February 28, 2005

51CapitalMarch Calls for May 1st Worldwide Protest Against United States Stolen Election

51CapitalMarch.com, which organized nationwide protests in state capitals on December 11th and December 12th, has called for a grassroots, worldwide protest of the United States stolen election of 2004.

The protests will include:

-Worldwide protests

-Picketing of major media outlets

-Leafleting with flyers and emails

-Local protests throughout the United States

All concerned citizens are urged to make or print out posters, email their networks, volunteer some time, donate some money, and help to organize local events.

Download flyer

For further information:

http://www.51capitalmarch.com/index.html#1

Christopher Hitchens, Bush Supporter, Criticizes Ohio Election in "Vanity Fair"

Christopher Hitchens, a Bush supporter, has charged in a "Vanity Fair" piece that Ohio's "odd numbers" are not be believed, and that the evidence shows that something went seriously awry in Ohio:

"Ohio's Odd Numbers

Are the stories of vote suppression and rigged machines to be believed? Here is "non-wacko" evidence that something went seriously awry in the Buckeye State on Election Day 2004

By CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS

"If it were not for Kenyon College, I might have missed, or skipped, the whole controversy. The place is a visiting lecturer's dream, or the ideal of a campus-movie director in search of a setting. It is situated in wooded Ohio hills, in the small town of Gambier, about an hour's drive from Columbus. Its literary magazine, The Kenyon Review, was founded by John Crowe Ransom in 1939. Its alumni include Paul Newman, E. L. Doctorow, Jonathan Winters, Robert Lowell, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, and President Rutherford B. Hayes. The college's origins are Episcopalian, its students well mannered and well off and predominantly white, but it is by no means Bush-Cheney territory. Arriving to speak there a few days after the presidential election, I found that the place was still buzzing. Here's what happened in Gambier, Ohio, on decision day 2004.

"The polls opened at 6:30 a.m. There were only two voting machines (push-button direct-recording electronic systems) for the entire town of 2,200 (with students). The mayor, Kirk Emmert, had called the Board of Elections 10 days earlier, saying that the number of registered voters would require more than that. (He knew, as did many others, that hundreds of students had asked to register in Ohio because it was a critical "swing" state.) The mayor's request was denied. Indeed, instead of there being extra capacity on Election Day, one of the only two machines chose to break down before lunchtime.

"By the time the polls officially closed, at 7:30 that evening, the line of those waiting to vote was still way outside the Community Center and well into the parking lot. A federal judge thereupon ordered Knox County, in which Gambier is located, to comply with Ohio law, which grants the right to vote to those who have shown up in time. "Authority to Vote" cards were kindly distributed to those on line (voting is a right, not a privilege), but those on line needed more than that. By the time the 1,175 voters in the precinct had all cast their ballots, it was almost four in the morning, and many had had to wait for up to 11 hours. In the spirit of democratic carnival, pizzas and canned drinks and guitarists were on hand to improve the shining moment. TV crews showed up, and the young Americans all acted as if they had been cast by Frank Capra: cheerful and good-humored, letting older voters get to the front, catching up on laptop essays, many voting for the first time and all convinced that a long and cold wait was a small price to pay. Typical was Pippa White, who said that "even after eight hours and 15 minutes I still had energy. It lets you know how worth it this is." Heartwarming, until you think about it.

"The students of Kenyon had one advantage, and they made one mistake. Their advantage was that their president, S. Georgia Nugent, told them that they could be excused from class for voting. Their mistake was to reject the paper ballots that were offered to them late in the evening, after attorneys from the Ohio Democratic Party had filed suit to speed up the voting process in this way. The ballots were being handed out (later to be counted by machine under the supervision of Knox County's Democratic and Republican chairs) when someone yelled through the window of the Community Center, "Don't use the paper ballots! The Republicans are going to appeal it and it won't count!" After that, the majority chose to stick with the machines.

"Across the rest of Ohio, the Capra theme was not so noticeable. Reporters and eyewitnesses told of voters who had given up after humiliating or frustrating waits, and who often cited the unwillingness of their employers to accept voting as an excuse for lateness or absence. In some way or another, these bottlenecks had a tendency to occur in working-class and, shall we just say, nonwhite precincts. So did many disputes about "provisional" ballots, the sort that are handed out when a voter can prove his or her identity but not his or her registration at that polling place. These glitches might all be attributable to inefficiency or incompetence (though Gambier had higher turnouts and much shorter lines in 1992 and 1996). Inefficiency and incompetence could also explain the other oddities of the Ohio process—from machines that redirected votes from one column to the other to machines that recorded amazing tallies for unknown fringe candidates, to machines that apparently showed that voters who waited for a long time still somehow failed to register a vote at the top of the ticket for any candidate for the presidency of these United States.

"However, for any of that last category of anomaly to be explained, one would need either a voter-verified paper trail of ballots that could be tested against the performance of the machines or a court order that would allow inspection of the machines themselves. The first of these does not exist, and the second has not yet been granted.

"I don't know who it was who shouted idiotically to voters not to trust the paper ballots in Gambier, but I do know a lot of people who are convinced that there was dirty work at the crossroads in the Ohio vote. Some of these people are known to me as nutbags and paranoids of the first water, people whose grassy-knoll minds can simply cancel or deny any objective reasons for a high Republican turnout. (Here's how I know some of these people: In November 1999, I wrote a column calling for international observers to monitor the then upcoming presidential election. I was concerned about restrictive ballot-access laws, illegal slush funds, denial of access to media for independents, and abuse of the state laws that banned "felons" from voting. At the end, I managed to mention the official disenfranchisement of voters in my hometown of Washington, D.C., and the questionable "reliability or integrity" of the new voting-machine technology. I've had all these wacko friends ever since.) But here are some of the non-wacko reasons to revisit the Ohio election.

"First, the county-by-county and precinct-by-precinct discrepancies. In Butler County, for example, a Democrat running for the State Supreme Court chief justice received 61,559 votes. The Kerry-Edwards ticket drew about 5,000 fewer votes, at 56,243. This contrasts rather markedly with the behavior of the Republican electorate in that county, who cast about 40,000 fewer votes for their judicial nominee than they did for Bush and Cheney. (The latter pattern, with vote totals tapering down from the top of the ticket, is by far the more general—and probable—one nationwide and statewide.)

"In 11 other counties, the same Democratic judicial nominee, C. Ellen Connally, managed to outpoll the Democratic presidential and vice-presidential nominees by hundreds and sometimes thousands of votes. So maybe we have a barn-burning, charismatic future candidate on our hands, and Ms. Connally is a force to be reckoned with on a national scale. Or is it perhaps a trick of the Ohio atmosphere? There do seem to be a lot of eccentrics in the state. In Cuyahoga County, which includes the city of Cleveland, two largely black precincts on the East Side voted like this. In Precinct 4F: Kerry, 290; Bush, 21; Peroutka, 215. In Precinct 4N: Kerry, 318; Bush, 11; Badnarik, 163. Mr. Peroutka and Mr. Badnarik are, respectively, the presidential candidates of the Constitution and Libertarian Parties. In addition to this eminence, they also possess distinctive (but not particularly African-American-sounding) names. In 2000, Ralph Nader's best year, the total vote received in Precinct 4F by all third-party candidates combined was eight.

"In Montgomery County, two precincts recorded a combined undervote of almost 6,000. This is to say that that many people waited to vote but, when their turn came, had no opinion on who should be the president, voting only for lesser offices. In these two precincts alone, that number represents an undervote of 25 percent, in a county where undervoting averages out at just 2 percent. Democratic precincts had 75 percent more undervotes than Republican ones.


Complete text of article

Paul Harmon to Appeal Licking County Case to Ohio Supreme Court

It has been reported by The Advocate that Paul Harmon, independent candidate for Domestic Relations Court Judge in Licking County, will be appealing his election contest case to Ohio's highest court:

"After dismissal, Harmon to take case to Ohio Supreme Court



By Erik Johns


Advocate Reporter

"NEWARK -- A former Licking County judicial candidate said he will take his election-dispute case to the Ohio Supreme Court after it was dismissed by an appeals court Tuesday.

"After nearly four months of legal wrangling over the result of the Nov. 2 election for Licking County Domestic Relations Judge, losing candidate Paul Harmon had his election petition dismissed Tuesday in the Ohio Fifth District Court of Appeals in Canton by a three-judge panel helmed by Judge Sheila Farmer.

"Harmon said he intends to appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.

"It's the wrong decision," Harmon said. "The court wasn't really interested in the issues. ... Frankly, I don't have any doubt that the election results are uncertain."

For the complete text of the Advocate article go to: http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?
p_action=doc&p_docid=108830A08DA19B04&p_docnum=2&p_
theme=gannett&s_site=newarkadvocate&p_product=NADB


Mr. Harmon has also filed criminal charges in connection with the Licking County election, in which he lost to the Republican candidate 14,300 to 14,100, while 18,000 votes went uncounted, and the election officials admitted to having repeatedly misrepresented the number of voting machines, to having left ballots in unsecured locations, and to having opened ballots before they were legally permitted to do so, and in a manner that was not authorized by law. http://fairnessbybeckerman.blogspot.com/2005/02/election-fraud-by-licking-county.html

National Voting Rights Institute Update on Ohio Recount Litigation

The National Voting Rights Institute, the public interest law firm representing Presidential Candidates Cobb and Badnarik in their lawsuit to compel a lawful recount in Ohio, have issued this update on the status of their ligitation:

The National Voting Rights Institute

Protecting the Right to Vote for All Americans


NVRI E-News Update - February 25, 2005

The Ohio Recount -- The Saga Continues -- New Filings From The Kerry-Edwards Campaign Support NVRI's Claim That The Recount Was Simply Not Done Right

Dear Citizen:

NVRI continues to press the state of Ohio to do the right thing, and conduct a consistent and fair recount. The announced winner of the campaign is obviously not an issue. But the justness of American democracy has still not been shown. Earlier this week, the Kerry-Edwards Campaign filed documents with the federal district court in Ohio, supporting NVRI's motion to have a hearing on the inconsistent standards used in the recount.

The Kerry Edwards filing is mentioned below, and here are the most recent developments in this case.

On February 11, 2005, on behalf of our clients David Cobb and Michael Badnarik, NVRI filed a motion for a hearing before the Federal District Court on previously filed claims regarding inconsistent and inequitable recount procedures. The earlier filings had claimed that the recount of the 2004 presidential vote had been conducted with inconsistent standards throughout the state, in violation of the equal protection and due process guarantees under the US Constitution.

On February 14, Judge Sargus issued an order granting our motion to dismiss the Delaware County Board of Elections' complaint (which had sought to prevent the recount in that county) and asking for briefing in 15 days on the question of whether the case should be transferred to Judge Carr in Toledo (for the Northern District of Ohio) where a prior case seeking to expedite the recount had been filed in November 2004.

On February 23, NVRI filed the attached statement on the transfer question (http://www.nvri.org/updates/cobb_badnarik
_transfer_statement_022305.pdf
).

And on February 24, the Kerry-Edwards Campaign filed a document in support of that statement. Most significant, the Kerry-Edwards Campaign also filed a separate document in support of our motion for hearing with two critical attachments: 1) a declaration from Kerry-Edwards attorney Don McTigue (http://www.nvri.org/updates/kerry_edwards_mctigue_decl_022405.pdf) regarding a survey he conducted of Kerry-Edwards county recount coordinators; 2) a summary chart of the results of that survey (http://www.nvri.org/updates/kerry_edwards_summary_chart_022405.pdf), which highlight the inconsistent standards applied during the recount. Attached are these two critical Kerry-Edwards filings.

Once again, thanks for all of your support. Our work continues. All Americans should be concerned about the unconstitutional manner this recount was conducted.

Best Regards,

Stu


Stuart Comstock-Gay

Executive Director

National Voting Rights Institute

617-624-3900

scg@nvri.org

National Voting Rights Institute

27 School Street, Suite 500

Boston, MA 02186

Phone: (617) 624-3900 ¤ Fax: (617) 624-3911

http://www.nvri.org ¤ nvri@nvri.org

February 25, 2005

Phillips estimates that Kerry won Ohio

Dr. Richard Hayes Phillips estimates that Kerry won Ohio:

http://ohioelection2004.com/WordHost/phillipsestimate.doc

For body of Phillips's work on the Ohio 2004 election see http://fairnessbybeckerman.blogspot.com/2005/02/
summary-and-list-of-richard-hayes.html

Summary and List of Richard Hayes Phillips Reports

A summary of reports on the Ohio election by Dr. Richard Hayes Phillips is posted at:http://ohioelection2004.com/WordHost/richardhayesphillipssummary.doc


The reports themselves are published at the following links:

DEPOSITION TO OHIO SUPREME COURT

JOHN KERRY CONCEDED TOO SOON

STEALING VOTES IN CLEVELAND

STEALING VOTES IN COLUMBUS

FAVORITISM IN THE SUBURBS

VOTER TURNOUT IN WARREN COUNTY

ELECTION RESULTS IN SOUTHWESTERN OHIO

UNCOUNTED VOTES IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY

UNCOUNTED VOTES IN HAMILTON COUNTY

HACKING THE VOTE IN MIAMI COUNTY

RIGGING THE VOTE IN LUCAS COUNTY

STUFFING THE BALLOT BOX IN TRUMBULL COUNTY

UNCOUNTED VOTES IN STARK COUNTY

UNCOUNTED VOTES IN CUYAHOGA COUNTY

UNCOUNTED VOTES IN SUMMIT COUNTY

ANOMALOUS PRECINCTS IN DELAWARE CITY

PROVISIONAL BALLOTS IN CUYAHOGA COUNTY

CERTIFIABLE ELECTION RESULTS

GETTING OUT THE VOTE IN LORAIN COUNTY

DEFAULT SETTINGS IN MAHONING COUNTY

ANOTHER THIRD RATE BURGLARY

UNCOUNTED VOTES IN TRUMBULL COUNTY

ONE MORE LOOK AT SOUTHWESTERN OHIO

ESTIMATED VOTE COUNT IN OHIO

Kerry & Edwards File Court Papers Agreeing With Cobb & Badnarik that Venue Should Not be Transferred & Summarizing Reports of Recount Coordinators

Kerry & Edwards File Court Papers Agreeing with Cobb & Badnarik that Venue Should not be Transferred, and Summarizinging Reports of Recount Coordinators

http://www.truthout.org/pdf/kerryedwardsmctiguedecl22405.pdf

http://www.truthout.org/pdf/kerryedwardsmotionforhearing22405.pdf

http://www.truthout.org/pdf/kerryedwardssummarychart22405.pdf

http://www.truthout.org/pdf/kerryedwardstransferstatement22405.pdf

Cobb & Badnarik File Papers Requesting Court Not to Transfer Venue

Cobb and Badnarik have filed papers requesting the court not to transfer venue of the case.

http://www.truthout.org/pdf/cobbbadnariktransfertatement22305.pdf

http://www.nvri.org/about/ohio_memo_in_support_122304.pdf

Election Fraud by Licking County Officials Exposed in Criminal Complaint Filed by Paul D. Harmon

We have learned that Paul D. Harmon, an independent candidate for Domestic Relations Court Judge in Licking County, Ohio, filed a criminal complaint against Licking County election officials on February 18th.

The complaint, based on events in a Licking County race in which there were more "no votes" than votes cast for any candidate, accuses the officials of fraud involving "votomatic" punch card votes, of perjury, of destroying evidence, tampering with records, thwarting the administration of the recount laws, destruction of the secrecy of, and tampering with, absentee ballots, and other similar misconduct.

Mr. Harmon, a Newark, Ohio, attorney, and native of Granville, Ohio, lost by 200 votes. Of the 78,000 votes cast, the Republican candidate received 14,300, and Mr. Harmon 14,100. 18,000 votes were never counted.

During and after the ensuing mandatory recount, Licking County officials illegally refused to permit recount witnesses to view the uncounted ballots, or to inspect the machines, and on more than one occasion misrepresented the number of voting machines that had been used.

They have also admitted that blank ballots were stored in unsecured facilites.

It has also been learned that, although in one or more Democratic precincts voters were subjected to waits of 4 hours or more in order to vote, 50 unused voting machines had been kept 'in reserve' by the Republican director and deputy director of the Licking County Board of elections.

It is anticipated that an independent prosecutor will be appointed to investigate the complaint.

As we obtain more details of the Licking County incidents, documents, and court proceedings, this post will be updated and expanded.

Report on EAC February 23rd Hearing by electionline.org

Report from electionline.org on February 23rd Columbus, Ohio, hearing of U.S. Election Assistance Commission:

Hello, Columbus: Provisional voting debate rages on
EAC hearing focuses on problems, possible solutions

By Sean Greene

electionline.org

Columbus, Ohio - The federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) traveled here for its first out-of-town public hearing in 2005, where the Moritz School of Law at Ohio State University hosted a packed house for nearly four hours of at times testy testimony about provisional ballots.

EAC chair Gracia Hillman prefaced the afternoon hearing (a public meeting on voting machine standards was held in the morning) by emphasizing that the Commission had come to Columbus to focus on the national picture, not just Ohio.

Ohio debate

Initially, however, Ohio and its handling of provisional ballots took center stage. After being chastised by some election groups for not making appearances at Congressional hearings in Washington D.C., Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell spoke about the state’s "mature" system of provisional voting that has been in place for ten years. "Ohio's provisional balloting system can stand as a model for other states," he stated.

Not everyone agreed.

"Ohio's provisional voting system is not a model for the nation," countered Cuyahoga County, Ohio elections director Michael Vu. Vu cited late directives concerning these ballots issued by the secretary of state’s office that added to confusion for both poll workers and voters.

Audience member and Lake County election director Janet Clair was also troubled at times by the poor communication between the secretary’s office and local officials. “I often heard about the directives from the media first,” Clair stated.

Full text of article

EAC Announces it will Only Hold One More Hearing

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which conducted a single "public hearing" on provisional voting, has announced that it will only conduct one more such hearing before making its final "guidance" to the "elections community".

http://ohioelection2004.com/PDFHost/eacpressrelease050224.pdf

February 24, 2005

Report on EAC Commission February 23rd Public Hearing

Eyewitness report by Dorri Steinhoff on the February 23rd Public Hearing conducted by Election Assistance Commission in Columbus, Ohio:

"I went along with Phil Fry, as representatives from CASE-OHIO.

"The EAC staff appeared genuinely interested in
finding ways to decrease the amount of provisional ballots cast, as well
as increase the acceptance rate of those cast. They came down hard on
Blackwell, who had the audacity to state "Ohio could stand as a model
for other states".

"Michael Vu, Director of the Cuyahoga County BOE,
disputed Blackwell's claims, stating that his last minute directives
led to confusion and were contrary to HAVA. The provisional ballot
acceptance rate for OH was 77%, although Democratic strongholds such as
Cuyahoga County had only a 66% acceptance rate. Mr. Vu stated the Blackwell
directives were different than those used in the 2004 primary, causing
further confusion. He stated the untimely mandates caused Ohio NOT to
be a model. (Mr Vu was the only panelist that was applauded).

" The commissioners, too, came down hard on Blackwell. Like others in his
party, Blackwell evaded the questions put forth, and gave unnecessary
diatribes on the history of provisional ballots in Ohio. He spoke of the need to
prevent voter fraud. He appeared foolish compared to the other
panelist, Glenda Hood, Rebecca Vigil-Giron (NM), Vu and Cherie Poucher
Wake County NC.

"The others pressed for the need for clarification of
codifaction, pollworker training, follow-up mechanisms for those who
cast provisional ballots, and how to diminish the use (preventative measures). Also
brought out was how some states allow county wide acceptance, and
follow-up mechanism to turn a provisional vote into a regular vote.

"I think it would behoove election reform advocates to contact the EAC,
and attempt to work with them."

-Dorri Steinhoff

"Public" hearing not open to the "Public"

The so-called "public" hearing conducted by George Bush's "Election Assistance Commission" was not open to the "public":

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/110906828170691.xml

February 23, 2005

National Teach-in on 2004 Election, Oakland, CA, February 26th

ELECTION RIGGING 101

A National Teach-In

On the 2004 election and what we must do to restore democracy

With Bob Fitrakis

Ohio Attorney, Editor, Columbus Free Press



Saturday, Feb. 26th

10am - 4pm

1st Congregational Church

2501 Harrison St. Oakland

$10 suggested donation

please bring lunch

information: http://www.democraticrenewal.us



How to rig it

11 hour lines for democrats only; "kerry" votes defaulting to "bush";
registered voters purged; exit polls ignored; RECOUNTS THAT WEREN'T, and
much more.

How to stop it

stunning documentary footage, speakers, action

Butch Wing, Rainbow Push; Larry Bensky, KPFA; Walter Riley, East Bay
Votes;
medea benjamin, code pink. speakers from Blackboxvoting.org,
VotersUnite.org, Open Voting Consortium, mmob

information: http://www.democratic renewal.us



With Lynn Landes, Jonathan Simon, Medea Benjamin, Larry Bensky, Butch Wing, Emily Levy, Jim March (Black BoxVoting), Kathy Dopp (US Count Votes), John Gideon, (VotersUnite!), Bob Kibrick, (VerifiedVoting) and many more!
scroll down for complete program listing





Program Overview:

I. The Arc Of Justice: We've Been Here Before

DVD excerpt: Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., "Martyrs of the Civil Rights Movement"


Lynn Landes, journalist, "How America Used to Vote"
John Gideon, VotersUnite!, "Analysis of HAVA Misinformation in the Press"


II. Voter Suppression

DVD excerpt: "Columbus Ohio Election Day Footage", by Linda Byrket, http://www.votecobb.org/video/#video5


Bob Fitrakis, Free Press (Columbus, Ohio), "The Taking of Ohio Prior to Nov. 2"
Emily Levy, Project Coordinator for Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D., "Ohio--How the Election was Stolen"

Warren Stewart, National Ballot Integrity Project, "Recounting New Mexico"


5 Minute Stretch

III. What Happened In 2004: Exit Polls - Were They Right?

DVD excerpt: Susan Truitt, Ohio attorney


Jonathan Simon, Alliance for Democacy, "The Edison/Mitofsky Report: The Bottom Line You Won't Hear on Nightline"

Allyson Washburn, US Countvotes.org, "An Alternative Explanation for the Exit Poll Discrepancy: Fraudulent Vote Tallies"

Larry Bensky, KPFA, "The Disappearing Media"


IV. The Age of the Machines

Jim March, BlackBoxVoting.org, "How to Hack a Diebold Vote Tabulator"
Wayne Madsen, journalist, "The Privatization of the Vote"


Lunch (45 Minutes)

V. Litigation

Paul Lehto, Washington attorney, "Verifying Democracy 101: Sue First, Ask Questions Later"

Bob Fitrakis, Free Press, "History of Moss v. Bush, the Sanctions, Future Legal Actions"


VI. Legislation

Butch Wing, political director, Rainbow PUSH, "Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.'s Constitutional Amendment Guaranteeing the Right to Vote"

Bob Kibrick, Verifiedvoting.org, "Pending Federal Legislation for Electoral Reform"

Sharon Cornu, Alameda County Central Labor Council, "Organized Labor and Election Reform"

Medea Benjamin, Code Pink, "A Voters' Bill of Rights"


VII. Action

Walter Riley, community activist, "Organize County by County, Precinct by Precinct"

Lynn Landes, journalist, "A Paper Ballot is the Only Solution"

Alan Dechert, Open Voting Consortium, "Open Source Code Machines"

Kathy Dopp and Allyson Washburn, UScountvotes.org, "A Plan to Restore Democratic Elections by 2006"

Open Microphone -- Share proposals and join in citizen action to reclaim electoral democracy



This Teach-In has been organized by the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, http://democraticrenewal.us
and the MMOB (Mainstreet Moms Operation Blue), http://www.themmob.com.

For full program details, click here: http://www.wellstoneclub.org/involve/teachin.htm




If you plan to attend, please click here to send an RSVP


(say Yes! in the subject line)


Help spread the word! Click here to download a PDF flyer you can print and hand out



Dan Ashby

e-mail: dan@redefeatbush.com

This message brought to you by Left.org

Click here to download the Left.org prospectus

February 22, 2005

Election Reform Teach-In, with Blair Bobier, Bev Harris, Bob Fitrakis & Others. Sun. Feb. 27th. 2:00 P.M.


Election Reform Teach-In
with

Blair Bobier from the Greens,
Bev Harris from Black Box Voting,
Bob Fitrakis of the Free Press
and others

Sunday, February 27, 2:00 to 5:00 pm

The Church at Ocean Park, 2nd and Hill in Santa Monica, California

For reservations or information, call 310-390-8141 or write to sheri@citizensact.org


Screening of Films "Votergate", "Video the Vote", "Electile Disfunction", and "Tape from Georgia". Venice, CA. Sat. Feb. 26th


Screenings of the films

"Electile Dysfunction"

"Video the Vote"

"Tape from Georgia"

and "Votergate"



Saturday, February 26, 7:00 to 10:00 pm

Venice United Methodist Church (sanctuary)

1020 Victoria Avenue

Venice, California

February 17, 2005

Revision of Cuyahoga analysis by Teed Rockwell

We were advised by Teed Rockwell, a member of the Philosophy Department at Sonoma State University, on February 17, 2005, that an earlier post attributed to him -- published here on November 19, 2004 -- is inaccurate, in that (a) it was heavily edited by an unknown party before submission to this blog, and (b) the facts stated in it are no longer true, due to the fact that the Cuyahoga Board of Elections has changed its figures. Mr. Rockwell advises that his current views on the subject are posted at http://www.california.com/~mcmf/cuyahoga.htm

February 15, 2005

Blackwell Fails to Show Up at House Administration Committee; Chair Says "You Can Run, But You Can't Hide"

Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell failed to attend the House Administration Committee Meeting in Washington DC.

Chairman Bob Ney (R-Ohio) said "you can run, but you can't hide".

http://www.thepost.ohiou.edu/N.php?article=N15&date=021005

Congressman Conyers, Senator Feingold, and 17 Other Congresspersons file Amicus Brief Opposing Ohio Elections Contest Sanctions Motion

On February 14th, Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Senator Russ Feingold, and 17 other Congresspersons filed an amicus curiae brief in the Ohio election contest suit, in opposition to the sanctions motion brought by Ohio attorney general Petro.

The brief recommended that the Court not sanction the attorneys who brought Ohio election contest in Moss v. Bush (no.04-2088). Mr. Conyers offered the following statement:


"The attorneys in this case had reason to believe that the election results did not reflect the will of the electorate. In good faith, they brought a case based not only on statistical probability but the depositions and affidavits of computer experts, statisticians, and election volunteers. In only a couple months, these attorneys have amassed over 900 pages of evidence.


"While we take no opinion on the underlying case, we firmly support the right of citizens to challenge elections results in court when they have a good faith basis to do so. Truly, Secretary Blackwell's attempt to sanction these attorneys is meant to send a message to anyone who dare challenge his questionable election administration. For our democracy to work properly, we can't allow this sort of intimidation by state officials."

http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/ohamicusbriefpr21405.pdf

February 10, 2005

Public Hearing on Provisional Voting, to take place in Columbus, Ohio, February 23, 2005, at 1:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M.

[Federal Register: February 9, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 26)]

[Notices]

[Page 6850]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr09fe05-40]

====================================

---------------------------------------

ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION


Sunshine Act Notice

AGENCY: Election Assistance Commission.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing.

Date and Time: Wednesday, February 23, 2005, 1 p.m.-5p.m.

Place: Michael E. Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University, 55
W. 12th Ave., Saxbe Auditorium, Columbus, OH 43210-1391.

Agenda: The Commission will conduct a public hearing to identify the
successes and problems involved with the use of provisional voting.

The following witness panels will be presented: Election Officials,
Advocacy Organizations/Non-government Sector and Academics.

All public comments will be taken in writing via e-mail at

testimony@eac.gov
, or at the meeting or via mail addressed to the U.S.

Election Assistance Commission, 1225 New York Ave., NW., Suite 1100,
Washington, DC 20005.

FUR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryan Whitener, Telephone: (202) 566-
3100.

Ray Martinez III,

Commissioner, U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

[FR Doc. 05-2563 Filed 2-7-05; 9:02 am]



http://www.eac.gov/docs/EAC%20-%20Sunshine%20Notice%202-23-05%20Hearing.pdf

State Court Judges Order Blackwell Not to Enforce Optical Scan Deadline

Two state court judges have prohibited Secretary of State Blackwell from enforcing his optical scan deadline:

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/10859136.htm?1c

Ohio Attorney General Tells Franklin County Prosecutor that Blackwell Exceeded Authority

Ohio Attorney General Tells Franklin County Prosecutor that Blackwell Exceeded Authority

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/docs/050208ag-opinion.pdf

February 08, 2005

Cobb and Badnarik File Memorandum of Law in Recount Case

DATE FOR HEARING IN NEW OHIO RECOUNT CASE CAN NOW BE SET

Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb's pending request
to have the flawed recount of Ohio's presidential vote be done again, this
time in conformance with state and federal law, moved a step closer to
judicial resolution with the filing last week of the final necessary
documents before the matter can be heard by a federal judge.

Attorneys acting on behalf of Cobb and Libertarian presidential
candidate Michael Badnarik, filed a legal Memorandum on February 3,
countering the "remarkable assertion" of Secretary of State J. Kenneth
Blackwell that he is not a proper party to the recount litigation and that
the lawsuit filed by the presidential candidates should be dismissed.

"Mr. Blackwell and Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro are doing
their utmost to keep the public and the proper authorities from finding out
what went wrong with Ohio's presidential election and the bungled recount
which followed it. Collectively, they have refused to testify before
members of Congress and they have sought sanctions against attorneys
prosecuting legitimate election claims. It is not at all surprising that
they are claiming a federal court has no jurisdiction in the oversight of a
federal election. It's not surprising, it's simply ridiculous," said Blair
Bobier, Media Director for the Cobb-LaMarche 2004 Green Party presidential
campaign.

The matter is pending in the Eastern Division of the United
States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, before Judge Edmund
Sargus.

Whether the Ohio election and subsequent recount were conducted
fairly and with uniform standards has become a national issue since Cobb and
Badnarik first demanded the Ohio recount back in November. The recount set
the stage for investigations conducted by Representative John Conyers of
Michigan, rallies featuring the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and the historic
challenge to Ohio's Electoral College votes on January 6, before a joint
session of Congress. The issue has galvanized activists all across the
country and has resulted in Congressional legislation, a well-attended
national conference and the emergence of a New Voting Rights Movement.

Problems with the recount included a lack of security for the
ballots and voting machines-including allegations of interference with
voting machines by representatives of the Diebold and Triad corporations-and
the refusal of some counties to do a full hand recount when Ohio law
required them to do so. One of the most significant problems with the
recount was that few of Ohio's 88 counties randomly selected sample
precincts for the recount as is required by state law.

Additional information about the recount and the New Voting
Rights Movement can be found at http://www.votecobb.org. The website for
the national Green Party is http://www.gp.org.

Articles and Commentary

Exit Polls




Edison/Mitofsky. Self Evaluation 1/19/05


O'Dell, Bruce. "Response to Tokaji Critique of USCV Edison/Mitofsky Exit Poll Discrepancies". 2/4/05


Tokaji, Dan. "Mea Culpa Rejected". 1/31/05 (Critique of US Count Votes 2/1/05 Report)


US Count Votes. Response to Edison/Mitofsky Election System 2004 Report 2/1/05

Legal Remedies




Lytel, David. "The Honest Elections Clause of the Constitution: How to Re-Establish Legitimacy of the American Electoral Process"

Voting Irregularities


Wang, Tova Andrea. "More Trials and Tribulations for Ohio"

List of Links Relating to Election Fraud and Electoral Reform

  • http://ohioelection2004.com
  • (My web site)
  • Link to email information to this blog and to my web site about upcoming events or evidence relating to the Ohio election of 2004


  • DefendTheRecount.org (National Voting Rights Institute) Updates on Ohio litigation.

  • MiaMedia Votergate Resource Center

  • House Judiciary Committee Democrat Forum on Ohio Election Irregularities

  • House Judiciary Hearing, December 13, 2004, Columbus, Ohio (Pacifica Radio audio download)
  • "Election 2004" Data & links

  • 2004 Ohio Election - Analysis, Summary, Charts, and Spreadsheets

  • Black Voter Network

  • The Free Press

  • Citizens' Alliance for Secure Elections (CASE)

  • Alliance for Democracy

  • OhioVigilance.org


  • Thank You, Patriot

  • Citizens for Voting Integrity
  • contestthevote.org

  • RadioLeft.com

  • Green Party Recount

  • Election Fraud and Reform Center

  • "No Stolen Elections" - United for Peace & Justice

  • 51CapitalMarch

  • WeDoNotConcede.com

  • The Nashua Advocate

  • www.patrioticoutrage.org

  • electiledysfunction.org


  • No Stolen Democracy

  • Velvet Revolution

  • Bush Stole Election Again

  • U.S. Voting Integrity Project

  • www.truthinvoting.org

  • Moritz College of Law, Legal Documents in Ohio Election 2004 Litigations

  • Action Memos From "No Stolen Elections

  • Sacramento for Democracy (Vote Fraud Links)

  • Bob Fertik blog at Democrats.com

  • Pacifica Radio audiotape of Nov. 13, 2004, hearings in Columbus, OH

  • Portland Independent Media Center


  • Election Day videotapes

  • Neighborhood Network audio & video tape

  • votefraudnews.com

  • Election Fraud and Irregularity Headlines, Analsysis, Spreadsheets

  • Evidence of Fraud in the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election: A Reader

  • VotersUnite.org

  • IndyVoter.org

  • 866-OURVOTE database of Ohio incident reports

  • "Cannonfire" by Joseph Cannon

  • November 2nd Truth

  • Election Fraud Links

  • Liberty or Death:Fighting Stolen Election of 2004

  • MoveOn

  • Blackboxvoting.org

  • RecountOhio.org

  • Citizens For Fair Vote Count (votefraud.org)

  • Reign of Error

  • Election Fraud 2004 Video Library

  • Remember Ohio




  • February 02, 2005

    Cong. Conyers and 22 other Representatives Have Asked the Congressional Research to Investigate Voting Irregularities

    Congressman John Conyers, Jr., and twenty two other Members of Congress, sent the following letter to Daniel Mullhollan, Director of the Congressional Research Service, requesting a 50 state survey of all reported voting irregularities from the past election:



    "Dear Mr. Mullhollan:



    "We are writing to ask that the Congressional Research Service, (CRS) prepare a 50 state survey of irregularities reported by the media (including internet based media) and compiled by public interest groups, non-profits and academics in the most recent election. We believe that such a study will be a vital resource to Congress as we turn from the controversies of the most recent election to the complex issue of voting reform.



    "Though our principal focus is on irregularities relating to the presidential election, we are also interested in learning of significant irregularities concerning other elected offices as well. We would ask that you review media reports involving irregularities and controversies in the pre-election day period (e.g, concerning registration, purging, determination of election day rules); election day (e.g., machine glitches, machine shortages, voter intimidation, ballot confusion, lack of handicapped accessible machinery, and voter misinformation); and post-election (e.g., counting provisional ballots, recount irregularities, litigation).



    "We are not asking that you characterize these irregularities. Rather we simply want your staff to complete the research, access the results, and divide by state and by incident. Where possible it would be helpful if you could note how the incident or irregularity was resolved. For example, was an improper purging cured? Was the cause of a machine glitch ascertained? Was the person responsible for disseminating false information pursued, is a case pending?

    "We are happy to work with you to develop the most efficacious means of narrowing this request, completing the research, determining the pertinent time periods to review and categories to analyze. We would note that the General Accounting Office is also reviewing the most recent election, however their review is far more narrowly focused on a small number of systemic issues. They are not attempting to survey the complete landscape of irregularities as we are requesting of CRS.



    "We are also willing to work with you in developing an agreeable time line for completing this important survey, although we are hopeful that it can be completed in the next several months, so that it may be as helpful as possible to the Congress as we work on voting reform."



    http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/crsvotingltrpr2205.pdf


    My new web site "Ohio Election 2004"

    Just to let you know I've decided to expand my blog by also setting up a rudimentary website
    entitled "Ohio Election 2004". The URL is http://ohioelection2004.com.

    It will concentrate on evidence, investigation, litigation, and prosecution regarding
    the Ohio election of 2004, especially concentrating on issues of fraud, disenfranchisement,
    voter suppression, vote machine tampering, and recount obstruction.

    It will better enable me to (a) host documents and images, and (b) organize materials
    in ways other than chronologically.

    There is not much new there yet, as it presently consists mostly of links to my blog, but I'll
    be working on it.

    I continue to be interested in receiving submissions of : (a) evidence, (b) legal documents,
    (c) news of legal events, (d) announcements of upcoming legal events, and (e) serious analysis and commentary which refers to and is
    based upon evidence relating to the Ohio election of 2004. These should be emailed to
    ohioelectionfraud@mindspring.com or evidence@ohioelection2004.com.

    Thanks.

    Best regards,

    Ray

    http://fairnessbybeckerman.blogspot.com

    http://ohioelection2004.com

    Important Article by David Lytel on Strategy for Reducing Ohio's Congressional Representation Under Constitutional Provision

    David Lytel has written an important piece outlining a strategy for reducing Ohio's representation under the Honest Elections clause of the Constitution:

    http://ohioelection2004.com/PDFHost/honestelectionsbydlytel.pdf

    February 01, 2005

    Election Contest Lawyers Oppose Sanctions Motion

    The Election Contest Lawyers Have Opposed the Sanctions Motion Brought Against Them by Ohio's Attorney General.

    Copies of some of their opposition papers are set forth at:

    http://ohioelection2004.com/PDFHost/mossvbushsanctionsoppos.pdf

    or

    http://shadowbox.i8.com/MossvBush.pdf