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Protecting your vote and representative government in the November general election

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Kat L'Estrange
Message Kat L'Estrange
* massive voter fraud is occurring at the polls.
* large numbers of illegals are voting.
* widespread difficulties at the polls are because elections volunteers are poorly trained and misguiding voters.
* because we are entitled to vote privately, our votes must be counted secretly.

GET INVOLVED

Help keep elections local and public by offering to participate as a volunteer at your Board of Elections. At the very least request to be an observer of the voting process on Election Day. Remain alert once inside your polling location and ask local elections officials to document any problems you may have prior to or while voting. Encourage others you see having difficulties to do the same. Given the many changes to the nation's election process, please be prepared when you go to vote to show proper identification at the polls in case of challenge.

If you are involved in party politics in your community, please encourage positive involvement by your political party officials at the polls rather than shenanigans that deny people the right to vote, even opposition voters. Ask party officials to have a presence at the polls to observe and help document problems voters encounter while there waiting to vote or voting. Coordinate this effort with the efforts of grassroots election protection/integrity volunteers who are there to offer public oversight of the voting process. A few more suggestions to demand of local political party officials include:

* Pressure elections officials to make paper ballots which are to be counted as regular ballots on Election Day available for use in case of malfunctioning computerized voting machines.
* Organize emergency phone banks using the most current voter registration lists available in all precincts--particularly in areas with high minority populations and in precincts where computerized voting machines without paper ballots are used--to make voters aware that changes to the voter registration databases have gone into effect as a result of HAVA in January 2006, and this may very well affect their voting status. Provide voters with a number to call to check their registration status prior to deadline date (each state varies), or encourage them to visit their county elections offices to confirm that they are legally registered to vote.
* Assign Election Day observers to monitor each precinct in order to provide voters an opportunity to document any difficulties they encounter prior to or while voting. Make sure all precincts are provided with the most current copy of the voter registration list used in get-out-the-vote efforts to reference if problems arise regarding registration, and document any discrepancies.
* In counties where emergency paper ballots are not offered, make sure that voters unable to vote are offered provisional ballots (with proper affidavit) at the very least before leaving the precinct. Write down voter's name and contact information, and reason voter was not able to vote by regular ballot.
* Follow through with local elections officials on the processing and counting of provisional ballots as quickly as possible. HAVA gives the states responsibility of establishing the protocol used for handling of provisional ballots. Demand elections officials hold off from declaring a winner in the election until after the provisional ballots are counted.
* Observe vote tallying on Election Day along with elections officials. Invite county commissioners if available.
* Challenge any election immediately if it appears the election was not properly administered with denial of voting rights due to voter registration or voting equipment failures.
* Provide an analysis of the results, including provisional ballots that were not counted, to the public so that debate may follow on a reasonable remedy to protect voting rights in the next election.

Any political party that directs voters to the polls without taking steps to protect voting rights precinct-wide beforehand is not only acting irresponsibly, but dangerously as it may erode the public's confidence in voting even further. Election fraud is at an all time high mainly as a result of illegal voter suppression tactics that are being utilized to win the election at all costs, and unsafe computerized voting systems which affect not only casting and tallying of ballots, but voter registration databases too. Safeguards must be employed to prevent even more voters in future election cycles from asking, Why bother? If political parties truly want to see every vote counted, then they must prevent disenfranchisement and further discouragement among the electorate at the polls now.

REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT AT STAKE

I challenge you to not get discouraged between now and November as a result of federal and state changes to election law, or because hired party hacks who do not care about representative government are making a mockery of public elections. It's time to stand up and protect voting rights in your community on Election Day. For the sake of representative government in the United States of America, get involved in the election process by not only voting, but by volunteering your time to work at a local precinct, and encourage members of your community to do the same. Take steps now to ensure that your right to vote is secure despite expected chaos and confusion at the polls in November.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
http://www.GregPalast.com
http://www.BradBlog.com
http://www.BlackBoxVoting.org
http://www.ElectionDefenseAlliance.org
http://www.StealingAmerica.org
http://www.FreePress.org
http://www.markcrispinmiller.blogspot.com/
www.Electionline.org
http://www.electionline.org/Portals/1/Publications/ERIPBrief13.final.pdf
http://www.crisispapers.org/topics/election-fraud.htm
http://www.opednews.com
http://verifiedvoting.org/article.php?id=5133

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Kat L'Estrange is a voting rights activist and strong advocate for honest elections in the United States of America, and has been involved in the grassroots election reform movement since the 2000 election. She has worked actively to raise public (more...)
 
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Protecting your vote and representative government in the November general election

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