This coming Monday, December 13th, the Electoral College is slated to cast
its votes for President in state capitols across the country. Meanwhile,
the recounts in Ohio and New Mexico will have only just begun. No Stolen
Elections!, together with dozens of other organizations, has called for
nationwide protests on December 13th to defend the recounts, to make
visible the many voting rights violations and election irregularities which
call into question the integrity of the 2004 election, and to demand real
reforms to protect, extend, and deepen democracy. See: http://www.Nov3.US
No Stolen Elections! also endorses the following action plan, which is a
product of the Coalition Against Election Fraud working in cooperation with
Truth in Elections:
STRATEGIC ACTION FOR AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT
ON THE 2004 ELECTION CERTIFICATION PROCESS
& for shining a light on voting rights violations
Outlined here are campaigns to impact three parties to the election count
verification process:
- The Electoral College vote on December 13th in each state (mostly at
state capitols)
- Congressional certification of the Electoral College vote, Jan. 6th,
U.S. Congress
- Secretaries of State who acted in partisan and potentially unethical
or illegal ways
These campaigns are listed in order of priority. Given that December 13th
is very close, outreach to Electoral College delegates has to be our
immediate, top priority for the next five days. The next priority are U.S.
Representatives and Senators who are scheduled to vote to certify the
Electoral College results on January 6th in Washington, D.C. Last in
priority, more of a long-range campaign, are the problematic Secretaries
of State.
You can do these right now in your state, depending on who your Electoral
College Delegates, your Congresspeople and your Secretary of State
are. Below we lay out some general ideas for how to do this in your state
but please use your own creativity and initiative. Particularly for the
Electoral College work, speed is essential. Contact Truth in Elections for
more help at http://www.EconHumanRights.org/truth/ or Grace C Ross at
econhmnrts@aol.com
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ONLINE DIRECTORIES:
National Association of Secretaries of State:
NARA database for Electoral College (includes state by state) -
Congress.org (find elected electives) -
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Target 1) : Electoral College Delegates
Goals:
• Get electoral college delegates to use their role to create
publicity for election irregularities/voting rights violations, either
through public statements or by protest during the actual voting process
• Create visibility for election problems
• Gum up and ideally postpone the process as a protest
Steps:
1 Identify the Electoral College delegates from your state (check
out the Secretary of State website)
2 Research where they meet and rules for their voting process. The
likely voting date is December 13th.
3 Research who these delegates are and, to the extent possible,
what are their interests (it may not be possible with most pf them to find
this out in the limited time left).
4 Publicize their names to see if anyone in your networks knows or
share interests with any of them
5 Review voting rules for Electoral College electors (Secretary of
State website, or other state regulations) for possible ways to use them to
raise issues. Examples: Can riders be attached to the vote? Can an
elector table or ask for a postponement? Can he/she filibuster? Is some
kind of quorum required? etc. Think of a range of possible actions a
sympathetic delegate (likely not a Republican) can take- from non-intrusive
to very obstructionist.
6 If you can identify which delegates are both most likely to be
angry about election irregularities and most willing to step outside of
expected role as delegates, contact them first (don’t overlook the power of
a profound patriotic commitment to the right to vote or a someone with a
stubborn commitment to their values)
7 If you find a delegate who is interested but needs more
information, put together information that is publicly available on the
internet about election irregularities/voting rights violations and get it
to them.as quickly as possible.
8 Ask if they would be willing to help publicize these
irregularities/violations and help make sure steps are taken to make sure
they are not repeated See if they would be willing to be part of a press
conference, for instance, at the gathering site before the vote, and would
they ask other delegates to join them?
9 If they seem very interested and more activist, ask if they might
be willing to actually use the delegate vote process to highlight the issue
 review vote process and discuss means of delay, attaching stipulations or
objections, etc. If you have success in finding one or more such
delegates, work with them to provide materials, perhaps try to bring in a
legal expert to help frame the issues (a creative one), make media
contacts, send out press releases, etc.
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Target 2): US Senators and Representatives
Goals:
• To get at least one Senator and one Congressperson to object to the
Electoral College Vote Certification.
• To create visibility for election problems  the submission of an
objection means the two houses must separate and debate and then vote
separately. Imagine two hours of debate in both sides of the Congress on
the length and breadth of the voting violations in a state.
• To gum up the process as a protest against voting rights violations
and fraud.
Steps:
1 Identify any progressive US Senators or Representatives who might
do this. Remember the roadblock to the filing of an objection to the 2000
presidential vote was that there was no US Senator willing to join the
objection motion made by about a dozen Representatives . It requires at
least one US Senator and one US Rep.
2 Reach out to your networks, explaining the importance of putting
pressure on these people right now , especially if someone has a direct
connection to them.
3 If necessary for your networks, put together some basic information
on election irregularities and voting rights violations.
4 Try to arrange a meeting with local Representatives or Senators.
They’re back home now from D.C. so this is a good time to try to do so. If
possible, include people in your delegation who work on issues of concern
to the elected representative or who have a direct or indirect connection
to them..
5 Start a call-in/fax campaign as well, or if you can’t get a
meeting, have the call-in/fax campaign include a demand for a meeting.
6 Help them see reasons beyond the win or lose structure- this is an
opportunity to be an advocate for one of the most deeply held American
values, to stand for the rights of all people, justice and equality.
Impress upon them that there are a lot of voters who feel strongly about
this issue.
7 Urge them to commit to object on January 6 or to take the lead on
finding others.
8 Get a commitment.
9 Communicate any positive results, or elected officials who seem to
be leaning our way but need extra pressure, to us so that we can do what we
can on a national level to strengthen our overall efforts.
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Target 3): Secretaries of State who acted in unethical or partisan ways
(think Katherine Harris and Kenneth Blackwell)
Goals:
• Put the visible actors in the tampering with the election on notice
• Create visibility for election problems
Steps:
1 Research the process of the certification of the vote in your
state, the recall of Secretary of State, the legal bases for a recall Â
there may be more than one means of recall
2 Research any statements as well as actions that contravene the job
or ethics requirement of the Secretary of State
3 Create an initiative petition that points to the areas of unethical
or illegal behavior
4 Begin broad outreach for signature collection in the state,
including electronic gathering of signatures
5 Start publicity campaign requesting that Secretary of State step down
6 Create publicity mile stones  signatures from well known figures,
notables and/or when each thousand signatures is submitted for verification
or maybe local press releases when they are submitted at any town or city
hall  use each occasion to highlight one example of unethical or illegal
behavior.
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Distributed by No Stolen Elections! http://www.Nov3.US
Contact Truth in Elections for more help at
http://www.EconHumanRights.org/truth/ or Grace C Ross at econhmnrts@aol.com
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www.Nov3.US NO STOLEN ELECTIONS!
"This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may
be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes
nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just
what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact
measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these
will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with
both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom
they oppress." ~ Frederick Douglass, 1857
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