Defenders Of Democracy - Defending Election Integrity and Transparency

Please Attend Crucial Hearing on E-Voting - Monday Sept. 8 in Atlanta, GA

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:22:01 -0400

Our allies at VoterGA.org have been preparing for two years for the hearing that Judge Michael D. Johnson will preside over on Monday Sept. 8 at 2:30pm in Fulton County Superior Court, in Room 8B at 185 Central Ave, downtown Atlanta, approximately two blocks south of the Underground Atlanta and the Five Points Marta station.

We need you there to show support for our fair elections case in court, and to prevent the powerful electronic voting lobby from applying pressure to the judge to dismiss this case, despite the evidence favoring a judgment in VoterGA's favor to declare electronic voting unconstitutional.

The VoterGa.org suit can benefit all nine million current and future Georgia voters. It contends that our current electronic voting method is illegal and unconstitutional according to state law. A review of the case's legal arguments includes astonishing facts regarding our voting machines' machine inaccuracy, recount-ability, improper certification, and lack of ballot secrecy, as well as Georgia's illegal acquisition of these machines. Constitutional challenges include counts regarding the legitimacy of an “electronic ballot”, people's participation in elections, equal protection, and due process.

Please consider taking some time off from work Monday to bear witness to this historic occasion and show support for fair elections. There are 72 seats to be filled in this courtroom and we need to fill them all! Badges of support will be available at the entrance to the courtroom.

Please send this message to your email lists, and to anyone who believes democracy is a core American value that is worth defending. Thank you,

John Fortuin
404.438.2389
Defenders of Democracy

GOP Cyber-Security Expert Suggests Diebold Tampered With 2002 Georgia Election

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:57:36 -0400

Filed by Larisa Alexandrovna and Muriel Kane
Friday July 18, 2008

A leading cyber-security expert and former adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says he has fresh evidence regarding election fraud on Diebold electronic voting machines during the 2002 Georgia gubernatorial and senatorial elections.

Stephen Spoonamore is the founder and until recently the CEO of Cybrinth LLC, an information technology policy and security firm that serves Fortune 100 companies. At a little noticed press conference in Columbus, Ohio Thursday, he discussed his investigation of a computer patch that was applied to Diebold Election Systems voting machines in Georgia right before that state's November 2002 election.

Contined...
http://rawstory.com//printstory.php?story=11267

Ohio Attorneys Launch Targeted Discovery To Expose Election Manipulation By Karl Rove And Others

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:22:13 -0400

Source: http://www.velvetrevolution.us/#071808
7/18/08

Yesterday, Ohio Attorney Cliff Arnebeck launched a new legal strategy to expose a national strategy of election manipulation directed by Karl Rove. The implications are stunning. Arnebeck has asked the Ohio Federal Court to allow for targeted under oath depositions of key individuals including Rove, Bush IT guru Michael Connell, Jack Abramoff, Ken Blackwell and others. This will be the first opportunity ever to place these individuals under oath.

Arnebeck indicated that he has amassed a great deal of information from various sources including whistleblowers implicating Rove. He wrote in yesterday’s court filing that the suspected lead perpetrator of this conspiracy against the civil rights of the plaintiffs and against the rule of law in the United States is Karl Rove. Rove’s politicization of the Justice Department is currently being investigation by the US House Judiciary Committee. Click here to Continue

Diebold / Premier Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:52:03 -0500

Click here for this must-see tragic-comic video clip.

Find Your Polling Place / Report Election Problems

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:46:58 -0500

For Georgia Voters: Click Here To Find Your Polling Place

Georgia & Nationwide:
Report Election Problems at 1-866-OUR-VOTE

If you experience problems trying to vote, or your polling place is experiencing problems, (not opening on time, voting machine failures, voters are being turned away from the polling place, etc.) call 1-866-OUR-VOTE

Tell Congress: Pass Emergency Bill H.R. 5036 for Secure Elections in 2008

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 01:16:42 -0500

Now is your best chance to to help make the 2008 Presidential election verifiable. Please ask your members of Congress to co-sponsor H.R. 5036, the "Emergency Assistance for Secure Elections Act of 2008”, Representative Rush Holt's bill to provide emergency funding for paper ballots voting systems and random hand counted audits of the November elections.

The Emergency Assistance for Secure Elections Act (download pdf) offers states or counties reimbursement for purchasing paper ballot systems in time for the November elections, and reimbursement for conducting random hand-counted audits of the November election results.

The bill would offer money only for the most reliable voting systems: those that use voter-marked paper ballots, with accessible ballot-marking devices to serve voters with disabilities. By offering crucial funding, Congress can empower state and county officials to do the right thing in time for November.

Rep. Holt's bill could not be more timely. As the Presidential primary season unfolds, 14 states will use paperless electronic system in their primaries, either as the statewide system, or as the system used in many counties.

It doesn't have to be this way in November. Urge your Representative to cosponsor the Confidence in Voting Act. Take action now by clicking here to send a fax to your Representative!

New Hampshire Primary Recount News: both Democrat Kucinich & Republican Howard Note Irregularities & Problems.

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:46:19 -0500

Kucinich Letter Cites Miscounts in NH, Requests State Carry Out 'Complete and Accurate Recount of All Ballots'

Democratic Presidential Candidate Details 'Significant Percentage Variances,' from 4 to 10%, Discovered So Far During Hand Counts as Paid for by His Campaign

SoS Downplays Mistallies After One County Counted: No Changes 'As Far as Where the Candidates Finished'...

By Brad Friedman, 1/23/2008 Source: www.Bradblog.com

Citing "significant percentage variances in four voting districts in Hillsborough County," Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is requesting that New Hampshire's Secretary of State, William Gardner, "order a complete and accurate recount of all ballots in the New Hampshire Democratic Presidential Primary election," according to a letter sent this morning, as

Video: Georgia's Election Officials vs. Election Transparency and Comprehensive Reform Bill H.R. 811

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 02:10:12 -0400

Robert Simms, Georgia's Deputy Secretary of State and former lobbyist with Massey & Bowers (Diebold Election Systems' lobbying firm in Georgia), continues the spin against election reform, transparency and accountability. Simms describes the status of election reform bill H.R. 811 “The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act” from the biased perspective that the voting machine industry has successfully inculcated in many election officials nationwide.

H.R. 811 mandates creating a paper ballot for every vote cast, allowing for meaningful recounts and audits of questionable election results. Georgia's current voting system was deliberately designed to create no physical evidence, no paper ballots to document a voter's intent. The big lie promulgated by opponents of fair elections is that H.R. 811 requires continued use of touch-screen voting machines, where the bill actually allows paper ballots to be used with optical scan systems. No official from Georgia's Secretary of State office has ever acknowledged this fact since the bill's introduction. Furthermore, the spin from Georgia's Secretary of State Handel herself against the bill is divorced from the reality of the bill's text (read it here).

Georgians' tax dollars are being spent to stop the necessary election reform H.R. 811 provides, by having Simms and other election officials lobby against the bill. H.R. 811 mandates creating a paper ballot for every vote cast, the best and most cost-effective method for catching and correcting voting machine errors and prosecuting fraudulent manipulation of voting machine totals. No system exists in Georgia for catching voting system errors and fraud currently.

Video shot at Georgia's State Election Board meeting 9/25/2007 at the Georgia Capitol.

Tell House Leadership to Pass H.R. 811, "The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007".

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:08:55 -0400

Call the House Leadership, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to tell them:

We want H.R. 811, "The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007" to be released from the House Rules committee and voted on on the House floor.
We do not want the bill weakened by the "Manager's Amendment" or the "Unfunded Mandate Amendment".
We want the Rep. Susan Davis' amendment to ban DREs (Direct-Recording Electronic, a.k.a. touch-screen voting systems) added to the bill in the House Rules Committee.
Paper Ballots can be counted with optical-scan systems at lower cost (per voter and per election) than touch-screens systems, and are compliant with H.R. 811, even with Rep. Susan Davis' amendment.
We Georgians need this legislation passed to create the possibility for fair elections in 2008. Without this legislation, our votes are at risk of being lost or stolen, without the possibility of prosecution of those engaged in election fraud.

Some great additional talking points are on the flyer "Back to Common Sense Voting".

At this time, focus on contacting the Democratic leadership listed below. Defenders is non-partisan, but the Democrats control the agenda now, and Election Reform needs to be back at the top of the agenda.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Phone (202) 225-4965 Fax (202) 225-4188

Note that Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has been a longtime opponent of paper trail and election reform legislation, even signing a 2004 letter with now-convicted criminal Bob Ney against paper trails/ ballots. Hoyer is the sponsor of the "Managers' Amendment", designed to weaken H.R. 811. Tell his office that it is time for him to step out of the way, as he has quit leading on this issue long ago.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer
Phone (202) 225-4131 Fax (202) 225-4300

Majority Whip James E. Clyburn Phone (202) 226-3210
Congressional Office: Phone: (202)225-3315 Fax: (202)225-2313

U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, Senior Chief Deputy Whip
Phone (202) 225-3801 Fax (202) 225-0351

Action Alert: Ask House Members to Pass H.R.811

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 02:15:59 -0400

Complete Alert with Sample Letter and Committee Member Contact Info

On Sept. 5th, House Rules members failed to pass H.R. 811 out of committee, but the bill may yet reach the House Floor with your help. Please put pressure on your Congrssional Representative (visit www.House.gov to find your representative's contact info.) and the rules committee members below (their contact info follows the sample letters) by sending them a fax like the sample below, or making a call.

The New York Times did an editorial on 9/6/07 in favor of passage of the Holt Bill, so let's keep the pressure on these committee members. To read the editorial, click on: "A Chance to Make Votes Count."

Please note that there is extreme, well-financed opposition to transparent elections, financed by voting machine vendors. More election officials (and professional organizations) appear to have been compromised than not. Some of the few exceptions are, notably California's Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Leon County (FL) Election Director Ion Sancho. Congressional Quarterly has reported on this opposition in their article entitled “State Officials’ Opposition Could Jeopardize Voting ‘Paper Trail’ Measure“.

We at Defenders Of Democracy continue to report on our compromised Elections Officials in Georgia on our website. Some of this year's reporting includes our article on “Georgia Election Officials' Campaign to Kill H.R. 811” and a video titled "Georgia State Election Board, Chaired by Karen Handel, Votes to Campaign Against Federal Election Reform Bill H.R. 811"

Note that in Georgia and elsewhere, our TAX DOLLARS are currently being spent by the Secretary of State's office to fight against fair and transparent elections.

Please, contact your representative and the rules committee members and flood their faxes and phones with demands to pass H.R. 811. Use the sample letters below as a template, or pull talking points from the great flyer "Back to Common Sense Voting".

Defending a democratic republic is our duty as citizens. Remember Benjamin Franklin's response to the question, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, "A republic, if you can keep it." Now, it is up to us to "keep it".

Sincerely,

John Fortuin
404-438-2389

Sample Letter follows for your representative (please click here to download text).

September 18, 2007

Dear Rep. __________________

Please pass H.R. 811, “The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act", in the strongest form possible, as the integrity of our elections have been severely compromised by electronic voting systems.

Please vote for passage of the following amendment to strengthen the bill:

Dan Rather Exposes New Election Fraud Facts with Palm Beach County's 2000 Election, Also Exposes New Touch-Screen Voting Flaws

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 06:53:32 -0400

Click for the link to the transcript and video of Dan Rather's hour long report on HDnet titled "The Trouble with Touch Screens". The first half is about ES&S iVotronic touch screens; the second half is about poor quality paper used for ballots in Sequoia optical scanners in Florida in 2000 and intentional changing of the specs for the ballots for Palm Beach County, Florida, which caused many of the hanging chad, dimpled chad, etc. problems.

It is the view of many, that the switching to deliberately inferior paper, and deliberately manufacturing mis-aligned punch-card paper ballots for Palm Beach County, could have, by itself, thrown the election for George W. Bush.

Warren Stewart of Verified Voting has written a pithy analysis of the video and transcript.

Once again, the mainstream media failed to pick up on this incredible August 2007 expose, while subsequently focusing on Dan Rather's $70 Million suit against his former employer CBS/Viacom for not permitting him to continue reporting through the full term of his contract. The $70 Million suit is a fiscal dust speck compared to the financial impact of the thrown 2000 presidential election, which, in our opinion, Rather's story proves.

Action Alert: Please Act Now to Save Our Democracy!

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 03:20:34 -0400

by Kathy Dopp, 07-24-2007

What is Happening in the US Senate?

Wednesday July 25th Senate Bill 1487 Senate Hearing

Tuesday Deadline to Submit Testimony

The National Election Data Archive is sending out this first in a two-part
alert, to let people know that election reform is endangered in both the US
House and US Senate; and to ask everyone to make a small effort this week
and next week to achieve integrity in the 2008 election.

According to The New York Times, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of
California and the chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, said she has
decided against seeking any major changes in voting equipment before 2010.

"My sense is there's no way to get this thing in place by the election of
2008," Ms. Feinstein said. "Without adequate time, we could cause real
problems in the election."

On July 25th, 2007, at 10:00 AM, the Senate Committee on Rules and
Administration will hold hearings on S. 1487, the Ballot Integrity Act.

The Senate Rules Committee hearing scheduled for July 25 has a very
unbalanced list of participants. The list is heavily weighted with
unapologetic opponents of voter verified paper ballots. They selected
Michael Shamos to give testimony while ignoring more respected experts in
computer science and mathematics. Shamos is noted for saying, "...I believe
I and the republic will survive if a president is elected who was not
entitled to the office."

The Senate hearings fail to include any recognized experts who support a
tangible record of the vote. For the hearing to have any balance at all,
recognized electronic voting experts should be included. Creditable voting
system experts who should be included in this panel: Dr. David Dill of
Stanford, the founder of the Verified Voting Foundation and
VerifiedVoting.org, and Dr Barbara Simons, former President of the
Association for Computing Machinery, the world's largest association of
computing professionals.

Georgia State Election Board, Chaired by Karen Handel, Votes to Campaign Against Federal Election Reform Bill H.R. 811

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 19:07:59 -0400

On June 21, 2007, Georgia's State Election Board Voted Unanimously (member Randy Evans left shortly before the vote) to oppose H.R. 811.

Thus, the Secretary of State's Office will use your tax dollars to campaign against placing many necessary checks and balances on how elections are run in Georgia and the nation.

Also, Georgia's overpriced and expensive to maintain Diebold Voting Machines will continue to waste our tax dollars until they are replaced with much less expensive optical scan systems.

Atlanta, GA - June 28-30 - US Social Forum - Defenders presents 3 Democracy- Restoration Workshops! Be there!

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 02:14:21 -0400

Important Links:

Democracy Track Full Calendar

U.S. Social Forum Main Page

Defenders of Democracy's Workshops:

Where: All three workshops will be held in Room 210 at the
Atlanta-Fulton Central Library (Click here for location info and directions).
1 Margaret Mitchell Square NW
(off Peachtree St NW on Forsyth St. NW & Carnegie Way NW)
Atlanta, GA 30303
Map it here!
Taking MARTA? - Get off at Peachtree Center Station

Time & Dates: All workshops are held from 3:30 till 5:30pm.

Thursday June 28th, 3:30pm

Defending Democracy from Corporate Theft and Restoring People-Powered Elections. http://www.ussf2007.org/en/node/2788

Friday June 29th, 3:30pm

Creating A Culture of Democracy
http://www.ussf2007.org/en/node/2790

Saturday June 30th, 3:30pm

Uniting for Democracy: Unifying And Growing the Voting Integrity Movement

http://www.ussf2007.org/en/node/3002

These workshops are interactive and we want your input & participation. Volunteers are needed, too! To volunteer, click here, or call 404-438-2389.

Alert! Speak out against the “Anti-Accountability Election Resolution” at the GA State Election Board meeting on Thurs. 6/21

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 18:09:17 -0400

Complete Report

Update: The State Election Board Voted Unanimously (member Randy Evans left shortly before the vote) to oppose H.R. 811. The original alert follows:

The Georgia State Election Board (SEB) is expected to vote on a resolution against transparent, accountable and auditable elections.

A motion proposed by the Georgia Election Officials Association to oppose Congressman Rush Holt's Election Integrity Bill H.R. 811 came close to passage at the May 23rd SEB meeting. For more information on H.R. 811, visit http://www.gaforverifiedvoting.org/legislation.htm

The motion is expected to be voted on again at the June 21st meeting. Please plan to take the early part of the afternoon off to express your opposition to this anti-democratic motion at the SEB meeting. Spread the word about this extremist and reactionary opposition to a bill, that if anything, is somewhat modest in its requirements for election accountability and integrity.

Date & Time: Thursday, June 21, 2007 at 1:00 PM

Location: GA State Capitol, Suite 450
200 Washington Street
Atlanta, Georgia 30334

For details on the vote on May 23rd, visit: http://www.savannahnow.com/node/291555

For details on the Georgia Elections Officials Association Campaign against election integrity, click here.

Talking Points:

The issue is that, in Georgia, our elections are not transparent, there is no voter verified paper ballot, our elections cannot be audited or recounted in any meaningful manner. Georgia's elections, with our current voting equipment, are essentially an exercise in faith that no-one will manipulate the results.

The SEB, under Cathy Cox's administration has expected Georgians to have this faith, despite the fact that such election manipulation is easy, and can be done without detection, as shown by