Are you prepared to let this important decision be made without your input or consent? Remember government "of the people, by the people, for the people"? Democracy demands eternal vigilance and citizen participation. Without it, we are merely living in a nation impersonating a democracy. Will you settle for that?

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Are you confused about where everyone stands regarding the election reform legislation? Don't feel bad about it. You're not alone. Check out 'Holt Election Reform Bill Continues to be Supported by Democrats and Their Public Advocacy Groups, While Being Criticized by the Election Integrity Community' at: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4150 If you spend twenty minutes tops and follow the links, I guarantee that you will find yourself very well informed. Then, you can make up your own mind and go out and make some noise for true election reform. Is any legislation better than no legislation? It depends on the legislation. In this case, we think not. It's extremely important for us (this group of election integrity advocates who are for amending HR 811) to understand exactly what helps to simplify and explain this very complex subject of crucial importance to all for the health of our elections. I think almost everyone now recognizes the dangers of a HAVA, part 2, debacle. Our nation simply can't afford it. Any input you can give us can help us hone our message to effectively reach our fellow American voters before it's too late. This legislation is being fast-tracked. Time is not on our side. Let's all give this our best effort so that afterwards, we aren't beating ourselves up about all the things we didn't do to make it happen. Any decisions made and legislation passed now will affect the next few elections at the very least and the direction this country will take. Are you prepared to let this important decision be made without your input or consent? Remember government "of the people, by the people, for the people"? Democracy demands eternal vigilance and vigorous citizen participation. Without it, we are merely living in a nation impersonating a democracy. Will you settle for that? If democracy is important enough that we will fight for it in far flung lands, isn't it worth a fight here at home?

Authors Website: http://www.opednews.com/author/author79.html

Authors Bio:

Joan Brunwasser is a co-founder of Citizens for Election Reform (CER) which since 2005 existed for the sole purpose of raising the public awareness of the critical need for election reform. Our goal: to restore fair, accurate, transparent, secure elections where votes are cast in private and counted in public. Because the problems with electronic (computerized) voting systems include a lack of transparency and the ability to accurately check and authenticate the vote cast, these systems can alter election results and therefore are simply antithetical to democratic principles and functioning.



Since the pivotal 2004 Presidential election, Joan has come to see the connection between a broken election system, a dysfunctional, corporate media and a total lack of campaign finance reform. This has led her to enlarge the parameters of her writing to include interviews with whistle-blowers and articulate others who give a view quite different from that presented by the mainstream media. She also turns the spotlight on activists and ordinary folks who are striving to make a difference, to clean up and improve their corner of the world. By focusing on these intrepid individuals, she gives hope and inspiration to those who might otherwise be turned off and alienated. She also interviews people in the arts in all their variations - authors, journalists, filmmakers, actors, playwrights, and artists. Why? The bottom line: without art and inspiration, we lose one of the best parts of ourselves. And we're all in this together. If Joan can keep even one of her fellow citizens going another day, she considers her job well done.


When Joan hit one million page views, OEN Managing Editor, Meryl Ann Butler interviewed her, turning interviewer briefly into interviewee. Read the interview here.

While the news is often quite depressing, Joan nevertheless strives to maintain her mantra: "Grab life now in an exuberant embrace!"


Joan has been Election Integrity Editor for OpEdNews since December, 2005. Her articles also appear at Huffington Post, RepublicMedia.TV and Scoop.co.nz.