[North-NV-Greens] Fwd: [usgp-dx] Fw: electoral reform

Sat Apr 9 23:48:55 PDT 2005

>
>
>The Green Party of Ohio efforts discussed in this message are a 
>direct result of the
>2004 Ohio recount and of the Cobb campaign. We extend our thanks to 
>David Cobb,
>Lynne Serpe, Holly Hart, Blair Bobier, Colby Hamilton, Dean Myerson, 
>and all the other
>members of the Cobb Campaign.
>In addition we thank Gwen Marshall of the Green Party of Ohio 
>without whos determinded
>efforts to get Cobb on the ballot and failing that to get him on as 
>a write in candidate
>made this entire effort possible.
>
>Ongoing struggle:
>Bob Fitrakis and three other lawyers who represented Ohio voters in 
>their challange of
>the certification of the Ohio ballots in the 2004 presidential 
>election are currently being
>threatened with sanctions for having brought that lawsuit. Should 
>this effort to saction Bob
>and the other lawyers succeed this will have a very chilling effect 
>on the ability of voters to
>seek a resolution to the many election day problems that occured in 2004.
>
>Toledo Electoral Reform Forum March 26th
>On March 26th Bob Fitrakis and Mitch Balonek,(Mitch is the co-chair 
>of the North West Ohio Green party,
>and is a candidate for Toledo city council) met with some of the 
>volunteers who observed
>the 2004 recount in various counties in North West Ohio, and other 
>concerned citizens to discuss
>what went wrong with the election and how the recount was executed.
>Thank you to all those who participated in that forum and in 
>particular to the recount volunteers
>who in their willingness to step forward have provided a valuable 
>service to our American community.
>This is  what democracy looks like.
>
>As a result of the 3/26 forum on electoral reform the group
>came up with the following suggestions for electoral reforms:
>( this is a report of the suggestions that came out of this group and are not
>endorsed by the GP Ohio but will be the basis for furhter 
>exploration of this issue)
>*Standardize the process - all 88 Ohio counties should have the voting system
>*Eliminate or reduce the partisan nature of the Boards of Election and madate
>     non-partisan oversiget of the election process
>*Better Training for poll workers
>*Better election day information such as accurate precint maps
>*Better election day oversight  - Poll watchers
>*Voter support integrated into campaigns
>*Vote by Mail
>*Same Day Voter registration
>*Instant Run off Voting
>*Transparency in software - Open source Code
>
>Steps to accomplishing reforms:
>*Letters to the Editor - To make more people aware of this issue and 
>keep the pressure on.
>*Lawsuits
>*Lobby County officials to support more transparent voter friendly 
>voting systems, and to promote a systen in which each vote counts
>*Lobby State officials to support more transparent voter friendly 
>voting systems, and to promote a systen in which each vote counts
>*Supporting the enactment of legislation to ensure that all votes 
>are counted  and that the process is transparent
>*Supporting Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.'s proposal for a voter 
>rights ammendment to the constitution
>*Continuing to hold discussions on this issue to get better 
>information and strengthen the ability of citizens
>     to address the shortcomings in our current voting system and 
>advocate for change in our electoral process
>
>Next steps for the Green Party:
>The March 26th forum in Toledo Ohio was the first in a series of 
>Electoral Reform Forums throughout the state of Ohio
>  which are being facilitatated by the Green Party of Ohio.
>Information on additional forums will be forwarded as those forums 
>are confirmed.
>In addition to having the discussion on electoral reforms to refine 
>a Green Party platform on electoral reform,
>assuring that this issue remain in the spot light, and lobbying for 
>legislation to enact reforms, the Green Party of Ohio
>will be linking this effort to Candidate Campaigns.
>We are running Mitch Balonek in Toledo for an at large city Council seat.
>We are running Andrew Warner for city council in Cincinnati
>And we have formed an exploratory committee to review running Bob 
>Fitrakis for governor.
>Your comments and input, and your donations to this effort and to 
>our candidate campaigns are appreciated.
>Forward comments and questions to:
>Anita Rios
>429-243-8772
>rhannon at toast.net
>
>To donate and for additional information on the Green Party of Ohio:
>www.ohiogreens.org
>
>for additional information on electoral reform:
>www.votecobb.org
>www.ohiogreens.org
>www.freepress.org
>http://www.house.gov/jackson/test/VotingAmendment.htm
>http://www.house.gov/jackson/test/VotingRightsFAQ.htm
>
>Voting Rights Groups
>www.blackboxvoting.org
>http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=228625
>http://www.auditthevote.org/action.jsp
>http://www.fairvote.org/index.php?page=35
>http://www.lwv.org/join/elections/wherewestand.html
>http://www.votersunite.org/electionproblems.asp?offset=0&catid=&showall=&sort=
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-- 
Paul Etxeberri

"Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow"   ---Chateaubriand