Notable news around the nation in regard to Electronic Voting, Election Reform and Voting in general is coming now at a more and more frenetic pace. We’ve got much more we’re personally working on, but today there were a few other small-ish, yet notable-ish stories worth mentioning. Here they are — wrapped into one single, user-friendly, BRAD BLOG item…
1) California May Want to Get Ready for Diebold Related Lawsuits
Voter Action — the group who has successfully received a Temporary Restraining Order against the purchase of Sequoia voting machines in New Mexico while they enjoy unprecedented “discovery” on such machines — has turned their eye towards Diebold in California, given the latest developments/shenanigans concerning SoS Bruce McPherson’s re-certification in apparent violation of state laws and regulalations. The Voter Action press release issued today indicates that litigation in California, similar to that in New Mexico, might be very appropriate. Stay tuned.
2) Greens/Libertarians Demand Reinstatement of Federal Ohio ’04 Recount Suit
Yes, they’re still fighting for your vote to be counted. A Federal judge recently dismissed their lawsuit charging that the 2004 Ohio Presidential Recount was gamed. The reason for the dismissal: The point was now moot, since the 2004 recount procedures would not be used again. But, according to 2004 Green Party Presidential Candidate David Cobb, what the judge didn’t know when he dismissed the case, was that Ohio’s SOB SoS, J. Kenneth Blackwell, recently announced that recount procedures would be the same in the future. Game back on, says Cobb in his motion to re-instate the case.
3) Diebold Whistleblower Charged With Three Felony Counts
The LA Times reports today (link above) that Stephen Heller, the man who released internal memos from Diebold’s California law firm in 2002 showing they were aware of a number of election law violations pled “not guilty” to the charges. Says his attorney, “Certainly, someone who saw those documents could have reasonably believed that thousands of voters were going to be potentially disenfranchised in upcoming elections.” Diebold fought to keep the docs from being published. They lost. Eventually it all led to a multi-million dollar settlement with California and BlackBoxVoting.org, who has more on this…
4) TV News Waking Up to Election Reform Issues!
WGAL in Philadelphia covers the Electoral mess hitting their state. The second of their two-part report takes a look into the unsavory legal backgrounds of virtually ALL of the American Voting Machine companies. From ES&S to Sequoia to Danaher to Diebold, etc. Here’s to more local news outlets jumping into the game where the national media is failing!
5) George W. Bush Acts Like He Gives a Damn About the Voting Rights Act
A few years ago, he didn’t know what it was. Now, with it coming up for renewal in 2007, after his Dept. of Justice has all but gutted it, Bush has the temerity to call for its renewal as if he cares about it. Says Bush in this short video today (thanks David Edwards!): The VRA is a “milestone in the history of civil Rights. Congress must act to renew the Voting Rights Act of 1965.” Like he could give a shit.
6) Parallel Universe: Election Reform as Covered by Fox “News”
A preview of how the MSM (led as usual by Fox) will likely cover Election Reform as soon as they notice the massive crisis. Which is to say, they’ll report on everything that doesn’t matter, but that which Fox and the GOP tells them is important. In their article, Fox, of course, puts the emphasis on States that haven’t implemented HAVA fast enough, Photo ID requirement laws, the non-existent problem of “Voter Fraud” (yes, all the Baker/Carter Commission cretins, including our friend, the unrepentant Robert Pastor make unsurprisingly Fox-friendly cameos) and finally, at the end — the very end — a brief nod to a few concerns about Electronic Voting. The biggest concern there? “Inexperienced poll workers” having problems with the “new technology.” Hey, it’s the “#1 Name in News” for a reason, baby!
TGWB cares about The Voting Rights Act? That’s like kosher pork sausage.
If you do care about voter’s right, here’s one of many ways to help. Get this man his public forum. Get him elected!:
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I had a hard time getting through to CA – those 5 people to call. I got mail box full and alot of ringing. That may be a good sign, or… Anyone else have the same. Maybe I’m calling from the east coast?? I will try e-mails.
Clint Curtis is running against republicans in the House of Representatives. They have held power for over a decade, and you are not as well off as you were when they took over the White House and Congress.
If you want to get back to sound government, and want to put the democrats back in the majority in the House, so the republicans can be slowed down or stopped, then ..
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The legal structure of our congress does not support a multi-party system, and is designed for a two party system.
It is a winner take all affair. This is not good, but it is reality.
Under the law of the House and Senate, "the Senate divides its tasks among 20 committees, 68 subcommittees, and 4 joint committees" … "The chair of each committee and a majority of its members represent the majority party. The chair primarily controls a committee’s business" (link here).
Take an example where republicans win 30 seats, independents win 28 seats, greens win 29 seats, and democrats win 13 seats.
We can now easily see that this will not work well.
The republicans with 30 seats end up as the majority party. Remember that the majority party and the majority are not the same thing in our system. The majority, in this example, is 70 votes (greens, indys, and dems), but the majority party is the republicans because they got those 30 seats.
Therefore, they get the committee chair on each and every committee, and they get the majority number of members in each and every committee of congress.
So, in our system, the majority of seats would be governed by the minority republican 30 seats.
Anyone see any way to improve this?
I do. The polls show that the body politic favors democrats in the upcoming election, and voting democrats into the majority is the public will.
We would have an easier time prevailing upon them to change the rules than we would the republicans who have changed the rules the other way. Remember when they changed the rule that those who were indicted for a felony could not lead the majority party? DeLay got that changed to further their "unitary congress", and even threatened to do away with the filibuster, the only thing remaining for the minority.
Committee membership, and therefore congressional control, should be pro rata based upon percentage of seats.
Committees should be distributed to all parties based upon percentage of seats in a pro rata configuration.
Otherwise, when independents, greens, democrats, and other parties fight each other the republicans always remain the majority party and therefore always control the congress.
So …
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I posted a while back the story of Russia cutting off petroleum resources to Europe. It was a shot across the bow.
Now Venezeula is threatening to cut of the same to the United States (link here).
And Iran and China signed an oil deal where China will be the beneficiary of Iranian oil.
This is the brink of disaster. Some have learned that oil started a world war, and will again if the rest of us do not learn the history.
The republican controlled White House and Congress have used harsh rhetoric when speaking to the world.
"You are for us or against us", "bring it on", "we have the right to pre-emptively strike any nation", and "you are evil" have been the heart of the republican "foreign policy".
The really foreign thing about the republican "policy" is that it is not the American way.
Meanwhile, civil war in Iraq comes to a place where even the republican controlled MSM may get it (link here).
Dredd, in re #4:
You are, of course, right that our current system doesn’t work well with a multi-party Senate or House.
However, since the RULES of the house and senate can be changed by a simple majority, once we have that 30 Rep – 28 Ind – 29 Green – 13 Dem set-up, a voting coalition can easily be forrmed between 25 of the Greens, 18 of the Independents and 8 of the Democrats to produce the 51 votes needed to change how the seats on committees and even the chairs are allocated. Such a change wouldn’t even require a signature by POTUS, as it would be a rules change and not a bill. It would be a small evolution towards a parlamentary system.
Vote for the best non-Republican and let the chips fall where they may. There are too many DINOs to hand your vote to the Dems for free. If the Dems will put up progressive candidates who will fight to the death for fair elections, then they deserve our votes. If they put up centrists who keep drifting to the right, then screw them.
Charlie L
Portland, OR
CLL2001@gmail.com
Charlie #6
In general I am glad you are checking into the law of the senate and the house.
You forget three things: 1) all consideration of the rules goes thru the rules committee. The rules committee is chaired by a member of the majority party, which is republican.
This committee governs activity that would change the rules, and a majority of the committee is republican and so they decide if rules are to be changed before it ever gets to a floor vote.
They can kill any suggestion to change who has the say about the rules.
2) their history is to change the rules to protect republicans and concentrate their power even more.
For example, when Tom DeLay sensed a danger of being indicted, they changed the rules to allow the leader to continue as leader even tho indicted.
The rule, for many years, had been that any leader indicted must step down.
3) the polls show that the public, the body politic, prefers that the democrats get the majority of congressional seats in the upcoming election.
So, the bottom line is that you are too cavalier in your estimation of this reality and how it can be improved.
I urge you, therefore, to …
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