...this is just wrong. 

by Amanda Lang (23 articles, 14528 quicklinks, 442 diaries, 731 comments [17 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Apr 13, 2007 at 5:16:54 PM

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As a long-time election integrity activist who has taken a hiatus in the last few months, I am dismayed and disgusted that the progress toward election transparency and integrity is negligible.  The preponderance of the evidence that elections in 2000, 2002, and 2004 were manipulated, compromised, and out right stolen is as compelling as that for climate change through the accumulation of greenhouse gases for which data shows exponential growth from the beginning of the industrial revolution.  Yet, just as there are deniers of the overwhelming scientific evidence for climate change that former Vice-President Al Gore has so eloquently defined in “An Inconvenient Truth” and from numerous presentations and testimony before Congress, deniers at every level of government and the activist community continue to prevent the next election from being free from thieves and traitors.

The Holt Bill, H.R. 811, is a prevarication of election integrity because it is devoid of fundamental corrections to elections, i.e., it allows for (even increases) the use of touchscreen DRE election machines and does not mandate durable paper ballots that are optically scanned as a minimum.  Passing H.R. 811 under the guise better something than nothing will cause tremendous harm to the cause of advancing election integrity by instituting the hand counted paper ballot (HCPB) as the ONLY ballot of record.  Rep. Dennis Kucinich has offered legislation making at least federal elections subject to HCBP only as a first step in the right direction.

In Arizona, S.B. 1557, was passed and heralded as the most significant piece of election reform in the states history.  I worked on that bill and I testified in favor of the original bill, but when the final bill was twisted, perverted, and bastardized in its final form I predicted that it would make election integrity a farce in Arizona.  I was right!  Those politicians and elections officials in Arizona who manipulated the legislative process used the gutted bill to remove all sense of veracity and decency in the process of auditing the election.  I fear H.R. 811 will have the same result unless significant changes are made.  Better no legislation than bad legislation.

Finally, the debacle that is the U.S. Justice Department and the clear manipulation of U.S. Attorney’s for the purpose of controlling elections is further proof that Karl Rove is not done with plans to steal the next election and the next and the next.  If, with all this data, information, and evidence, we don’t have a Congress or an electorate that will make the necessary changes to the election processes in this country, well then, what’s the point?

by Mike Shelby (13 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 20 comments) on Saturday, Apr 14, 2007 at 12:59:46 PM

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The evidence on Cuyahoga's 04 and 06 elections likely contributed to Vu's resignation, along with the Board of Elections.

Richard Hayes Phillips submitted evidence showing "60% of Cuyahoga's precincts reported more votes than ballots" he counted.  Photographic evidence was provided to him by various Ohio activists.

Election Science Institute also contributed to condeming evidence on Cuyahoga's electoral management duties: "the election system, in its entirety, exhibits shortcomings with extremely serious consequences..."  ESI found that hundreds of memory cards and voting machines went missing. 

Here's my article summarizing ESI's report and calling for Vu's removal from the field of elections. http://tinyurl.com/27lw8e 

by Rady Ananda (182 articles, 374 quicklinks, 49 diaries, 1718 comments [201 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Saturday, Apr 14, 2007 at 1:21:05 PM

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not 60%.  ~ Rady

by Rady Ananda (182 articles, 374 quicklinks, 49 diaries, 1718 comments [201 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Sunday, Apr 15, 2007 at 1:14:02 PM

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