On September 29-30, one hundred election integrity activists and experts from around the country gathered in Cleveland for the We Count 2006 conference. Featured speakers discussed their book, film, analysis or strategy on the legal, legislative or social direction of the movement.
U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich closed the conference with a surprise unveiling of H.R. 6200, which requires hand-counted paper ballots of the 2008 Presidential election, at theprecinct, before all who wish to observe. Attendees exploded into thunderous applause at his announcement. He pinned successful introduction of HCPBs on those in the room and then mentioned the Democratic Party, which resulted in loud and immediate booing.
It was hard for activists not to express disgust with the majority of Dems who spinelessly continue to ignore what Greg Palast calls the "elephant in the voting booth." In response to the booing, Kucinich leaned forward and raised his voice, "I'm going to be the exception that rules." Did he really say that? Folks laughed and cheered him, anyway.
Finally, HCPB advocates have a voice at the table. Recent legislative history doesn't bode well for the bill, but HCPB advocates can take heart that some legislators heard their call for the most secure, most accurate, and least expensive voting system. The bill also seeks to exclude provisional ballots from being hand-counted, and seeks to celebrate Washington's birthday on Election Day in Presidential election years.
Workshops provided hands-on training for Election Day actions, and lively debate ensued between different presenters in response to questions raised over what to do when the machines fail.
Films showcased in a separate room, some in their unfinished versions. David Earnhardt's film on the Nashville Conference was delightful and poignant. The feature film, Stealing America Vote by Vote, (reviewed at http://tinyurl.com/r87sp) brought well-deserved praise to producer, Dorothy Fadiman. Conference attendees comprised a Who's Who in the Election Integrity movement, although several notables were unable to attend. Nearly everyone present saw themselves in one or more films.
New books on election integrity and those in the movement have now been published. Buttons promote more of our buzzwords and everyone shared the culmination of many projects.
The 25-hour We Count conference felt relaxed and informal, partly due to the constant supply of food and beverages, provided at cost, in a large cafeteria that held everyone comfortably. The other driving force was the huge exhibit of books, videos and memorabilia for sale.
Sheri Myers brought her just-published comic book, "Cheated," which chronicles 04 election protection actions in Ohio that led to the historic Objection to the seating of Ohio's Electors. "I rise to reject the counting of the electoral votes from the state of Ohio on the grounds that they are not under all of the known circumstances regularly given," said U.S. Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones and sole Senator, Barbara Boxer. New publications also included Vicki Karp's "Hacked" and Bob Fitrakis' latest and smaller presentation of "What Happened in Ohio." Other films included American Blackout, No Umbrella, The Right To Count, Electile Dysfunction, Video the Vote, Got Democracy, A Little Light'll Do Ya, Eternal Vigilance, Swing State Ohio, Help America Vote on Paper, Vote Scam, and Invisible Ballots. Run times range from 10 to 90 minutes.
"Hacking Democracy," originally called "Votergate," will be presented exclusively on HBO on November 2nd. This film exposes gaping holes in the security of America's electronic voting system. Showing Nov. 2 thru Nov. 26 on HBO and HBO2. Confirm local listings for your area.
On Sunday, October 1st, An Afternoon with Bev Harris drew about 30 people to Columbus, Ohio's German Village Meeting Haus. Led by organizer Marj Creech, volunteers sent press releases to all of the local media, and leafleted German Village the prior weekend. Corporate media's iron curtain couldn't prevent five people from hearing Bev for the first time. Dr. Richard Hayes Phillips also spoke, explaining some of his findings from analysis of the 04 ballots. Bev Harris suggested several different actions for voters to take this November, from her "Citizen's Took Kit" published at http://www.blackboxvoting.org/toolkit.pdf
On October 13-15, nearly 60 people gathered in Columbus for the Seize the Polls training sessions at the Voter Rights Revival sponsored by the Free Press. Notable at this conference were about twenty new faces, those outside Columbus' election movement. Much effort went into producing this collection of workshops, trainings, film revues, discussions, a No Sleepover skit, and even a drum circle held outside on Saturday, in a sunny and slightly crisp afternoon.
Host Bob Fitrakis (supported by Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman) poured several scraps of evidence into speeches, articles and three books, now. Dr. Steve Freeman (of Wharton) led a class on polling techniques, which I regretfully had to miss. Suzanne Patzer and Connie Harris led the conference-organizing effort, and while disappointed in the turnout, were pleased with the number of new faces who haven't attended these events.
Doris Haddock, known as Granny D, gave the keynote address encouraging social activists to keep up the fight. She has been a lifelong activist and recently walked over 3,000 miles, at the age of 89-90, in support of campaign finance reform. Her wisdom and advice aren't new ideas, but her calm, loving prose was sweetly appreciated by all. More than a few teared up.
Corporate media failed to cover both Columbus events, pretending the movement to restore democracy simply does not exist. Given our small numbers, these election integrity conferences that tend to preach to the choir give big media an arguably legitimate excuse. Given the media iron curtain on how rigged e-voting is, it's also no wonder we convert the masses slowly.
What should be widespread panic over the midterm elections on e-voting machines is being ignored by the major parties on all of their TV and radio ads. Instead, it's more important to call each other names. Let's not panic the masses that we vote on systems wholly hackable, and for which there is no basis for confidence in reported election results. Dave Berman calls it "Faith-based reporting on faith-based voting." www.GuvWurld.org
In 2004, Rady Ananda began contributing to the Web, as part of the growing community of citizen journalists. Focusing mainly on elections, her blogs also address religious, gender, sexuality and racial equality, and environmental issues, and are sprinkled with book and film reviews on various topics. She currently serves as a senior editor at OpEdNews. All material offered here is the property of Rady Ananda, copyright 2006, 2007, 2008. Permission is granted to repost, with proper attribution including the original link.
