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Panel meets seperately from audience. James A. Baker, III — the Bush family loyalist who went to the Supreme Court demanding that America’s votes not be counted in 2000 — presides over first panel.<\/p>\n
\nPanel meets seperately from audience. James A. Baker, III — the Bush family loyalist who went to the Supreme Court demanding that America’s votes not be counted in 2000 — presides over first panel.<\/p>\n
CSPAN covers it live. All other Cable News channels cover choice of pope…<\/p>\n
Secretely seated Commission’s website here<\/a>. …WE’RE FOLLOWING…LIVE BLOGGING…<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n FIRST PANEL…<\/b> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Carter calls Baker, “my second favorite Republican”<\/p>\n Kay Maxell, of League of Women’s voters calls for NO “paper trails” for <\/p>\n Baker steers questions in first panel towards how to avoid voters voting in more than one state. How to improve national registration system. Puts focus on registration<\/i> issues, doing away with provisional ballots…<\/p>\n Ralph Munro, Commissioner who is also Chairman of Board of VoteHere (voting machine company), agrees with League of Women’s voters testimony warning against<\/i> paper ballots!<\/p>\n NOW ON BREAK…SECOND PANEL COMING SHORTLY…<\/b><\/p>\n During Break, CSPAN runs National Rifle Association conference speech by Tom Delay! Delay says speech to NRA is “highlight of my career”! CSPAN knows it’s audience today, I guess! <\/i><\/p>\n SECOND PANEL…<\/b> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hard-right, Wall Street Journal<\/i> writer, John Fund, talks about voter<\/b> fraud! Not election<\/b> fraud! Calls for Photo ID Requirements to vote!<\/b><\/p>\n Fund calls for Provisional Voting requirements that such votes can only be cast in the voters precinct or be thrown out. Discusses “Provisional Voting Fraud”!<\/p>\n Any confusion yet about the purpose of this Commission?!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n Collen McAndrews, Election Law Attorney: “I agree with Mr. Fund”. Says Voter Registration Fraud is a problem…”Time to stop the paranoia…I agree with John’s view…We need confidence in the system”…calls for Voter Identification System!…”Too many lawyers involved in process, Voter Identification System is the solution”.<\/p>\n Photo ID, Photo ID, Photo ID…<\/p>\n Breaking for lunch…Reconvening at 1:30pm ET with PANEL 3…Sam Brownback (R-KA) speaks on stemcell issues during break…Tom Delay\/NRA last break, and now stemcells…CSPAN knows who the audience is for this phony Election Reform commission!<\/i><\/p>\n PROTESTS OUTSIDE HEARINGS, NOT COVERED ON CSPAN<\/i><\/b>:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n THIRD PANEL<\/b> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n David Dill first to speak clearly about problems of E-Voting!<\/p>\n BLACKOUT! DemocraticUnderground Thread on hearings here<\/a>.<\/p>\n UNBLACKOUT! Ron Thornburgh agrees with Dickson that paper trails are no good because they will disenfranchise blind voters like Dickson. Not clear if it’s all blind voters who will be disenfranchised, or only those on Diebold’s payroll!<\/p>\n Baker returns discussion — even on this panel, supposedly about voting machines — back to voter registration issues!!!<\/p>\n David Dill points out that Commissioner Ralph Munro is Chairman of the Board for VoteHere, voting machine company!…Dill only voice in all of todays hearings that seems to understand the real<\/i> problems!<\/p>\n COMMISSION HEARINGS END…<\/b><\/p>\n Voting Rights\/Election Reform Protesters holding press conference currently…Most protesters barred from getting into the event or anywhere near. No CSPAN coverage.<\/p>\n Commissioners to hold Press Conference at Baker straight into Limo, no questions from the press!<\/p>\n From BRAD BLOG<\/a> phone interview just now with David Swanson, Board Member of PDAmerica.org<\/a>, who was in the hearing room:<\/p>\n
\nRAW STORY article on fixed commission here<\/a>.
\nVELVET REVOLUTION’s campaign to inform the public here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nPanel I: Elections and HAVA: Current Status<\/strong>(Panelist descriptions below by the Commission!)<\/p>\n\n
\nPanel II: Access and Integrity<\/strong>(Panelist descriptions below by the Commission!)<\/p>\n\n
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Fund says Absentee<\/b> Voting is a problem!<\/p>\n
\nPanel III: Voting Technology and Election Administration <\/strong>(Panelist descriptions below by the Commission!)<\/p>\n\n
Next up, Jim Dickson, representing blind voters, but who has reportedly been a paid<\/i> representative for DIEBOLD for years! Has been against<\/i> paper ballots for years! Has been calling for touch-screen voting (like those made for Diebold) for years…Continues to do so today in his testimony!…”I’ve worked around elections — in non-partisan ways — for about 20 years,” says, Dickson.<\/p>\n
\nCSPAN DISCONTINUES COVERAGE DURING PANEL ON VOTING MACHINES!!!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n
\nCSPAN RESTORES COVERAGE!!!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/BradBlog.com\/Images\/Siren.gif\")
FLASH: CONYERS OFFICE OUTRAGED AT TENOR OF HEARINGS!…TO RELEASE STATEMENT AT END OF DAY…DEVELOPING…MORE EXCLUSIVE BRAD BLOG DETAILS HERE<\/a>…<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n4:30pm<\/strike> 4:00pm. Q&A from media (reportedly).<\/b> Will CSPAN cover?<\/p>\n“Disturbing to begin with to have Carter referring to Florida, and having Baker sitting next to him smiling…Disappointing to have 12 individuals who were carefully picked with nobody from the public or even an announcement to the public about this commission…Congressman Conyers was not permitted to speak…a third of Conyers concerns made in his recent statement were not mentioned at all…Discussion of paper ballots was largely misleading. The Sec of State of KA [Thornburgh], objecting to paper ballots on the grounds that someday we might invent a touch screen technology that would be recountable, and that it somehow conflicted with the needs of the disabled was absurd…Way to much debate over Photo ID…Far too much discussion about laughable proposals that you could address concerns over elections by using a Photo ID card with bio-technology and fingerprints on it….The ridiculous idea that there is a lack of trust in the election system because there are problems based on phony drivers licenses or something is absurd! …The questions are on malfunctioning machines, suppressions, lost registrations, descriminatory registration issues…and lack of believable and accountable voting systems…There was a whole range of things that were not brought up at all…It was very disappointing…”<\/i><\/div>\n