historic loss, not to moderate their position...They have turned to the X-Files wing of the Democratic party to make their first objection...A failed strategy of...obstruction and conspiracy theories...We are told without any evidence that unknown agents stole the Ohio election and that the votes should be given to the winner of the Exit Polls (ed. Note: Not sure who told him that)...The Democratic Party that was once an idealistic forward looking policity collossus...and yet today, one is hard pressed to find a single positive, substantive idea coming from the Left...We're not hear to debate evidence, but to act our role in some scripted insincere morality play...Remember neither of the Democrat candidates supposedly robbed have risen in support of this petition...It is a crime...This is not a normal debate, this is a direct attack to undermine our democracy...
More from Ethics Violator, DeLay: "A dangerous precedent is being set today...Democrats hurt themselves, hurt the citizens...the American people deserve better than this...This petition is beneath us, but more importantly it's beneath the people that we deserve...and let's get back to the real work the American People have hired us to do"... [applause in House]
(ed. Note: DeLay's comment about Vote-Stealing software seem to have no basis in reality. DeLay may be member of Conspiracy Theory wing of Republican Party...Or a BRAD BLOG reader...)
HASTERT TAKES VOICE VOTE IMMEDIATELY, NAYS HAVE IT...
ROLL-CALL (ELECTRONIC, IRONICALLY ENOUGH) IS ASKED FOR AND GRANTED...NOW VOTING IN HOUSE ON OBJECTION...
No Live Coverage from any of the Three American Cable "News" Networks...But MSNBC reports that there is "A New First Dog!"...
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Post by Boomer Chick on Jan 6, 2005 18:50:12 GMT -5
List of House members who voted 'Yea' Thursday 06 January 2005 @ 06:02 Revised down to 31: Brown, Corrine Carson Clay Clyburn Conyers Davis (IL) Evans Farr Filner Grijalva Hastings (FL) Hinchey Jackson (IL) Jackson-Lee (TX) Johnson, E. B. Jones (OH) Kilpatrick (MI) Kucinich Lee Lewis (GA) Markey McKinney Olver Owens Pallone Payne Schakowsky Thompson (MS) Waters Watson Woolsey The vote in the Senate is 74-1. The motion is not approved. Pitt: Today was a good day Thursday 06 January 2005 @ 06:05 I can't recall a day in the last several years when the efforts of citizens yielded fruit in the Senate. Didn't work with the Patriot Act vote. Didn't work with the Homeland Security Act vote. Sure as hell didn't work with the Iraq war vote. It worked today. Voices were heard, and something we haven't seen since 1877 took place today. This is what Congress exists for, and for once, they responded. The rest is up to the same people who got this ball rolling. Today was a beginning, an introduction into the national dialogue of the fact that lots and lots and lots and lots of Americans get jobbed out of their right to vote every election. We can fix that. We should fix that. Today, the task was well begun. www.truthout.org/docs_05/010705W.shtmlI interviewed Rep. Conyers just before the hearings Thursday 06 January 2005 @ 05:00 PITT: How are you feeling about what is happening today? CONYERS: We have come a mighty long way. It seems to me, as we began this adventure, to make the ballot as important as it is, and that it be counted, and that it be available to every single qualified American voter, that I had always suspected that it would be hard for the United States Senate to do, again, what they did in 2000. To close down any possibility of any debate, of any investigation, of any recount, and it turns out that my hunch was correct. The fact of the matter is that we have everything to gain and nothing to lose by doing this. This isn't like there is a down-side to this. It is all up, because as everybody knows, all the phones are jammed, emails are coming in, faxes. People are coming in from all over. This is a test of American democracy, just as in 1878. They passed the law to deal with the presidential election of 1877. We have to, in 2005, pass some more election reform laws to deal with what happened in 2004. Senator Boxer, in her press conference with Rep. Tubbs-Jones today, said that she regretted not having stood up in 2000. What do you think about that? I'm sure that a lot of people have done some reconsideration of their silence from four years ago. It was totally uncalled for, but it was asked for by the then-candidate, Al Gore, and they went along. A little while ago, there were some Republican Representatives denigrating the whole process, describing this as an attempt to overthrow the election. How do you respond to that? What do you see as being the main purpose of this event today? Anyone opposed to us re-examining the balloting process in the state that had the most complaints and grievances and errors of any other state, they've got to have some kind of reason. This is not to change the outcome of the results. But I hasten to add that until we complete our investigation, I don't know if it will change the result or if it won't change the result. But that's not what I'm after. What I'm after is understanding what things were not done properly, what things were done fraudulently, what things were done unintentionally, so that we can correct it. There is an election coming up again. We thought we had taken care of this with the Help America Vote Act. It turns out that, in many instances, the provisions of the Act were misconstructed and not really followed, particularly on provisional voting ballots. Many people who voted provisionally were disqualified for reasons that are directly in conflict with the intentions of those of us who put that into law. So where does this go from here? We, here, are asking today to have a joint House/Senate committee reconsider and review all of the investigatory work that me and the members and our staff have brought together. We want to get a commitment that we are going to come out of this looking for additional election law reforms, because there are a lot of people who don't want to do that. This brings it all into focus. It tests the will of every member in the Senate and the House as to what they stand for in these elections. Is there anything else you'd like to add? I think what the American people did and are doing, in calling and letting everybody know that they are outraged, that this has to be something that somebody would study to determine whether they want to object to the Electoral College report from Ohio, has been extraordinary, and has had a huge impact. Of course, the one person not in any government position, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, deserves tremendous praise for all he has done in coordinating so many efforts here, including right up until today. I think a lot of people would agree that your opening of the hearing in the beginning of December, and then later in Ohio, gave people an opportunity not only to hear the evidence and grievances, but also gave people the chance to begin moving towards doing something about it. So I think a lot of people owe you a debt of gratitude, as well. That's very kind of you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- William Rivers Pitt is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of two books - 'War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know' and 'The Greatest Sedition Is Silence.' Peace through compassion, information, vigilence, and activism
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Post by Boomer Chick on Jan 20, 2005 11:37:07 GMT -5
Black Box Voting Bulletin – Feel free to distribute ================================= Jan 19, 2005 – see below for: - Issues affecting update schedule, Web address for updates - Consumer protection lawsuit activated against Diebold: Discovery starts Feb 4. - New Black Box Voting DOCUMENT ARCHIVE (Programmers especially, check this out) - The “Crypto Solution” – New ways to take away your paper ballot. - Constitutional Equal Protection Amendment for voters? - BBV Confidential ================================= ISSUES AFFECTING UPDATE SCHEDULE: Several technical issues impeded our e-mail update schedule. We have worked through them, except for one, which we will finish next week. Because many of you have not received some of the updates, this bulletin has a summary of the latest, and Web links for all of the updates so far. WEB ADDRESS FOR ONLINE UPDATES: www.blackboxvoting.org – CLICK “Forums” – THEN SELECT “Latest Updates.” Direct link: www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/1954.html================================= 2. UPDATE 1-18-05: CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWSUIT ACTIVATED AGAINST DIEBOLD: DISCOVERY SCHEDULED TO COMMENCE Feb.4. Black Box Voting board member Jim March and Executive Director Bev Harris filed two lawsuits against Diebold in California. The first, a false claims ("Qui Tam") suit, is expected to settle shortly for a $2.6 million payout to the state of California by Diebold. The California false claims case is the first successful consumer case against Diebold, and at a $2.6 million reimbursement to California taxpayers, will assign the largest penalty in any voting machine-related case so far. California is expected to compensate Harris and March for their original research in the case. The exact figure has not yet been determined by the courts, but the initial proposed settlement allocates around $76,000 each. Bev Harris’s compensation will be donated to Black Box Voting, as a restricted contribution which must be spent specifically on additional consumer litigation to protect election integrity. March and Harris have been joined by three other Californians in a second lawsuit, alleging fraudulent business practices and unfair competition by Diebold. Papers were filed this week in Sacramento Superior Court reactivating this lawsuit, which will provide a vehicle for seeking discovery from Diebold about its business practices and voting systems. Some of the Qui Tam money is tagged towards underwriting discovery in the second case. Whereas in the first case, the California Attorney General was able to assert control, this newly reactivated case allows the plaintiffs more direct control over discovery. Plaintiffs have requested four months to conduct discovery, and have scheduled written interrogatories and witness requests by Feb. 4, 2005. (more: www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/2291.html)================================= 3. UPDATE 1-17-05: NEW: BBV DOCUMENT ARCHIVE at bbvdocs.org. This document archive will release specific information, including voting machine information not previously available to the general public. It will focus first on optical scan information from Diebold, because Ohio is now leaning toward replacing its punch card systems with Diebold optical scans, and many anomalies were identified in Florida and Washington with Diebold optical scans. To be featured in the BBV Docs archive: - 2004 Election audit logs and results - Voting system user manuals, software, bug reports and certification documents - The complete repository of the Diebold memos - Many items from the original Diebold FTP site - Items from Sequioa, ES&S, and Hart Intercivic - Previously unpublished correspondence between key election officials. - Full text of election-related lawsuits - Original source materials from Black Box Voting book - Transcripts of interviews with key elections officials - Items of interest to the history of the voting integrity movement New items are being uploaded daily. We are installing a high-speed document scanner to convert thousands of pages of FOIA documents, including correspondence among voting industry officials, to Internet format for open source investigation and examination. TIPS FOR USING THE ARCHIVE: * Link to document archive portal (currently skinny, but check back frequently as new documents go online daily): www.bbvdocs.org * TO SEE EVERYTHING IN THE ARCHIVE AT ONCE: Go to this link: www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/2197/2197.html and click “tree view” at the bottom. * TO SEE EVERY DOCUMENT IN THE CATEGORY AT ONCE: In “tree view” click the + sign by the folder. (http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/2197/2197.html) ================================= 4. UPDATE 1-10-05: THE “CRYPTO SOLUTION” – GOOD OR BAD? Direct link to full article, a counter point of view, legislative updates that invite crypto into voting, and an active discussion on the Crypto Solution: www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/2051/2051.html Prepared legislation makes "paper trail" a sham (Wait! We thought we were going to get paper ballots!) Guess again. Waiting in the wings is an end-run around paper ballots, a cryptography application that is anything BUT transparent. Citizens are about to find out that the devil really IS in the details. CRYPTO solution vs. PAPER BALLOT solution The Crypto Solution gives you a slip of paper with a secret code on it, which you later take to the Internet to find out that you voted. Not HOW you voted. Not how everyone voted, so the public can know who really won. Not even, really, that your voted was counted. For these things, you are told to trust. Trust who? Well, cryptographers with defense industry ties. The current computerized voting system is about to become even more mysterious and opaque, unless you put up a fight.
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Post by Boomer Chick on Jan 20, 2005 11:37:44 GMT -5
FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN FIGHT BACK. Learn the questions to ask about the Crypto Solution at the bbvforums.org (Black Box Voting Forums) workspace for election integrity: Crypto section -- www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/2051/2051.html================================ 5. UPDATE 1-6-05 - CONSTITUTIONAL EQUAL PROTECTION AMENDMENT FOR VOTERS? (more: www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/1961.html) - The bold action by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) in challenging the Ohio members of the electoral college, made possible by the actions of committed, relentless citizens and voting integrity groups nationwide, gave discussion of election improprieties a forum on national TV. More important, it could lead to proposed corrective legislation, and possibly a Constitutional amendment. In the United States, we have no federal right to vote -- instead, a citizen's right to vote is really a state resident's right to vote. With voting, THERE IS NO EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW. If we do enact federal equal protection legislation for voting, many of the inappropriate actions taken by state officials would be struck down in court, and it would be much easier to litigate problems with voting machines. When Florida was allowed to systematically disenfranchise voters, it hid behind state's rights. When Ohio's Secretary of State Ken Blackwell successfully disenfranchised voters in Ohio, through inappropriate rules on provisional ballots and other measures, he hid behind state's rights. ================================= 5. More updates: 1-5-05: Election Misconduct as a Public Records Crisis www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/1960.html 1-5-05: Update from Washington D.C. www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/1959.html 12-30-2004: Volunteer Actions -- Activating the Eagles www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/1957.html 12-29-04: Update on 'Help America Audit' www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/1956.html 12-28-04: Update for donors, and a look to 2005 www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/1955.html================================= 6. BBV CONFIDENTIAL - Security issues: We kept part of our site, including an e-mail account, on a Web server that had experienced security breaches. One reason was to see if we could get some footprints to identify hackers. We did not achieve that, but did get some interesting information. On Jan. 11, thirty minutes into a transmission to approximately 800 Washington state activists (recommending tough questions to ask at a VoteHere meeting), a security flaw was exploited in our system, and a subsequent file change took out the blackboxvoting.org e-mail for both incoming and outgoing e-mail. This was not due to anti-spam reports. It was due to a security problem. We obtained the logs, including our logs from one of our firewall programs. Most IPs could not be identified, but we did identify two that were interesting: One was traced back to a specific individual who has frequented hacking message boards, who has links to a particular organization that has engaged in interference with Black Box Voting .org. The other traced back to the Department of Defense. These were not Web site visits, but intrusion actions, and there are ways to tell the difference. While examining these logs, we were also able to identify visits to the Web site by Agent Mike or someone related to his organization. (“Agent Mike” is the Secret Service agent who interviewed Bev Harris several times last year about an alleged VoteHere hack, but mostly about the Diebold Memos). Most of Agent Mike’s IP traces -- identified from a series of e-mails he sent to Bev Harris -- are from a special use category that does not permit tracing. One of Agent Mike’s IP addresses, however, leads back to the anti-terrorism asset forfeiture branch of the U.S. Treasury. We have not looked for Agent Mike on all the logs, but the last time he or his friends visited appears to be October 2004. ================================= TO CHANGE YOUR UPDATE SCHEDULE: Hit “reply” and copy ONE of the following into the subject line: - Please send me weekly updates - Please send me monthly updates - Please send me NO updates ================================= Contact info: Black Box Voting - www.blackboxvoting.org - crew@blackboxvoting.org Donation info: Donations are tax Deductible. Go to www.blackboxvoting.org/donate.html for online credit card donations, or mail to: Black Box Voting – PO Box 25552 – Seattle WA 98165
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Post by Boomer Chick on Feb 12, 2005 11:42:36 GMT -5
Letter From Hillary and Activism
Count Every Vote Act of 2005
It's time to tell those who celebrate elections and voter participation in >countries around the world that we must make sure every vote is counted in >elections right here at home! > >That's why I am asking you to sign on now as a citizen co-sponsor of >vitally important election reform legislation. > ><http://www.friendsofhillary.com/CountEveryVote/>http://www.friendsofhillary.com/CountEveryVote > >Next week, I will introduce the Count Every Vote Act of 2005, co-sponsored >by Senator Barbara Boxer. This comprehensive election reform bill will: > * Provide a verified paper ballot for every vote cast in electronic > voting machines. > * Set a uniform standard for provisional ballots, so that every > qualified voter within the state will know their votes are treated > equally and will be counted. > * Require the Federal Election Assistance Commission to issue > standards that ensure uniform access to voting machines and election > personnel in every community. It's outrageous that some people in > predominantly minority communities had to wait up to 10 hours to vote, > while people in other communities often voted in minutes! > >In 2004, I introduced legislation similar to the Count Every Vote Act. But >it never saw the light of day. I couldn't even get a hearing for my bill >before the Senate Rules Committee. We can't allow this new legislation to >suffer the same fate. > >The Republicans who control Congress don't want to address this issue. So >we've got to build grassroots momentum to make sure they don't have any >choice but to act. That's why I am determined to keep moving forward -- on >the Hill, with advocacy groups, and with all of you! > ><http://www.friendsofhillary.com/CountEveryVote/>http://www.friendsofhillary.com/CountEveryVote > >Will you join me in calling for action to Count Every Vote? Will you sign >up to become a citizen co-sponsor of this bill, so that we can demonstrate >that the American people won't sit still for inaction on legislation so >essential to our freedom? > >Please forward this e-mail to your friends, and ask them to join us. >Together, we will restore the credibility of American democracy, and make >sure that we count every vote. > >Sincerely, >Hillary Clinton > >Hillary Rodham Clinton > >P. S. I thank you for all you have done to build a stronger Democratic >Party. Now, as we say goodbye to the outstanding leadership of my friend >Terry McAuliffe, I look forward to working with Governor Howard Dean and >the new DNC leadership. Let's make sure that our hard work counts on >Election Day! >
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Post by Boomer Chick on Feb 12, 2005 11:44:10 GMT -5
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Post by Boomer Chick on Mar 1, 2005 17:47:37 GMT -5
BREAKING: Blackwell Seeks Depositions of Kerry and Edwards By WilliamPitt, Tue Mar 1st, 2005 at 03:38:14 PM EST :: Voter Rights :: OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL AND SECRETARY OF STATE SEEK TO TAKE DEPOSITIONS OF SENATOR KERRY AND FORMER SENATOR EDWARDS IN OHIO RECOUNT CASE In a filing today in the Ohio recount case in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, the Ohio Attorney General and Ohio Secretary of State asked a federal judge to allow them to take depositions of Senator John Kerry and former Senator John Edwards. Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro and Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell urge the court to dismiss Kerry-Edwards as an intervening party in the recount case. They argue that they should have the right to place Kerry and Edwards under oath for questioning on the grounds that the 2004 presidential and vice-presidential candidates should no longer be allowed involvement in the case. What is behind this court filing? Kerry-Edwards 2004 submitted key filings in this case last week which supported claims made by 2004 presidential candidates David Cobb and Michael Badnarik that the Ohio recount was not conducted in accordance with uniform standards, as is required by the equal protection and due process guarantees of the US Constitution. These claims have been pending before Federal District Court Judge Edmund Sargus in Columbus since December 30, 2004. Cobb and Badnarik, who are represented by the National Voting Rights Institute, have also recently filed a motion for a hearing on the pending matters before the court, which Kerry-Edwards supported in its papers submitted last week. Ohio Attorney General Petro and Secretary of State Blackwell are now clearly trying to remove Kerry-Edwards from this case either via a court order or, if that fails, via the threat of taking the depositions of Kerry and Edwards. On December 3, against Petro and Blackwell’s objections, Judge Sargus allowed the Kerry-Edwards’ motion to intervene in this case. Since that date, neither Petro nor Blackwell has sought to remove Kerry-Edwards from this case. Their effort to do so now should be rejected by the court and Kerry and Edwards should show that they refuse to be intimidated by these threats. Blackwell's filing: truthout.org/pdf/blackwelltransferstatement3205.pdfNational Voting Rights Institute www.nvri.org/
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