A bizarre story concerning Alaska’s 2004 Election has taken yet another even more bizarre turn this week, The BRAD BLOG has learned.
A long-standing public records request for the release of Election 2004 database files created by Diebold’s voting system had been long delayed after several odd twists and turns, including the revelation of a contract with the state claiming the information to be a “company secret.”
But while it finally appeared as though the state had agreed to release the information (after reserving the right to “manipulate the data” in consultation with Diebold before releasing it), the state’s top Security Official has now — at the last minute — stepped in to deny the request. The grounds for the denial: the release of the information poses a “security risk” to the state of Alaska.
The state Democratic party has been attempting since December of last year to review the Diebold GEMS tabulator data files from the 2004 election in order to audit some of the strange results discovered in the state, including a reported voter turnout of more than 200% in some areas.
“At this point,” Democratic Party spokesperson Kay Brown told the Anchorage Daily News in January, “it’s impossible to say whether the correct candidates were declared the winner in all Alaska races from 2004.”
Some of the questionable results from the 2004 Election were outlined in a January 23rd letter [PDF] to the state’s Division of Elections from the Alaska Democratic Party chairman, Jake Metcalfe. Amongst the anomolies detailed in Metcalfe’s letter: “district-by-district vote totals add up to 292,267 votes for President Bush, but his official total was only 190,889.”
The state Division of Elections, which had previously relented and agreed to release the data after refusing at first to do so, announced its latest about-face in a letter to Metcalfe on Wednesday citing the following concern from Alaska’s Chief Security Officer Darrell Davis after he reviewed the public records request:
The complete letters from Alaska’s Division of Elections Director Whitney Brewster and Chief Security Officer Darrell Davis are both available in full here [PDF].
The earlier twists in this strange tale occurred first in January and then in early February.
In late January, we reported that the state had refused to release the Election Data Files on the grounds that their contract with Diebold disallowed the release of the files. Their contract, apparently, recognizes the voter information to be a “company secret” and thus the proprietary property of the company which could not be released to the voters of Alaska.
A week or so later, in early Februrary we reported that the state and Diebold had capitulated. Sort of. After conferring with Diebold, the state relented and agreed to release the files. However, they reserved the right to — sit down for this — “manipulate the data” in consultation with Diebold before releasing them!
As the Elections Director Brewster stated in a February 3rd letter [PDF] to Metcalfe announcing they would release the data:
And now, the new wrinkle, the state’s “security risks” lead them to announce that “after careful consideration,” they “will not authorize the release of the GEMS database or audit files” after all.
“Delivery of the database itself, and some of the information contained within this database,” says the letter from Davis, “presents numerous security risks to the State of Alaska Government.”
We couldn’t make this stuff up if we tried.
So just to recap: First the voters of Alaska were not allowed to see their own voting data from the 2004 Election because it was the proprietary “company secret” property of Diebold. Then they would be allowed to see it as long as the state and Diebold could “manipulate the data” before releasing it. And now finally it’s determined that allowing the voters to see how they actually voted in the 2004 Election would be a “security risk” to the state of Alaska.
No word yet on whether the Alaska Democratic Party will take the matter to court to seek resolution.
The American War on Democracy continues…
(Hat-tip to VoteTrustUSA.org for the heads up and additional information!)
UPDATE 4/18/06: The insane roller coaster continues. State Democrats are forced to file a lawsuit to get at the records showing how voters voted in 2004. Details now here…
So what are you hiding NOW Walden O’Dell, oh I forgot….
"This is all some ‘conspiracy theory.’
Is that why we’re going to have to take you to court to get those records?? Hmmmm?
Jeff Dean had access in more than 3 previous elections.
Those who call out ‘conspiracy theory’ are usually the conspirators, who have more than ONE LITTLE THING to hide from those who are closing up their shop…..
First rule you learn in civics 101.
Doug E.
It is obvious that politicians do not think they have to do what the public wants. When did this happen? The politicians telling the voters, "We’re not going to give you your OWN voting records."???
We have runaway politicians and runaway government at all levels. It’s incredible…that the people of Alaska request their officials for their own vote data, and the officials say, "No." It’s a major trend, officials not accountable to voters. You don’t have to be accountable to voters…IF YOU DON’T NEED THEM! They don’t need them, because they manipulate the votes with the machines. Their actions further imply vote fraud. They are not afraid to do whatever they want. Why would they be?
BBV has to take officials to court for what they have a right to see…Alaskans have to take officials to court (it looks like) to get what they have a right to see…anyone see a trend here, where government is not accountable to voters anymore?
Brad
This is one of the most outrageous stories to come out yet!
Who do you recommend that I could send an email or letter to in Alaska demading transparency in all elections in this "Democracy" of ours?
Jeff J.
This is an unbelieveably diabolical situation. How did this country ever allow this unaccountable, flawed, private system (American’s votes are not some company’s private information!) to ever get put into place, and why are so many dragging their heels on straightening out this scandal?
How can any honest American, who truly cares for the country, stand in the way of our votes being legimately tabulated and counted?
If recounting and verifying interferes with some voting machine company’s privacy and security policy, then we change to companies whose policy it is to be accountable for their machine’s numbers. It should be that simple. The fact that it isn’t is sickening, and does not bode well for the rights of any American, right, center, or left.
It seems the highly-publicized political agenda Contract With America of 1994 has turned into a Contract ON America all these years later.
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Of course the elections are rigged
Without even looking hard at the subject its easy to see
The most important thing thats always overlooked is the poo-pooing of the exit polls in 02 & 04, when they said they were going to stop using them because they were inaccurate ?, well I say thats the biggest bullshit story out there, ever.
Those polls had Kerry winning hands down, and the MSM was flipping polls to match the fake vote, remember ?
In my mind, as they have been using exit polls since who knows when, and in every democratic country before the paperless machines, with no argument.
Bottom line,ITS RIGGED !
Sue them now …
For Bob Bilse: How did this country allow this diabolical situation to develop? Answer…this is part and parcel of the 1994 Contract with America, but the part that Newt Gingrich never talked much about, i.e. privatization of everything.
Barry Goldwater wanted private industry to deliver the mail, remember. He had a lot of support, because the post office does an increasingly shoddy job, even as the price of stamps goes up. We ended up with a quasi-public corporation, the U.S. Postal Service.
Our ports of entry are managed by private industry. Should they be? The UAE-British deal has brought the question out into the open, but it should have been asked long before now.
Voting belongs to voters. With the possible exception of a few G.O.P. trolls, the Bush brothers, and complicit state election officials, everyone agrees with that postulate. But privatization of the public interest has become entrenched. It has been extended to U.S. efforts to force privatization on foreign countries, like Argentina (it didn’t work), so we shouldn’t be surprised that our votes have been sold to private corporations.
Privatization came first. Then came the alliance between voting companies and the G.O.P. (and Wally O’Dell’s historic promise, which might become the death knell of electronic voting). Finally came the actual theft of two presidential elections. But it started with privatization, one of the overlooked facets of the Contract with America.
Why is the national Democratic Party not providing the state party with some publicity and monetary support on this? We need a real national opposition party and the Democrats don’t seem up to the job. Poor republic, we hardly knew you…. I deeply regret the money I’ve given to Kerry and all in the past 8 years, the little I can now afford goes to the Libertarians who at least speak up although no one seems t be listening. And yes, if my large government is going to be fascistic, I’d rather have a small one.
Security??! I doubt it! The Repubs don’t seem to get it. The more they lie and coverup, the more they have to lie and cover up. It becomes a huge monster and of course, monsters cannot be covered up. Also with lies and cover ups, even the truth is taken as a lie, so whatever comes out of their mouth is an untruth. The Repub are cutting their own political throats with all the deception and fraud. By not showing the election data, I am very curious now!!
MUGZI- Does it matter to them if the Republicans are an obvious monster, when they control the vote counting process? What could they do at this point that would be monstous enough to cause a general reaction that would hurt them? Warrentless surveillence? Suspend Habeus Corpus? Obvious war profiteering? Oh wait, they’re already doing those things and we’re not in the streets…
Not only is election fraud treason, I believe anyone who voted for bush knowing in there heart that he stole the first election are also complicit in treason. If I was president I would send all of them into exile.
Alaska, the last frontier.. PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE help save the nation by reminding us what it is to be American. We are drugged down here by too many Wallmarts and Mcdonalds which feed our greed with so little effort. Alaska is DIFFERENT and it can shake off the stupor of this cronisitic and corrupt politics and in so doing WAKE THE NATION.
This outrageous delevlopment is the fundementals of voting–Diebold in cahoots with some politico is taking away our rights.. ****ALASKA**** don’t let it happen!!!! Show us down here how it’s done.
This is a call out –a shout out– to all who care about reclaiming the meaning of freedom, democracy, fairness.. In fact this is a shout out to reclaim our COUNTRY and ALASKA it is in your hands!!! You CAN make it happen!!!
The primary tool available for those who are trying to save American democracy is through the internet and our government is working hard to deprive us of that. It looks like the next step is ubiquitous government propaganda throughout the internet. Can pulling the plug on the internet altogether be far behind? Can you imagine going back to networking through telephones and snail mail?
An article by Mike Whitney on opednews.com gives one a start: LINK
Just some excerpts:
February 24, 2006, RUMSFELD ZEROS IN ON THE INTERNET
“…The Pentagon’s strategy for taking over the internet and controlling the free flow of information has already been chronicled in a recently declassified report, ‘The Information Operations Roadmap’; [it] is a window into the minds of those who see free speech as dangerous as an ‘enemy weapons-system’.
The Pentagon is aiming for ‘full spectrum dominance’ of the Internet. Their objective is to manipulate public perceptions, quash competing points of view, and perpetuate a narrative of American generosity and good-will…..The War Department is planning to insert itself into every area of the Internet from blogs to chat rooms, from leftist web sites to editorial commentary. Their rapid response team will be on hair-trigger alert to dispute any tidbit of information that challenges the official storyline.
Rumsfeld is right. The only way to prevail on the information-battlefield is to ‘take no prisoners’; police the Internet, uproot the troublemakers and activists who provide the truth, and ‘catapult the propaganda’ (Bush) from every bullhorn and web site across the virtual-universe. Free speech is a luxury we cannot afford if it threatens to undermine the basic platforms of western white rule.
As Rumsfeld said [at a recent meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations, a hand-picked assemblage of western elites from big-energy, corporate media, high-finance and the weapons industry. These are the 4,000 or so members of the American ruling class who determine the shape of policy and ensure that the management of the global economic system remains in the hands of U.S. bluebloods]: ‘We are fighting a battle where the survival of our free way of life is at stake.’
Indeed, it is.”
"Uproot the the troublemakers and activists?" Meaning what exactly? Maybe that is what the detention centers under construction by Halliburton all over the country are really for, and not for "a sudden influx of immigrants," as the contract states.
And what if our government pulls "a China" and prohibits all internet communication between people?
You would still be able to get a recipe for stir fried vegetables, but not be able to conspire for democracy.
As an Alaskan voter, I find this obstreperous,stonewall to be simply outrageous! Very little in the MSM Alaskan news. Thanks Brad. Paul
Just another example of the MSM (being Corporate) not wanting to let the sheeple know they no longer "have a vote".
This country will likely be following Iraq soon.. degenerating into a civil war.
When ELECTED OFFICIALS can tell the public "fuck you, we’re not showing you your actual votes, we said ‘bob’ won, now go Cheney yourself!", we have a dead Democracy. When the people let it happen, that Democracy is non-revivable.. (though, to be fair, I don’t think MOST people have any idea what’s going on).
Let’s see if CPR will bring us back, or if we’re already a rotting corpse.
Alaskans are not a group of people that take to being pushed around. Perhaps that’s why the corrupt, lying "officials" have played the "security" card.. it’s their last bluff, and they’re scared of independent people. If Alaskans all knew how their right to representation has been stolen.. well, nuff said.
Good catch, but I am not sure how much it matters when both parties have agreed to cooperate in the redistricting process so that they are picking the voters rather than the voters picking them.
Election fraud is treason. And since those who did it are not americans they can be punished for it once all the cards fall….
Doug
RLM (#8): I agree with your observation. I’d state further that the "privatization" of everything is creating the opportunity for Fascism/Corporatism to take more of a hold than ever, and, in fact, is the same "horse" with a different "saddle".
President Dwight D. Eisenhower foresaw the danger of corporate interests creeping into, and controlling, our government, in his legendary "Military/Industrial Complex" farewell speech of 1961. He really called this shot.
I honestly feel that he never would’ve thought that the American people would let it get this far, with the privatization of our voting.
When I vote, I (and all of the rest of us) should be able to go back and see documentation of my vote, when deemed necessary. I recognize this as a fundamental right of an American.
If you’re willing to give this right up, or think it’s unimportant, you’re……..well, a nice way to put it is:
"The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all." – John F. Kennedy
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Quit talking about it and take ’em to court, doom & gloom? Are you fools quickly becoming the rollover party? (Democrats)
We’re going to have instant runoff voting nationwide and replace everybody….we already have enough ammo for a national party, and we independents walk the walk.
Doug
By the way why has no one taken this to the Alaska TV stations and started shouting out loudly like a Paul Hackett????
You can only get Diebold to release the records by forcing them to.
Doug
I think both Bobs (well, Robert and Bob) hit the nail on the head in #’s 8 and 19. Public and civic principles are in dire danger, and I would go so far as to say that securing them is the primary responsibility of this generation (all ages, of course).
So much hinges on it – honesty, sovereignty, human dignity, liberty, rational system of government.
Here’s a link about the port deal that I think (although it doesn’t mention it) shows clearly that our election work is founded in the same purpose.
OK.
Here’s our SOS for Alaska Elections for now.
Let’s ALL gang up on Alaska for now.
Point other blogs here, and send emails to your activist lists and friends with a link to this blog…
Since it’s weekend, unfortunately, the calls will probably have to wait til Monday, but do the FAXes and emails now.
Let’s ALL regardless of home state call, email, and FAX ALL of Alaska’s representatives at every level of government. Write up 1 good letter, then send it to every level of government in Alaska.
The attempt of ignorant or partisan elections officials nationwide to sidestep the will of the people and to steal our votes is an affront to us all. If they do not throw out the fraudulent and disastrously imperfect electronic voting machines, they should be prosecuted for perpetrating this fraud on all American citizens.
There is no further proof needed than that the Government Accountability Office has finished investigation of the failures of these machines during the 2004 Election and has unambiguously stated in its report that these machines are shoddy, poorly designed, full of software errors, penetrable through multiple avenues, and easily compromised. If after reading this report the Secretary of State and the lawmakers do not throw these machines out of all elections, they should be prosecuted for knowingly imposing upon State citizens a voting system riddeled with insecurities, bugs, and multiple avenues for election fraud.
Send the following links and message to Alaska representatives:
20 Amazing Facts about Voting in America:
http://nov2truth.org/article.ph...04121115234497
GAO report: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05956.pdf
[ I am having to play tricks to post past the policing of number of links and email addresses allowed, so please remove the extra blanks from each email address before using…]
1. Call, email, FAX Alaska Lt. Governor Leman, Atty General Marquez, Elections Director, Elections Officials, Governor Murkowski and Alaska U.S. Senators and Congressmen, and State Senators and Assemblymen:
Hon. Loren Leman
Lieutenant Governor -E
P.O. Box 110015
Juneau, AK 99811-0015
(907) 465-3520
Fax (907) 465-5400
Loren_Leman @ gov.state.ak.us
State Attorney General:
Attorney General David W. Márquez
P.O. Box 110300
Juneau, AK 99811-0300
tel: (907) 465-2133
fax: (907) 465-2075
email: Attorney_General @ law.state.ak.us
State Elections Director:
Whitney Brewster, Director, Division of Elections
PO Box 110017
Juneau, AK 99811-0017
(907) 465-4611 FAX (907) 465-3203
(Here’s what they have for director of elections: Whitney Brewster is the reigning Mrs. Alaska-America. She is Deputy Chief of Staff for Lieutenant Governor Loren Leman & Director of his Anchorage office. Prior to this position, she worked for the Alaska State Legislature. Whitney received her Bachelors degree in Psychology from Brigham Young University and earned her Masters in Public Administration from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Whitney is Chairman of Young Republicans-Alaska and has been recognized as one of the State’s Top 40 Under Forty by the Anchorage Journal and Anchorage Chamber of Commerce. Whitney lives in Eagle River with her husband, David, and two-year-old daughter, ElleMarie. )
Find the rest of Alaska Elections officials here:
http://www.elections.state.ak.us/offices.php
and other officials here: http://www.gov.state.ak.us/ltgo...ns/distleg.php
2. Call, email, FAX ALL Alaska State and City officials:
State departments: http://www.state.ak.us/local/akdir1.shtml#gov
City governments: http://www.state.ak.us/local/communit.shtml
3. Call, email, FAX ALL Alaska county representatives: http://www.naco.org/Template.cf...8;statecode=ak
4. Miscellaneous email addresses:
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee: info @ dscc.org, issues @ dscc.org
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: support @ dccc.org
U.S. Conference of Mayors: info @ usmayors.org
National League of Cities: info @ nlc.org
National Civic League: ncl @ ncl.org, ncldc @ ncldc.org
5. Local and national media, 5 at a time. First compose your letter elsewhere, cut and paste. Use your back button for 5 more…
http://mygov.governmentguide.co...&state=ak
Lawyers’special: SUE! SUE! SUE!
If you do all this! YOU are a Patriot!
HUZZAH! Then go have fun.
Doug — The IRV issue is simmering in California (my state). Part of the problem in CA is that only general law cities can use it now. (San Francisco is the showpiece.) The one-and-only State Sen. Debra Bowen introduced legislation last year (SB596) to allow other counties and districts to use IRV.
It’s stalled but just waiting for the right time, which may be 2007(?). Depending…
IRV – not a panacea, but good for democracy.
I know, I’m OT.
About Alaska, I’ll do the work as largely delineated in #23; and remember that the more egregious the act of blowing off democracy, the more the opportunity to use it as a national issue.
Yes, the stolen votes and refusal to provide ALL Americans with ALL OUR data is another betrayal of a most basic part of our Freedom: the Right To Vote.
No open vote = no freedom, and that’s exactly the path we are on. No critically- thinking person can deny the mountains of evidence.
Mugzi is spot-on in #10 with "The Repubs don’t seem to get it. The more they lie and coverup, the more they have to lie and cover up. It becomes a huge monster and of course, monsters cannot be covered up."
It reminds me of watching the Soviet Union collapse in on itself because, by their gummint’s very nature, they had to spend so much of their budget to keep their own Citizens ("the monster")covered up…
And yes, we know the so-called Americans who manipulated reagan’s puppet strings and took credit for the Soviet’s self-induced collapse are now part of the shrub regime…. still manipulating the strings, still spinning and lying, still killing people around the World, and still trying to destroy OUR Country.
They’re very good at what they do.
"IRV – not a panacea, but good for democracy."
The only thing is, Arry we just elected some independents in California and Arizona and took over Vermont….Instant Runoff Voting is COMING, but we can’t allow IRV to take flight with the MACHINES still in place.
This is why the neocons are targeting CALIFORNIA as they are so violently….they don’t WANT independents in there because they will kick their ass out!!!!
They want more REPUBLICAN & DEMOCRAT stooges to fulfill their global paranoid agenda from hell. You know it and I know it, Arry…
Doug E.
AmeriKKKa is sKKKrewed
IRV won’t do much without changing the archaic ballot access laws that disenfranchise candidates every cycle.
Which is why our first priority for all of California is to get these ITA examiners under oath……period. Eliminate the voting machines/ballot access entirely.
I will be bringing maximum pressure down on the rules committee and spreading it far this week…
Doug E.
Bill Barbyshire
I wouldn’t worry about it…..those so called ‘americans’ who own the voting machines, are in our target sights as we speak. That’s what this is really about……….dismantle the entire system: aka the two party shitstorm and we have Rep. Weldon and many others waking up to it…..
Doug E.
I’m Alaska, pretty well informed, AND I KNEW NOTHING OF THIS!!
Screw John Tracy and all the other Neo Con enablers in the media. I’ve seen NOTHING in the Daily News, but they may have run a story I didn’t see on one of the almost non-existent days I fail to read the paper.
I’m sick at my stomach. And I WILL be involved in this. They cannot get away with this or it’s all over.
"Security risk to the government of Alaska"? What KIND of risk?? Do they think we’re really THAT stupid???
ARRRRGGGHH
I’m in Alaska and am ready to call my legislators once again. Thanks to all who ae spreading the word around the country. For any others here living in Alaska, please, write and call your elected officials. Put the heat on them. And keep informed. Listen in on Air America and other progressive networks. In Anchorage, we have a progressive station at KUDO, 1080 AM
———
You are the "We" in "We the People."
The opposite of PROGRESSIVE is REGRESSIVE.
Doug E #26
I know you have been stung by GOP talking points, and the GOP solution is to blame the democrats for what the republicans have done. The way it is done is to say "the democrats do it too".
But the reality is just too damn strong. The republicans have had the White House for six years, the congress for six years (chairmanship on EACH AND EVERY committee, majority vote on EACH AND EVERY committee) and have been a defacto dictatorship.
Meanwhile, democrats and independents have had ZERO chairmanship on ANY committee, and ZERO majority vote on ANY committee. So when Doug E shifts the blame to the victim, the democrats who wield no power, but thru Conyers, strength, he does the wrong thing.
The only party with a chance to take control from the republicans THIS ELECTION are the democrats. This is clearly what the polls show.
Once the dictatorial power of the republicans has been broken, the White House can face accountability of every possible sort. Not before.
That is why the GOP wants you to "keep up the good work" of blaming democrats and "advocating" independents. The GOP knows that such a strategy is in their favor and they will maintain control if their strategy prevails. So …
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Click Here and Support Clint Curtis
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Doug E is Ross Perot running this year ?
I remember how the republicans used to say "go Ross go", then later it was "go Ralph go".
They were enablers of the republicans in those elections, and will be this year too if the GOP has its way.
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Click Here and Support Clint Curtis
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HOUSE Committee; Chair (R=repub, D=dem, I=ind); (Membership Count)
Agriculture; Goodlatte (R); (23 R, 20 D)
Appropriations; Lewis (R); (37 R, 29 D)
Armed Services; Hunter (R); (34 R, 28 D)
Budget; Nussle (R); (22 R, 17 D)
Education & Workforce; McKeon (R); (27 R, 22 D)
Energy and Commerce; Barton (R); (32 R, 26 D)
Financial Services; Oxley (R); (35 R, 31 D, 1 I)
Government Reform; Davis (R); (21 R, 17 D, 1 I)
Homeland Security; Cox (R); (26 R, 23 D)
House Administration; Ney (R); (06 R, 03 D)
Intelligence; Hoekstra (R); (11 R, 09 D)
International Relations; Hyde (R); (26 R, 23 D)
Judiciary; Sensenbrenner (R); (22 R, 16 D)
Resources; Pombo (R); (25 R, 21 D)
Rules; Dreier (R); (08 R, 04 D)
Science; Boehlert (R); (24 R, 20 D)
Small Business; Manzuillo (R); (18 R, 15 D)
Standards of Official Conduct; Hastings (R); (05 R, 05 D)
Transportation and Infrastructure; Young (R); (41 R, 34 D)
Veterans’ Affairs; Buyer (R); (13 R, 12 D)
Ways and Means; Thomas (R); (23 R, 17 D)
(link here).
just when i think i can’t be any more outraged.
corrente linked to this, lambert shows you love.
Dredd, when did you go into full Democrat campaign mode?
The gov. was a clown in the sen. Then as gov.
He appoints his kid to replace himself in the sen.
So, what more can you expect from a bush lover?The repugs are way out of line, and need to be replaced, not only in Alaska, but in the entire U.S.
Patricia G #23 –
Thank you for all the links and info. I’ve taken your post over to CCN and posted a blog for a call to ACTION.
Dems are not going to fight this anymore than the Repubs are. At various times thoughout history, both sides have benefited from election fraud, and they’re not about to call each other out on it now.
We’re really on our own, because as we all know it all comes down to
WHO’S COUNTING
Here is the letter I sent to Marquez and others…
To Attorney General David W. Marquez,
I am writing you as a concerned American who read about the failure of the state of Alaska to release election data, very troubling data to the citizens of Alaska.
As citizens of a democracy, we depend on elections to inform our government of our choices. A secret ballot is a foundation of this process but the counting is supposed to be public. Let me repeat that. The VOTE is secret, the COUNTING is not. Your state is violating this basic rule of democracy and although I am not a citizen of Alaska, democracy denied in one state effects the entire Union. A lack of democracy in your state means my vote doesn’t count either.
Some of the questionable results from the 2004 Election were outlined in a January 23rd letter to the state’s Division of Elections from the Alaska Democratic Party chairman, Jake Metcalfe. Amongst the anomalies detailed in Metcalfe’s letter: "district-by-district vote totals add up to 292,267 votes for President Bush, but his official total was only 190,889."
As a representative of the voters of Alaska, how can you let such anomalies stand? Whether the anomalies are based on fraud or system failure they need to be investigated and the claim of security concerns seems transparently false. What security concerns can prevent the citizens from examining how they voted? The understanding of what happened in the 2002 and 2004 election far outweighs the need of any company that builds voting machines. The needs of the citizens you have sworn to represent outweigh all else in this matter.
Release the election data.
No Dredd, I’ve already outlined my points in the other area….It is your very reliance on polls or the wrecked "2 party system" which keeps your invalid points from making a difference.
There has been polling on CNN already and over 80% are in favor of a third party, by the way.
The only thing which keeps the scam going is the currently defunct laws. Let me guarantee this: once we have instant run voting nationwide, the third party will be everywhere. And that’s exactly what we’re doing…..
There will never be any room for just "two" choices again aka the scam. That illusion is ripped up once we have instant rankoff and ripped out the last machine as well.
Doug E.
Doug E #41
You should link to those polls, otherwise you are saying "trust me". That has been coming from a lot of places recently, but none of them places I can trust.
Here are some links to recent polls to support my premise:
"Dissatisfied with the nation’s direction, Americans are leaning toward wanting a change in which political party leads Congress — preferring that Democrats take control, an AP-Ipsos poll found. Democrats are favored over Republicans 49% to 36%." (link here).
"In an ominous election-year sign for Republicans, Americans are leaning sharply toward giving Democrats control of Congress, an AP-Ipsos poll finds. Democrats are favored 49 percent to 36 percent." (link here).
Now, supply me with a link to polls of equal quality that show "independents are favored by Americans to take over congress from the republicans" as you have asserted.
Term limits favored on all represenatives, runoff voting
Not long after that he had a poll for the third party…but I need to find it again. It was on CNN Live. If runoff voting goes nationwide which is what we’re going after, the 2 "party" illusion collapses. We pick whoever we want via proportional representation.
Doug E.
Dredd:
The polling you cite does not give Democrats a mandate to do anything except throw Republicans out of power. The situation was similar in 1994. You can’t gauge public interest in a third party when the only choices are Republican and Democrat. If you were to add say, the Green party, to that mix the results would be skewed liberal. Just the opposite if the Constitution party were on the list. If the choice were between Republican, Democrat, or Third Party, a large showing for Third Party would only indicate frustration with the other two parties. Polling about "independents" nationwide doesn’t make sense when there is no independent presence. It would be more accurate to poll public opinion in states with independent candidates on the ballot – and often times they are simply excluded from the options.
The crux of the issue is ballot access for independents and third parties, public financing of elections, and an alternative voting system (IRV has its flaws). Over a third of the country is declared Independent, and there is a growing frustration with the two party system. The problem now is institutional hurdles, not public opinion.
BVAC #44
All of this is in the context of stoping the disaster of the republican dictatorship.
It is not in the context of what would be the best system … two party or more than two.
It is THIS ELECTION and the mindset of the body politic THIS ELECTION that I have exclusively focused on in my assertions.
And in this election the greatest possible outcome would be for the republicans to lose the majority party stranglehold they have.
The polls do show the democrats to be the favored party to do that THIS ELECTION.
If the independents were favored by 49% to 36% over the republicans I would support that.
It is just that reality really does have a part to play in elections, and I would rather take note of reality so as to get the criminal republicans out of office before they do any more damage.
Dredd,
You’re not paying attention. The structure of polls will never allow for independents or third parties to get 49% of anything. By shutting out third party candidates, Democrats are shooting themselves in the foot.
You’re saying the same stuff that has been said in 2002 and 2004: Republicans are evil, Democrats will be our saviors. Meanwhile the DLC will drag the party to the right, while fundamentalists find someway to make the election about gays where they are destined to win, as the neocons invoke fear in the population. I just wonder how Democrats will manage to fuck it up this cycle. We shall see…
BVAC #46
Somehow I, like the American public, think the democrats can do a better job of governing than the republicans can. Recent history is a witness.
The republicans have had all power and have screwed up.
I really think that we were better off in the democratic congress days, and I think we will be again.
Whether or not something has been said before has no effect on its accuracy, truth, or falseness.
Hey, it is a matter of several years of record that we have both seen with our own eyes, and heard with our own ears.
I am not making this up and I am paying close attention.
If every democrat was replaced with an independent, green, or libertarian, absolutely nothing would change because the republicans would still be in power everywhere and the shit would continue to hit the fan and America would continue to spiral down at an accellerating rate.
"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).
How many democrats, independents, greens, etc. chair committees in the senate or the house? Zero.
How many independents, greens, libertarians, etc. would chair committees in the senate or the house if each and every democrat was voted out and the independents, greens, libertarians, etc. replaced the democrats? Zero.
Both the White House and the Congress are republican controlled. All the Cabinet is republican.
The chair of each senate committee is republican and a majority of each committee’s members are republican. The republican chair primarily controls all senate committee business of all senate committees.
A senate committee chaired by a republican, with a majority of republican votes, will decide every matter until the majority party is not republican.
Since they have to face the music in November, they make make a show now to try to cover up the fact that they are a rubber stamp of bu$hit.
Will you be CONvinced …
… OR …
====================
SUPPORT CLINT CURTIS
====================
Bleh. You have no interest in a real discussion. Good luck with your campaign.
You suppose maybe Diebold would shine a light on WHAT exactly they are hiding..if its all above board and honest..there shouldn’t be a problem…(Isn’t that what Bush, Rice, Cheney and Rummy said about Hussien and Iraq..when they tried to convince us that Iraq had WMD’s and wouldn’t "cooperate" with inspectors..turns out that was another lie..you know I have never heard a truth from any of them..)
First the voters of Alaska were not allowed to see their own voting data from the 2004 Election because it was the proprietary "company secret" property of Diebold. Then they would be allowed to see it as long as the state and Diebold could "manipulate the data" before releasing it. And now finally it’s determined that allowing the voters to see how they actually voted in the 2004 Election would be a "security risk" to the state of Alaska.
The USAmerican War on Democracy continues…
I guarantee it
If Independants got into power, within a few years, they would be just as corrupt as everybody else is now
Dredd is right, do NOT shoot yourself in the foot this time either (or its trollville for you)
Take over the Dem party if you have to, don’t waste your time with a third party now, its too late in the game
I lived in Anchorage for several years and I can tell you that Alaska is as corrupt a state as exists in this country. Run by Republican strongmen, the state will allow Diebold to get away with this because the average Alaskan don’t give a fuck about anything-that’s why they live in Alaska in the first place.
Martin