Exit polls are the gold standard for verifying the integrity of elections across the globe. For eons, exit polling accurately proved the result of an election, or exposed fraud. When exit polls in 2004 revealed significant discrepancies in Ohio and New Mexico, the news media and the Democratic Party shrugged and quickly lost interest. The discrepancies were never explained, but offhandedly discounted as glitches. That is the typical election industry response recited by officials.
The public is starting to realize that power drunk political mobsters have hijacked our democracy to serve their corporate overlords. The American corporations that impoverished third-world nations into servitude have plundered the planet and gone global. (Read “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.”) Now the corporations have turned on the country that helped build them into transnational superpowers. Using the puppetry of our political party system, they are making America’s future one of debt and strife.
It is increasingly an ownership society and most of us are going to be among the owned with ridiculous mortgages, car payments, rising fuel and energy prices along with the soaring cost of almost everything. We are made to feel that things are spiraling out of our control. We are distracted by blaming the Democrats or the illegal immigrants and filled with the fear of terrorism to keep our eye off the ball.
But as long as we have our vote, we still hold the power. As long as our votes are counted accurately and openly, we the people control this democracy. It is possible for the American people to rise up against the political parties that abandoned our interests long ago. The people have the power to reject any and all political parties and even write in a candidate of their own choosing. We have the ability to reject the inane political ads and use the Internet and blogs to discuss real issues and find real candidates that can lead us into a better future.
Corporations have demonstrated an ability to manipulate every other commodity in life. Enron made sure we will never again see the low utility rates available when utilities were regulated to protect consumers. Commercials tell Americans to cash out their home equity and assume more debt to meet daily obligations. We have been fleeced out of everything else and now, even our democracy is being deregulated.
The political-corporate elite fear the power we voters wield. A vote is the democratic equivalent of free will and trusting your vote to proprietary electronic voting machines is like giving your soul to the devil. Our votes are possessed and as the congregation of this democracy, we have a calling to protect the sanctity of the vote.
Without open source transparency and safeguards that protect the vote, citizens must take a stand against unsecured electronic voting systems. Our votes are not a commodity – they are the last piece of democracy owned by human hands.
We think election fraud can’t happen here in the bastion of freedom and democracy and it is that kind of patriotic denial that allows private companies with secret software to run our elections.
The vote is more valuable than any currency. Don’t allow this democracy to be swindled from us. Speak out, write, protest, file complaints and lawsuits to protect the vote. Use the freedom afforded to you by this democracy while you still can.
Corporations dominate the economic landscape of our lives. They must not be allowed to own our voting systems, too. Keep the robber barons out of the vault of our elections.
Give us full transparency or give us paper ballots – as the currency of democracy probably should be.
Paul Jacobs writes a weekly newspaper column in the Southern California community where he and his wife reside. He is also a member of Democracy for America, Temecula Valley. You can E-mail Paul at: TemeculaPaul@aol.com.
