August 14, 2006 at 02:27:13

BREAKING: McKinney Pursuing Legal Challenges to Elections in Georgia

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By Matthew Cardinale (about the author) Page 1 of 4 page(s)

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For OpEdNews: Matthew Cardinale - Writer

This article courtesy of Atlanta Progressive News.

(APN) ATLANTA -- US Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) is pursuing numerous legal avenues to challenge the so-called "results" of not only her recent Primary and Runoff Elections, but also the fundamental reality that the current E-voting system in Georgia does not provide us with "results" that are in any way meaningful.

The Congresswoman and her attorneys and campaign are looking at ways in which they can either join or support Donzella James's legal election contest filed last week, Donzella James, who is working closely with the Congresswoman, told Atlanta Progressive News. The US Department of Justice is already said to be investigating as well.

APN covered James's lawsuit exclusively in recent days, although James held a joint press conference yesterday where two TV stations were in attendance for part of the time. APN was the only news agency there at the last segment of the press conference to take questions; also a freelance writer Bruce Dixon was in attendance, formerly of the Black Commentator.

As APN previously reported in detail, the Donzella James election contest lawsuit is contesting her apparent loss in the 13th Congressional District based on election irregularities, plus the principle that there is no way to know whether the E-voting machines are counting votes accurately.

The James lawsuit is essentially applying the VoterGA lawsuit to a specific election and is believed to set a national precedent; it has attracted support from across the country from concerned citizens and advocates alike. The VoterGA lawsuit, the coverage of which has also been led by APN, ultimately seeks an injunction against Georgia elections because all physical evidence of voter intent has been removed from the process.

Because VoterGA's lawsuit did not seek to stop the Primary specifically, attorney Walker Chandler said at the time, "Georgians are going to have to hope and pray for fair elections." Hopes and prayers do not appear to have been enough.

Present at the press conference were Donzella James, her husband, her lawyer, her campaign staff, McKinney's lead poll watcher Karon Edge-Fitzpatrick, former Secretary of State Candidate Angela Moore, Garland Favorito of VoterGA, and Faye Coffield, a private investigator who is assisting McKinney on an independent basis.

If McKinney cannot join James's lawsuit, her campaign may file their own lawsuit, file "friend of the court" briefs in James's case, and/or provide evidence of elections irregularities in the 4th District, James said. McKinney may file her own suit, and a multiparty class action lawsuit is being pursued as well, James said.

The US Department of Justice is already reviewing the affidavits and letter sent by Karon Edge-Fitzpatrick, a lead pollwatcher for the Congresswoman, Fitzpatrick told Atlanta Progressive News. APN has obtained a copy of the letter and is in contact with the USDOJ for details.

The Atlanta Progressive News Board of Directors today unanimously declared "no confidence" in any elections in Georgia conducted by E-voting without a voter verified paper audit trail.

Until this happens, our reporting will not use the word "results" in any article without quotation marks and the prefacing words "so-called," in any Georgia election. We believe other news agencies should adopt similar language so as not to mislead the public.

Congresswoman McKinney has been the most outspoken critic of electronic voting in US Congress, voting integrity advocate Bev Harris told APN.

"The bottom line is we can't trust the machines, and we can't trust the results being told to the American people," McKinney told APN's Editor in June 2005, prior to the APN's founding as a publication. That interview was conducted on a freelance basis and ran on the website Buzzflash.

"I'm gonna support anything that will bring integrity to our Democracy because we don't have it now," Congresswoman McKinney told APN in a July 2006 interview, at a screening of American Blackout cosponsored by APN and Georgia for Democracy.

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Matthew Cardinale is Editor of Atlanta Progressive News. He has written previously for the Sun-Sentinel Newspaper, Shelterforce Magazine, The Advocate Magazine, The San Francisco Bay View, and the Berkeley Daily Planet Newspaper. He has also (more...)

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