December 02, 2005

Congressman Conyers Calls for Investigation of DOJ Voting Section


WASHINGTON, D.C. - Representative John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, released the following statement today concerning the revelation in the Washington Post that political appointees overruled a staff recommendation that the Texas congressional redistricting plan of 2003 be rejected as retrogressive under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act:




"At the outset, I expressed concern about the politicization of the Voting Right Act, Section 5, preclearance process for the Texas congressional redistricting plan. In a November 25, 2003, letter to the Attorney General, I stated that it was clear that the Texas congressional redistricting process had been tainted by much more than the customary political rivalry accompanying decennial redistricting and requested that all political appointees be recused from consideration of the plan. This request was met with a cold response. Because the then Chief of the Voting Section failed to sign the "no objection" letter giving DOJ preclearance for the plan, I felt that there was a strong implication of undue political influence and requested a copy of the recommendation memorandum prepared by the career staff from the Attorney General that December. That request also met with a cold response.



The story in today's Washington Post finally lifts the lid on process about which I have been seeking more detailed information for over two years. As I had always feared, the Section 5 process had been compromised at the highest levels of Congress and the Department of Justice. Given the continuing importance of the Section 5, especially in light of similar concerns about the process in Georgia and Mississippi, the Judiciary Committee must conduct rigorous oversight of the Civil Rights Division to protect the integrity of the Voting Rights Act. I will ask Chairman Sensenbrenner to schedule hearings next month to get to the bottom of what is going on within the Department. As we move forward, this situation cannot be allowed to become a distraction from the important work of renewing and restoring the expiring provisions of the Voting Rights Act."




November 28, 2005

Joint Newsletter of CASE OHIO, J30 Coalition, and Ohio Vigilance

This newsletter is intended to be a combined effort of CASE OHIO, J30 COALITION, AND OHIO VIGILANCE, and any citizen activists involved in Election reform. This newsletter will include applicable news and events, it is not intended to promote any specific agenda but instead be inclusive of current newsworthy events.

GAO Report: The General Accounting Office has issued a 107 page report. For the first time, an official government agency has acknowledged in vivid detail the insecurities inherent in voting on electronic machines provided by partisan, privately controlled corporations.

www.truthout.org/docs_2005/102105Q.shtml

In October 2005, the Government Accountability Office released a comprehensive analysis of the concerns raised by the increasing use of electronic voting machines.

Overall, GAO found that "significant concerns about the security and reliability of electronic voting systems" have been raised (p. 22).

GAO indicated that "some of these concerns have been realized and have caused problems with recent elections, resulting in the loss and miscount of votes" (p. 23).

According to GAO, "election officials, computer security experts, citizen advocacy groups, and others have raised significant concerns about the security and reliability of electronic voting systems, citing instances of weak security controls, system design flaws, inadequate system version control, inadequate security testing, incorrect system configuration, poor security management, and vague or incomplete standards, among other issues". The security and reliability concerns raised in recent reports merit the focused attention of federal, state, and local authorities responsible for election administration" (p. 22-23).

GAO further reported that "security experts and some election officials have expressed concern that tests currently performed by independent testing authorities and state and local election officials do not adequately assess electronic voting system security and reliability," and that "these concerns are amplified by what some perceive as a lack of transparency in the testing process" (p. 34)

John Hopkins Center Gazette: Here are the first three paragraphs of a longer article regarding a new effort to make election technology secure.

A federally funded center dedicated to improving the reliability and trustworthiness of voting technology, drawing on experts in computer science, public policy and human behavior, will be based at The Johns Hopkins University, the National Science Foundation announced Aug. 15. Researchers from five other institutions nationwide will participate in the project, which is aimed at addressing public concerns about the growing use of electronic voting machines in local, state and national elections.

The NSF said it would provide $7.5 million over five years to launch the new endeavor called ACCURATE, which is short for A Center for Correct, Usable, Reliable, Auditable, and Transparent Elections. Avi Rubin, a professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins and technical director of the university's Information Security Institute, will direct the center.

Rubin has received international attention in recent years for identifying risks associated with computer-based voting technology that has been put into use with minimal scrutiny by independent security experts. He has testified before state and federal lawmakers and election supervisors regarding potential security flaws in these machines.

www.jhu.edu/~gazette/2005/22aug05/22evote.html

COLUMBUS COMMUNITY RADIO PROJECT UPDATE: (11/21/05)

The Columbus Community Radio Foundation has made significant progress in its efforts to launch a community radio station in Columbus, Ohio. Our fall fundraising event with speaker Amy Goodman raised nearly $3,000 which enabled us to purchase a used radio tower and to have a contractor disassemble it for us. Once the tower is erected at our transmitter site and a transmitter and antennae are connected we'll be ready to begin broadcasting a signal. We are currently applying for a local construction permit to erect the tower and are fundraising to cover that cost. In total we would like to raise $7,000 to cover all of our anticipated remaining construction expenses.
CCRF's transmitter is only permitted to RE-broadcast ( "translate" or "repeat") another station's signal and we are working closely with a group of 4 organizations that are united under a single Low Power FM license which was recently awarded by the FCC. Those organizations (Simply Living, Columbus Refugee and Immigration Services, Bexley Public Radio Foundation and the Groveport-Madison School district) are in the process of organizing their station and negotiating a cooperative agreement between them regarding policies and programming guidelines, time sharing and governance. CCRF is advising them as we draw upon our experience and our connections with Pacifica Radio, the National Federation of Community Broadcasters and the Grass Roots Radio Coalition. Groveport Madison has allowed CCRF to have access to the 6-9 am time slot 7 days a week and we intend to produce a daily morning program that will include news, interviews, discussion, music, theater and short pre-produced segments from independent producers from 6-8 Monday through Friday with Democracy Now taking up the last hour from 8:00 - 9:00 except on weekends.

CCRF is developing programming criteria and submission guidelines in accordance with our mission statement and we are developing similar proposals for each of the LPFM partner groups. We are presently looking for volunteers for a number of tasks including;
> Morning Show co-hosts and production engineers
> Reporters, producers and announcers
> Program Committee volunteers
> finance committee volunteers ( fundraising)
> researchers for a Pacifica Archives program to be produced by CCRF
> Community Calendar Producers

CCRF has been meeting every other Tuesday at the Council on American Islamic Relations offices ( 4700 Reed Rd.) at 8:00 pm ( but will be switching to 7:30 pm as of November 22). All are welcome.

Our next fundraising event is tentatively scheduled for January 13, 2006 when we will present Sonali Kolhatkar, host of the Pacifica program Uprising and head of the U.S. Afghan Women's Mission. Sonali is about to release a book on the current status of women in Afghanistan based on extensive interviews and her own eyewitness accounts. For updates visit our website at; www.ccrfonline.org


CALIFORNIA INVITED BLACK BOX VOTING TO TEST DIEBOLD

The California Secretary of State has invited Black Box Voting to test/"hack" a Diebold AccuVote-OS voting machine for security vulnerability likely in December 2005. The California Secretary of State's consultant has already found the Diebold AccuVote-OS vulnerable to alteration of vote results.

VOTING PROBLEMS CONTINUE IN OHIO

Lucas County/Toledo Board of Elections (Ohio) took the longest time to complete the vote counting on in Ohio for the November 8, 2005 election. They took 11.5 hours after the close of the polls using Diebold DRE voting machines. They are in the same group as Clermont County Board of Elections, which took the longest for the Second Congressional District August 2, 2005 election

The Lucas County Board of Elections in the November 8, 2005 election, evicted TOLEDO BLADE reporters from the Board of Elections and blocked all reporters from going up the escalator to view the counting. They are in the same group as Warren County, which blocked reporters from viewing the counting in November 2004.

Lucas County also used "rovers" to pick up the memory cards (which contain all the votes) from the precincts instead of the customary procedure of having the precinct head bring them into the county. Some of these "rovers" were people who held elected or appointed positions for a particular political party such as a councilman and Board members of the Lucas County Board of Elections.

"ONE YEAR LATER - VOTING RIGHTS IN OHIO"

The Free Press of Columbus, Ohio sponsored "One Year Later - Voting Rights in Ohio" and a Tribute to Bill Moss at the New Faith Baptist Church in Columbus on November 5, 2005. The New Faith Baptist Church was where the public met to report the considerable problems in the November 2004 election in Columbus, Ohio a year ago. Bill Moss, now deceased, who was lead plaintiff in the resulting MOSS vs. OHIO lawsuit for voting rights, was honored for his civil rights and election work. Films of the Freedom Bus Ride and trip to Washington for the challenge to the Ohio electoral vote in January 2005 were shown. Approximately 70 people attended. There were many speakers including Bob Fitrakis, Susan Truitt, and Cliff Arnebeck, who are all well known in the election reform movement.SPEAKING TO LICKING COUNTY YOUNG DEMOCRATS

Marj Creech and Jo Anne Karasek went to Ohio State University - Newark to speak to the Young Democrats of Licking County (Ohio) on November 17, 2005 on the voting machine problems and the hand count paper ballot solution. A number of election reform advocates, including J30 Coalition members, also did a Voting Rights Forum for LICOPAC in Newark on July 6, 2005. Between the two events we have gained many activists from the Licking County area.LUCAS COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS

The Lucas County (Ohio) Board of Elections' last reply to Jo Anne Karasek for a date to inspect public records referred to a date, which they refused, that was not requested. They keep the ballots requested for inspection in the same room as the ballots for the most recent election, refuse to move them, and claim that they cannot be examined there for security reasons. They refuse to consider allowing another inspection until about December 20. Only two inspections have been permitted since the first public records request on May 2005. Legal action may be necessary.CLERMONT COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS

The Clermont County (Ohio) Board of Elections response for a first request by Jo Anne Karasek to inspect public records (of the Hackett/Schmidt election on August 2, 2005) included a refusal in October to allow inspection for more than one hour, a demand of eight to ten cents a page for copying, when Office Depot only charges six cents a page including profits. The Clermont County Prosecutor threatened arrest and refused to allow videotaping of the inspection. Legal action may be necessary. RECOUNTS AND POSSIBLE AUDITS OF NOVEMBER 8, 2005 ELECTION

The election reform movement, especially in Ohio, is concerned about the outcome of the statewide issues, Issues #1 thru #5, in the November 8, 2005 election. The biggest concern is because a COLUMBUS DISPATCH poll reported on November 6, 2005, indicated that Issues #2 and #3 would be won with a substantial margin, but they both lost with a substantial margin. There are plans to do recounts and audits of the November 8 election in parts of Ohio.

For questions or to volunteer for election reform activities, contact Jo Anne Karasek, jakarasek@cinci.rr.com , a member of J30 Coalition, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/J30/

Mark Crispen Miller on John Kerry:

This quote is from a Free Press article "In recent days Mark Crispin Miller has reported that he heard from Kerry personally that Kerry believes the election was stolen. The dialog has been widely reported on the internet. Kerry has since seemed to deny it." You are encouraged to read the entire article:


www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1556

REFORM OHIO NOW: ELECTION RESULTS

Here is a snippet from an article in the Free Press on the RON results: "While debate still rages over Ohio's stolen presidential election of 2004, the impossible outcomes of key 2005 referendum issues may have put an electronic nail through American democracy. Once again, the Buckeye state has hosted an astonishing display of electronic manipulation that calls into question the sanctity of America's right to vote, and to have those votes counted in this crucial swing state." In addition, Bob Koehler (Chicago Tribune) has written about the RON results.

http://commonwonders.com/

www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1559

Black Box Voting has information on the "next-generation technologies going up for sale by Diebold. At the same time as about a dozen states have put forward cookie-cutter legislation mandating mail-in ballot experiments (wonder who is really behind those), Diebold has, for two years, been behind the scenes developing an automated mail-in computerized processing system.

. . . . Legislation appears, then we find out that, behind the scenes, the vendor was developing a machine for the legislation that hadn't yet appeared. We wonder if unwitting legislators knew that their bill was going to be serviced by an as yet unmarketed Diebold computer system."

www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/8/5710.html

[The Diebold Vote Remote] System allows election to set acceptance for the ballots high, low, or anywhere they want. This system is not certified. It interacts with the voter registration system, which also contains party affiliation of voters. It may never be tested or certified, since it slips through a loophole in the certification language. Financial documents obtained by BLACK BOX VOTING show completed billings for Vote Remote, indicating that it is already in use.

http://nov2truth.org/article.php?story=2005072518330798


DNC resolution in Support of Election Reform. The Democrats speak! The text of the resolution is a this link. http://blog.pdamerica.org/?p=426

From ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION on Diebold

Diebold, Inc., manufacturer of electronic voting machines, has been sending out many cease-and-desist letters to Internet Service Providers (ISPs), after internal documents indicating flaws in their systems were published on the Internet. The company cited copyright violations under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and demanded that the documents be taken down.

www.eff.org/legal/ISP_liability/OPG_v_Diebold/

Speaking Engagement: On Tuesday, October 25, Marge Creech, Victoria Parks, Jo Anne Karasek and Pete Johnson traveled to Akron to discuss Vote Fraud with a peace group. About 30 people attended. It was difficult to deliver a focused presentation on the plethora of issues in only one hour, but valuable dialogue followed the presentation. Thanks to Paul and Louise Baker for the invitation.

Vote Trust USA: recommended newsletter.

www.votetrustusa.org/newsletters/VTnews1114.htm

Book of the month club: FOOLED AGAIN: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election and Why They'll Steal the Next One Too (Unless We Stop Them) by Mark Crispin Miller. Although I have not completed it, so far it is excellent. The introduction should be a must read for every American.

Parallel Election news

Franklin County, Ohio November 8, 2005 General Election

Precinct 16D

Comparison of Parallel Election Results to Official Results

Final Report Nov. 14, 2005



http://tinyurl.com/c4rk6



Several reports over the past two years warn that voting electronically is not secure, yet Secretary of State Blackwell is forcing all of Ohio to adopt these expensive, hackable, privately-owned voting systems. He will then run for Governor in 2006, on systems he required, while conducting the administration of this, and his own, election.



Informed citizens cannot accept results that can't be hand-counted. Secret software belongs nowhere in the public voting process. Since our vote belongs to us - not to private for-profit corporations or public officials, citizens must run their own elections; become responsible for developing and implementing fair and honest elections in their own states, and check the accuracy of these machines. Parallel voters privately cast paper ballots and then deposit their own vote into a locked ballot box, which is later counted in a public place.



Precinct 16D, Franklin County (Columbus) was chosen to model civic engagement. Organizers vote in this precinct and were better able to involve neighbors in the Parallel Election.



Ohio has 13,600 precincts in 88 counties. A 1% sample would require 1360 Parallel Elections across the state. Organizers will continue to train teams for the 2006 elections. Since a minimum of six PE workers is needed, over 8,000 citizens are needed just to count 1% of an Ohio vote. Less than 100 concerned citizens, per county, could meet the staffing needs of a Parallel Election.



Final Results



There were 1,049 registered voters on Nov. 8, 2005 in 16D. 53 people voted in the Parallel Election and 99 people voted in the Official Election, as follows: 3 Absentee, 2 provisionals, and 94 in-person voters.



Editor note: I cannot format the table correctly, please click on the "tinyurl" link to see a correctly formatted table.



No. of Votes % for the Issue No. of Votes % for the Issue Yes No Yes No

Parallel Election Official Reported

Results Results

YES NO % for YES NO % for
Issue 1 - Public funds for private R&D; highways 33 19 62% 70 20 75%

Issue 2 - 35 Day absentee voting 42 9 79% 73 19 78%

Issue 3 - Lowers campaign contribution limits 44 8 83% 78 15 83%

Issue 4 - Independent Redistricting Commission 42 10 79% 74 20 79%

Issue 5 - Creates Elections Board of Supervisors 42 10 79% 75 19 80%

(nine people appointed by Ohio judges)



The results for the entire state were reported as Issue 1 passing, and Issues 2 thru 5 failing by a wide margin, contrary to the results of this precinct. Clearly, this precinct alone is not a large enough sample from which to draw conclusions. What can be ascertained is that official reported results of Precinct 16D matched the Parallel Election results.



Based on polling numbers, Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman have submitted a rejection of the official results at http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1559.



At least three states held Parallel Elections on November 8 th: Ohio, California and Texas. Information about these other states can be found at http://www.guvwurld.org//Election%20Reform/KHUM%20Radio%20Interview%20-%20Humboldt%20County%20Parallel%20Election%20-%2011-3-05.mp3 for Humboldt County, CA and San Diego, CA www.studycaliforniaballots.org

There was very light voting across Columbus, as reported by other voter protection workers. One team, including global human rights videographer Dorothy Fadiman, covered several precincts throughout the day. Until about 3:30, the weather was sunny and breezy, with temps reaching 70º. Temperatures fell slowly in the evening.

16-D is a heavily democratic, mostly young adult precinct, with a large block of student voters, just west of the Ohio State Fairgrounds. Racially mixed, the precinct also includes a good amount of families. This precinct was chosen to model citizen activism at the local level. "All you need are 6 to 8 voters in your precinct to run a Parallel Election. But be sure to bring enough food and hydration," an activist advised.

Police cruisers drove by several times in the morning, but probably related to other activities. One cruiser did park and face the parallel election table, for about 45 minutes, but it could have just been his lunch break. The pollworkers, precinct judge and voters who participated in the PE support PE efforts and have been very accommodating. Very few voters turned down the opportunity to vote in the parallel election and thanked PE workers for doing this. Team Ohio counted the parallel ballots in a local restaurant, later that night.

To learn How To Conduct a Parallel Election, see http://tinyurl.com/exjqm, or http://tinyurl.com/bmmgz at www.GuvWurld.org; or see www.studycaliforniaballots.org.



Team Ohio included: Rady Ananda, Marjorie Preston, Marj Creech, Madalena LaMarche, Troy Semen, Kal Palnicki, Dave Hickman, and Steave Scott. Much thanks goes to Steave Scott and Warren Stewart for assisting the videographic team of Dorothy Fadiman, to Marj Creech for capturing jpegs during the PE and during the ballot count, and to Victorian's Midnight Café for the ambiance.



Submitted by

Rady Ananda

J30 Research

Columbus OH



Suggestions and comments to pjohnso6@insight.rr.com

November 16, 2005

Important Action Memo From Victoria Lovegren

Important Action Memo from Victoria Lovegren:

If you haven't made up your mind about electronic voting, or if you haven't yet contacted Cuyahoga County Commissioners to tell them you don't want privatized elections, the following story should help.

Ohio: Alarming Comparisons of Pre-Election Polls and Official Results for Reform Ohio Now Initiatives
by Warren Stewart, Director of Legislative Issues and Policy VoteTrustUSA

In their article "Has American Democracy Died an Electronic Death in Ohio 2005's Referenda Defeats?", Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman point out alarming statistical anomalies in last Tuesday's official results on five statewide ballot initiatives. One of the initiatives was a proposition for state programs to create jobs and promote high tech industry, while the other four were election reform measures referred to collectively as Reform Ohio Now (RON).

Fitrakis and Wasserman note that while the historically reliable pre-election poll conducted by the Columbus Dispatch was typically accurate in predicting the official results for the first ballot initiative it was radically off in predicting easy victories for three of the four RON initiatives. The paper's last poll published on Sunday, November 6, the Dispatch showed Issue One passing with 53% of the vote and the initiative passed in the official tallies with 54% of the vote.

For the Reform Ohio Now initiatives it was another matter. The Dispatch poll showed Issue Two, which called for no excuse absentee voting, passing by a vote of 59% to 33%, with about 8% undecided, an even broader margin than that predicted for Issue One. But on November 8, the official vote count, Issue Two went down to defeat by the astonishing margin of 63.5% against, with just 36.5% in favor.

Similarly Issue Three, which dealt with campaign finance reform, was predicted by the Dispatch to win in a landslide, with 61% in favor and just 25% opposed. But on Tuesday, Issue Three lost in perhaps the most astonishing reversal in Ohio history, claiming just 33% of the vote, with 67% opposed. The other two reform initiatives on the ballots suffered similar reversals. Significantly, almost half the state's counties were using touch screen voting machines for the first time. Read the Entire Article




Cuyahoga County Board of Elections is hell-bent on purchasing over 6000 Diebold touch-screen voting machines. And this kind of information just might help us stop them.

Our scrutiny, phone calls, faxes, emails may have caused the County Commissioners to postpone their vote on purchasing additional machines. We expected a vote this week, but we've heard that it won't happen this week, and there are rumors that it won't happen until after the May '06 primaries.

Our vigilance and persistence is working! Please continue to contact the commissioners as well as the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections' director, Michael Vu (216-443-3200). We simply cannot let Cuyahoga fall to electronic voting machines. Just look at what happened to the Reform Ohio Now initiatives!

Please go to www.ohiovigilance.org to find out more about why we're fighting so hard and what you can do about it!

Thanks so much,

Victoria Lovegren and Adele Eisner

P.S. Thanks so much to those of you who have been contacting the commissioners--it's working!

November 15, 2005

Important Action Memo from Marc Baber and Sheri Myers Concerning Extreme Voting Anomalies in Ohio 2005

This is a much better summary of why the stolen 2005 election in Ohio is important to everyone in the U.S. (and the world for that matter).
Sheri hits the nail on the head when she says we've got to start pressuring the media and she provides hundreds of contact e-mails below
for doing just that. Please take some time and let these members of the mediacracy know that their silence is truly deafening and can only
make them irrelevant.

Let them know that, hey, it'd be nice if they'd report the news, but we can get it from commondreams.org (which is raising funds this week, BTW).
I, for one, no longer read the local paper or watch television. I read Commondreams.org, listen to AirAmerica (KOPT 1600 AM in Eugene) and
monitor the so-called mainstream by checking cnn.com periodically.

Not only is the election system rife with fraud, so are the news organizations that enable these abuses by turning the other way and ignoring
what should be the major stories of our time.

Bush is at 37% approval and falling... Keep it up. You are all making a difference.

-Marc Baber
Truth in Voting


****************************************************************

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: LET'S MAKE SOME NOISE: Democracy (once again) denied in Ohio!! (w/ media list)
Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2005 18:02:01 -0800
From: Sheri Myers
To: Sheri Myers
References:




My Friends,
Please share this with anyone who was sickened by the results of the last Presidential election, who was outraged by the criminal behavior of Secretary of State Blackwell in Ohio...


This is a painful reminder that the voting machine situation in Ohio is worse than ever. We MUST ALL take Ohio personally and demand reform. The battle-weary activists there NEED OUR HELP!! They put their hearts and souls and hope on the line to institute election reforms, and got robbed. (See stats below)


DON'T FORGET -Our Democratic candidate HAS to win Ohio to take back the White House!! For Paul Hackett to win an Ohio Senate seat, his votes have to be counted on Diebold touchscreen machines.


Around the country, the Democrats are organizing for 2006. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE VOTING MACHINES???


#1 URGENT and NECESSARY ACTION: PLEASE PASS ALONG AND POST EVERYWHERE.


Email Mike Curtin, associate publisher and senior editor of the Columbus Dispatch: mcurtin@dispatch.com


"I urge you to investigate and report on the staggering anomalies between your paper's polls before the 2005 election and the official results."


Check out these stats from Brad Friedman, of Bradblog:


The Staggeringly Impossible Results of Ohio's '05 Election...
...As Half of Ohio's Counties Fire Up Blackwell's New Diebold Electronic Diebold Voting Machines
Is this the Election that will finally break the camel's back?


Simply put, the polls published in the historically accurate Columbus Dispatch just two days before the election, matched almost identically on the one ballot initiative supported by Ohio's Governor Taft, but the 4 that called for Electoral Reform? Didn't synch up by a long shot:

ISSUE 1 ($2 Billion State Bond initiative)
PRE-POLLING: 53% Yes, 27% No, 20% Undecided
FINAL RESULT: 54% Yes, 45% No

ISSUE 2 (Allow easier absentee balloting)
PRE-POLLING: 59% Yes, 33% No, 9% Undecided
FINAL RESULT: 36% Yes, 63% No

ISSUE 3 (Revise campaign contribution limits)
PRE-POLLING: 61% Yes, 25% No, 14% Undecided
FINAL RESULT: 33% Yes, 66% No

ISSUE 4 (Ind. Comm. to draw Congressional Districts)
PRE-POLLING: 31% Yes, 45% No, 25% Undecided
FINAL RESULT: 30% Yes, 69% No

ISSUE 5 (Ind. Board instead of Sec. of State to oversee elections)
PRE-POLLING: 41% Yes, 43% No, 16% Undecided
FINAL RESULT: 29% Yes, 70% No



Award-winning editor of the Free Press, Bob Fitrakis warns us in his article about the very recent 2005 elections in Ohio:


"And thus the possible explanations for the staggering defeats of Issues Two through Five boil down to two: either the Dispatch polling - dead accurate for Issue One - was wildly wrong beyond all possible statistical margin of error for Issues 2-5, or the electronic machines on which Ohio and much of the nation conduct their elections were hacked by someone wanting to change the vote count....

If the latter is true, it can and will be done again, and we can forget forever about the state that has been essential to the election of every Republican presidential candidate since Lincoln. And we can also, for all intents and purposes, forget about the future of American democracy."

Here's Bob's article in full... http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/111405O.shtml


#2 ACTION TO TAKE ALL WEEK - EVERY WEEK - UNTIL THIS PROBLEM GETS REPORTED!


CONTACT THE MEDIA - MAINSTREAM AND INDEPENDENT (quotes courtesy of Brad Friedman)


"YOU MUST PUBLISH THE RESULTS OF THE GAO REPORT!"


"ON OCTOBER 20, 2005 the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its 107-page report [PDF] confirming what many of us have been reporting for what seems like forever: That electronic voting machines are not secure, are hackable, and employ secret software that is frequently neither certified nor adequately inspected."



Silence: Mainstream Media Completely Ignores GAO Report, Joint Congressional News Release on E-Voting!
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001964.htm


"YOU MUST INVESTIGATE THIS ONGOING ELECTION FRAUD IN OHIO"


"With 44 of Ohio's 88 counties for the first time using Electronic Touch-Screen Voting Machines last Tuesday -- most of them the same Diebold, Inc. machines that were decertified in California -- you must take a look at the extroarindarily inexplicable results of the 4 ballot initiatives that would have reformed voting in the Buckeye State and removed Sec. of State J. Kenneth Blackwell (a hard-right Bush partisan) from elections entirely."



*******************************************************

Media List from Independent Media Resource
(http://www.independentmediasource.com/voteintegrity2_14.htm),
and several other sources...


-- Ready to copy and paste, I have separated the rows of addresses as a
reminder to send in smaller groups to avoid alerting spam-cops.

-- Other contact info of some MSM at bottom of lists (phone numbers,
addresses, etc)

-- Sometimes many return "failed delivery", sometimes not so many. And I'm
sure some are permanently inactive addresses.

-- Also, cross-check with: http://www.rense.com/mediacontact.htm



-- And I have started the list with C-Span since they have been an important
media ally at times:

events@c-span.org;journal@c-span.org;booknotes@c-span.org;
radio@c-span.org;manager@c-span.org

I've also added at the top here a few DNC addy's - including Ohio Dems...

vri@dnc.org;dennis@ohiodems.org;dan@ohiodems.org;hanna@ohiodems.org

___________________________

Set 1: Primarily National Television News media...

countdown@msnbc.com;KOlbermann@msnbc.com ;CJ@MSNBC.com ;
JTrippi@MSNBC.com;hardball@msnbc.com;abramsreport@msnbc.com;
dshuster@msnbc.com;dennis.sullivan@msnbc.com;norville@msnbc.com;

joe@msnbc.com;msnbcinvestigates@msnbc.com;feedback@msnbc.com;
rreagan@msnbc.com;viewerservices@msnbc.com;brian.williams@msnbc.com;
imus@msnbc.com;chris.matthews@msnbc.com;msnbcreports@msnbc.com;

today@nbc.com;info@cnbc.com;dateline@nbc.com;nightly@nbc.com;MTP@nbc.com;
tom.lea@nbc.com;steve.majors@nbc.com;susan.dutcher@nbc.com;rod.prince@nbc.com;
jonathan.wald@nbc.com;lisa.hsia@nbc.com;betsy.fischer@nbc.com;mtp@nbc.com;

NETAUDR@abc.com;2020@abc.com;nightline@abcnews.com;wnn@abcnews.com;
support@abcnews.go.com;niteline@abc.com;abc.news.magazines@abc.com;
phil.boyce@abc.com;thisweek@abc.com;mimi.gurbst@abc.com;mark.nelson@abc.com;

virginia.moseley@abc.com;penny.britell@abc.com;muriel.pearson@abc.com;
sharon.newman@abc.com;meredith.white@abc.com;gil.pimentel@abc.com;
stu.schutzman@abc.com;

evening@cbsnews.com;earlyshow@cbs.com;48hours@cbsnews.com;ftn@cbsnews.com;
60m@cbsnews.com;thismorning@cbsnews.com;bpc@cbsnews.com;dij@cbsnews.com;
efm@cbsnews.com;mkx@cbsnews.com;pma@cbsnews.com;rbc@cbsnews.com;
sundays@cbsnews.com;grain@cbsnews.com;realitycheck@cbsnews.com;
pls@cbsnews.com;pjh@cbsnews.com;

wolf@cnn.com;360@cnn.com;aaron.brown@turner.com;Paula.Zahn2@cnn.com;
crossfire@cnn.com;daybreak@cnn.com;jeff.greenfield@cnn.com;livefrom@cnn.com;
loudobbs@cnn.com;newsnight@cnn.com;tom.hannon@cnn.com;wam@cnn.com;
livetoday@cnn.com;am@cnn.com;

andrea.koppel@turner.com;bill.schneider@turner.com;bruce.morton@turner.com;
carol.lin@turner.com;daryn.kagan@turner.com;david.ensor@turner.com;
jeanne.meserve@turner.com;jim.walton@turner.com;deirdre.walsh@turner.com;
kelly.wallace@turner.com;kyra.phillips@turner.com;lou.dobbs@turner.com;
miles.obrien@turner.com;paula.zahn@turner.com;candy.crowley@turner.com;



Set 2: New York Times and various National & International Print media...

krugman@nytimes.com;vannatta@nytimes.com;tiwein@nytimes.com;miwein@nytimes.com;
weisman@nytimes.com;liptaka@nytimes.com;bobherb@nytimes.com;reissc@nytimes.com;
public@nytimes.com;dabrooks@nytimes.com;dakirk@nytimes.com;dasang@nytimes.com;

editorial@nytimes.com;erschm@nytimes.com;executiveeditor@nytimes.com;
febarr@nytimes.com;foreign@nytimes.com;justice@nytimes.com;burns@nytimes.com;
cushman@nytimes.com;markoff@nytimes.com;judym@nytimes.com;letters@nytimes.com;

ligree@nytimes.com;nytnews@nytimes.com;managing-editor@nytimes.com;
liberties@nytimes.com;mossm@nytimes.com;national@nytimes.com;news-tips@nytimes.com;
nicholas@nytimes.com;pekilb@nytimes.com;ropear@nytimes.com;rotone@nytimes.com;

stolberg@nytimes.com;slabaton@nytimes.com;weisman@nytimes.com;lewin@nytimes.com;
tiwein@nytimes.com;topurd@nytimes.com;washington@nytimes.com;safire@nytimes.com;
executive-editor@nytimes.com;managing-editor@nytimes.com;

bduffy@usnews.com;letters@usnews.com;gborger@usnews.com;jallen@usnews.com;
kwalsh@usnews.com;mzuckerman@usnews.com;vpope@usnews.com;whispers@usnews.com;
alevin@usatoday.com;astone@usatoday.com;bslavin@usatoday.com;bnichols@usatoday.com;

bwelch@usatoday.com;editor@usatoday.com;dmoniz@usatoday.com;ghager@usatoday.com;
gflanders@usatoday.com;jlawrence@usatoday.com;jdrinkard@usatoday.com;
jbiskupic@usatoday.com;editor@usatoday.com;jkeen@usatoday.com;kkiely@usatoday.com;

kjohnson@usatoday.com;mhall@usatoday.com;rbenedetto@usatoday.com;
rwolf@usatoday.com;spage@usatoday.com;tsquitieri@usatoday.com;tlocy@usatoday.com;
theforum@usatoday.com;wshapiro@usatoday.com;

letters@economist.com;amity.shlaes@ft.com;letters.editor@ft.com;philip.stephens@ft.com;
greg.hitt@wsj.com;wsj.ltrs@wsj.com;wsjcontact@dowjones.com;jeanne.cummings@wsj.com;
jane_mayer@newyorker.com;themail@newyorker.com;deborah.barfield@newsday.com;
ken.fireman@newsday.com;

Editors@newsweek.com;WebEditors@newsweek.com;howardfineman@aol.com;
Letters@newsweek.com;letters@time.com;lettersbwol@businessweek.com;

letters@washingtontimes.com;gpierce@washingtontimes.com;jmccaslin@washingtontimes.com;
dkeil@bloomberg.net;wroberts@bloomberg.net;ghall@bloomberg.net;hprzybyla@bloomberg.net;
jcohen@bloomberg.net;

NewsAlert@letters.washingtonpost.com;letters@washpost.com;webnews@washingtonpost.com;
georgewill@washpost.com;jimhoagland@washpost.com;ombudsman@washpost.com;
powellm@washpost.com;kurtzh@washpost.com;abramowitz@washpost.com>;

;;
;argetsinger@washpost.com>; ;
;;;

;;;
;;;
;;;

;;;
;;;
;;;

;;;
;;;
;;;

;;;
;;;
;;;

; ;;
;;;
;;;

;;;
;;;
;;;

newsonline@bbc.co.uk;editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk;politics.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk;
foreign@guardian.co.uk;letters@guardian.co.uk;politics@guardian.co.uk;online@guardian.co.uk;
foreigneditor@independent.co.uk;newseditor@independent.co.uk;

letters@iht.com;ellengoodman@globe.com;ombud@globe.com;kcooper@globe.com;
letter@globe.com;johnson@globe.com;brelis@globe.com;oliphant@globe.com;
editor@scoop.co.nz;alastair@scoop.co.nz;selwyn@scoop.co.nz;jhoward@minidata.co.nz;
andrew@scoop.co.nz;wade@scoop.co.nz

jgreenburg@tribune.com;jzeleny@tribune.com;jzuckman@tribune.com;jcrewdson@tribune.com;
MPossley@tribune.com;rkemper@tribune.com;bjapsen@tribune.com;csimpson@tribune.com;
fjames@tribune.com;GWashburn@tribune.com;gdelama@tribune.com;mdorning@tribune.com
JPeres@tribune.com;cgarrett@tribune.com;

oped@csps.com>;;;;
;;;;
;;;;
;;;;
;



Set 3: The Los Angeles Times

letters@latimes.com;readers.rep@latimes.com;aaron.zitner@latimes.com;
barbara.serrano@latimes.com;barry.siegel@latimes.com;James.Rainey@latimes.com;
bill.rempel@latimes.com;bob.drogin@latimes.com;chuck.neubauer@latimes.com;

davan.maharaj@latimes.com;david.kelly@latimes.com;david.savage@latimes.com;
david.willman@latimes.com;david.zucchino@latimes.com;deborah.nelson@latimes.com;
don.frederick@latimes.com;don.woutat@latimes.com;doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com;

ellen.barry@latimes.com;esther.schrader@latimes.com;faye.fiore@latimes.com;
glenn.bunting@latimes.com;greg.miller@latimes.com;janet.hook@latimes.com;
joan.springhetti@latimes.com;joel.havemann@latimes.com;johanna.neuman@latimes.com;

john.glionna@latimes.com;john.hendren@latimes.com;john.stewart@latimes.com;
jonathan.peterson@latimes.com;josh.getlin@latimes.com;josh.meyer@latimes.com;
judy.pasternak@latimes.com;julie.bowles@latimes.com;ken.silverstein@latimes.com;

kevin.sack@latimes.com;leslie.hoffecker@latimes.com;letters@latimes.com;
linda.finestone@latimes.com;lisa.getter@latimes.com;maggie.farley@latimes.com;
maria.laganga@latimes.com;marjorie.miller@latimes.com;mark.barabak@latimes.com;

mark.mazzetti@latimes.com;mark.porubcansky@latimes.com;maryann.meek@latimes.com;
mary.braswell@latimes.com;mary.curtius@latimes.com;matea.gold@latimes.com;
maura.reynolds@latimes.com;michael.finnegan@latimes.com;michael.kinsley@latimes.com;

michael.muskal@latimes.com;millie.quan@latimes.com;nick.anderson@latimes.com;
patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com;patt.morrison@latimes.com;paul.feldman@latimes.com;
peter.wallsten@latimes.com;readers.rep@latimes.com;richard.cooper@latimes.com;

richard.simon@latimes.com;robin.abcarian@latimes.com;roger.ainsley@latimes.com;
scott.gold@latimes.com;scott.kraft@latimes.com;stephanie.simon@latimes.com;
steve.braun@latimes.com;tom.furlong@latimes.com;tom.hamburger@latimes.com;
tom.mccarthy@latimes.com;elizabeth.mehren@latimes.com;alan.miller@latimes.com;


Set 4: Misc. National media, incl. Newswires,Radio,Mags & Internet....

feedback@ap.org;jloven@ap.org;lmargasak@ap.org;msilverman@ap.org;npickler@ap.org;
rfournier@ap.org;sjohnson@ap.org; pr@ap.org;thunt@ap.org;traum@ap.org;info@ap.org;
pr@ap.org;cochs@ap.org;pressreleases@upi.com;tips@upi.com;investigations_desk@upi.com;
politics_desk@upi.com;info@ap.org;

editor@reuters.com;patricia.wilson.reuters.com@reuters.net;todd.eastham@reuters.com;
stella.dawson@reuters.com;arshad.mohammed@reuters.com;randall.mikkelsen@reuters.com;
steve.holland@reuters.com;john.whitesides@reuters.com;news@capitolhillbureau.org;

sheberer@pbs.org;charlierose@pbs.org;newshour@pbs.org;danschiedel@kozk.pbs.org;
theworld@pri.org;newshour@pbs.org;ombudsman@npr.org;atc@npr.org;morning@npr.org;
totn@npr.org;morning@npr.org;rsiegel@npr.org;ombudsman@npr.org;sstamberg@npr.org;

totn@npr.org;freshair@whyy.org;watc@npr.org;wesat@npr.org;wesun@npr.org;
npronsirius@npr.org;worldwide@npr.org;wesat@npr.org;atc@npr.org;ataylor@npr.org;
bwilson@npr.org;bnaylor@npr.org;ombudsman@npr.org;cflintoff@npr.org;

emcdonnell@npr.org;corrections@npr.org;cwindham@npr.org;dschorr@npr.org;
dardalan@npr.org;dgonyea@npr.org;jlyden@npr.org;jcochran@npr.org;jwilliams@npr.org;
krudin@npr.org;lhansen@npr.org;ombudsman@npr.org;mliasson@npr.org;lusa@npr.org;

mblock@npr.org;atc@npr.org;morning@npr.org;nconan@npr.org;ntotenberg@npr.org;
atc@npr.org;pfessler@npr.org;ombudsman@npr.org;pbreslow@npr.org;

newstips@wdtn.com;drobinson@wdtn.com;ddmarko@wdtn.com;jason.pheister@wbns10tv.com;
jason.pheister@wbns10tv.com;gramshaw@newshour.org;stephanie@stephaniemiller.com;
brian_hill@metronetworks.com;mcurtis@njn.org;mail@uttm.com;maureensm@ffww.com;

tgrieve@salon.com;talbotd@salon.com;kberger@salon.com;gsealey@salon.com;
michelle@salon.com;mjacoby@salon.com;kaufman@salon.com;mfollman@salon.com;
mkeeley@salon.com;modonnell@salon.com;kamiya@salon.com; scottr@salon.com;

lauram@salon.com;ruth@salon.com;kaufman@salon.com;bwyman@salon.com;
jmillman@salon.com;boehlert@salon.com;szacharek@salon.com;jsweeney@salon.com;
abenfer@salon.com;ayork@salon.com;fmorgan@salon.com;klauerman@salon.com;

jtapper@salon.com;daryl@salon.com;amontgomery@salon.com;cchocano@salon.com;
ccolin@salon.com;areiter@salon.com;dawn@salon.com;dcruickshank@salon.com;
boehlert@salon.com;stark@salon.com;letters@slate.com;

ekelly@gns.gannett.com;fbremner@gns.gannett.com;jcarroll@gns.gannett.com;
kscott@gns.gannett.com;lbivins@gns.gannett.com;mgroppe@gns.gannett.com;
mmadden@gns.gannett.com;pbrogan@gns.gannett.com;rchebium@gns.gannett.com;
aradelat@gns.gannett.com;cweiser@gns.gannett.com;dabrahms@gns.gannett.com;

rrhodes@airamericaradio.com;tawalker@airamericaradio.com;geoff@radioleft.com;
contact@pacifica.org;jonsintown@airamericaradio.com;me@glennbeck.com;
nealznunze@cox.com;brinkerbob@aol.com;howie@wnir.com;colmes@foxnews.com;

johncorby@clearchannel.com;bsteigerwald@tribweb.com;mitch@albom.com;
sternshow@howardstern.com;buzzflash@buzzflash.com;kos@dailykos.com;
mail@democracynow.org;imusshow@yahoo.com;info@jimhightower.com;

billy.house@arizonarepublic.com;oped@thestar.ca;rob@opednews.com;
jsmyth@plaind.com;mnaymik@plaind.com;feedback@necn.com;alan@alan.com;
jnorman@dmreg.com;jconason@observer.com;editorial@progressive.org;

news@michaelmoore.com;maillist@michaelmoore.com;MMFlint@aol.com;
media@michaelmoore.com;info@michaelmoore.com;mike@mikemalloy.com;
fair@fair.org;phart@fair.org;shohauser@fair.org;

galbraith@mail.utexas.edu;dcorn@thenation.com;info@thenation.com;drshow@wamu.org;
online@tnr.com;connectionweb@wbur.bu.edu;email@wrn.org;justicetalking@asc.upenn.edu;
dastor@editorandpublisher.com;Lionel@LionelOnline.com;onthemedia@wnyc.org;

editorial@flashpoints.net;now@thirteen.org;jridgeway@villagevoice.com;
plorris@univision.net;dmedrano@telemundo.com;abenitez@univision.net;
evaldez@univision.net;rvizcon@telemundo.com;

____________________________________

From http://www.rumormillnews.com/MEDIA_EMAIL_ADDRESSES.htm
MEDIA EMAIL ADDRESSES --

US RADIO NETWORKS:

famradio@familyradio.com; troman@theprovider.com; dmoye@flashnews.com;

terry@catholicradio.com;timmer@premrad.com; gdavis@businesstalkradio.net;

isabel@hrn.org; danc@igc.org; jdvorkin@npr.org; cochs@ap.org; ed@forthepeople.org;

wrestrepo@radiounica.com; cesar.orozco@turner.com; yourtwc@mindspring.com;

jcohen@bloomberg.net;tommydouglas@pgatourradio.com;ksiv@bottradio.net;

tommartin@worldradio.org; crn@clark.net; huff@libertyworksradio.com; dspear@pri.org;

staff@talkamerica.com; bah@nwc.edu; jriley@afa.net; world@flpradio.com;

jhiggins@unitedstations.com; roy_lindau@interep.com;david.feinberg@abc.com;

weber@swnetworks.com; sal.giangrasso@dowjones.com; ken.pauli@turner.com;



NY RADIO STATIONS:

anthrera@hotmail.com; promotions@wsou.net; culture@wnyc.org; wsoufreak@aol.com;

WSOUangel@aol.com; tragedyv13@yahoo.com; wkcramerican@columbia.edu;

wkcrarts@columbia.edu; wkcrnews@columbia.edu; thefolks@wfuv.org;equest@wlir.com;

news@wnyc.org; JSchwartz@wnyc.org; thenextbigthing@wnyc.org; listener.mail@wqxr.com;

987kissfm@987kissfm.com; kpfa@pacifica.org; wpfwfm@aol.com; pnn@pacifica.org;

RadioChick@wnew.com; RonandFez@wnew.com; opack@wnew.com; trunk@wnew.com;

morningshow@wor710.com; drjoybrowne@wor710.com; drhoffman@wor710.com;

joanhamburg@wor710.com; arthurschwartz@wor710.com; thedolans@wor710.com;

bobgrant@wor710.com; joeyreynolds@wor710.com; phillempert@wor710.com;

ralphsnodsmith@wor710.com; news@wor710.com; warreneckstein@wor710.com;

info@wins.com; samgreenfield@1050wevd.com; alancolmes@1050wevd.com;

edkoch@1050wevd.com; jimbohannon@1050wevd.com; billmazer@1050wevd.com;

brucedumont@1050wevd.com; brucewilliams@1050wevd.com;



____________________________________________________________
Network Media Contact Info (including phone numbers)
Network/Cable Television
ABC
ABC News
77 W. 66 St., New York, NY 10023
Phone: 212-456-7777
General e-mail: netaudr@abc.com

Email forms for all ABC news programs

Nightline: nightline@abcnews.com
20/20: 2020@abc.com



CBS
CBS News
524 W. 57 St., New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-975-4321
Fax: 212-975-1893

Email forms for all CBS news programs

CBS Evening News with Dan Rather: evening@cbsnews.com
The Early Show: earlyshow@cbs.com
60 Minutes II: 60II@cbsnews.com
48 Hours: 48hours@cbsnews.com
Face The Nation: ftn@cbsnews.com



CNN
CNN
One CNN Center, Box 105366, Atlanta, GA 30303-5366
Phone: 404-827-1500
Fax: 404-827-1906
Email forms for all CNN news programs



Fox News Channel
1211 Ave. of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Phone: (212) 301-3000
Fax: (212) 301-4229
comments@foxnews.com

List of Email addresses for all Fox News Channel programs

Special Report with Brit Hume: Special@foxnews.com
FOX Report with Shepard Smith: Foxreport@foxnews.com
The O'Reilly Factor: Oreilly@foxnews.com
Hannity & Colmes: Hannity@foxnews.com, Colmes@foxnews.com
On the Record with Greta: Ontherecord@foxnews.com



NBC
NBC
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
Phone: 212-664-4444
Fax: 212-664-4426

List of Email addresses for all NBC news programs

NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw: nightly@nbc.com
NBC News' Today: today@nbc.com
Dateline NBC: dateline@nbc.com



MSNBC

One MSNBC Plaza
Secaucus, NJ 07094
Phone: (201) 583-5000
Fax: (201) 583-5453
world@msnbc.com

List of Email addresses for all MSNBC news programs

Hardball with Chris Matthews: hardball@msnbc.com
MSNBC Reports with Joe Scarborough: msnbcreports@msnbc.com



CNBC

2200 Fletcher Ave.
Fort Lee, NJ 07024
Phone: (201) 585-2622
Fax: (201) 583-5453
info@cnbc.com

List of Email addresses for all CNBC news programs



PBS
PBS
1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703-739-5000
Fax: 703-739-8458

The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer: newshour@pbs.org

National Radio Programs
NPR
National Public Radio
635 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20001-3753
Phone: 202-513-2000
Fax: 202-513-3329
E-mail: Jeffrey Dvorkin, Ombudsman ombudsman@npr.org

All Things Considered: atc@npr.org
Morning Edition: morning@npr.org
Talk Of The Nation: totn@npr.org

List of Email addresses for all NPR news programs



Rush Limbaugh
The Rush Limbaugh Show
1270 Avenue of the Americas, NY 10020
Phone: 800-282-2882
Fax: 212-563-9166
E-mail: rush@eibnet.com



Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity Show
E-mail: Phil Boyce, Program Director phil.boyce@abc.com

National Newspapers
Los Angeles Times
202 West First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: 800-528-4637 or 213-237-5000
Fax: 213-237-4712

Letters to the Editor: letters@latimes.com
Readers' Representative: readers.rep@latimes.com

LATimes Contact Information by Department



New York Times
229 W. 43rd St., New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212-556-1234
Fax: 212-556-3690
D.C. Bureau phone: 202-862-0300

Letters to the Editor (for publication): letters@nytimes.com
Write to the news editors: nytnews@nytimes.com

NYTimes Contact Information by Department
How to Contact NYTimes Reporters and Editors



USA Today
7950 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, VA 22108
Phone: 800-872-0001 or 703-854-3400
Fax: 703-854-2165

Letters to the Editor: editor@usatoday.com

Give Feedback to USA Today



Wall Street Journal
200 Liberty St., New York, NY 10281
Phone: 212-416-2000
Fax: 212-416-2658

Letters to the Editor: wsj.ltrs@wsj.com
Comment on News Articles: wsjcontact@dowjones.com



Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW, Washington, DC 20071
Phone: 202-334-6000
Fax: 202-334-5269

Letters to the Editor: letters@washpost.com
Ombudsman: ombudsman@washpost.com

Contact Washington Post Writers and Editors

Magazines
Newsweek
251 W 57th Street, New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-445-4000
Fax: 212-445-5068

Letters to the Editor: letters@newsweek.com



Time Magazine
Time & Life Bldg., Rockefeller Center, New York, NY 10020
Phone: 212-522-1212
Fax: 212-522-0323

Letters to the Editor letters@time.com



U.S. News & World Report
1050 Thomas Jefferson St., Washington, DC 20007
Phone: 202-955-2000
Fax: 202-955-2049

Letters to the Editor letters@usnews.com

News Services / Wires


Associated Press
50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020
Phone: 212-621-1500
Fax: 212-621-7523

General Questions and Comments: info@ap.org

Partial Contact Information for the Associated Press by Department and Bureau



Reuters
Three Times Square
New York, NY 10036
Telephone: 646-223-4000

Reuters Editorial Feedback



United Press International
1510 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
Telephone: 202.898.8000
FAX: 202.898.8057

Comment and Tips: tips@upi.com




###

November 13, 2005

John Bonifaz, Voting Rights Hero, May Run for Secretary of State of Massachusetts

John Bonifaz, voting rights hero, has indicated that he may run for Secretary of State of Massachusetts. Here is his statement:



Welcome to the website of our campaign. I am preparing to run for Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2006. I will formally announce this candidacy if the current incumbent, Secretary William F. Galvin, decides to vacate the seat to run for governor. I hope you will join me in this campaign to make Massachusetts a model for free and fair elections for the nation.

As Secretary, I will press for a new bill of rights — a Voters' Bill of Rights. A new set of guarantees that will make our democracy in Massachusetts stronger and provide an example to the country. I will be a secretary of state who fights to uphold this nation's promise of political equality for all.

I will press for greater corporate accountability. If a corporation is principally based in Massachusetts, it ought to be accountable to the workers and people of our Commonwealth. The Secretary of the Commonwealth has important oversight responsibilities with respect to Massachusetts corporations, and, as Secretary, I will fight for your interests.

Further, this campaign will address another critical issue facing our Commonwealth: The war in Iraq. The question of how we go to war is a fundamental question of democracy. As a candidate for Secretary of the Commonwealth, I will support the Massachusetts ballot initiative campaign aimed at bringing our Massachusetts National Guard troops home from Iraq. We must fight to end this illegal and unconstitutional war and bring our troops home now.

This will be a grassroots, outsider campaign. It will not be dominated by big money interests and wealthy contributors. It will be a campaign for all of us — for our hopes, our dreams, our vision for democracy.

I hope you will show your support today for this campaign during this crucial exploratory phase. Join me in this movement to make democracy real for all of us.

-John Bonifaz

For further updates:
http://johnbonifaz.com

November 09, 2005

New Mexico 2004 Election Lawsuit Now in Discovery Phase: Shocking "Irregularities" Abounded -- The Scoop

"Scoop" Independent Media reports:

New Mexico Law Suit Delves Inside Voting Machines
Thursday, 3 November 2005, 12:30 pm
Article: Michael Collins

Election Errors Threaten Future Voting Rights in New Mexico

Major Law Suit Under Way to Open Up “Secret” Workings of Voting Machines
Special Report for “Scoop” Independent Media
First in a Series
By Michael Collins
Nov. 2, 2005

Patricia Rosas Lopategui et al… “wishes to have her vote properly counted and weighted in any forthcoming elections.” New Mexico rarely generates much national news. When it does, as in the Wen Ho Lee nuclear espionage investigation, it can be explosive.

Now a little-known lawsuit before New Mexico District Court Judge Eugenio S. Mathis has the potential to alter the face of American elections.

Lopategui et al versus the State of New Mexico is proceeding at a surprising pace, with the litigants currently in the “discovery” phase of the trial, the point at which lawyers are allowed to question key witnesses and dig for facts and opinions with wide latitude. The targets of discovery right now include Sequoia Elections, two of the big three voting machine companies; Rebecca Vigil-Giron, New Mexico Secretary of State; state and local election officials; and officials of the state’s voting systems support vendor.

Highly disturbing facts and allegations have already emerged in this well-run but under publicized case. For example, in one majority Hispanic precinct, the voting machines produced exactly zero votes for John Kerry. More issues will arise as the Plaintiffs’ legal team digs deeper into the highly irregular events of Election Day 2004. Remarkably, these events occurred at a much higher rate in predominantly Hispanic and Native American precincts.

Complete Article

November 08, 2005

Kerry Concedes He Shouldn't Have Conceded

Kerry Suspects Election 2004 Was Stolen
By Robert Parry
November 6, 2005


Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004, has told acquaintances over the past year that he suspects that the election was stolen, but that he didn’t challenge the official results because he lacked hard proof and anticipated a firestorm of criticism if he pressed the point.

“Kerry heard all the disquieting stories” about voting irregularities in Ohio and other states, said Jonathan Winer, a longtime Kerry adviser and a former deputy assistant secretary of state. “But he didn’t have the evidence to do more.”

The Massachusetts senator conceded to George W. Bush on Nov. 3, 2004, the day after the election when it became clear that the uncounted votes in the swing state of Ohio were insufficient to erase Bush’s narrow lead.

The move infuriated some Democratic activists who felt Kerry should have lived up to his campaign promise that he would make sure every vote was counted. In January 2005, as Bush’s victory was being certified by Congress, Kerry also refused to back a resolution challenging the fairness of the Ohio vote.

Mark Crispin Miller, a New York University professor and author of a new book about the 2004 election entitled Fooled Again, said he discussed the voting issue with Kerry on Oct. 28 when he encountered the senator at a political event.

In a Nov. 4 interview on Amy Goodman’s “Democracy Now,” Miller said he gave Kerry a copy of Fooled Again, prompting Kerry’s comments about the 2004 election results.

Complete text of article, published at consortiumnews.com

October 31, 2005

Saturday, November 5th. Columbus, Ohio. "One Year Later-Voting Rights in Ohio"

November 5, 2005

1:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.

"One Year Later - Voting Rights in Ohio"

Location:
New Faith Baptist Church
955 Oak St.
Columbus OH
(off of Parsons near 18th)



It has been nearly a year since the November 2 election and a lot of work has been accomplished to report to the world what happened in Ohio. The Columbus Free Press invites the public to an event at the very same church where they and other citizens held the first public hearing in Columbus to expose the stolen election.

The event is free and open to the public.

Some of the videos that were produced about the Freedom Bus Ride and trip to Washington, will be shown.

Bob Fitrakis will speak about the events of the past year, and will be signing books about the stolen election. There will be a discussion of the upcoming election and the four election reforms on the ballot in Ohio.

And there will be a tribute to the Rev. Bill Moss.

Please RSVP to truth@freepress.org

For further information:

Phone: 614-253-2571
Email: truth@freepress.org

October 24, 2005

GAO Report Concludes That Integrity of 2006 Elections Cannot Be Ensured

The Government Accountability Office has issued a long awaited report on the integrity or lack thereof of electronic voting methods, and has concluded that:

Multiple organizations have compiled
recommended practices for vendors and election officials to use to
improve the security and reliability of voting systems, and EAC [the Election Assistance Commission] has
initiated activities to improve voluntary voting system standards, system
testing programs, and management support to state and local election
authorities. However, important initiatives are unlikely to affect the 2006
elections due, at least in part, to delays in the appointment of EAC
commissioners and in funding the commission. Specifically, key security related
improvements to voting system standards will not be completed in
time, improvements to the national system certification program are not
yet in place, and efforts to provide management support to state and local
jurisdictions through a software library and information sharing on
problems and recommended practices remain incomplete. Further, EAC
has not consistently defined plans, processes, and time frames for
completing these activities, and as a result, it is unclear when their results
will be available to assist state and local election officials. Until these
efforts are completed, there is a risk that many state and local jurisdictions
will rely on voting systems that were not developed, acquired, tested,
operated, or managed in accordance with rigorous security and reliability
standards—potentially affecting the reliability of future elections and voter
confidence in the accuracy of the vote count.

Full Copy of Report

New 2004 Election Analysis from National Election Data Archive

New 2004 Election Analysis from National Election Data Archive discussing
exit poll discrepancies, electronic voting, and related issues:

http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/US/Presidential-Election-2004.pdf

October 20, 2005

Fitrakis and Wasserman to be Honored by "Project Censored" for Coverage of 2004 Election

Free Press Publisher/Editor Bob Fitrakis and Senior Editor/Columnist
Harvey Wasserman have been cited by "Project Censored" for their
coverage of the theft of the 2004 election as writers of one of the
Most Censored stories of the year.
 
The Fitrakis/Wasserman by-line has become the leading indicator of
coverage of the theft, fraud and intimidation surrounding the Ohio
vote.  Rev. Jesse Jackson has called them "the Woodward and
Bernstein of the 2004 Election."
 
At a ceremony Saturday night, October 21, at California's Sonoma
State University, Fitrakis and Wasserman will be joined by columnists
and reporters such as Norman Solomon, Greg Palast and others. 
Each will speak on the need for true media scrutiny of how the GOP
stole yet another national election, with horrific results for America
and the world.
 
The Project Censored URL for the Fitrakis/Wasserman coverage is: 
http://www.projectcensored.org/censored_2006/index.htm#3

The award ceremony is open to all for a $10 admission. 

For details, contact: Suze Cribbs; Project Censored; 707-664-3166.

Project Censored 2006 Book Release Celebration:
Sonoma State University’s Project Censored will celebrate the release
of Censored 2006, the annual issue of the most significant
undercovered news stories of the year. The Book Release Celebration
will be held in the Cooperage at Sonoma State University, 1801 East
Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park, CA, October 22, at 7:00pm.

The evening will include a pre-event reception with authors,
journalists, publishers, and Project Censored, including a book signing,

This event will be televised and is cosponsored by Media Alliance,
the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and the Nation Institute.
Admission $10.In peace...

Their book: Did George W. Bush Steal America's 2004 Election? (Paperback) By Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld, Harvey Wasserman

October 18, 2005

Congressman Conyers Commends Injunction Against Georgia Voter ID Law

Conyers Commends Decision to Bar Georgia's Voter ID Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee issued the following statement regarding U.S. District Judge Harold Murphy's decision to issue a preliminary injunction preventing Georgia from enforcing its new voter identification law as being "an unconstitutional poll tax"


"Truth be told, the issue should have never reached this point - the Georgia Legislature should never have passed this modern day poll tax, the Governor should not have signed it, and the Justice Department should have intervened to stop it. That is why 21 Members and I asked the Department to prevent this law from taking effect.

During their day, poll taxes and literacy tests, which were also said to protect against fraud and breed confidence in elections, as the Georgia law purports to do, had the direct effect of erecting a barrier to minority voters. The Georgia law would prevent our most vulnerable communities, the minority, the poor, and the elderly, from voting. All Americans, regardless of race, economic status, or age are entitled to the most fundamental right of our democracy, the right to vote.

Just this afternoon, the Subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing on the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act. As we work to establish a record for reauthorization, today's decision barring Georgia's new voter ID law serves as evidence as to how crucial the Voting Rights Act is to ensuring that all of our citizens participate in the political process."

Audio Links for "National Summit to Save Our Elections"

Audio link for "National Summit to Save Our Elections":

http://kpftx.org/archive.htm#voter

October 13, 2005

Message from Congressman Conyers: "Help Free Ohio from Republican Corruption and Electoral Abuses"

Help Free Ohio from Republican Corruption and Electoral Abuses
For the past couple months, we have witnessed a growing percentage of the population steadily distancing itself from the Bush Administration and congressional Republicans. There has been an even stronger movement away from Republicans in Ohio that is occurring on a much grander scale due to the Coingate scandals.
Reform Ohio Now
http://reformohionow.org


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

Ten Action Items
http://www.dailykos.com/
storyonly/2005/9/21/14379/2169

Coingate Articles
http://www.toledoblade.com/
apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=SRRARECOINS

10/9 Article on Noe
http://www.toledoblade.com/
apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051009/SRRARE
COINS/310090001


As you may know, coin collector Tom Noe, a big contributor to President Bush and the Republican Party of Ohio, is the focus of 13 separate investigations for his mismanagement of a $50 million state fund that was supposed to help injured workers. A federal grand jury reportedly is investigating alleged money laundering by Noe for a Bush-Cheney fundraising event organized by Brian Hicks, the former chief of staff to Governor Robert A. Taft II.

Hicks has since been convicted of violating state ethics laws for accepting improper gifts from Noe. Governor Taft, himself, was convicted earlier this year on four criminal counts for violating ethics laws relating to his relationship with Noe – the first time that has ever happened to a sitting Ohio governor. Taft has an approval rating in the mid-teens – lowest in the country. All three of the leading candidates to succeed the term-limited governor have long-standing relationships with Noe and have accepted his contributions.

The Republican Party in Ohio, which holds all state-wide elected offices, is in serious trouble with the voting public. Ohioans are tired of the corruption that is rampant throughout Ohio The closeness of the OH-2 special election, in which Iraq War veteran Paul Hackett came within a whisker of winning in a district that Rob Portman carried with 72% of the vote, was due as much to the widespread disgust with the Republican Party in Ohio as it was to the growing opposition to the war.

As we have seen with the presidential election in 2004, what happens in Ohio affects the whole country. The culture of corruption that exists there is an injustice to our democratic system of government. It is crucial that we put an end to this abuse of power and the corrupt electoral practices that affect our whole country. That is why the vote in Ohio on November 8 this year is of historic national importance. A progressive grassroots organization, Reform Ohio Now, collected more than half a million signatures to put four amendments on the November 8 ballot.

These ballot initiatives would permit voting by mail, impose strict campaign contribution limits, require competitive congressional and legislative districts (and thereby put an end the scourge of gerrymandering), and would create an independent elections board instead of having the Secretary of State, a partisan official, oversee elections (the current Secretary of State is a fellow by the name Ken Blackwell—remember him? He's running for governor next year).

These ballot initiatives are so important, not just because they will provide fairer elections, but because they will provide a national bellwether to measure the growing strength of the Democratic Party. Victory in these measures will lend momentum nationally, will provide Democrats up to 6 six new Congressional seats in the 2006 elections, and could help restore a Democratic majority to Congress. As many have noted, this is the most important election of the year.

Please act today to end the corruption and provide free and fair elections that affect all Americans.

Visit http://ReformOhioNow.org - the organization behind the initiatives to find plenty of resources.
This DailyKos.com posting has a list of ten action items you can do to help at http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/21/14379/2169




Thank you for your help and your continued stand for a better democracy.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.




Contact Information
website: http://www.johnconyers.com/
Conyers for Congress
P.O. Box 17204
Alexandria, Virginia 17204
Phone: 313-438-2004




Paid For And Authorized By Conyers for Congress
Michael J. Remington, Treasurer
P.O. Box 17204
Alexandria, Virginia 22302

Report on Portland, Oregon, "National Summit to Save Our Elections" Sept. 30-Oct. 2

Here are the reports of "Scoop" Independent News on the Portland Summit Conference:

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0510/S00003.htm

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0510/S00082.htm

Joint Newsletter of CASE OHIO, J30 Coalition, and Ohio Vigilance

This newsletter is intended to be a combined effort of CASE OHIO, J30 Coalition, AND OHIO VIGILANCE, and any citizen activists involved in Election reform. This newsletter will include applicable news and events, it is not intended to promote any specific agenda but instead be inclusive.


Bob Koehlers most recent article: "Ballot and Soul" www.commonwonders.com/

REFORM OHIO NOW:

The summary below is from Common Cause website. CASE Ohio, J30, and Ohio Vigilance have NOT officially endorsed RON. While not speaking for anyone but myself, the groups above are most concerned about Issue 2, in that early voting appears to be open to fraud.

Common Sense Reforms for Ohio www.ReformOhioNow.org,

Common Cause Ohio is working with our partners who make up the Reform Ohio Now (RON) coalition to restore faith and integrity in government through four common sense reforms. These reform measures are central to our mission of holding power accountable and, if passed, would form one of the most comprehensive reform packages in the country. They will appear on the November 8th ballot as Issues 2, 3, 4 and 5 and will do the following:

Issue 2 - Allow Ohioans to vote early or to vote by mail, ensuring easy access to elections

Issue 3 - Put tough limits on campaign contributions, reducing the influence of money in politics

Issue 4 - Create an independent redistricting commission to take the power to draw legislative districts out of the hands of partisan lawmakers

Issue 5 - Remove partisan politicians from the administration of state elections

Our effort will succeed because of grassroots power and volunteer like you. Please sign up to volunteer today and visit this site often to learn what you can do to clean up Ohio.

For more info: www.ReformOhioNow.org



DIEB-THROAT

The following story broke on Bradblog http://www.bradblog.com and was subsequently confirmed by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. I am reprinting only a small part of the entire article here.

Blogged by Brad on 9/22/2005 @ 12:31am PT...

DIEB-THROAT Weighs in on Diebold's Stunning 15.5% Wednesday Stock Plunge


a BRAD BLOG Exclusive late last week.

That "Cyber Security Bulletin", little-noticed by the media, and apparently wholly ignored by Diebold when it was originally posted in late August of 2004 is still available on the US-CERT website. It warns of an "undocumented backdoor" in Diebold's GEM Central Tabulator software used with its electronic voting machine systems. The security vulnerability could allow a local or remote user to modify vote tallies stored in the system according to the warning and corroborated by several different sources.

"This backdoor means that one malicious person can change the outcome of any Diebold election," DIEB-THROAT said in our previous article. "Diebold's election system," the source added, "is one of the greatest threats our democracy has ever known."

HAND COUNT PAPER BALLOT NEWS - 10/10/05

Marj Creech, Victoria Parks and I (Jo Anne Karasek) are going to speak on the hand count paper ballot constitutional initiative and parallel elections on October 12 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The group that has invited us is the Women's Progressive Activists, and they are interested in sponsoring a hand count paper ballot constitutional initiative in Michigan. Victoria Parks will also be singing her songs about the election debacle before the event begins.


The draft constitutional initiative for hand count paper ballots in Ohio is being revised. This is because of the additional security procedures suggested in "Voting on Paper Ballots" by Douglas W. Jones at http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/voting/paper.html. Douglas W. Jones is an Associate Professor at Iowa State in computer science with an election administration background.

To sign up to help with the constitutional initiative for hand count paper ballots, please contact Jo Anne Karasek, Coordinator, at jakarasek@cinci.rr.com

Ohio HB 3:

Inside information is that the Republican leadership in the house intends on adding an amendment to HB3 to require a photo ID to vote, thereby avoiding debate in committee or in the public domain, and they plan to bring the bill to a vote soon after the November election. Nationally a photo ID requirement will disenfranchise 357,000 currently eligible voters in Ohio while solving a problem that does not exist. (Four voters have been charged with fraudulently voting in Ohio in 2005)


BOARD OF ELECTIONS:

Franklin County has a contract to work with Election Science Institute to ensure an accurate election. Other counties, such as Cuyahoga, have similar voting machines but are expecting the public to trust the equipment without this oversight. There is some concern that ESI is a Trojan Horse. Regardless, this response from Matt Damschroeder, BOE director in Franklin Co, recognizes the many issues and vulnerabilities of Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines.

"We are working with ESI to do a complete review of the ES&S including a line by line review of the source code. Since we here at the BOE are not electronic security or programming experts, we are asking the experts brought in by ESI to help us identify shortcomings in the ES&S system for ES&S to either change or for us to create mitigating processes. We are also working with ES&S to make recommendations for the conduct of our post election canvass (audit). Also, with the ES&S machines, it creates a real time electronic log of all transactions, which is written to a removable flash card. Franklin County's goal is to develop the procedures and technology so that in addition to posting the tabulated results of the system, that we will also post to the web the flash card data from each individual machine as well as .pdf's of the VVPAT for each machine. Obviously, that will take some time to download and scan, so it probably won't be election night, and again, we have to develop some procedures and acquire some additional technology to do this ... but our objective is to have all of the material out there so that our posted results are transparent and independently auditable". Matt Damschroder

(email from Matt Damschroeder to Pete Johnson, 9/26/05)



Exit Polls: On Friday October 14th, Steve Freeman Ph.D. will debate Warren J. Mitofsky of Mitofsky International, which was contracted to perform an exit poll for the National Election Pool. This debate may eventually be televised on CSpan.

The two will square off in lectures and discussion on Friday, October 14, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the University of Pennsylvania Terrace Room, Logan Hall, 249 South 36th Street in Philadelphia. They will be part of
ASAP's fall meeting, which includes a third talk on the use of two remarkably powerful statistical methods to make the best use of clinical trial data. http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=54651

CUYAHOGA COUNTY (CLEVELAND):

Cuyahoga County Board of Elections

Public Meeting

to "unveil" the Diebold Touch-Screen Voting Machines (DRE's)

"Roadmap to Electronic Voting, 2004-2005"

Date: Monday, Oct 17th, 2005

Location: Myers University Club, 3813 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH

Time: 10am to 4pm

ELECTION AUDITS

Lucas County, Ohio

A second election audit of the Lucas County, Ohio, November 2004 General Election was done on October 7, 2005. The first was done in June, 2005

Twelve volunteers: Troy Seman, Stuart Wright, Marj Creech, Evan Davis, Denis Logan, Adam Kopchian, John Willey, James Marek, Bev & John Peterson, Debbie Dalke, and Jo Anne Karasek worked on digitally photocopying the signature books and poll books. There has been a public records request to audit the ballots, but no date has been set yet.

To sign up to participate in Lucas County audits , please contact Jo Anne Karasek at jakarasek@cinci.rr.com

Clermont County, Ohio

A public records request to audit the ballots, signature books and poll books of the Clermont County, August 2004 Special Election has been issued and a preliminary date has been set to discuss arrangements on Friday, October 14. We are requesting a videographer is for this.

To sign up as a videographer or to participate in Clermont County audits, please contact Jo Anne Karasek at jakarasek@cinci.rr.com



TECHNOLOGY ISSUES: Open Voting Consortium has recently had success convincing the Sec of State in California to study the use of "open source code in voting systems in California". To view the letter: http://www.openvotingconsortium.org/ad/sos-letter-926.pdf

Carter Baker Commission

for full report: http://www.american.edu/ia/cfer/report/report.html

For an excellent article from Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/18/AR2005091801364.html

The Commission made 87 recommendations, one of which has generated significant controversy:

"The most controversial recommendation calls for all voters to produce a standard photo identification card before being allowed to vote. The commission proposes that, by 2010, voters be required to use either the Real ID card, which Congress this spring mandated as the driver's license of the future in all states. For about 12 percent of eligible voters who do not have a driver's license, the commission says states should provide at no cost an identification card that contains the same key information."

Carter says Gore won 2000 election (sept 22, 2005)

from http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Carter_says_Gore_won_2000_el_0922.html

John Byrne

Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter delivered a shocker at an American University panel in Washington Monday: RAW STORY has learned he told the crowd he was certain Al Gore won the 2000 presidential election. There is "no doubt in my mind that Gore won the election," the erstwhile President declared, saying the 2000 election process "failed abysmally." He also snubbed the Supreme Court for getting involved, saying it was "highly partisan."










FOR MORE INFO: http://www.ohiovigilance.org/

CASE Ohio: www.caseohio.org/

Ohio Honest Elections: www.ohiohonestelections.org/

J30: http://users.cjb.net/j30/

Ohio Vigilance: www.ohiovigilance.org/

Free Press: www.freepress.org/

Important newspaper articles:"What Went Wrong in Ohio?" by Mark Crispin Miller in Harper's Magazine

fairnessbybeckerman.blogspot.com/2005/07/harpers-magazine-forum-what-went-wrong.html

"Way to go Ohio" by David Bernstein in the Boston Phoenix.

www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/other_stories/documents/04823487.asp

"Ohio's Odd Numbers" by Christopher Hitchens in Vanity Fair.

www.vanityfair.com/commentary/content/articles/050214roco05

New Book: "How the GOP Stole America's 2004 Election $ is Rigging 2008" by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman. www.freepress.org/



This newsletter edited by Pete Johnson, as a result of a vote taken at the J30 meeting but intended to be representative of the entire election reform movement. Please submit comments and articles for the next newsletter to pjohnso6@insight.rr.com.

"20 Amazing Facts About Voting in the USA"

Received this interesting piece in my inbox:

20 Amazing Facts About
Voting in the USA


Did you know....
1. 80% of all votes in America are counted by only two companies: Diebold and ES&S.

http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diebold
2. There is no federal agency with regulatory authority or oversight of the U.S. voting machine industry.

http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0916-04.htm
http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.html
3. The vice-president of Diebold and the president of ES&S are brothers.

http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/private_company.html
http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.html

4. The chairman and CEO of Diebold is a major Bush campaign organizer and donor who wrote in 2003 that he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/28/sunday/main632436.shtml
http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1647886

5. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel used to be chairman of ES&S. He became Senator based on votes counted by ES&S machines.

http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2004/03/03_200.html
http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/031004Fitrakis/031004fitrakis.html

6. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, long-connected with the Bush family, was recently caught lying about his ownership of ES&S by the Senate Ethics Committee.

http://www.blackboxvoting.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=26
http://www.hillnews.com/news/012903/hagel.aspx
http://www.onlisareinsradar.com/archives/000896.php
7. Senator Chuck Hagel was on a short list of George W. Bush's vice-presidential candidates.

http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_28/b3689130.htm
http://theindependent.com/stories/052700/new_hagel27.html

8. ES&S is the largest voting machine manufacturer in the U.S. and counts almost 60% of all U.S. votes.

http://www.essvote.com/HTML/about/about.html
http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.html
9. Diebold's new touch screen voting machines have no paper trail of any votes. In other words, there is no way to verify that the data coming out of the machine is the same as what was legitimately put in by voters.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0225-05.htm
http://www.itworld.com/Tech/2987/041020evotestates/pfindex.html

10. Diebold also makes ATMs, checkout scanners, and ticket machines, all of which log each transaction and can generate a paper trail.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0225-05.htm
http://www.diebold.com/solutions/default.htm
11. Diebold is based in Ohio.

http://www.diebold.com/aboutus/ataglance/default.htm

12. Diebold employed 5 convicted felons as consultants and developers to help write the central compiler computer code that counted 50% of the votes in 30 states.

http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,61640,00.html
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/10/301469.shtml

13. Jeff Dean was Senior Vice-President of Global Election Systems when it was bought by Diebold. Even though he had been convicted of 23 counts of felony theft in the first degree, Jeff Dean was retained as a consultant by Diebold and was largely responsible for programming the optical scanning software now used in most of the United States.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0312/S00191.htm
http://www.chuckherrin.com/HackthevoteFAQ.htm#how
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/bbv_chapter-8.pdf

14. Diebold consultant Jeff Dean was convicted of planting back doors in his software and using a "high degree of sophistication" to evade detection over a period of 2 years.

http://www.chuckherrin.com/HackthevoteFAQ.htm#how
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/bbv_chapter-8.pdf
15. None of the international election observers were allowed in the polls in Ohio.

http://www.globalexchange.org/update/press/2638.html
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/10/26/loc_elexoh.html

16. California banned the use of Diebold machines because the security was so bad. Despite Diebold's claims that the audit logs could not be hacked, a chimpanzee was able to do it! (See the movie here: http://blackboxvoting.org/baxter/baxterVPR.mov.)

http://wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,63298,00.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4874190

17. 30% of all U.S. votes are carried out on unverifiable touch screen voting machines with no paper trail.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/28/sunday/main632436.shtml

18. All -- not some -- but all the voting machine errors detected and reported in Florida went in favor of Bush or Republican candidates.

http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,65757,00.html
http://www.yuricareport.com/ElectionAftermath04/ThreeResearchStudiesBushIsOut.htm
http://www.rise4news.net/extravotes.html
http://www.ilcaonline.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=950
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0411/S00227.htm
19. The governor of the state of Florida, Jeb Bush, is the President's brother.

http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/local/7628725.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10544-2004Oct29.html

20. Serious voting anomalies in Florida -- again always favoring Bush -- have been mathematically demonstrated and experts are recommending further investigation.

http://www.yuricareport.com/ElectionAftermath04/ThreeResearchStudiesBushIsOut.htm
http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/policy/story/0,10801,97614,00.html
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/tens_of_thousands.html
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1106-30.htm
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2004/110904.html
http://uscountvotes.org/


NOTE: Please copy the above list and distribute freely!

October 12, 2005

Freeman and Mitofsky to Debate 2004 Election Fraud

Dr. Steven Freeman and Warren Mitofsky will debate the 2004 Election Fraud on Friday, October 14th, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. , at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.

http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=8775

October 07, 2005

"Was Kerry Cheated Out of Almost 100,000 Votes in Cleveland Alone?" - By Dale Tavris

Article appearing in Democratic Underground:

Was Kerry Cheated out of Almost 100,000 Votes in Cleveland Alone?

It was well known in the days prior to the 2004 Presidential election that a Bush victory was highly unlikely without Bush carrying both Ohio and Florida. As Election Day unfolded, spirits in the Kerry camp were running high, as it became evident that Ohio’s 20 electoral votes would determine the victor, and Kerry had a comfortable lead in the Ohio exit poll. Even CNN’s right wing hack, Robert Novak, acknowledged that it would be an uphill climb for Bush.

But as the results came in from Ohio, optimism in the Kerry camp began to fade, and by late evening their remaining hope was narrowed down to strongly Democratic Cuyahoga County, and especially Cleveland, where reports of large pre-election increases in new voter registration and exceptionally high voter turnout had circulated. But this remaining hope soon faded, as it became clear that the voter turnout from Cleveland was in fact miserably low, and by noon the next day John Kerry conceded the election.

It now appears plausible or likely, from a variety of accumulated evidence, that Kerry may have been cheated out of close to 100,000 votes in Cuyahoga County, or more. The evidence for this falls into three categories: 1) Deletion of votes from highly Democratic Cleveland precincts, perhaps through electronic manipulation of central tabulators; 2) Vote switching from Kerry to Bush, perhaps through ballot order rotation tricks; and, 3) Massive purges of voter registration. Let’s consider the evidence for each of these:

Complete text of article appearing on Democratic Underground

September 30, 2005

LIVE COVERAGE OF NATIONAL SUMMIT TO SAVE OUR ELECTIONS! - A SPECIAL EDITION of The BRAD SHOW - "Democracy At Stake" - Saturday October 1 @ 7 PM ET

International Broadcasting Corporation: IBC Radio Network Announces a Special Edition of The BRAD SHOW!

SPOKANE, Wash., Sep 29, 2005 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- IBC Radio Network, a division of International Broadcasting Corporation (OTCBB:IBCS), announced today that a SPECIAL EDITION of THE BRAD SHOW, hosted by Investigative Blogger, Brad Friedman, will broadcast LIVE on-location from Portland, Oregon at the National Summit to Save Our Elections this Saturday, October 1, 2005 from 7p to 11p ET on the IBC Radio Network. (The show will repeat Sunday at 12noon to 4pm ET)
This weekend's special live broadcast is to be titled "Democracy at Stake," to reflect the growing body of disturbing information being uncovered by Friedman in regard to the validity, transparency and security of electronic elections in America, as reported in great detail on Friedman's website, The BRAD BLOG (http://www.BradBlog.com)

Brad Friedman and his indefatigable field crew will once again work miracles on the road to bring the nation 4 hours of LIVE election reform coverage with notable national guests such as Congressman Earl Blumenhauer (D-OR), 2004 Green Party Presidential Candidate David Cobb, Air America Radio's Thom Hartmann, Votersunite.org's Ellen Thiessen, Washington attorney Paul Lehto, Vote-Rigging Software Whistleblower Clint Curtis, Tribune Media Services' Robert Koehler, and many more. This weekend's event has gained national media attention in light of the recently released Carter-Baker Election Reform Committee Report that contained controversial recommendations such as requirements for national voter identification. For more information on the conference, please visit http://www.summit.OregonVRC.org

Brad Friedman recently returned from Crawford, TX where The BRAD SHOW broadcast more than 50 hours of live radio from on the ground at Camp Casey where anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan made her recent stand outside George W. Bush's vacation home. Friedman was the only broadcaster to cover the events LIVE on radio as they unfolded, broadcasting for nine straight days on the IBC Radio Network. As well, Friedman and IBC had exclusive broadcast rights to Joan Baez performances while at the camp. Actor Martin Sheen was also there and could be heard on IBC Radio Network.

THE BRAD SHOW is a unique mix of progressive talk radio combining the unstoppable power of the citizen investigative blogger, Brad Friedman, with the power of internet journalists at RawStory.com creating the media hellstorm known as RAW RADIO. LIVE listening links are http://www.ibcradio.com/CMN.htm, or http://www.BradShow.com and http://www.bradblog.com.

About IBC Radio Network

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