[NV Greens] Fwd: Tell Congress to repair our election system now

Thu Feb 24 00:37:25 PST 2005

>Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 09:59:14 -0800
>From: "Noah T. Winer, MoveOn PAC" <moveon-help at list.moveon.org>
>To: "Paul Etxeberri" <eusko at earthlink.net>
>Subject: Tell Congress to repair our election system now
>X-ELNK-AV: 0
>
>New legislation has been introduced in Congress to repair the 
>embarrassing flaws in our election system -- from electronic voting 
>machines to long lines to partisan election officials. If we act 
>right away, we can help these bills pick up the momentum they need. 
>Can you sign our petition to speed election reform?
>
><http://www.moveonpac.org/repairthevote/?id=5115-1199302-ztytYgums4OM2fUAFDrfSw>
><http://www.moveonpac.org/repairthevote/?id=5115-1199302-ztytYgums4OM2fUAFDrfSw>Click 
>to sign
>
>The Good News
>Your contributions are helping to expose election irregularities in 
>Ohio. Read all about it below.
>Dear MoveOn member,
>
>Several great bills have just been introduced in Congress to repair 
>the embarrassing flaws in our election system -- from electronic 
>voting machines to long lines to partisan election officials. 
>Everyone's waiting to see if this new legislation will pick up speed 
>or fall victim to partisan bickering. If we act right now, we can 
>give these bills the early momentum they need.
>
>Later we'll tell you more about how your contributions are exposing 
>election errors in Ohio, but first we need your help to get this 
>legislation moving. There's no time to lose: In the coming months, 
>states are poised to buy a billion dollars worth of unreliable 
>electronic voting machines without paper trails.
>
>Can you speed election repairs by signing this new petition?
>
><http://www.moveonpac.org/repairthevote/?id=5115-1199302-ztytYgums4OM2fUAFDrfSw>http://www.moveonpac.org/repairthevote/
>
>We'll deliver your comments to your Senators and Representative. A 
>massive grassroots push could move legislation through Congress in 
>time for the 2006 election.
>
>Last November, a paperless e-voting machine lost more than 4,000 
>votes in North Carolina, leaving a tight statewide race up in the 
>air for months.1 Another mistakenly added nearly 4,000 votes to 
>Bush's total in Ohio.2 The solution for these electronic glitches is 
>straightforward: e-voting machines should be equipped to print an 
>ATM-like receipt for every voter. Voters can see their choices are 
>recorded accurately on paper, and if there's any question about the 
>outcome, a recount can rely on these voter-verified paper ballots. 
>Only then can we know an election was run fairly.
>
>Last week, Senators Clinton (D-NY), Boxer (D-CA), Kerry (D-MA), and 
>Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced a far-reaching bill to require paper 
>receipts, provide remedies for long lines, stop partisan election 
>officials, and institute a national holiday for voting. Senators 
>John Ensign (R-NV) and Harry Reid (D-NV) have introduced bipartisan 
>legislation focused on voter-verified paper ballots. In the House, 
>Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) has introduced a bill to require paper ballots 
>and audit electronic machines to make sure they're counting 
>properly. All these bills would ensure handicap accessible voting 
>and all would vastly improve our election system.
>
>At our Future of MoveOn house parties after the election, MoveOn 
>members chose election reform as one of our top priorities. Your 
>donations are making it possible to get to the bottom of what 
>happened in Ohio and problems with electronic voting machines there 
>and elsewhere.
>
>Two months ago, we heard a disturbing story from an Ohio voter. A 
>senior citizen, on Election Day she voted for Kerry on the 
>electronic voting machine at her precinct, but the machine indicated 
>a vote for Bush. She changed her selection several times and the 
>machine kept showing Bush. Finally, it showed a vote for Kerry and 
>it appeared her vote was counted, but she was far from sure.
>
>Badly shaken, she went to a lawyer for help but couldn't afford a 
>legal fight. The lawyer approached MoveOn PAC for help, and we 
>offered funds donated by members supporting electoral reform. The 
>attorney used the Ohio Public Records Act to demand information on 
>the voting machines. Local officials resisted and the lawyer 
>prepared to sue.
>
>In response, the local officials backed down and provided the 
>computer records of what happened that day for all the electronic 
>voting machines in the county, along with paper documents that can 
>be compared to the computer records.
>
>Using the funds from MoveOn members, one of the nation's top experts 
>on electronic voting machines will now go through the data. The 
>expert's conclusions will be turned over to authorities who are 
>investigating voting irregularities.
>
>The voter who raised this complaint (who has asked us not to reveal 
>her name because the matter is ongoing) deeply appreciates MoveOn's 
>support. She told us, "I can't change the outcome of the election, 
>but we can find out what happened. If something went wrong, then 
>someone should be held accountable. I just want to know -- did my 
>vote count?" We will continue to support her fight to uncover flaws 
>in Ohio's election system.
>
>In the meantime, Congress can repair what we already know is broken 
>-- from requiring paper receipts to providing remedies for long 
>lines to prohibiting election officials from campaigning for a 
>candidate.
>
>Sign our petition right now:
>
><http://www.moveonpac.org/repairthevote/?id=5115-1199302-ztytYgums4OM2fUAFDrfSw>http://www.moveonpac.org/repairthevote/
>
>Thank you for all you do for democracy.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>--Noah T. Winer, Adam Ruben, Eli Pariser, and the whole MoveOn PAC team
>   Wednesday, February 23rd, 2005
>
>P.S. Yesterday, the New York Times editorial urged Congress to pass 
>these very bills. You can read it at:
>
><http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/22/opinion/22tues1.html>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/22/opinion/22tues1.html
>
>Sources:
>1. "Democrat concedes Agriculture post," The Sun News, February 5, 2005
><http://www.moveon.org/r?r=642>http://www.moveon.org/r?r=642
>
>2. "Report Says Technical Foul Up Inflated Franklin County Bush 
>Votes," Associated Press, February 12, 2005
><http://www.nbc4i.com/news/4192153/detail.html>http://www.nbc4i.com/news/4192153/detail.html
>
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>Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
>
>
>
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><http://moveon.org/s?i=5115-1199302-ztytYgums4OM2fUAFDrfSw>http://moveon.org/s?i=5115-1199302-ztytYgums4OM2fUAFDrfSw 
>


-- 
Paul Etxeberri

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