In her role as Chair of the Democratic National Committee’s Voting Rights Institute (VRI), Donna Brazile has issued a statement to The BRAD BLOG moments ago in support of the Congressional Emergency Paper Ballot legislation now pending in the U.S. House and Senate.
Announcing that “We still have time to address the e-voting security crisis!,” Brazile writes in her “Open Letter to Supporters of Democracy of America” in support of the House (HR 6187) and Senate (S. 3943) bills introduced this week calling for Emergency Paper Ballots at the polls this November, in the light of voting system failures across the country in primaries so far this year.
She calls on citizens to “pressure…lawmakers to support legislation that would help produce a fair and transparent election.” (Full letter posted at the end of this article)
The “time to address” the crisis, at least on the Federal level, is quickly drawing to a close as Congress will likely adjourn tomorrow for the Election Recess. Citizens are asked to call their legislators (House switchboard: 202-225-3121, Senate switchboard: 202-224-3121) to demand they pass this bill immediately.
Maryland’s Republican Governor Robert Ehrlich recently called for a similar state measure after his state turned away thousands from the polls, or handed them provisional ballots, when electronic voting machines failed to start up during their September 12th primary election.
Brazile’s call to push for the Emergency Paper Ballot legislation this afternoon is notable. She has come under fire in the past from critics in the Election Integrity Advocacy movement for failing to take a firm enough stance, in her role at the DNC VRI, to alert Americans to the potential for fraud, inaccuracy and disenfranchisement via electronic voting systems.
The DNC endorsement for the legislation by Brazile is the latest in a growing drumbeat of politicians and non-partisan Election Integrity organizations calling on supporters and members to help pass the 11th hour legislation, co-sponsored in the Senate by Senators Boxer, Dodd, Feingold and Kerry and in the House by Rep. Rush Holt and several other co-sponsors.
The BRAD BLOG originally proposed this legislation early last week. As of this hour, not a single Republican in the U.S. Congress has publicly endorsed the legislation or joined as co-sponsor to help ensure that all registered American voters will actually be able to cast a vote at all this November.
The complete open letter from Brazile, issued this afternoon on behalf of the DNC’s Voting Rights Insitute, follows in full…
OPEN LETTER TO SUPPORTERS OF
DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA!
Support The “Confidence in Voting Act of 2006”
By
Donna Brazile
Chair, DNC Voting Rights Institute
Fellow citizens,
We still have time to address the e-voting security crisis!
The November 7th mid term congressional and statewide elections are around the corner — and fears and concerns about the integrity of our electoral system and the security of paperless electronic voting systems have increased daily.
But there is time to act!
Before Congress adjourns for the November elections, we must pressure our lawmakers to support legislation that would help produce a fair and transparent election. Please call your lawmaker now and ask them to support the “Confidence in Voting Act of 2006.”
This legislation, sponsored in the Senate by Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Russ Feingold (WI), along with Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) in the House of Representatives will allow the states to use optical scan or other paper ballot-based voting systems to opt in to a program for this November’s election whereby they would be reimbursed for giving voters the right to cast their votes on paper ballots.
The “Confidence in Voting Act of 2006” would also:
offering voters, upon their request, the right to cast a vote by means of a contingency paper ballots, regardless of the voting equipment otherwise in use at the precinct;
regular ballots, and count them accordingly and not as provisional ballots (unless a voter is otherwise required to vote provisionally); and
We still have time to address the e-voting security crisis!
Every citizen deserves the right to vote and have that vote counted as cast. This is the system by which we hold our elected officials accountable and the cornerstone of a functioning democracy. A wide variety of non-partisan, objective studies have shown deeply troubling irregularities in the conduct of the 2000 and 2004 elections, as well as in some of the primary elections this year that call into question the fairness and accuracy of our current election system and demonstrate that the problems have not been fixed. Many of these voting irregularities are a direct result of malfunctioning electronic voting machines and poll workers who may be untrained in administering this new technology. Some of the problems could be eliminated by the use of voter-verified paper ballots. It’s time we act and call upon our lawmakers to ensure this election is fair and transparent. Given the recent rampant election irregularities and discrepancies, voters are justifiably concerned about the integrity of their votes cast through potentially flawed and unreliable machinery.
That is why I am calling on Democrats to stand firmly in support of H.R.6187, the Confidence in Voting Act of 2006.
So Donna “Phuc Q” Brazile is seeing the light finally
Its about time
Thank you, Brad. You started the ball rolling for fair and transparent elections and have never looked back. Now “they” are finally not only listening but coming aboard. Finally getting Donna Brazille in on the fight must feel like vindication after all the “conspiracy nut” invectives hurled at you. You are one brave man, and I salute you. Let’s hope it is not too late to get this legislation passed. We simply must ensure that our elections are honest!!!
My Rep. Van Hollen signed on yesterday. (Erchlich is pressing absentee ballots as a statement). Can’t wait to see what my Senator’s do. THIS is a no-brainer.
Joseph Cannon at Cannonfire has linked to some new information on the 2004 vote thuggery:
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2006/2162
So does this mean that kos will finally send “the memo” so that the self-proclaimed “advertise liberally” (NOT!) blogs will actually allow discussion of this and perhaps even play a role in organizing some meaningful action?
I know its not likely, but its a legit question…
I hope I helped with this announcement. I got a fundraiser call from the DNC yesterday, and told them that though I liked how they endorsed the manual count of CA50, that I needed to see them support this legislation before I’d put in money. I guess I have to send them some money now to be a man of my word and send the message that taking actions like this DO count. I basically flipped off the DCCC a week ago with the same message. They’re not getting any money from me any time soon! I think I’ll send the DNC $39.43 so that the reason for my donation is clear.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/w...092501480.html
“Tech Firm Shows Off Glitch-Free Software”
Wow, thats an attention grabber right there.
WE COUNT 2006
CLE OH
Sept 29-30 2006
If ya can’t be there then consider a donation.
THIS CONFERENCE WILL BE HUGE
I called my senators and reps. yesterday about your bill Brad. Thanks for your courage and leadership to keep fighting in the face of overwhelming odds.. Glad to see Donna thinks there might be a problem in the elections besides dems. not showing they are religious too. Charlie, I’m with you on the so called liberal blogs. but if they come on board now that we are an official terroist state after the senate vote yesterday…let’s forgive and forget. We need all the help we can get. Don’t expect Kos to SEE..but you never know.
Is somebody afraid they might look bad now that E-vote fraud is in the news?
.
.
.
I’ve got this as a recommended diary at DKos — join in the fun (and recommend) if you would like!
It’s YOUR Choice TODAY – Demand Paper in November!
.
.
.
Great diary, SG. I voted … and it appeared to count. It’s 199-4 in favor of paper ballots at the moment; they’ll have to go a long way down a very crooked path to flip the result of this one.
With the new torture law, if a democrat were elected as the next president, could he declare a treasonous war criminal like the chimperor an “enemy combatant”, lock them all up for life and torture them too?
Now we KNOW that our elections are FIXED!!!!!!
.
.
.
WP #12:
Thanks. As I mentioned in the diary as a reply to a commenter who was worried about the lack of a paper trail in the DKos poll — it’s not even remotely close for there to be a recount, so no need to worry (snark).
.
.
.
I’m sorry but the longer this goes on, the stronger my impression is that there is nothing that we can do about the fascists who have hijacked our country.
Nobody seems to be able to do anything about it. Diebold still stands, still counts the votes. The GOP still rigs the elections to keep themselves in power. Few of the MSM reporters have taken up the cause. Even when the Dem politicians speak out, they are patted on the head and ignored. Where is the hope?
I have been actively working with the filmmakers for some time on the CC story. I have a somewhat different take on what should be done to stop paperless voting. One is to stop trying to frame this as a political issue. Those who would subvert the most basic Ameican right to vote are TERRORISTS. Who on either side of the isle in the present climate would dissmiss this viseral attack on our liberties by terrorists? Two, and I am not advocating sabotage, but as a eleventh hour measure inserting a virus that renders all paperless voting null and void; not changing the vote but crashing the machines would help bring awareness to the machines vulnerability.
TURNSTONE (#16): If only “framing” an issue was this simple.
We can barely get the issue COVERED by the non-internet media, and our chances of CONTROLLING that coverage are minimal.
And, quite frankly, this is NOT and HAS NEVER BEEN a non-partisan issue. While there has always been a certain amount of localized election fraud throughout history, and Democrats have been as guilty of it as anyone, only the Republican Party has been engaged in a national program of massive voter dis-enfranchisement and electoral fraud.
Only the Republican Party has stolen U.S. Senate seats and the Presidency TWICE.
Only the Republican Party and their supporters at the local level (whether it be Warren County, Ohio; the California 50th; or Palm Beach County Florida) believe that “the ends justify the means” when it comes to breaking the spirit and/or letter of the law to win against the “evil” Democrats.
To frame this as anything less than the Republican Party and their corporate supporters attempting to control the electoral process in order to “own” the government is silly.
Stop George #11
391 votes – 98% want paper.