Many election officials do not recognize that there is a problem. They want to keep paperless electronic voting machines that make audits and recounts meaningless. Election officials would rather we just trust the vendors and the privatized counts.
I don’t believe in faith-based voting. I believe in backing statements up with evidence. I believe if a computer says Candidate A won, that the paper ballots should be counted to back that up. HR 811 gives us that. Sinking HR 811 does not give us anything. In fact, those who think hand counted paper ballots are the only way to go should absolutely be supporting HR 811, because the audits will give them the hard data to strengthen their case.
Having read several versions of this bill, including its earlier incarnations in past sessions, I can say with great confidence this is the best Federal bill I’ve seen on this issue. It gives us maximum protection with a minimum of interference from the federal level. It provides enough money to get the protections in place, and enough time so that election officials in completely paperless jurisdiction can have the fundamental requirements of paper ballots and accessible ballot verification in place by November 2008, and jurisdictions that already produce or use paper ballots can have any necessary upgrades done by 2010.
If you don’t want to see a repeat of the 2000 election debacle, or a repeat of the concerns of whether the vote was conducted and counted honestly in Ohio and other swing states in the 2004 election, then you really must get behind this bill now.
If this bill does not pass, the forces arrayed against us will take heart and grow even bolder. They will continue to give us paperless elections, more appropriately deemed “faith-based voting.” They could be altering the votes at the machine level, and without the HR 811 provisions paper ballot and audit provisions, we would have no way of knowing if the votes had been manipulated.
Can you imagine what would happen in this country if we allow our vote to remain so vulnerable to error and fraud?
No other issue comes close in importance to this issue. If our vote is taken from us, our positions on other issues will mean nothing. Only when our vote is protected can we take on the powers that be and show them that the American people who vote rule the country. If our vote is gone, only those with the money to ‘buy’ elections will have their votes counted.
Please. This couldn’t possibly be more serious. The very foundation of our democracy is at stake. Nothing you do in your life may ever be as important as the actions you take this week. We need another American revolution and we need it right now. Would you rather pick up a pitchfork or the phone?
What You Can Do
1. Call or Fax your representative today. Ask for their position on HR 811. If they are not in support, urge them to get behind it. If they are already in support, thank them for helping save our Democracy.
To find out who your representative is, and how to reach them by phone or fax, go to http://www.house.gov/ and follow the instructions to find your representative. You’ll be asked for your ZIP code, to start.
CALL or FAX. Do not use the email system, as they get so many mails there can be a several week lag before your message is read, and by then the vote will have come and gone. Don’t send a postcard. Mail is delayed by at least a week for security screening purposes.
2. Call or FAX your Secretary of State. Ask the same question. If they are not in support, let them know how you feel. Secretaries of State are supposed to represent you, since you elected them.
Find your Secretary of State’s contact information here:http://www.nass.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=89&Itemid=166
3. Call or FAX the election official in your county. If they are not in an elected position, find the elected official they report to and call or fax that person as well. Usually, a County Supervisor will be the one who approves budgets for elections and election equipment.
Find your local election official’s contact information here:
http://www.nass.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=205
Thank you in advance for doing your part to save our Democracy.1. Call or Fax your representative today. Ask for their position on HR 811. If they are not in support, urge them to get behind it. If they are already in support, thank them for helping save our Democracy.
To find out who your representative is, and how to reach them by phone or fax, go to http://www.house.gov/ and follow the instructions to find your representative. You’ll be asked for your ZIP code, to start.
CALL or FAX. Do not use the email system, as they get so many mails there can be a several week lag before your message is read, and by then the vote will have come and gone. Don’t send a postcard. Mail is delayed by at least a week for security screening purposes.
2. Call or FAX your Secretary of State. Ask the same question. If they are not in support, let them know how you feel. Secretaries of State are supposed to represent you, since you elected them.
Find your Secretary of State’s contact information here:http://www.nass.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=89&Itemid=166
3. Call or FAX the election official in your county. If they are not in an elected position, find the elected official they report to and call or fax that person as well. Usually, a County Supervisor will be the one who approves budgets for elections and election equipment.
Find your local election official’s contact information here:
http://www.nass.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=205
