CASE Ohio Newsletter -- Report on Elections 2006

December 2006
CASE OHIO NEWSLETTER

Thank you! CITIZENS ALLIANCE FOR SECURE ELECTIONS would like to thank everyone who worked as election observers, pollworkers, videographers, election protection workers, or otherwise helped monitor the November 7, 2006 election.

The general consensus in the mainstream press is that the election was a success, with only a few "glitches". We believe that the landslide nature of this election minimized some continuing flaws in the system. CASE will continue it’s work to report on election issues and to improve the system. The Adopt a Board of Elections program continues and is in need of volunteer adopters.

> CASE members Phil Fry, Ron Olson, Stuart Wright, and Pete Johnson met with Secretary of State elect Jennifer Brunner, and have been invited to serve on the Voting Rights Institute’s Advisory Council.

> Cuyahoga County Commissioners may want to replace Diebold Electronic Voting Machines

www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1164794175139720.xml&coll=2

CASE is working with the Greater Cleveland Voter Coaliton, local League of Women Voters, and members of both major parties to help evaluate the effectiveness of Cuyahoga's current system and possible alternatives.

Contents:


The Road to Reliable Elections NY Times Editorial
18,000 undervotes in Sarasota Fl congressional race; An Electronic Canary by E.J. Dione; Washington Post
When Votes Disappear by Paul Krugman
Black Box Voting on Sarasota undervote
Touch-Screen Votes Flipping in Arkansas Run-off Election
Election Defense Alliance reports 4% exit poll differential
Thank you from Harvey Wasserman; NY Times Letter to Editor
1. The Road to Reliable Elections NY Times Editorial, Dec 11 2006



Two influential federal advisory groups have added their voices to an emerging national consensus that voting machines must produce a voter-verified paper record if they are to be trusted. One of those groups, the one dominated not by scientists but by election officials, was more grudging than it should have been. But their analyses should give further support to members of Congress who plan to push next month for a strong federal law requiring voter-verified paper records.

More than half of the states now have laws requiring electronic voting machines to produce paper records that voters can review to ensure that their votes were correctly recorded. Voters understand that without this paper, there is no way of knowing if the software registered their choices incorrectly, either by accident or by design.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency that promotes good standards in everything from medical devices to smoke detectors, recently concluded that paperless electronic voting is unacceptable. The agency's scientists said that for electronic voting to be trustworthy, it must be "software independent," meaning there has to be a means apart from the machines' own software to prove that the vote tallies are correct.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121106K.shtml

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

2. An Electronic Canary By E. J. Dionne Jr. Nov 24, 2006



Friday, November 24, 2006;The Sarasota undervote in the congressional race amounted to nearly 15 percent. Kendall Coffey, Jennings's lawyer, has pointed out that in the other four counties in the district, the undervote ranged from 2.2 to 5.3 percent. Put another way, roughly 18,000 of the 21,000 undervotes in the contest came from Sarasota County.

It's hard to believe that Sarasota's voters had a different view of the race than voters everywhere else in the district, considering that the undervote on the county's absentee ballots, cast on paper, was only 2.5 percent. The upshot: Any reasonable statistical analysis suggests that only 3,000 to 5,000 of Sarasota's undervotes were intentional, meaning that 13,000 to 15,000 votes were probably not counted.

< snip>

For complete article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/23/AR2006112300965.html

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

3. When Votes Disappear,

By Paul Krugman, The New York Times, Friday 24 Novmber 2006



You know what really had me terrified on Nov. 7? The all-too-real possibility of a highly suspect result. What would we have done if the Republicans had held on to the House by a narrow margin, but circumstantial evidence strongly suggested that a combination of vote suppression and defective - or rigged - electronic voting machines made the difference?

Fortunately, it wasn't a close election. But the fact that our electoral system worked well enough to register an overwhelming Democratic landslide doesn't mean that things are O.K. There were many problems with voting in this election - and in at least one Congressional race, the evidence strongly suggests that paperless voting machines failed to count thousands of votes, and that the disappearance of these votes delivered the race to the wrong candidate.

Here's the background: Florida's 13th Congressional District is currently represented by Katherine Harris, who as Florida's secretary of state during the 2000 recount famously acted as a partisan Republican rather than a fair referee. This year Ms. Harris didn't run for re-election, making an unsuccessful bid for the Senate instead. But according to the official vote count, the Republicans held on to her seat, with Vern Buchanan, the G.O.P. candidate, narrowly defeating Christine Jennings, the Democrat.



for entire article: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/112406C.shtml

4. Black Box Voting on the SARASOTA undervote problem:

www.bbvforums.org/cgi-bin/forums/board-auth.cgi?file=/1954/45231.html



18,000 undervotes. It's one thing to know about these figures, but another to hear the actual missing vote numbers -- the undervotes were like a third candidate in the race. To hear nearly as many under-votes as actual votes for either candidate really drove the point home about how ridiculous it was to claim that so many people chose not to vote in this race, but in all the others. An amazing effect.



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

5. Touch-Screen Votes Flipping in Arkansas Run-off Election, by Brad Friedman, Brad Blog - November 19, 2006


Mayoral Candidate's Own Votes Repeatedly Flipped in County Clerk's Office — in Front of County Clerk — Told 'Election Must Go On, Go Get Court Order'

This article appeared on The Brad Blog. It is reposted with permission of the author.

Heber Springs, Arkansas, mayoral run-off candidate Jackie McPherson began to suspect problems when both his mother-in-law and her mom told him their attempted vote for him flipped over to McPherson's opponent during early voting. He went to the County Clerk's office to test the problem for himself — in front of the County Clerk, who at first told him it was not possible — and then they were both able to watch the vote flip about 20 times in a row.

McPherson says the head of the local Elections Commission then told him "the election would have to go on," and that he "would have to get a court order to review the machines and the problem that obviously exists." Read the Entire Article

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



6. Landslide Denied!

Election Defense Alliance: Nov. 17, 2006

Major Miscount in 2006 Election: Were 4% of Votes "Misplaced"?



Election Defense Alliance, a national election integrity organization, issued an urgent call today for an investigation into the 2006 election results and a moratorium on deployment of all electronic voting equipment after analysis of national exit polling data indicated a major undercount of Democratic votes and an overcount of Republican votes in congressional races across the country. These findings are an alarming indictment of the American election system in which 80% of voters used electronic voting equipment.

As in 2004, the Exit Poll and the reported election results do not add up. But this time there is an objective yardstick in the methodology that establishes the validity of the Exit Poll and exposes the inaccuracy of the election returns. These findings are detailed in a paper published today on the EDA website.

For entire article: www.electiondefensealliance.org/

For review of exit poll data: www.electiondefensealliance.org/ExitPollData



7. Harvey Wasserman; (Letter posted by NYTimes, November 14, 2006)

The biggest winners in the election

To the Editor:

The most significant long-term outcome of the nationwide vote last Tuesday may be the coming of age of a grass-roots election-protection movement.

Based on the experiences of Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004, citizens across the country contributed intense scrutiny of electronic voting machines, voter registration requirements and other essentials of our modern democracy.

By and large, their efforts have been well respected and reported.

There is no way to know exactly how this volunteer police work might have affected the results of Tuesday's election. And it is disturbing to see the use of exit polls severely restricted, as they were in reporting the results.

But it is gratifying to see both Republicans and Democrats refusing to concede close races until the last vote is recounted. And it is reassuring to know that a salutary national debate has begun in earnest about exactly what is needed to guarantee a full and fair electoral process.

In the long run, this could make American democracy itself the election's biggest winner.

Harvey Wasserman

Bexley, Ohio, Nov. 8, 2006

The writer is a co-author of a book about the 2004 election in Ohio.

CITIZENS ALLIANCE FOR SECURE ELECTIONS:

Case website: caseohio.org/index.html

Yahoo newsgroup: groups.yahoo.com/group/CASE_OH/.

Contacts:

Pete Johnson Pete@caseohio.org
Phil Fry Phil@caseohio.org
Ron Olson Ron@caseohio.org
John Burik John@caseohio.org
Susan Truitt Susan_Truitt@yahoo.com
Stuart Wright StuartWright@att.net

Important Action Memo from Nancy Tobi and Paul Lehto

Stopping H.R. 550 because we can't compromise on democracy
by Nancy Tobi and Paul Lehto

The premise of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), that public oversight
of elections can be outsourced to corporate interests with secret vote
counting technology, is dangerous to American democracy. We need a
moratorium on new legislation; an accounting of HAVA monies spent, on
what, to whom, and to what end; and a recovery plan from the HAVA
disaster. We reject compromise legislation like H.R. 550, because
there is no compromise on democracy.

For complete memo and actions to take:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_nancy_to_061118_stopping_h_r__550_be.htm

Were 4% of Votes "Misplaced"?

Major Miscount of the Vote in 2006 Election:
Reported Results Skewed 4 Percent Toward GOP
Election Defense Alliance Calls for Investigation

BOSTON, MA - November 17, 2006
CONTACT: Jonathan Simon 617.538.6012

Election Defense Alliance, a national election integrity organization, issued an urgent call today for an investigation into the 2006 election results and a moratorium on deployment of all electronic voting equipment after analysis of national exit polling data indicated a major undercount of Democratic votes and an overcount of Republican votes in congressional races across the country. These findings are an alarming indictment of the American election system in which 80% of voters used electronic voting equipment.

As in 2004, the Exit Poll and the reported election results do not add up. But this time there is an objective yardstick in the methodology that establishes the validity of the Exit Poll and exposes the inaccuracy of the election returns. These findings are detailed in a paper published today on the EDA website.

The Edison-Mitofsky media Exit Poll, posted Election Night on CNN.com, had a sample base of more than 10,000 voters, and showed Democratic House candidates winning over Republicans by an 11.5 percent margin.

The reported vote count showed Democrats winning by a 7.6 margin, 3.9 percent less than the Exit Poll and far outside the poll’s +/-1-percent margin of error. This discrepancy entailed at least 3,000,000 votes.

The Exit Poll was then adjusted, by a process known as “forcing,” to match reported election vote totals. The final result, posted at 1:00 p.m. November 8, showed Democrats winning by a 7.6 percent margin, exactly mirroring the reported vote totals.

The objective yardstick was the proportion of respondents who indicated they had voted for Bush or Kerry in 2004. The sample in the already weighted Election Night Exit Poll had 47 percent Bush voters and 45 percent Kerry voters, a valid sample given the very conservative assumption that Republicans and Democrats turned out with equal enthusiasm in 2006. However, after the forcing process, the sample contained 49 percent Bush voters and only 43 percent Kerry supporters. This 6 percent gap is more than twice the size of the 2004 Bush win of 2.8 percent. It indicates a significant over-sampling of Republican voters in the adjusted 2006 Exit Poll.

Such a gross oversample of Republicans was necessary to match the actual vote counts, which therefore could not have been an accurate count of the actual electorate. Had the intended votes been accurately tallied, this election would have produced a Democratic landslide of epic proportions.

Read the Full Report: http://www.ElectionDefenseAlliance.org.



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

Dan Ashby
Co-Founder, ElectionDefenseAlliance.org

E-mail: ca.voteraction@sbcglobal.net
EDA mail: Dan@electiondefensealliance.org

"The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which all other rights are protected.
To take away this right is to reduce a man to slavery. . . "
Thomas Paine

Electronic Frontier Foundation Reports: Widespread Problems With Electronic Voting All Across Country

The Electronic Frontier Foundation reports that electronic voting problems on Election Day 2006 left many voters wondering whether their votes had been counted:

Electronic Voting Machine Headaches Shut Out Citizens

Delays Mean Long Lines for Voters in Florida, Utah, and Other States

San Francisco - Problems with electronic voting machine failures kept some polls from opening, created long lines, and left many voters puzzled about whether their votes were counted in Tuesday's high stakes election.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) joined a nationwide team of technology lawyers and other experts staffing nationwide call centers and legal command posts on Election Day. The volunteers chronicled election problems, assisted voters, and worked with election officials to pull malfunctioning machines wherever possible. By 8:00 pm ET on Tuesday, over 17,000 incidents, including machine-related problems, had been reported to the Election Protection Coalition's 866-OUR-VOTE hotline.

The types of machine problems reported to EFF volunteers were wide-ranging in both size and scope. Polls opened late for machine-related reasons in polling places throughout the country, including Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Utah, Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, and California. In Broward County, Florida, voting machines failed to start up at one polling place, leaving some citizens unable to cast votes for hours. EFF and the Election Protection Coalition sought to keep the polling place open late to accommodate voters frustrated by the delays, but the officials refused. In Utah County, Utah, more than 100 precincts opened one to two hours late on Tuesday due to problems with machines. Both county and state election officials refused to keep polling stations open longer to make up for the lost time, and a judge also turned down a voter's plea for extended hours brought by EFF.

"If election officials insist on depending on this unreliable technology, they should be prepared to react appropriately when things go wrong," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "Voters should not have to bear the brunt of this poor planning. We are very disappointed that the court did not recognize that."

"Jumping vote" problems -- touchscreen machines displaying selections not intended by voters -- once again appeared across the country and across machine models. Some voters again encountered difficulty making or changing selections on touchscreen machines, resulting in long lines and frustrated voters leaving polling places. Optical scan machines also broke down in many places, most prominently in Cook County, Illinois, but also in Los Angeles, California, also leading to long delays for voters.

Complete report.

Important Memo from Marc Baber of Truth in Voting About the 2006 Election

Marc Baber is a fantastic guy associated with the great Oregon-based voters rights group, Truth in Voting. Mark and TIV have been in the forefront from Day One in the battle to challenge and investigate the 2004 Ohio election. Here is an important reminder from Marc:

According to Fox News, "the exit polls this election (2006) were still skewed 6-8% in favor of the Democrats" (They think backwards at Fox, of course).

The only attempt to explain the "skew" in 2004 was known as the rBr theory ("Reluctant Bush Responder"). According to the theory, Republicans avoid participating in exit polls in greater numbers than Democrats. But statistical analysis of the data in 2004 showed that in more heavily Republican precincts where you'd expect higher rates of non-participation (if rBr were true) and, therefore, more highly skewed exit polls-- the opposite occurred, indicating that rBr doesn't fit the observed patterns.

The 2004 raw exit poll data was never released for full analysis and we'll see even less of the data for 2006.

The most likely explanation is that our entire vote counting system favored Republicans by 6-8% in this election and that the exit polls are correct while the official results are corrupt.

The only reason the Democrats did so well in 2006 is that Democrats actually won by margins of 6-8% greater than the official results showed.

I ran through the list of close races where Republicans won and there was only one race (Tennessee Ford(D) vs. Corker(R)) on the Senate side, however in the House, at least 15 races were within 6%, meaning that the Dems probably should have won an additional 15 seats or so in the House if the Republicans hadn't rigged the system this year, assuming that the error is in the official results (not the exit polls) and that the bias was a fairly uniform 6% nationwide. These are, of course, very rough estimates. And alarming too.

So, the Democratic victory was no mere "Thumping" as Bush described it. We smited them. We devastated them. We completely overwhelmed, stomped, creamed, killed, slaughtered and trounced them. We beat them so bad, they couldn't even win by cheating.

Yes, indeedy, we sure did. Oh, yeah. Big time.

But, make no mistake, they're still cheating. There were at least 30-40 different cheating tactics used in 2004 and they weren't just invented in 2004-- no organization can build such a smoothly operating racket overnight. What we're up against has a measure of business-as-usual to it, developed over decades of corrupt "worst practices" that may take another decade or two to expose and stop.

But stop it we must. As it turns out, in 2006, "within stealing distance" meant about 6-8%. In 2008, it will probably be a higher number. If we don't level the playing field in the next two years, we may never get another chance. It shouldn't be too much to ask of our new Democratic Congress to enact verifiable elections with paper ballots, since 92% of Americans want that. Just imagine how bad Bush would look vetoing paper ballots. Imagine how bad Congress people would look if they didn't vote yes in an attempt to override the veto with a 2/3 majority. I hope you'll contact your Representatives in Congress and let them know that you expect nothing less.

Thanks for everything you DID to get us this far! Celebrate our victories, but don't let up!

Marc

* A "paper trail" is necessary but not sufficient to ensure verifiable elections and I am strongly in favor of a system of paper ballots, handled in a multi-partisan-observed unbroken chain of custody and counted by redundant "dumb" optical scanners. (I know, "optical scanners" is a hot button among Election Reform people who typically favor hand-counting, but please read my full paper to understand why redundant "dumb" optical scanners would be safe and practical).

The system I propose and presented at We Count 2006 is detailed in the paper I delivered, "A Practical Election System with Integrity" online at http://www.marcbaber.com/ElectionReform.htm (click on the "PDF" link).

My hope is to get endorsements of this system from a coalition of Election Reform groups and launch a new election business to facilitate elections carried out in the fashion I've described.

A Salute to the People

During some dark days in 2004, I witnessed firsthand the courage and patriotism of the people of Ohio. As the forces of darkness arrayed to deprive them of their right to vote, they fought their best to stand up for their rights. They lost that battle, but never gave up the fight, and resolved to come back even stronger next time.

In these days of 2006 I have seen their quiet courage again, overcoming all of the chicanery and fraud and disenfranchisement levelled against them, and coming back to throw the cheaters out of office.

In 2006, all across the country, people of good conscience came out in droves, and despite thousands and thousands of incidents of disenfranchisement and vote fraud, managed to send a clear message, that we are not taking it any more.

Our leader, Congressman John Conyers, can now lead the House Judiciary Committee, instead of having to run shadow hearings because Republican members failed to honor their oaths.

I salute the people of Ohio and am proud to be your friend.

I salute the voting rights activists of Ohio, who never gave up.

I salute the people of America, for taking us back a step from the brink.

I remind all of us that despite our celebration of this great victory, our next step is to return to the ramparts to resume our watch, for it is only through "eternal vigilance" that we can keep the precious flame of democracy alive.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

-Ray Beckerman

Plain Dealer Reports: "Another glitch for Cuyahoga election"

Reported by the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Another glitch for Cuyahoga election
Judge OKs scanning absentee votes early, but machines malfunction
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Joan Mazzolini and James F. McCarty
Plain Dealer Reporters

A judge ruled Friday that scanning of absentee ballots can start early, but the ruling could be meaningless in Cuyahoga County unless election officials overcome a potentially devastating glitch in their scanners.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Dan Gaul's ruling, which applies to all 88 counties in Ohio, says scanning may begin at 7 a.m. Monday, 19 hours earlier than Secretary of State Ken Blackwell planned to allow.

County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora and County Prosecutor Bill Mason asked for the ruling to make sure as many as 100,000 absentee ballots get counted in Cuyahoga County by the end of Election Day.

Complete article

Important Election Day Action Memo from Victoria Lovegren

This is What Democracy Looks Like !


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


The whole world will be watching next week's election, and Cuyahoga County's will be a major object of focus. WCPN will host World Have Your Say here in Cleveland on the 7th and 8th. Director Michael Vu was on Lou Dobbs on Sunday night and on CNN today. And wait until the new film, Hacking Democracy, airs this Thursday?

A few patriots have been tracking Cuyahoga County Board Of Elections over the past two years and know that there is absolutely NO basis for confidence in the accurate and honest tallying of our votes by Diebold touch screen voting machines and the Diebold central tabulator. The May debacle, the missing memory cards, the discrepancies among totals, the destruction of all May election data from the memory cards, and the refusal to post election results, the utilization of electronic voting machines in general, and the Recount indictments, are but a few of the reasons we believe it is essential to have election-day vote-count verification (to the extent to which CCBOE and Kenneth Blackwell will let us.)

For those in or near Cuyahoga County, we must be vigilant this November 7th to make sure our votes are counted accurately!

There are many opportunities for citizens to be vigilant next Tuesday, and I'm describing yet another, one that focuses on protecting the vote count:

Vote Count Protection Project

in conjunction with Dr. Steven Freeman and Dr. Ken Warren

of www.electionintegrity.org

This project seeks to verify the vote counts on election day by, first, conducting simple Election Verification Exit Polls, and second, having "inside" people jot down the machine summary-report totals for the top 4 races and 1 issue. So we need "inside" people: poll workers, election-day technicians and observers, to capture the "system" data and record it on a simple data collection form. We also need "outside" pollsters to ask voters to fill out a very short and simple questionnaire.

Sample data collection forms and questionnaires can be found here:

http://www.ohiovigilance.org/ProjectPost/CuyahogaPollDataCollectionForm.pdf (PDF)

and

http://www.ohiovigilance.org/ProjectPost/CuyahogaSampleQuestionnaire.pdf (PDF)



For more details about this important project, see http://www.ohiovigilance.org or email me at victoria@wecount2006.org.

I am certain this project will be a fun, interesting and rewarding experience--a civic duty more meaningful than jury duty--and you'll meet lots of good people also engaging to restore democracy. (There are other roles you can play, as well, in the days leading up to Nov 7th and after the election. We need techies to do analysis on election day and after!)

Victoria Lovegren, Ph.D.

Founder, Ohio Vigilance

Please forward widely!

P.S. If you are not yet an "observer", we can arrange for you to get that status, in which case you can be inside the polls during the end-of-day closing procedures.

Federal Judge Suspends Ohio Photo ID Law

Thanks to Paddy Shaffer and Steven Linnabary for this lead:

13abc.com reports:

Federal judge suspends Ohio's voter ID law

October 27, 2006 - COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A federal judge suspended Ohio's new voter identification law Thursday as it applies to absentee voting, saying the state's 88 counties are inconsistently applying the rule in the voting, which is already under way.

U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley granted the temporary restraining order on behalf of labor and poverty groups who sued Tuesday.

The ruling is in effect until Wednesday, when the judge will consider arguments from the same groups seeking to block application of the identification law for voters who go to the polls Nov. 7.

It's unclear how many absentee ballots have been cast since early voting began Oct. 3, said James Lee, spokesman for Secretary of State Ken Blackwell. None were scheduled to be counted before Election Day, and none will be disqualified, he said.

Assistant Attorney General Richard Coglianese said the state would appeal, perhaps as early as Friday. But Lee said the secretary of state's office would not join it.

"We have an election to run, and we do not have time to get caught up in endless litigation," Lee said.

Ohio, where a slim victory gave President Bush the electoral votes he needed for re-election in 2004, has a tight Senate race and a closely watched campaign for governor.



Complete article

Additional coverage:

Moritz Law

New film, "No Umbrella -- Election Day in the City"

"No Umbrella - Election Day in the City" is a new film about Election Day 2004 in one of Ohio's poorest neighborhoods. A Sundance 2006 official selection, and winner of audience award at Sydney Film Festival.

Upcoming Screenings:

Brooklyn Independent Cinema Series
Barbes
Brooklyn, NY
November 6, 7:00 PM

Monday, October 30th
Place: Waldo Branch of K.C. Public Library
201 E 75th St
Meeting Room
Kansas City, MO, 64114
Screening of two films, "Stealing
America" and "No Umbrellas"
Time: 6:00 PM
Free Popcorn Will be Served
RSVP Pamela at kiteinthewind59@gmail.com

Pacific Palisades Film Festival
Pacific Palisades Theatre, CA
October 29, 8:15 PM

Milwaukee International Film Festival
Milwaukee Art Museum
October 28, 12:00 PM

Permanent link for screenings

To purchase DVD

More Screenings of "Stealing America" -- Oregon, Texas, California, Missouri, New Mexico, Indiana,

"Stealing America: Vote by Vote"
by Emmy-award winning director
Dorothy Fadiman

Best place to go for updated screening schedule

Monday, October 23rd
Place: Ashland Library
Gresham Room
Ashland, OR
Time: 7:00 pm
Cost: Small donations accepted. No one turned away.
Contact: Lora (773) 486-7660
Sponsor: Pacific Greens

Tuesday, October 24th
Place: Monterey Senior Center
Corner of Lighthouse and Dickman
New Monterey, CA
Time: 7:00 pm
Contact: Peggy Olsen
375-2016

Thursday, October 26th
Place: River Oaks Theatre
2009 West Gray
Houston, TX
Time: 7:00 pm
Contact: Kip Humphrey
kiphumphrey@51capitalmarch.com
(713) 956-8792

Thursday, October 26th
Place: Michael's at Shoreline
2960 North Shoreline Blvd.
Mountain View, CA
Time: 6:30 pm - Registration
7 pm - Dinner
7:30 pm - Program
Cost: $25
Contact: Tamara Colby,
tamara@radiostreet.com
RSVP by October 14
Sponsor: The Mid-Peninsula Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union

Thursday, October 26th
Place: Taos Center for the Arts
133 Paseo del Pueblo Norte
Taos, NM
Time: 7:00 pm
Cost: $10 Donation Requested
Contact: simplechange@mac.com

Saturday, October 28th
Place: University of New Mexico Student Union Ballroom "B"
1 University of New Mexico
Building 60
Albuquerque, NM Campus Maps
Time: 7:00 pm
Cost: TBA (~$10 pre-sale / $12 at the door)
Fundraiser for KUNM Radio
Contact: Mary Bokuniewicz
Director of Marketing
KUNM Radio
(505) 277-8006
maryb@kunm.org

Sunday, October 29th
Place: Center for Contemporary Arts
1050 Old Pecos Trail
Santa Fe, NM
Time: 5:30 pm
Cost: TBA (~ $10 pre-sale / $12 at the door)
Contact:
Jason Silverman
Cinema Director,
Center for Contemporary Arts
(505) 982-1338
jas@cybermesa.com

Sunday, October 29th
Place: Boxcar Books
310A South Washington
Bloomington, IN
Time: 6:00 pm
Contact:
(812) 339-8710

Monday, October 30th
Place: Waldo Branch of K.C. Public Library
201 E 75th St
Meeting Room
Kansas City, MO, 64114
Screening of two films, "Stealing
America" and "No Umbrellas"
Time: 6:00 PM
Free Popcorn Will be Served
RSVP Pamela at kiteinthewind59@gmail.com

Friday, November 3rd
Place: Monterey County Democratic Headquarters
12 E. Gabilan Street
Oldtown Salinas, CA
Time: 7:00 pm
Contact:
(866) 679-3367

Permanent Link for Screenings of "Stealing America: Vote by Vote"

Poll Observer Recruitment Effort in Ohio

Poll Observer Recruitment Effort

Please read this and volunteer if you are not already volunteering on election day.

Please forward this to other groups

Thanks!!


Poll Observer Recruitment Effort

The Voter Protection Team and OVEST are recruiting poll observers to work at targeted precincts throughout the state of Ohio . The poll observers will monitor their precincts while the polls are open and after they close and will report any concerns or problems to the OVEST Election Day Command Center using the communication structure established by the Voter Protection Team.

On November 7, 2006 , the recruited poll observers will monitor their precinct from 5:00 PM until the votes are tabulated and the poll workers leave the site. If any individual poll observer is available to begin his or her shift earlier than 5:00 PM they are strongly encouraged to do so.

The poll observers will also ensure that the Presiding Judge of the precinct has delivered the voting machine cartridges to the county Board of Elections office after the polls have closed and the poll workers have tabulated the votes. The poll observer should follow the Presiding Judge of the precinct to make sure that the voting machine cartridges make it safely and securely from the polling location to the BOE.

The Voter Protection Coordinators for the Ohio Democratic Party are establishing a network of recruiters. Each recruiter will, in turn, be responsible for establishing a broader network of volunteers to work within established target groups and organizations to engage volunteers as poll observers. The volunteer poll observers’ contact information will be channeled back to the Voter Protection Coordinators to determine the staffing of each targeted precinct and set training schedules.

Poll observers will be trained and given a manual that will help them answer any questions and advise them of both problems they should anticipate and an appropriate response to such problems. They also will be provided the contact information necessary to report any problems they encounter. The Voter Protection Coordinators will be leading the training effort in coordination with OVEST using in person training sessions, conference calls, and email. The length of each training session has not yet been finalized but should not exceed 2-3 hours.

Please send your information to Brian Green at brian.green@ohiodems.org or call at 614-207-2088.

Important Action Memo from Paddy Shaffer: VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR OHIO ELECTION

Announcing an American Citizens Call To Action! Please for the sake of this nation, take a minute and read this.

Election Observers are needed to oversee the Ohio Election process. We now have five state wide candidates that have come together and can legally have Election Observers for the fall general election. These Ohio candidates are
Dr. Robert Fitrakis, Dr. William Peirce, Dr. James Lundeen, Timothy Kettler, and Dr. John Eastman.

What does this mean? Ohio has over 11,000 precincts in 88 counties.

We need as many people to assist as we can get, this is how we begin to take back the current struggling system. Our observers must be "Qualified Electors". This means qualified Ohio voters. If you are from another state and can help, we have support roles that you could assist with.

We have proved fraud in 2004. We hope that by closely watching 2006, the process will improve. If it doesn't, we will have documented what we were able to see with our own eyes. This will help to take legal action where needed, address the problems of the system, and to give credit where credit is due. This applies to things done well, and things done poorly.

We will need many people out on November 7th, 2006. All across Ohio. We need all kinds of people, including attorneys. Are you willing to travel to another county. If so, tell us. We will also need election observers to go to the Boards of Elections in advance of November 7th to look and see what is happening with the Absentee Ballots.

Please send names, addresses, and phone numbers immediately for anyone else you know able to help. If they can do a whole day, great, if they can only do a partial day, yes we need them.

If you have camera's, tape recorders, or video camera's, get them ready. We hope to be able to use them, I'll know soon. I need to mail off letters with names of people willing to go into all 88 counties, in the next few days. Please respond ASAP! We can add more names to any county we have people for by October 27th. Beyond the 27th we can add names up until 4:00 p.m. on November 6th, 2006. So we can take more helpers up until the end.

To anyone interested... I will follow this up with more information you will need. I don't want to make this too long, I hope people read it. Thanks for any and all help you can offer! Training will happen the weekend of October 28th. Details coming soon. Yes, we want people that don't use computer too.

If interested, send the following information to Phil Fry, our project manager at phil@caseohio.org and (937) 362-4493

Name
Address
County
Phone
Email
Available for Nov. 7
All day Nov. 7th or a part day
Available before Nov. 7
Willing to travel to other counties.
Maximum distance you are willing to travel to other counties.
Do you have a camera, video camera, tape recorder?
Available to help with the preplanning?

Please forward this on to your lists. For people in Ohio and other states, if you want to know more about what is going on with the US elections and ways to help, look to the following sites for ideas.
www.velvetrevolution.us/electionstrikeforce/
www.bobforohio.com
www.freepress.org
www.velvetrevolution.us
www.bradblog.com
www.blackboxvoting.org
www.fairnessbybeckerman.blogspot.com


Paddy Shaffer
Campaign Manager
Fitrakis for Governor
www.bobforohio.com
paddy@columbus.rr.com
(614) 761-0621
(614) 266-5283

__._,_.___

Important Action Memo from Susan Truitt: OHIO POLL OBSERVERS NEEDED, SIGN UP NOW

All poll worker slots in targeted counties are filled! The ODP needs observers at the polls now, and they need them ASAP. Please register on line below by tomorrow if you can assist in this crucial effort. Please forward to everyone you know who wants their vote protected.
Thanks for all you're doing!
Herb
Protect Our Vote!
Help ensure every vote is counted in Franklin County this election


Volunteers Needed to Observe Polls
Please sign up at http://www.paintohioblue.com/index.php?page=display&id=123

Don’t let a “Florida 2000” happen in Ohio 2006!

2000: Infamous Florida “hanging chads”…
2004: Long lines & thousands of Ohio voters stopped from voting…
2006: Ken Blackwell games election rules to take Ohio’s Governorship?!?!


We must protect our vote!

The Democratic Coordinated Campaign is launching a massive Election Day effort to monitor polling locations across Ohio, including Franklin County, to report any problems to a rapid-response team of legal experts.
We need poll observers who can spend all or part of election day (Tuesday, November 7) at the polls watching for irregularities and witnessing the vote count after polls close.
We’ll train you, and we may ask you to help us find lawyers and other volunteers to help on Election Day and before.


Please sign up at http://www.paintohioblue.com/index.php?page=display&id=123

For more information or to get involved immediately, please contact Mike Jung at 614.857.0700 ext.100 or email FranklinVote@ohiodems.org

Important Books, Videos, and CD's about the 2004 Ohio Election

In view of the iron-fisted control of all three of the nation's branches of government, as well as the "fourth estate", the press, by a single political party, I have felt that this dark page in American history would need to be examined by the historians. Well, the history is starting to be written now. Here are some books, videos, and CD's which have come out to tell the story.

The truth can be suppressed in the short run, when government and the press are in league, as they were in Germany from 1933 to 1945, and as they are today, but ultimately the truth will be known and will be told.

-R.B.

Books.

"What Went Wrong in Ohio:
The Conyers Report On The 2004 Presidential Election" (Paperback)
This is the landmark report prepared by the House Judiciary Democrats staff, under the leadership of Congressman John Conyers, Jr., and the other House Judiciary Democrats, under enormous time pressure. On January 6, 2005, all but one Senator and all but thirty other Congresspeople chose to ignore this report, but historians will recognize it as the last gasp of democracy in our country. Every American should be familiar with this, one of the most important documents in American history. This handy, extremely inexpensive paperback makes it easy for each of us to have a copy on hand. Additional link:
Amazon.

"Did George W. Bush Steal America's 2004 Election?" (Paperback)
By Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld, Harvey Wasserman
An important compendium of key documents relating to the Ohio election fraud of 2004, prepared by knowledgeable activists who were on the ground in Ohio, fighting against the coup at the time. Additional link: Amazon.

"Was the 2004 Presidential Election Stolen? : Exit Polls, Election Fraud, and the Official Count" (Paperback).
By Steve Freeman and Joel Bleifuss.
In Ohio, Republican Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, borrowing from Katherine Harris' Florida playbook, orchestrated a statewide effort to suppress the Democratic vote. Did his efforts make a crucial difference in that vital swing state? And how did he count the provisional ballots? Was Ohio the Florida of 2004? Across the country, independent voter exit polls showed that John Kerry was destined to be the next president. Why were the exit polls, which historically have been accurate, so wrong?

"Fooled Again" (Hardcover). By Mark Crispin Miller.
How the Right Stole the 2004 Election.
Well known critic and political commentator Mark Crispin Miller argues that it wasn't moral values that swung the election-it was theft. While the greatest body of evidence comes from the key state of Ohio-where the Democratic staff of the House Judiciary Committee found an extraordinary onslaught of Republican-engineered vote suppression, election-day irregularities, old-fashioned intimidation tactics, and illegal counting procedures-similar practices (and occasionally worse ones) were applied in Florida, Oregon, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and even New York. This pattern-not one overwhelming fraud but thousands of little ones-is, in Miller's view, the new Republican electoral strategy.

"How the GOP stole America's 2004 election and is rigging 2008", by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman.
$12. Called the "Woodward & Bernstein of the 2004 Election" by Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., Fitrakis and Wasserman have assembled a digest of more than 180 bullet points resulting from their invetigation of "Massive Voter Theft, Fraud and Illegalities in Ohio's Presidential Balloting". The theft of the 2004 election has been catalogued, footnoted and documented in more than 180 bullet points compiled by the Ohio-based investigative reporters in their shocking new compendium. Additional link: http://harveywasserman.com.

"Hacked!" Edited by Abbe Waldman DeLozier and Vickie Karp. Contributors: Bob Fitrakis, Harvey Wasserman, Lynn Landis, Jeremiah Akin, Bev Harris, May Schmidt, Victoria Collier, Hon. Cynthia Ann McKinney, Kathleen Wynne.
$15. Focuses on the high tech side of election theft. Explains how electronic voting has stolen our democracy; how elections in American have been privatized by large corporations; why the mainstream media is barely reporting it; how imperative it is that Americans start TODAY to reclaim their elections; and why the only solution is a return to paper ballot elections, hand-counted at the precinct level. Action steps for citizens are included.

Cheated!.
Comic book treatment of the stealing of the Ohio 2004 presidential election, by mother-and-daughter team Sheri Leigh Myers (text) and Sophie Goldstein (art). Covers the period of Election Day, November 2, 2004, to January 6, 2005. In the words of the authors, "Ohio is where the levees of democracy broke in 2004". Sheri Leigh Myers is a citizen activist who fought the Ohio election fraud, and rode on the historic Freedom Winter bus ride from Columbus OH to Washington DC of January 2005.

Videos.

"No Umbrella -- Election Day in the City"
New film by Laura Paglin about Election Day 2004 in one of Ohio's poorest neighborhoods. Sundance 2006 official selection. Audience award, Sydney Film Festival.

"Stealing America: Vote by Vote"
Powerful new documentary film by Emmy award winner Dorothy Fadiman focuses on the Ohio election fraud of 2004. A work of historic importance.

"Eternal Vigilance: The Fight to Save Our Election System"
New documentary film by Emmy award winner David Earnhardt examines disenfranchisement of Americans by those in charge of our electoral system.

"Get Up on the Bus"
Great music video by Wil b about the Freedom Winter Bus Ride, the January 6, 2005, demonstrations in Washington, DC, the stealing of Ohioans' right to vote, and the fight for freedom. (Alternate link on wakeupandsaveyourcountry.com) To download a copy.

"Invisible Ballots"
2004 video which came out before election about perils of electronic voting.

SolarBus Election Justice Center. "The Truth About the 2004 Election: Why We Must Not Get Over It" (CD)
CD about the 2004 election prepared by the excellent SolarBus Election Justice Center.

"American Blackout"
(DVD). Outstanding feature length documentary by Ian Inaba on disenfranchisement of African Americans in 2000 Florida presidential election, 2002 and 2004 DeKalb County Georgia congressional elections, and 2004 Ohio presidential election.

CD's.

"Coup d'etat". Song written and performed by Yikes McGee. MP3 for free download through www.yikesmcgee.com

CD available on line for free distribution: "Ohio in the Dark" (Victoria Parks, Yikes McGee, and Gary Polnivale)(Distributed by Madog Music)

Note: If you know about other significant books, cd's, videos, available about the 2004 election, please let me know. Thanks.

-R.B.

Voter Protection Groups Organizing

Thanks to David Swanson for bringing to my attention web sites which have been set up to organize Voter Protection volunteers:

MyDem.Democrats.com

ProtectMyVote.org

"Get Up on the Bus" -- Great Music Video by Rapper "Wil b" About the Freedom Winter Bus Ride & January 6, 2005, Protests

Great music video by rapper "Wil b", "Get Up On the Bus", about the Freedom Winter Bus Ride of 2005, and the January 6, 2005, Protests:

http://wakeupandsaveyourcountry.com/Wil%20B.htm
and available on
YouTube.

To download

Electronic Frontier Foundation Needs Volunteer Attorneys for 2006 Election

Special notice from Electronic Frontier Foundation:j

This November, as we did in 2004, EFF will once again play a key role in
the election integrity movement by volunteering its technical and legal
expertise to help ensure that votes cast on new voting technology are
accurately recorded and counted. EFF and its volunteers, working with
our partners in the non-partisan Election Protection Coalition, will
perform a wide range of important services on election day, including
helping solve (in real team) technology-related problems voters
experience at the polls, documenting voting machine-related incidents
for future examination, and bringing any legal action that might be
required by equipment failures.

As a handful of new legal command centers and hotlines have recently
been created in anticipation of election-related problems, we are in
need of volunteer attorneys who would be willing to spend election day
helping us in the following places:

Atlanta, GA
Jackson, MS
Chapel Hill, NC
Houston, TX
Miami, FL
Philadelphia, PA

All necessary training will be provided in the next two weeks. Some
funding is available to assist with travel, but we would prefer to use
those funds to assist those who are otherwise unable to travel and/or
for unavoidable last minute travel changes.

--
Matthew Zimmerman
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
454 Shotwell Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
ph: (415) 436-9333 x127 / fx: (415) 436-9993
mattz@eff.org / www.eff.org

Nationwide Election Protection Hotline Up and Running

1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683)

The nationwide Election Protection Hotline was activated on October 16 to help resolve issues for Election Day on November 7.
The number is staffed with live volunteers from 9 AM-6 PM Eastern time.

Election Protection guides voters through the voting process, helping to ensure that all eligible voters have the opportunity to cast a meaningful ballot and have their vote counted.

You can contact them with issues before, on, or after the election. Issues are recorded in an Election Incident Reporting System (EIRS) to allow responding to issues in real time as well as provide data for investigations after the election.

Election Protection, the nation's largest non-partisan voter protection coalition, is led by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law's National Campaign for Fair Elections, the NAACP, the National Bar Association, and People For the American Way Foundation.

Visit www.866ourvote.org or http://www.nationalcampaignforfairelections.org/pages/election_protection for more information.

1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683)

Bibliography Prepared by Mark Crispin Miller and Published on Washington Spectator

Mark Crispin Miller has prepared, and the Washington Spectator is publishing, a helpful bibliography on election-related materials.

"The GOP Playbook : How to Steal the Vote" By Mark Crispin Miller

Second article in two-part series by Mark Crispin Miller published in Washington Spectator on October 15, 2006:

OUR RIGGED ELECTIONS (PART II)
The GOP Playbook: How to Steal the Vote
By Mark Crispin Miller | October 15, 2006

Editor's note: The author says it would require a year's worth of Spectators to lay out his case, fact by fact, that our recent elections were stolen. But since that case has already been made in detail elsewhere—and not just by Miller—we asked him to prepare a reader's guide to all the evidence. We've published that bibliography on-line, and we urge you to review that evidence for yourself.

rom the start, George W. Bush has pointedly refused to ask that we make any national sacrifice to help us win the "war on terror." Soon after 9/11 he urged us not to curb our appetites in any way, although to do so would have made much sense, and makes sense now. After all, it's oil, in part, that U.S. troops are fighting for, and oil that indirectly pays for all the guns and bombs now blowing those troops, and countless others, to shreds. The patriotic thing would therefore be to lessen our national dependency on fossil fuels, by driving less (or not at all), and turning off the air conditioners, by buying fewer disposables, and otherwise deferring to the greater good. Bush, however, will have none of that, asserting that the best thing we can do to help win this war is just go shopping.

Yet in one respect it's not exactly right to say that our president has asked nothing of us. Since 9/11, Bush has made astonishing demands on all his fellow citizens, asking us to swallow more baloney than the U.S. government has ever fed the people of this country. He and his team have asked us to believe that 9/11 came as a complete surprise, that Saddam Hussein was part of it, and that Iraq would soon be lobbing atom bombs, poison gas, and lethal pathogens at Tel Aviv and Disney World. They also asked us to believe that the Iraqi people would bestrew our troops with flowers, then that the "mission" had been "accomplished," then that those friendly natives had been overrun by "foreign terrorists" intent on wrecking the "democracy" that we were there to build. And now Bush asks us to believe that things aren't half as bad in Iraq (not to mention Afghanistan), as they appear, and that his team can win this war.

That most Americans do not believe a word of it, and therefore will not vote Republican, attests to the diffusive power of truth, which in this country still resonates despite the efforts of both government and media to bury it. Bush's big lies have prevailed not just because his regime has so doggedly promoted them. For too long, those howlers also had the benefit of a compliant press that simply echoed them.

Complete article

First article in series

Election Day Message from Ray Beckerman

As we approach the critical 2006 election, it is imperative that we
be vigilant. The word is starting to get out about what happened
in 2004, thanks to an outpouring of excellent books, films, and articles.
We need to keep the momentum going, and to keep on learning,
and teaching, and fighting. We owe it to our forefathers who
fought and died for the right to vote,
to those who braved beatings, and dogs, and firehoses, and bombings,
and lynchings, and killings so that their children would have the right
as citizens of the United States to stand up proud and cast their votes.

And if at any time you find your spirits flagging, my personal recommendation
is to go to YouTube or wakeupandsaveyourcountry.com and play what
is now my anthem -- "Get Up On the Bus" -- the rousing commemoration,
by Freedom Bus Rider and rapper extraordinaire "Wil b", of the historic
Freedom Winter Bus Ride of January 2005.

And as election day approaches, a special shout out to
Susan Truitt, who was the first to the ramparts
when the coup d'etat took place, and who never hesitated for a second
to get in there and fight, leading us into battle with
courage, energy, and humor, bringing light into our fight
against the forces of darkness.

--R.B.

"Eternal Vigilance: The Fight to Save Our Election System", New Documentary Film by David Earnhardt

A preview edition of a new documentary film, "Eternal Vigilance: The Fight to Save Our Election System", by Emmy Award-winning producer/director David Earnhardt, has been released.

The film deals with "the illegal tactics and dirty tricks" by those in control of our election system.

To watch clips, order dvd's, arrange screenings, and get information about the film and filmmaker, go to http://www.eternalvigilance.us/.

Screenings of "Stealing America" in Eugene, OR, on October 18th and Mountain View, CA, on October 26th

Screeings of "Stealing America: Vote by Vote" by Emmy-Award winning filmmaker, Dorothy Fadiman:

Wednesday, October 18th, 7:00 pm

LOCATION: In Eugene at Cozmic Pizza, 199 W 8th Avenue (at 8th & Charnelton, 2 blocks west of Willamette)

No admission fee
For more information visit www.stealingamerica.org or contact Kat L'Estrange at kinc@efn.org


Tuesday, October 26th, 6:30 pm registration, 7:00 pm dinner, 7:30 pm program

LOCATION: Mountain View, CA, Michael's on Shoreline, 2960 N Shoreline Blvd

Cost: Free, but viewers will be asked to make $25 donation to ACLU
The filmmaker will be in attendance.
RSVP: Tamara Colby tamara@radiostreet.com by October 14
Sponsor: The Mid-Peninsula Chapter of The American Civil Liberties Union

Additional screenings

New Pacifica Radio Program on Voting Rights Situation in Ohio

Columbus Community Radio, part of Pacifica, has come out with an episode of "Sprouts" produced by voting rights activist Evan Davis, which looks at the state of voting rights in Ohio in light of new evidence of election fraud and new legislation affecting voters, featuring an interview with Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.

To listen or to download go to:

http://www.ccrfonline.org/ and click on "Audio Archives".

Video the Vote -- Ohio 2006 -- You Can Help

VIDEO THE VOTE is recruiting bideographers and volunteers to document problems at the polls on November 7th.

They provide training on what to look for and who to call and will get video uploaded to the internet.

Details and contact information below.

---

Thanks for your interest in VIDEO THE VOTE. I'm Melissa Giraud, a member of the League of Young Voters
and coordinator of the VIDEO THE VOTE effort in Columbus.

Video the Vote is recruiting videographers and volunteers with video cameras to document any problems people have voting at the polls on November 7th. With the help of other organizations, we'll train these video volunteers so they know what to look for at the polls and know to call election protection when needed. We'll also set up tape drop off points and ask techie volunteers to upload the tapes we get immediately to the Web on YouTube.com. We'll also encourage individuals with camera to post under Video the Vote on line on their own. Our intention is to supplement election protection efforts by making video taken at the polls available on the Web in short order. This will allow election protection folks and
everyone with an Internet connection to see what's happening in near real-time and rectify problems at polls before they close.

Video the Vote is the inspiration of the Guerilla News Network's Ian Inaba, director of the election documentary "American Blackout." Ian got some of his best footage from individuals, many amateurs, who brought video cameras to the polls in November 2004 in Columbus. He knew that figuring out how to get this "guerilla" footage to the public much sooner would help protect voters. Fortunately, making video available on the web has become much easier than it was in 2004.

We're currently developing protocols to coordinate Video the Vote, which I'll share with you soon. Within the week, Video the Vote will have a completed website where volunteers can sign up, download protocols and guidelines and learn more about the project. That site address is: videothevote.org.

Please send any video volunteers or other potential collaborators on Video the Vote my way. Again, we mean to supplement efforts to protect the vote that are already underway.

Oh, and if you haven't seen the upsetting, important, inspiring movie "American Blackout," you'll have another opportunity. SEIU is sponsoring a showing of the film and Ian Inaba will attend and answer questions. Here's that event information:

American Blackout
Thursday, October 26, 2006
7 pm (Reception at 6:30)
Drexel Gateway near OSU Campus
1550 North High Street

Thanks, and I look forward to working with you all.

Best,

Melissa Giraud
melissa@columbusvotes.org, melissagiraud@yahoo.com
cell 773-895-2378

Voting Rights Revival Conference -- Columbus, Ohio -- October 13-15th

Conference is this weekend. CASE will be hosting a workshop on the Adopt A BOE program.

http://freepress.org/vrrc/index.php for details.

Voting Rights Revival Conference
Columbus State Community College
Columbus, Ohio

October 13, 14 and 15, 2006

Long lines....provisional ballots...intimidation at the polls...
Don't let what happened on Election Day in 2004 happen again in Ohio!
Get involved!
Come to the Voting Rights Revival conference
Become an Election Protection volunteer!

The VRRC focuses on concrete solutions that will empower Ohio voters this November 7, 2006. Free and open to the public, the VRRC will inspire and inform with renowned speakers and hands-on workshops. Workshops will cover the changes in the new laws, basic voting procedures, how to make sure your vote is counted, how to work with Boards of Elections, Election Protection videography, the voting rights of people with disabilities, and post-election audits, to name a few.

Our Mission Statement:

To focus on the election process in Ohio, with the goal of sharing information that enfranchises all voters in Ohio; to encourage civic participation at the local and state level, including the ongoing facilitation of emerging local and student leaders and organizers: the commencement of a public sphere.

Highlights:

Speakers:

Steve Freeman, Penn University professor, author of "Was the 2004 Presidential Election Stolen? Exit Polls, Election Fraud, and the Official Count"
Bob Fitrakis, author, journalist, political science professor, attorney for Moss v. Bush, co-editor "Did George W. Bush Steal America's 2004 Election? Essential Documents"
Harvey Wasserman, author, journalist, Senior Free Press Editor, co-editor "How the GOP Stole America's 2004 Election & Is Rigging 2008"
Cliff Arnebeck, attorney for post-2004 election challenge
Ruth Colker, law professor, OSU Moritz College of Law
Greg Moore, civil rights leader, director, Voting Rights Institute of the Democratic National Committee
Matt Damschroder (invited), Director, Franklin County Board of Elections
Ronnie Dugger, founder, Texas Observer, founder Alliance for Democracy
Doris D. Haddock (invited), clean elections activist
Workshops:

CASE Ohio – Adopt A Board of Election
Voting 101 (Guaranteeing your voter registration, new ID rules, how to use voting machines)
Disabilities and Voting
Election Day Election Protection Activities: parallel elections, legal, video, observation
Post-election Auditing
More

Amended Complaint Filed in King Lincoln Bronzeville Neighborhood Association v. Blackwell

An amended complaint (pdf file) has been filed in King Lincoln Bronzeville Neighborhood Association v. Blackwell.

Record of Important Legal Events

This post is intended as a resource for those seeking information on important legal events relating to the Ohio election of 2004, specifically relating to issues of (a) fraud, (b) disenfranchisment, (c) voter suppression,
(d) recount obstruction, and (e) vote machine tampering. It is a selective compilation of links which have been posted on this site which relate to such events.

The links are generally listed in reverse chronological order of posting.

They are numbered in reverse numerical order; the first 2 digits of each link refer to the year of posting. (I.e. “0510" is the 10th post in 2005).

The "permanent" link to this post is at the bottom and can be ascertained by right-clicking the phrase "Permanent Link to this Post". (But please note that it is not entirely "permanent": each time the post is updated in a new month, the 2-digit number for the month changes, and when it is updated in a new year, the 4-digit number for the year changes as well). For a genuinely permanent link, use the link for the identical list on my web site, http://ohioelection2004.com/legalevents.htm

There is, of necessity, some overlap with my separate post "Evidence of Fraud and Disenfranchisement in Ohio, 2004 : A Partial List", since legal documents (a) are often compilations of evidence, and (b) on occasion are in themselves important historical facts.



0602-Amended complaint in King Lincoln Bronzeville Neighborhood Association v. Blackwell
0601-Complaint in King Lincoln Bronzeville Community Association, et al, v. J. Kenneth Blackwell, et al.

0549-Blackwell's motion to dismiss in League of Women Voters and Plaintiffs' opposition papers.
0548-Two Cuyahoga County Election Workers Indicted For Recount Obstruction
0547-June 13th trial set for League of Women Voters v. Blackwell
0546-Kerry and Edwards to Stay in Recount Case; Trial Set for August 2006
0545-Cobb and Badnarik Claims in Recount Suit
0544-Cuyahoga Recount Being Investigated by Special Prosecutor, Subponeas Issued -- Cleveland Plain Dealer
0543-Federal Lawsuit Commenced to Reform Ohio Elections
0542-Probe of $10,000 payment to Franklin County GOP on instructions by GOP election official - Cleveland Plain Dealer July 16, 2005
0541-TRO extended to August 15th, and parties proceed to mediation, in Hocking County Sherole Eaton litigation
0540-Open Records Request Filed in Lucas County on July 7th
0539-Criminal Complaint Filed in Hocking County Against BOE Director Lisa Schwartze for Shredding Up To 10,000 Registration Documents
0538-Temporary Restraining Order Issued by Court in Alliance for Democracy v. Hocking County Board of Elections
0537-Alliance for Democracy Brings Motion to Stop Hocking County from Terminating Sherole Eaton Without Compliance with Public Meetings Law
0536-Conyers Attacks Gonzalez "Investigation" Report of Franklin County Voter Machine Misallocation
0535-Paul Harmon Files Ohio Supreme Court Brief Describing Licking County Irregularities
0534-Judge Moyer Denies Sanctions Motion in Election Contest Litigation
0533-Videotapes of EAC February 23rd Hearing
0532-Akron Beacon Journal reports: "Prosecutor to Probe Cuyahoga County Recount"
0531-Franklin County Launches Investigation Into 2004 Election
0530-Blackwell Requests Dismissal or Change of Venue of Recount Case, and Opposes Hearing Unless He Can Take Depositions of Kerry and Edwards
0529-Paul Harmon to Appeal Licking County Case to Ohio Supreme Court
0528-National Voting Rights Institute Update on Ohio Recount Litigation
0527-Kerry & Edwards File Court Papers Agreeing With Cobb & Badnarik that Venue Should Not be Transferred & Summarizing Reports of Recount Coordinators
0526-Cobb & Badnarik File Papers Requesting Court Not to Transfer Venue

0525-Report on EAC February 23rd Hearing by electionline.org
0524-EAC Announces it will Only Hold One More Hearing
0523-Election Fraud by Licking County Officials Exposed in Criminal Complaint Filed by Paul D. Harmon
0522-Report on EAC February 23rd Public Hearing
0521-"Public" hearing not open to the "Public"
0520-Blackwell Fails to Show Up at House Administration Committee; Chair Says "You Can Run, But You Can't Hide"
0519-Congressman Conyers, Senator Feingold, and 17 Other Congresspersons file Amicus Brief Opposing Ohio Elections Contest Sanctions Motion
0518-State Court Judges Prohibit Blackwell from Enforcing Optical Scan Deadline
0517-Ohio Attorney General Tells Franklin County Prosector that Blackwell Exceeded His Authority
0516-Cobb and Badnarik File Memorandum of Law in Recount Case.
0515-Conyers and 22 other Members of Congress Request Congressional Research Service Investigation into Voting Irregularities. 2/2/05
0514-Election Contest Lawyers Oppose Sanctions Motion
0513-FBI Refuses to Follow Up on Hocking County Triad Incident
0512-Cong. Conyers Asks FBI to Expand Investigation into Clermont, Union, Fulton, Hocking, Monroe, Henry, and Harrison Counties
0511-Congressman Conyers Writes to Ohio Attorney General About Sanctions Motion Against Election Contest Attorneys
0510-Sanctions Motion Brought By Ohio Attorney General Against Election Contest Litigation Lawyers
0509-Nine Members of House Judiciary Committee Request Formal Committee Hearings & Investigation
0508-Alliance for Democracy Seeks to Intervene Before Democratic Party Dismisses Its Own Case in Knox & Franklin Counties
0507-Four Members of Congress Call for Special Prosecutor to Investigate Blackwell
0506-Waxman and Conyers Call on GAO to Investigate
0505-Election Contest Suit Withdrawn
0504-January 6, 2005, House & Senate Debate, & Vote Against, Objection
to Ohio Electors
0503-House Democrats Request Joint Congressional Investigation of Ohio Election
0502-House Committee Appendices: Eyewitness Accounts, Linda Byrket Documentary, and Blackwell letter
0501-House Judiciary Democrats Submit Preliminary Report in Support of Objection to Ohio Electors, Entitled "Preserving Democracy : What Went Wrong in Ohio"

Needless to say there are other web sites which contain information on these subjects. Some are listed in the left hand column under "Important Links". Three which I find especially helpful are Ohio Vigilance http://ohiovigilance.org, MiaMedia Votergate Resource Center http://miamedia.com/votergate, and Election 2004 http://shadowbox.i8.com/stolen.htm.

If you have documents, court dates, or other detailed material relating to legal events in connection with the Ohio, 2004, election, which you would like to share with this blog, please send to ohioelectionfraud@mindspring.com with "oef" as the subject.

"American Blackout", New Film About Disenfranchisement of African-Americans in 2000 and 2004

Excellent new documentary about systematic disenfranchisement of African-Americans in 2000 Florida presidential election, 2002 and 2004 DeKalb County, Georgia, congressional election, and 2004 Ohio presidential election:

American Blackout

Film by director Ian Inaba, won Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and Best Documentary at the Urbanworld/Vibe Film Festival.

To locate scheduled screenings of "American Blackout"

To host a screening

"Our Rigged Elections: The Elephant is in the Polling Booth" by Mark Crispin Miller, published in Washington Spectator

Important new article by Mark Crispin Miller published in Washington Spectator on October 1, 2006:

OUR RIGGED ELECTIONS
The Elephant in the Polling Booth
By Mark Crispin Miller | October 1, 2006

To say that this election could go either way is not to say that the Republicans have any chance of winning it. As a civic entity responsive to the voters' will, the party's over, there being no American majority that backs it, or that ever would. Bush has left the GOP in much the same condition as Iraq, Afghanistan, the global climate, New Orleans, the Bill of Rights, our military, our economy and our national reputation. Thus the regime is reviled as hotly by conservatives as by liberals, nor do any moderates support it.

So slight is Bush's popularity that his own party's candidates for Congress are afraid to speak his name or to be seen with him (although their numbers, in the aggregate, are even lower than his). It seems the only citizens who still have any faith in him are those who think God wants us to burn witches and drive SUVs. For all their zeal, such theocratic types are not in the majority, not even close, and thus there's no chance that the GOP can get the necessary votes.

And so the Democrats are feeling good, and calling for a giant drive to get the vote out on Election Day. Such an effort is essential—and not just to the Democrats but to the very survival of this foundering Republic. However, such a drive will do the Democrats, and all the rest of us, more harm than good if it fails to note a certain fact about our current situation: i.e., that the Democrats are going to lose the contest in November, even though the people will (again) be voting for them. The Bush Republicans are likely to remain in power despite the fact that only a minority will vote to have them there. That, at any rate, is what will happen if we don't start working to pre-empt it now.

Even though this election could go either way, neither way will benefit the Democrats. Either the Republicans will steal their "re-election" on Election Day, just as they did two years ago, or they will slime their way to "victory" through force and fraud and strident propaganda, as they did after Election Day 2000. Whichever strategy they use, the only way to stop it is to face it, and then shout so long and loud about it that the people finally perceive, at last, that their suspicions are entirely just—and, this time, just say no.

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH—That Bush/Cheney stole their "re-election" is not a "theory" but a fact that has by now been proved beyond the shadow of a doubt. The case was made, first, by the House Judiciary Committee—or rather by its Democratic members, who conducted a meticulous inquiry into the debacle in Ohio. (The Republicans boycotted the investigation, and obstructed it.) Its findings were released on January 5, 2005, in the so-called Conyers Report, after Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), the committee's ranking Democrat. The Republicans attacked it, and the press and leading Democrats ignored it; yet that report was sound, its major findings wholly accurate.

In July of that year the Democratic National Committee came out with its own study of Ohio, which offers still more evidence of fraud—before concluding, weirdly, that there was no fraud but rather much "incompetence" (all of which somehow helped only the GOP). Despite its stated contradiction of the House report, the DNC analysts disprove not one of Conyers's findings.

Complete article

Bev Harris in Columbus OH on October 1st

An afternoon with Bev Harris of Blackbox voting, Sunday Oct 1, 1:30pm till 6 pm, Columbus, Ohio

German Meeting Haus, just South of I-70 ramp on 3rd South and WILLOW. (TURN LEFT ON WILLOW) Park behind the Golden Hobby Shop, (just South) or St. Mary's school (also South), but NOT in the bank parking lot. Or street parking or park at Freepress offices one third mile north.

Richard Hayes Philips, the investigator whose research into Ohio 04 ballots is the basis of lawsuits against a fraudulent election, will also share his latest research in Ohio.

Other voting rights activists will tell what they have been doing. Don't be frustrated, get organized! Let's get ready for Nov.7.

$5 donation requested to defray costs. Refreshments for free. Seating may be limited, get there early.

Table for your group, $10, no candidates, prefer non-partisan. Email for availabilily.

Join us afterwards for supper in a restaurant.

Please pass this email on! She doesn't get here from Seattle often!! Last time was Jan 05.

Let me know if you can help. Risenregan@earthlink.net

-Marj Creech

CASE OHIO News Update

The focus of this CASE News email is the November General Election in Ohio. It includes some information and actions you can take to help more people vote. Updates will be sent as needed and will include projects coordinated by other election advocacy groups. Send comments, suggestions to ron@caseohio.org.



Feel free to forward as appropriate and invite others to join http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CASE_OH_News/ to get these updates. This group is not a discussion group so you will not get a lot of email.



Help Wanted (see below for details)

League of Women Voters Flyer on Voter ID/Registration (click here for link)

Many people do NOT yet know that ID will be required to vote! Available in English or Spanish.
You can tell your friends, help distribute, identify organizations that might want them, ask your Senator or Congressperson to publish in constituent newsletter.


Student Voter Guide

You can help identify student groups, college newspapers to send it to.


Election Day:

Statewide election hotline 866-OURVOTE (866-687-8683) goes live October 16. Spread the word.
You can work for your county as a poll worker. See below about learning what to look for and gathering incident reports.
You can gather posted precinct results, send in for comparison with official results
You can observe the election as a monitor/witness
You can help conduct a parallel election


Misc

You can challenge Ohio media to watch for election fraud


CASE News

CASE presented the Adopt A BOE program at the “Making Your Voter Count, A Voter’s Rights Forum” in Akron on Sept 10 (contact Eileen Goldman, eyeleen45@aol.com)
Phil Fry met with BOE officials in Darke & Shelby counties.
Pete Johnson & Stuart Wright met with Franklin County BOE Director Matt Damschroder
Ron met with Tom Hayes to discuss CASE recommendations for Cuyahoga County election improvements
Three members of CASE have been invited to participate in the Election Protection meetings, which include Common Cause, People for the American Way, the League of Woman Voters, and other organizations.
CASE News group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CASE_OH_News) created for activists who just want the highlights


Announcements

Sept 29-30: "We Count - A Conference about Fair Elections and Democracy" in Cleveland featuring Mark Crispin Miller, Bob Fitrakis, Bev Harris, Ron Baiman, Greg Coleridge and many more. Contact Victoria.Lovegren@case.edu or go to www.wecount2006.org for more information or to register.
Oct 13-15: Voting Rights Revival” in Columbus featuring Steve Freeman, Bob Fitrakis, Doris Haddock, Cliff Arnebeck, and more (more info: http://freepress.org/vrrc/)


Help Wanted Details



Voter Registration/ID (for details à Ron - ron@caseohio.org)

LWVOH, CC, COHHIO, and Ohio Votes have published a flyer on how to check voter registration and what ID to bring (click here for flyer)
You can

Tell your friends. Send email to political (or non-political) groups.
Call a local library and ask them to put some flyers at the checkout desk.
Contact organizations that might distribute them (target audience includes students, low income, and senior voters in urban areas).
Contact your congressperson and ask them to publish the flyer information their newsletter. Call and offer to email them the flyer. Contact Ron if they want help condensing the material.


Student Voter Guide (for details à Phil - phil@caseohio.org)

CASE student voters guide at www.caseohio.org (under New Voter Guides)
You can

Help identify colleges/universities and phone/email for student groups/newspapers across Ohio
Call (preferably) or email this groups and ask them to publish
Send contacts to Phil so we know which schools have been contacted


Project Post (for details à Vicki - victoria.lovegren@case.edu, www.ohiovigilance.org/ProjectPost/Index.html)

Ohio Vigilance & CASE Ohio are coordinating this effort to gather precinct level vote totals at as many precincts as possible. Then we compare our date with official results.
We have a list of counties that have said they will post results.
You can

Signup at Ohio Vigilance link above to visit precincts after closing, copy results and send them in
Gather the data in a spreadsheet/database


Participate as a poll worker on election day (for details à TBD, could be you)

Ohio counties will be particularly challenged by Voter ID requirements and need poll workers who care about fair elections.
There may be no better way to work for fair elections.
CASE is working with Pollworkers for Democracy to distribute information on what to look for and coordinate gathering of incident reports.
You can

Signup with your county to work on election day
Contact so we can share information on what to look for and how to report incidents


Observe as monitor/witness

We expect details from other advocacy groups on an observer program which will be distributed.


Conduct a Parallel Election (for details à You?)

Ask voters leaving a polling place to fill out a parallel ballot
Count the results and compare to official results


Adopt A BOE (for details à Pete – pete@caseohio.org, Ron - ron@caseohio.org)

County Summary: have active volunteers: 15, tentative volunteers: 9.
Contact BOE (in person or via email)
Requires some chutzpah & patience, but not a lot of time
Understand their election process
Work constructively towards the common goal of fair elections
Provide expertise based on election process knowledge and experience at other BOE’s
Advocate for improvements


Challenge Ohio media that believe there was no fraud in 2004 to cover 2006 effectively (for details à You?)

You can

Write a plan on how we think a newspaper should cover the pre election, election, and post election phases of the election.
For example: clear & documented rules on Voter ID/Registration, fair allocation of voting machines, posting precinct results, post election check of DRE totals.
Send letters to each newspaper, ask them for their plans, and issue a press release.


Research (for details à John - john@caseohio.org)

Come up with citations from the Revised Code, media, etc. (e.g.,what types of ID are acceptable since HB 3).
CASE could use a team of folks doing this. Folks connected to law, media, political science may be especially good.


Help maintain CASE Website (for details à Phil - phil@caseohio.org)

Calendar of Events - needs regular inputs
Best Practices - needs to be reviewed and updated
Lawsuits - needs to be updated (Ohio only)
Media and Government Contacts - needs regular updating
News - we are no longer maintaining news - Should we?
Many, many more. Choose the area you are interested. Just get me the details and I can post it.


Post Election Citizen Audit (for details à You?)

Start planning for after November 7th. An organized post election audit and report should be done by BOE’s, but if they won’t maybe we should.
Validate vote totals (with hand count ballots or VVPAT for random precincts)
Validate provisional ballot count (by checking random sample of acceptions/rejections)


John, Pete, Phil, Ron, Stuart

www.caseohio.org

Bob Fitrakis On the Radio

Bob Fitrakis -- a person who needs no introduction to readers of this blog -- is running for Governor of the State of Ohio, on the Green Party Ticket. Needless to say, his election would be a tremendous victory for voting rights, and for democracy. To hear a recent radio interview with Bob, go here.

Screening Schedule for Dorothy Fadiman New Film, "Stealing America: Vote by Vote"

STEALING AMERICA: Vote by Vote
A New Documentary Film
Directed and Produced by
DOROTHY FADIMAN
EMMY Award winning, OSCAR-nominated Documentary Filmmaker
Screening Schedule, September-October 2006
www.stealingamerica.org


Friday, September 15
City: Washington, DC
Place: Camp Democracy, between the Mall and Constitution Avenue, 14th/15th Streets, at the foot of the Washington Monument.
Time: 8 PM
Cost: FREE. Viewers will be invited to make a donation.
Film will be introduced by Bob Fitrakis and Jonathan Simon. The filmmaker will not be in attendance.
Sponsor: Focus on Democracy (www.grassrootsunity.org)

Tuesday, September 19
City: Washington, DC
Place: Peoples Congregational Church, 4704 Thirteenth Street NW
Time: 7:30 PM
Cost: FREE. Viewers will be invited to make a donation.
Film will be introduced by Matthew Segal. The filmmaker will be in attendance.
Sponsor: Velvet Revolution (www.velvetrevolution.us)
RSVP: Kat L'Estrange, kinc@efn.org

Tuesday, September 19
City: Mountain View, CA
Place: Adobe Building, 157 Moffett Boulevard
Time: 7 PM
Cost: FREE
The filmmaker will not be in attendance.
Contact: TAMARA COLBY, tamara@radiostreet.com
Sponsor: League of Women Voters of Los Altos

Thursday, September 21
City: New York, NY
Place: Millennium Film Workshop, 66 East 4th Street, Manhattan, NYC
Time: 8 PM
Cost: FREE. Viewers will be invited to make a donation.
Film will be introduced by Mark Crispin Miller. The filmmaker will be in attendance.
Contact/RSVP: Kat L'Estrange, kinc@efn.org

Sunday, September 24 - OHIO PREMIERE
City: Columbus, OH
Place: Drexel Gateway Theater, 1550 North High Street
Time: 7:30 PM
Cost: $8/ticket
Film will be introduced by Bob Fitrakis. The filmmaker will be in attendance.
Contact: Suzanne Patzer, truth@freepress.org
Sponsor: Free Press (www.freepress.org)

Monday, September 25
City: Cincinnati, OH
Place: Esquire Theatre, 320 Ludlow Ave
Time: 7:30 PM
Cost: $5/ticket
The filmmaker will be in attendance.
Contact: Andrew Warner, andrewwarner2@gmail.com

Thursday, September 28
City: Youngstown, OH
Place: Youngstown University, McKay Auditorium in Beeghley Hall - Building #5
Time: 8:00 PM
Cost: FREE. Viewers will be invited to make a donation.
The filmmaker will be in attendance.
Contact: Kim Akins, khia213@yahoo.com

Saturday, September 30
City: Cleveland, OH
Place: Cuyahoga County Community College, 2900 Community College Avenue. The Theater in Media and Theater Arts (MTA) building.
http://www.tri-c.edu/maps/docs/metrocampus.htm#Theater
Time: 4:30 PM
Cost: $5/ticket. Free for We Count conference attendees.
The filmmaker will be in attendance.
Sponsor: We Count 2006 (www.wecount2006.org), Velvet Revolution, Election Defense Alliance

Wednesday, October 4
City: Oakland, CA
Key Note Speaker: Mark Crispin Miller
Place: Oakland Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Avenue
Time: 7 PM
Cost: $10/ticket
The filmmaker will be in attendance.
Contact: Katie Hickox, khickox@yahoo.com

Sunday, October 15 - LOCAL PREMIERE
City: Palo Alto, CA
Place: Cubberley Theatre, 4000 Middlefield Rd. Palo Alto, California
Time: 7:30 PM
Cost: FREE. Viewers will be invited to make a donation.
The filmmaker will be in attendance.
Contact: Ana Hays, anamh@earthlink.net

Tuesday, October 26
City: Mountain View, CA
Place: Michael's on Shoreline, 2960 N Shoreline Blvd
Time: 6:30 registration 7 pm dinner 7:30 pm Program
Cost: $25 Fundraiser for ACLU
Cost: Free. Viewers will be invited to make a donation.
The filmmaker will be in attendance.
RSVP: Tamara Colby tamara@radiostreet.com by October 14
Sponsor: The Mid-Peninsula Chapter of The American Civil Liberties Union

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

STEALING AMERICA: Vote by Vote brings together behind-the-scenes perspectives from Election 2004. Interviewees include voters who experienced hardships, poll workers, computer experts, nationally recognized journalists, as well as others concerned about the Presidential election of Nov. 2, 2004 and democracy in the United States. For more information or to arrange a screening, please visit www.stealingamerica.org.