Black Box Voting Update II: Seattle

DiAnne,

Your post clearly demonstrates that the issue of transparent elections transcends party politics, and that we need to be careful of assuming that all voting irregularities are the result of republican shenanigans. My understanding is that King County has a mainly democratic governance. Correct me if I am wrong.

Is this every a wierd thing to find in my mailbox! It's from WA State Dem Chair.

Subject: Karl Rove - Stealing the Governor?s Election
 
Karl Rove is trying to steal the Governor’s election in our state like he and the Republican Party did in California two years ago! 
This is no joke!  Don’t stop reading until you’ve finished this e-mail. 
 
Observers have noted that in other state elections where Rove lost by a slim vote, he has overseen a campaign much like the one unfolding here. Their tactics in the past have included launching a divisive legal battle; ginning up public opinion against the winner and the elections officials with radical accusations of voter fraud, dead people voting, and military ballots not being counted.  Big business even funded a media blitz aimed at undermining the credibility of the election. 
 
Sound familiar?  Well it should, because that’s exactly what they are doing in our state, and I have to tell you, the result in one Alabama race they challenged was a loss in the State Supreme Court in October of the year following the election!
 
I’m not a conspiracy theorist.  This is real.  Right now the GOP is carefully crafting a Court challenge aimed at undermining Governor Gregoire by overturning her election. Please log onto our web site and make the most generous contribution you can afford today to help us beat back Rove and his extremist operatives here in Washington. 

If you aren’t yet convinced, look at this week’s newspaper and! read about the radical Republican activists, backed by their party’s elite, who have turned against one of their own, Secretary of State Sam Reed. They filed a recall petition against him because he defended the integrity of the election process and declared Christine Gregoire the legitimate winner.
 
If they’ll go after one of the highest Republicans in elective office, think of what they’ll try against a Democrat! Do what you can to help us by logging onto www.wa-democrats.org and making a contribution today. Thank you!
 
Sincerely, Paul J. Berendt State Party Chair

On Call

King Country is mainly Democrat. I talked to a woman who went to the public forum on voter issues & there actually were alot of Republicans there who wanted paper ballots & didn't trust electronic machines. Some were against provisional ballots, which I think were really challenged alot by Republicans nationwide. Some even wanted ALL VOTERS to re-register & that we would scrap all voter lists.

Republicans, like Democrats, wanted a fairer cleaner system but they tended to want things that would favor them.

Remember that the electronic voting and Help American Vote act started after the "hanging chads" business in Florida but as it's been carried out so far, has seemed to benefit Republicans.

Also I don't think Bev Harris is a Democrat or Republican - I think she's a Green.

DiAnne,

That is exactly what I am saying. I could care less what party Bev Harris belongs to. This issue transcends political parties. A system that benefits one party over any other has to be eliminated. Re-registration is not necessary, but a different, more fair, and more accurate method of recording votes is imperitive.

Starting to read the various sites and the Holt HR550 is the gold standard. That Ensign bill is also recommended to stop immediate purchase of bad machines.

However, Conyers is not recommended, and of course not the Dodd Bill, and the man for which we can lay blame for HAVA. Yet to hear about reactions to Tubb-Clinton Bills, and I'm curious, very, what Kerry comes up with.

So, did you, Karen and Seattle's finest come with a super strategy? Wish I had been there.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

This issue does cross party lines.

http://www.stjoenews-press.com/main.asp?FromHome=1&TypeID=1&ArticleID=61938&SectionID=81&SubSectionID=272

Bond introduces bill to strengthen Vote Act
By MARIA BARAN
Medill News Service

WASHINGTON – Missouri Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, joined by fellow Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, introduced legislation Thursday that would strengthen the Help America Vote Act of 2002, clarifying the previous bill in an attempt to ease the workload of election workers.

And, totally off-topic: :-)

Missouri's new Republican Gov managed to spend his first few weeks in office showing his true colors: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/10929121.htm?1c

He's also going after Missouri's "First Steps" program, which is geared toward 0-3 year-olds.

I think Mr. Blunt is just too wet-behind-the-ears to realize he was supposed to hide doing these things and not announce them proudly to one and all.

Posted by: kj in missouri at February 18, 2005 07:41 AM

The Republicans are trying to propose laws that do very little to give people the right to vote. Their laws are generally focused on the fact that they prevent people to vote twice. Even if they can find places where this happened, this was hardly the prevailent problem in this election.

Posted by: Marjorie G at February 18, 2005 01:25 AM

Kerry was presenting the "Count Every vote" Act yesterday with Boxer, Clinton, and Tubbs Jones and as far as I understand, is sponsoring it (though that part is not that clear).

Mass, I know. There are those who still claim "those voters in St. Louis voted twice for Al Gore." Let me tell you, racism is alive and well here in this state.

PERLE V DEAN I

http://communique.portland.or.us /

"No One Was Injured And The Shoes Did Not Hit Mr. Perle

A Little Light Reading

This is too odd not to post, even though it's the sort of random thing we don't usually get into. The following is just in from the Portland Police Bureau, from the scene of this evening's debate between Howard Dean and Richard Perle.

At about 8:20 pm, Portland Police were called to the concert hall regarding a disturbance. Officers arrived and took custody of 52-year-old Bruce C. Charles of Portland. Officers contacted witnesses and learned that Charles was in the audience of tonight's debate between Howard Dean and Richard Pearl when he became upset, stood up, and threw his shoes at Mr. Pearl . Charles was apparently detained by either security or other citizens and held for police. No one was injured and the shoes did not hit Mr.Pearl .
So there's your Thursday night report from the "keeping Portland weird" department. We now return control over your evening to you."

LMAO!!!

PERLE V DEAN II (would have loved to be mouse
in corner)

Dean vs. Perle -- Framing, Flying Shoes, and More

(from Daily Kos)

I was relaxing on the couch after Torts got out tonight when my wife came home and told me that Howard Dean and Richard Perle were holding a debate right here in Portland, OR. I was pretty annoyed at myself for not knowing about this earlier -- I guess that's what I get for not reading the daily fish wrap . The whole show was to start in two hours!

To a political junkie like me, it didn't seem possible that there might still be tickets available. I mean, this is like the superbowl for a news nerd. My wife and I, however, valiantly headed for the box office to try for some tickets. Long story short, there were still seats -- in the extreme nosebleed section, that is. But seats they were and seats we bought. I'm glad I did.

(Amusing stories involving Dean, pop-culture references, and glaring at Perle below the fold.)

Diaries :: doasfu's diary ::

Dean was introduced to a huge cheer, Perle not so much. The debate, centered on foreign policy after 9/11 was great. Dean refused to admit that the Democrats were weak on national security despite Perle politely asking him to do so. The nerve.

Perle defended the Iraq war with a tired line about the intelligence being the best available blah blah blah that even he didn't sound like he believed. Of course, it's hard to sound too convincing when you're dodging a shoe thrown at you by an audience member screaming "Mother******* liar."

The "mother******* liar guy", or MFLG, kinda stole the show for a while. Remember that part in Austin Powers when Dr. Evil dumps Will Ferrell into his trap oven chamber thingy and then can't get on with his evil meeting because you here Will Ferrell screaming for the next several minutes -- think that. Perle kept trying to continue, and although the MFLG had been removed from the main theatre area, one could hear him screaming his signature line, with a few "Let me go, mother*******" thrown in.

The highlight of the night came in the phase of the debate when panelists were invited to ask questions. Perle had just spoken for a while, trashing the Dems on national security as usual. The panel then asked Dean an unrelated question. Before responding to that question, the Good Doctor said to Perle something like "Before I respond I want to say that Richard has attempted to do something that I'm not going to let him get away with, and that is frame the debate. As chairman I don't intend to let them continue to frame the debate." Be still my beating heart. You could almost hear Luntz sighing in dismay and Lakoff sighing in relief.

The highlight of the night for me came in the form of two incidents right after the event. As my wife and I left the theater we rounded the block to head to our car and came upon Richard Perle. He was with only one other person and I made eye-contact and scowled at him. I scowled at Richard Perle! Whoopee! (I resisted the urge to ask, "How's your lawsuit against Seymour Hersh going?"

Then, even better, only a few feet further on I came across the Doctor surrounded by a small crowd of well-wishers. I said "Governor, may I shake your hand," rendered the question moot by sticking my hand out at him, and received a firm handshake for my troubles. Chairman Dean looked right at me and said "Thank you." No, thank you.

A friend also told me that Dean refused to answer a question that started with "people are saying" - like in OutFoxed. He said something like he only answered questions with sources. Has Dean been reading Lakoff? The whole Senate & Congress (Democrats) ought to read it & any decent press.

John Kerry Calls for Election Reform
http://kerry.senate.gov/bandwidth/home.html#

Kerry, Clinton Offer Bill to Revamp Election Laws
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050217/pl_nm/politics_kerry_dc_2

4 Democrats urge federal election holiday
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/10929084.htm?1c

Democrat, GOP bills seek reform of voting
http://tinyurl.com/4wprb

Chuck in Baku on Topic for Once:

This is probably because I've worked in contracts too long -- but it sure would be nice if the election reform movement got around a specific set of proposals with specific recommended revisions to existing federal law and even proposed language for Constitutional amendments, where applicable. Tack that on to a specific tax-reform package, develop foreign policy, military postuire and environmental issues as statements of principles, rather than specific actions, and you have a omplete party platform for the legislative and executive branches.

IMHO.

Chuck in Baku.

Compare how much Social Security you'll get under current & proposed systems:

http://democrats.senate.gov/ss/calc.html

I heard Krugman creamed the Bush-supporting speaker on Social Security on NPR "Fresh Air"

Off topic, but I am proud of this Oregon (I think) congressman:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/021705W.shtml

I think these issues about the degree of candor with which members of the current administration testified under oath about the security failures in the Executive Branch that allowed the 9/11 attackes to occur go to the heart of what is wrong with politics as usual in the U.S. today.

Chuck in Baku (concerned citizen)

I can find no evidence anywhere that TV news covered the Clinton/Kerry/Boxer/Jones Election Reform press conference (are we surprised?)

The LA Times has an article, but it is pretty much the same as the Reuters story, except with a bit of CA info added:

Bills Would Alter Election Procedures
Democrats' measure would make sweeping changes in the national voting process to ease task of balloting. A GOP version focuses on fraud.

By Mary Curtius and Richard Simon, Times Staff Writers

WASHINGTON — Sen. John F. Kerry, whose losing presidential campaign last year was followed by complaints of voting problems, on Thursday joined fellow Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton — a potential presidential candidate herself — in introducing a bill that would institute sweeping changes in the nation's election process.

Aligned with Kerry, of Massachusetts, and Clinton, of New York, were Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio). Boxer and Tubbs Jones earlier this year challenged the congressional certification of President Bush's victory in November to call attention to voting problems in Ohio, the state that decided the election.

The bill faces an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Congress.

But its drafting — along with a measure introduced by GOP lawmakers on Thursday — underscored continuing concern within both parties about voting irregularities.

The Democratic bill seeks to make it easier for citizens to cast ballots.
It would give voters the right to register and vote on election day, make the day a federal holiday and require states to reduce waiting times at polling places. (In California, voters must register at least 15 days before an election to be able to cast a ballot; voters who become citizens after the deadline can register up to seven days before the election.)

The Republican bill would require voters to present a government-issued photo ID to cast a ballot, illustrating GOP concerns about voting fraud.

Another provision in the GOP bill would establish a pilot program for the use of indelible ink at polling places — an idea growing out of the ink-stained index fingers displayed by Iraqis in their election last month.

"Aside from being an act of national pride, it was also an act to ensure that all those who voted did so only once," said Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the bill's co-sponsor.

For many Democrats, election procedures remained a big issue in the shadow of the 2000 presidential race — that was decided after a contentious 36-day recount battle in Florida — and the 2004 vote.

Senate Democrats listed election reform as one of the top 10 priorities in the 109th Congress. Kerry last month sent an e-mail to supporters urging them to "demand that Congress commit itself this year" to reforming the electoral system.

Kerry insisted Thursday that the bill he and his fellow Democrats were pushing was not sparked by his narrow loss in November.

"This has nothing to do with the question of outcome of 2004. This has everything to do with full civil rights for Americans, period," Kerry said at a Capitol Hill news conference.

The legislation, he said, "is not partisan, or shouldn't be. It is at the core of who we are as Americans."

The Count Every Vote Act would require a paper ballot for every vote cast using an electronic voting machine. It would require states where "a substantial number" of voters waited more than 90 minutes in last year's election to cast ballots to come up with a plan to reduce waits.

It would require random recounts after an election, and allow felons to vote if they have completed their sentences. And it would provide for studying use of the Internet for voter registration.

Clinton said her interest in the bill stemmed from her belief that there were widespread irregularities in the 2004 election. "We cannot take democracy at home for granted while we try to talk about and promote democracy abroad," she said.

http://tinyurl.com/55wbe

Quote of the Week, from Sojourners...

"From tax cuts to Medicare, the White House gets what the White House really wants. It never really wanted the 'poor people stuff'."

- David Kuo, former deputy director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

Did anyone notice today that Merck is suddenly pushing to get Vioxx on the shelves on the exact same day that Bush is signing the Class Action bill. Coincidence? and has anyone thought of getting this connection out to the media. Public Health is an Important Values argument.
Has anyone here been involved with the Rockridge Institute's Values organization?

Chuck in Baku to All again:

Come to think of it, my post about Representative Waxman's request to the Chairman of the House COmmittee on Government Reform to hold hearings really isn't off topic, when taken in combination with concerns about what election reform would look like. As I recall the Democracy Cell Project was set up specifically to deal with electoral and media issues -- and what "media issues" really means in this context is the way in which the electorate is informed of facts that might impact their consideration of issues or persons on a ballot. In that sense, getting the concept out there that 1) the current administration willfully ignored evidence pointing to a 9/11-type event, 2) high-ranking officials in that adminitration misrepresented that fact, under oath, and 3) evidence that would support (1) and (2) was willfully supressed prior to both the presidential elections and the confirmation hearings in the Senate with respect to the appoint ment of an SOSUS under false pretenses of national security would seem to be relevant.

Respectfully Yours,

Chuck in Baku

"With the controversy over the safety of COX-2 inhibitors continuing to brew, Merck (MRK) said it is considering bringing Vioxx back to the market if an FDA advisory committee says the risks of its painkiller are similar to other painkillers in its class. Merck withdrew Vioxx from the market after the drug was found to increase the risk of heart attack."

Ira:

I seem to recall that you are somehow connected with officers of the court. In that respect, I wanted to share an observation with you, which is that to my mind, as a person formulating and adminstering contracts as I sometimes do for a living, this entire effort by the current administration to make serious class-actions impossible is designed to remove the possibility that legal persons can be held accountable, in a meaningful way, for actions that result in catastrophic consequences (Bhopal, Exxon Valdez come to mind).

I hope I'm wrong but I doubt it.

All the Best,

Chuck in Baku.

Well, KJ, DiAnne, O2V4D, Ira, Marc, Oncall (love Chicago!), Mass, et al:

Keep up the great work!

Chuck in Baku signing off (GMT+4, NYC+9, IAH+10, PDX+12)

chazman:

I am a lawyer and understand the logic of Bush chipping away at all lawsuits.As George Lakmoff stated, it has more to do with what he calls statgic initiatives. It has less to do with the actual lawsuits but the strategic planning of the RNC to systematically destroy the Democratic Party. First they attacked unions that were the no.1 campaign contributor to the DNC and next they went after Plaintiff's lawyers. In Texas 3/4 of our monies come from tort lawyers.According to Lakoff "if parties who are harmed cannot sue immoral or negligent corporations for significant sums the companies are free to harm the public in unlimited ways in the course of making money."
He calls defunding the DNC a stratgic initiative. It also allows corporations to calculate in advance the cost of paying victims when they cap damages and the build that into their cost of doing business.In economics I believe its called the cost/rewards concept. Lakoff theory is that the RNC cares about getting rid of environmental, consumer, and worker protections in general not the lawsuits themselves. That why we need to have our own strategic initiatives to attack the Chamber and the media folks that give the largest contributions to the RNC with frames of Public Health and Descency stories like the faux jouranlist and his perversions needs to be linked to the RNC.

Class action suits are very risky for lawyers b/c even w/o this bill the majority of them are dismissed in state courts in summary judgments and take years of appeals and millions to develope. Imagine what Firestone's and Ford's reaction would be today if their tires shred or the Explorers roll over; or Tylenol in the 80s; or the Corvair exploding. Are you old enough to remember the battle this country had when seatbelts were first introduced or airbags mandated how it would destroy the auto industry.
This argument Chazman needs to be less about protecting lawyer's turf and more about the big picture which I call Public Health and Safety which Republicans have totally blown off. I see nothing wrong with saying that Democrats are people that strongly believe in Protecting America's Public Health and Safety which is why I brought up the reintroduction of Vioxx today. We need to start viewing these concepts in the big picture, made with our Values and a Strategic Initiative behind them.

I meant to say cost/benefit analysis.

Chuck in Baku for Ira:

Well, I obviously lied. I did sign off but after a bite to eat I decided to check back in. On the seat-belt thing, I think I was overseas at the time so that sort of passed me by (I'm 44). It is interesting to consider whether this GOP ploy is designed to cut the legs out from under trial lawyer funding of the Democratic Party or, as you said, to allow "corporations to calculate in advance the cost of paying victims when they cap damages and the build that into their cost of doing business." Probably it's a combination of both, but I think that defining the caps to accountability is more important to them. Likewise with the unions, I think it is less about union contributions to the Democratic Party and more about simply banning collective bargaining.

Thanks for the insight -

Chuck in Baku.

New Thread

Where is the new thread? Help!

A friend also told me that Dean refused to answer a question that started with "people are saying" - like in OutFoxed. He said something like he only answered questions with sources. Has Dean been reading Lakoff? The whole Senate & Congress (Democrats) ought to read it & any decent press.

Posted by: DiAnne at February 18, 2005 09:21 AM

DiAnne,

Dean wrote the forward for "Don't Think of an Elephant" and I read that Nancy Pelosi had George Lakoff come give a seminar to house Dems.

It's a 120 page easy read. Anyone who doesn't read it... well, what I can I say. No excuses for turning down a chance to participate in a gift so well-written and freely given. Props to Lakoff. For an academic, he really boiled it down.