BREAKING: BOXER, DODD FILE 11TH HOUR EMERGENCY PAPER BALLOT LEGISLATION!

[BradBlog]

URL: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3531



BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: BOXER, DODD INTRODUCE 11th HOUR EMERGENCY PAPER BALLOT LEGISLATION IN SENATE!

Calls for 'Contingency Paper Ballots' in States, Counties this November to be Paid for Feds!

Co-Author of HAVA is Co-Sponsor of New Bill Answering Our Call for a 'LET AMERICA VOTE ACT', Makes Paper Ballots Optional to States Rather Than Mandated…But We'll Take it! -- Sources Say House Bill to Follow Soon!

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) introduced emergency legislation to amend the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) this afternoon to offer funding to states and counties who make 'contingency paper ballots' available to voters to be used at the voter's option instead of electronic voting systems.

The so-called contingency paper ballots would be counted as normal ballots, as opposed to Provisional Ballots which must be vetted first to determine the integrity of the voter's registration. Provisional ballots are frequently counted only several days after Election Day, and often, not at all. The Senate legislation, however, does not spell that out specifically.

The BRAD BLOG has learned from a source currently working on similar legislation in the House, set to be filed there shortly, will include such specific language. Several Capitol Hill sources have confirmed that such legislation is currently in the works. We hope to have more details on the Houes version later today.

The inclusion of Dodd as a co-sponsor on this 11th hour legislation is no small coup, as he was one of the original co-sponsors of the HAVA legislation of 2002 which this bill would amend. Until now, he and the other bi-partisan co-sponsors of that original legislation have been reluctant to open HAVA to amendment.

The legislation, filed just after 4pm ET this afternoon, would refund voting jurisdictions who offer paper ballots as an option to voters, and requires such jurisdictions post "in a conspicuous manner at the polling place, a notice stating that contingency paper ballots are available at the polling place and that a voter may request to use such a ballot at the voter's discretion."

Election integrity advocacy groups and citizens alike have been rallying members of both the U.S. House and Senate to pass such legislation since The BRAD BLOG initially called for what we had called, the "LET AMERICA VOTE ACT" last Tuesday. The act we called for would mandate emergency paper ballots at all polling places this November in light of thousands of voters having been sent without being able to cast a vote in primary after primary election so far this year when new electronic voting machines either malfunctioned or were otherwise unavailable...

MUCH MORE, COMPLETE STORY, FULL TEXT OF LEGISLATION:
URL: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3531

---
Brad Friedman
THE BRAD BLOG - The uprising continues...
http://www.BradBlog.com
VELVET REVOLUTION - The revolution begins...
http://www.VelvetRevolution.us

[gully]

1. Excellent!

.

[Greeby]

2. Where are we gonna get the votes to pass this?

Repukes aren't gonna wanna pass this. For quite a few of them paper ballots = they lose

[BradBlog]

9. We'll get them everywhere!

I've included a link in the full story, to let you contact your Congress Members.

Speculation: With Dodd on board, that *may* mean he's able to bring McConnell on board, as he was one of the original HAVA sponsors, and the 4 of the original sponsors had been marching in lock-step until now. So we'll see.

Sources: The House bill *may* come with bi-partisan co-sponsorship. We shall see!

Read the full story, however, to see that Republicans have also been calling for this sort of measure all around the country! Even they may see the writing on the wall, so let's all try to encourage the honest ones to do the right thing, eh?

[StaggerLee]

3. To the Greatest page with you

:dem:

[bunny planet]

4. Sweet, I hope this happens

I've been dreading going to my polling place in November knowing I'll be voting on the vapor not paper machines for the first time in this incredibly important election.

[fasttense]

5. Those stupid, stupid repukes.

They act like Democratic politicians don't know how to rig the electronic voting equipment. Rumor has it that some crazy liberals have plans to introduce a virus to have JFK win in several pivotal states.

[tridim]

6. Wow! I think we can safely say the gloves are off.

This week is 180 degrees different from last week. I actually feel hopeful for a change.

[diva77]

7. wow, what a 180 for Dodd -

former (?) advocate of paperless DRE's!!!!:wow:

and Kudos to the Bradblog!! :patriot:

[leftchick]

8. yes indeed

perhaps he finally read something important like RFK Jr's piece in Rollingstone that scared the shit out of him?

[orleans]

51. yeah, like when his time comes he'll LOSE simply by vote hopping

(think the dem representatives will catch on when there are no more dem representatives in the house or senate? will they get the freakin picture THEN??? or will they think: "humm...i guess the entire country has gone red"?)

[HootieMcBoob]

10. kick and rec!

:kick:

[Mojambo]

11. Best news I've heard in a LOOONG time. n/t

[UTUSN]

12. Shouldn't this have been done in, like, Nov-Dec, of 2000? Or in Jan 2001?

[sandnsea]

15. We were fighting paper then

In Florida, there were more errors in the paper punch ballots and the argument was that the richer white precincts had DRE's and less errors. So, HAVA allocated bunches of money for DRE's and then we just ended up with a whole new batch of errors.

[aquart]

16. Sorry. That was propagandistic crap.

The punch cards were working fine, as they had for years. Vote counters knew exactly how to count them.

It was sheer distraction, with the purpose of forcing states to buy corrupt voting machines to ensure Republican majorities forever, and I am still stunned that anyone fell for it.

It was also meant to distract from the deliberately corrupt ballots, and other crimes committed by Katherine Harris and her dear friends.

[sandnsea]

17. The machines didn't clog?

Ballots weren't marked erroneously because of faulty punch machines? That stats that showed higher fail rates in punch card districts were wrong? The punch card professional lied in court?

:shrug:

[Freddie Stubbs]

75. They passed the Help America Vote Act in 2002

[Viva_La_Revolution]

13. Great news to come back to after two days cut off from info

:bounce:

It's a hell of a start.

Recommended

on edit: looking for more. At the moment the House is Recessed and the Senate is naming post offices...

Anybody watch today?

[aquart]

14. In other words, HAVA is a disaster.

Like every other piece of legislation from this rotten, corrupt-to-the-core Republican Congress.

[DavidDvorkin]

18. Well, that's nice

Too bad it will be killed immediately by the Republicans who control the Senate.

[BradBlog]

19. Cynical much? :-)

Don't be so sure. We're beginning to hear bi-partisan calls for this from folks around the country. Read my full article for just some of those details.

As well, the Senate R's may want to cover their ass here as well as they can also see the writing on the wall. See my earlier comment above for other thoughts about R's coming on board here.

[DavidDvorkin]

28. Extremely

Cynical, pessimistic, depressed.

I really hope I'm wrong. If I am, I'll be the first to celebrate.

[orleans]

54. ah, david...you aren't the only one who feels like that

i was thinking--just a couple days ago--how much happier we would have been without this freak in the white house; how all our lives would have been different & better and that he has been there since my daughter was in junior high--now she's in collage.

and how i've been politically obsessive, angry & preoccupied with this crap instead of giving 100% to my family. too bad--there is all this time that can't be replaced.

and i know i'm not alone. and neither are you.

and yet we keep fighting. we have to.

sorry--didn't mean to hijack here, just wanted to offer a :hug:

[krispos42]

60. If Bush never existed, we wouldn't realize how lucky we are

Classic sci-fi dilemma. If the past changes, those that live after the change have no awareness of the alternative time-line. We'd be sitting here talking about how President Gore was dealing with the genocide in Darfur, only vaguely aware that he stopped an attempted terrorist attack right after he was sworn in. The 20 hijackers would be in their first round of appeals, but most Americans, hearing of the plans they had, would have dismissed the attacks as "far-fetched".

"Naw,", they'd say, "it wouldn't have worked! They'd been caught before they got to the gates. I don't know why President Gore keeps acting like he broke up some big thing. Beside, even if the planes HAD his, they woulda just bounced off. Those building are designed for that, ya know!"

Oh, well.

[DavidDvorkin]

65. Good comments, orleans

Especially the part about losing irretrievable time.

My wife has said that about herself -- that she's tired of letting despair over what happened in 2000 and since then spoil so much of her life.

[AntiFascist]

53. This could really use some media exposure...

of course, Lou Dobbs comes to mind. Maybe some moderate right-wing pundits can stir up stories about the possibility of Dems introducing the Diebold virus to sway elections their way. A little reverse-psychology could go a long way to get the Republican senators' attention.

[Freddie Stubbs]

77. Considering that Congress will be in recess after Friday, and

that they will be spending most of that time time debating the the detainee interrogation bill, how likely do you think it is that committe hearings will be heald and a floor vote scheduled before the November elections?

This isn't a cynical question, just a realistic one.

[peacetalksforall]

79. If Republicans vote against this they are going to stand out like

an exploding volcano in the U.S. - for all of our history to come.

If they don't support paperby State, they will document their support and approval for stealing votes and placing obstacles to voting through Republican owned hardware, software, file transfers, counting, technicians, fixers, apportioning and the Republican networks who coordinate their exit polling (network owned) with the manipulated votes and call it for Republicans.

Many people are finally wise. Are Republicans ready to go in to the history books as stealing and faciliating the theft our our most precious right?

[mom cat]

20. This is great news Brad! ... You deserve the DU Medal of Freedom!

:dem::toast::bounce::bounce::headbang::smoke::smoke::yourock::smoke::smoke::headbang::bounce::bounce::toast::kick:

But since we do not yet have one, you can have the above mom cat Medal of Freedom and Justice along with a lifetime supply of purrs! :hug:

[mom cat]

21. I just sent a copy of the legislation to Kennedy, Kerry and my rep!

Hope that it is amended soon to make it mandatory to offer paper ballots as an option everywhere, but this is a great start.

[Megahurtz]

22. YAY!

:woohoo:

[babylonsister]

23. Terrific news! Thanks for all your hard work, Brad! nt

[katinmn]

24. K&R! Glad to see BB back kickin butt!

[AzDar]

25. AMAZING!!! n/t

[MelissaB]

26. Fantastic news! I love this woman!

:woohoo:

[texpatriot2004]

27. "In the corner stood a lone Boxer..." nm

[silverweb]

29. Go, Barbara!

That's my Senator!

:woohoo:

[xxqqqzme]

80. mine as well - One out of three

(2 senators, 1 rep) is crap representation though.

Thank you Barbara! calling her now!

[Solly Mack]

30. Yes!

[autorank]

31. THEY KNOW!!!! They know....we were a major player in that...DU etc.

That's why they know. K&R

But there is much more to be revealed.

[Vidar]

32. Bless you, Barbara.

[Roland99]

33. They should have been doing this 6 years ago but I'll take it!!!

[FogerRox]

35. KnR, take the hill, take that HILL

[femmedem]

34. I'm going to call my Senator Dodd and thank him.

And then I'm going to ask him again to filibuster the torture bill. Or place a secret hold, if there's not enough support for a filibuster.

[Independent_Liberal]

36. I love you Barbara! Your such a sweetheart!

:patriot:

:loveya:

[Wilms]

37. Nice work, Brad. Take a fifteen minute break.

:D

[BradBlog]

55. Thanks Wilms! I needed that. Break Over!

More now from NYTimes on this, including Feingold joins with Boxer and Dodd!

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3535

[stepnw1f]

38. Kick (nt)

[Patsy Stone]

39. Thanks, Brad!

What a wonderful development. It seems that some people finally realize it's a problem for BOTH sides of the aisle.

:bounce:

[belab13]

40. best news I've heard for a while! thank you senators.

[Psephos]

41. SUPERB! nt

[femrap]

42. Thanks for the good news, Brad.

Yes, I am surprised by Dodd coming on board.

The story I heard was that the Dems didn't want to open up HAVA because they feared the repugs would foul up our voting system even more.

But I don't see how that is possible.

Oh.....to have paper ballots! How can the repugs stand up in front of their constituents and say that voting on a paper ballot is anti-democratic? Or that it is difficult to count?

People are so much more educated about voting now...thanks to folks like Brad, RFK, Jr. and other other voting groups.

[Hissyspit]

43. Email your legislators! Democrat.com link here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x450963

[mom cat]

46. Wow! You got that up fast! ... Thanks hissyspit! ... This is great!

[Drum]

44. 11th hour indeed.

Hadn't heard a lot from those particular elected folks speaking out on this issue heretofore, the way other bolder and less-prominent pols have.

Am I that selective a reader? Maybe.

Doesn't any "big" issue pounced upon by those in office just 5 or 6 weeks before an election just smack of nerves and pandering?

It sure does to me...what am I missing? :shrug:

[mom cat]

47. I hear your suspicion, however, I think that in this case, the timing is

the result of a series of falling dominoes that has given support to this iniative for paper ballots now, The fact that so many train wrecks have piled up now, and the media attention to DRE failures, plus the work of Brad to push this now has just added up to the critical mass needed at this time to push this forward. The band wagon needs all the help it can get, even last minute help.

[Drum]

48. Thanks mom cat,

I'm not absolutely current on the vaccilations of voter reform efforts and players...IOW what is necessarily "good" or "bad" news. Your say-so, along with the outpouring of responses to the OP, certainly convince me.
Fingers firmly X'ed, though I'm typing even slower now.
:toast:

[FogerRox]

73. Exactly MOM CAT, the primary season was filled with train wrecks

This stirs up crap at home for the Repub congress critter, Brad is right, repubs have gotten pressure from thier home districts due to the Primariy train wrecks WE helped cover, DU & BRad BLog, perfect together.

[midnight]

62. It sure makes me a bit unnerved that our elect.

officials have taken the innitiative to move, towards what is a first step, at the last minute. I wonder why?

[peaches2003]

45. It doesn't sound to me like any voter

can go into their polling place and get a paper ballot, which is what I want to do. I am reading it that either your jurisdiction has to agree to make it available or there has to be a problem at your polls for you to get a paper ballot.

Am I wrong? My precinct will NEVER agree to offering paper ballots unless it is mandated that they have to give a paper ballot to any and all voters that request it. We are in GA, in a Republican area, and have Diebold machines. Not a chance they will voluntarily give me a paper ballot.

This is way too late to be starting this. There has been 6 years to get it done and you know the Repugs will fight it all the way.

[mom cat]

49. I was hoping that it would be manditory that paper would be manditory

period. This is a lot weaker than I like by a long shot, but it gives a platform for more jurisdictions to be pressured into at least offering paper, and perhaps a way to build on stronger legislation when we take back Congress. I am sorry for you there in Georgia and other repuke strongholds. It will take a lot to break the stranglehole the Diebold/Repukes have on areas like yours. I know that this will not do the trick for you there yet. You must feel like screaming all the time!

[peaches2003]

63. It's nightmare in suburban Atlanta

Yes, I am screaming all the time, but of course never in public. You dare not speak out here. We are in an upscale Atlanta suburb and are a normal intelligent retired couple. Everyone knows we are Democrats, however, and we are looked at as communists, traitors, and anti-American. And all we do is believe Iraq is a tragedy, Bush a liar, and that the Constitution should be upheld. :grr:

[sonias]

50. Way to go Barbara!

Great news.

Sonia

[JimDandy]

52. Don't Forget to send this to your county's BALLOT PRINTERS !!

Call your County Clerk/Auditor's Office first thing in the morning and get the name and address of the company that prints your county's absentee ballots. They stand to profit enormously from this should it pass. Send them this bill and highlight the part where HAVA will reimburse the county for actual costs or seventy-five cents per ballot. Ballot printers have the ear of the County Clerks/Boards of Elections and undoubtedly easy access to lobby congress.

[BradBlog]

56. HERE'S THE ONLINE ACTION LINK! CLICK IT NOW PLEASE!

CLICK HERE TO SEND YOUR EMAIL URGING CONGRESS TO PASS THIS NOW!

http://tinyurl.com/ojd4r

...And pass it on, please! Thanks!

[cascadiance]

69. Here's another link from Barbara Boxer's PAC to contact your congressfolk

http://ga4.org/campaign/confidence_in_voting/

I added a final paragraph to mine at the end to help address the urgency of getting this done immediately. Doug Jones, who I talked to a couple of weeks ago while visiting Iowa, said that such changes now are going to be very difficult to achieve with a lot of the deadlines for training, printing of ballots, etc. either about to pass or having passed already. You might want to do the same to help get it on your congress critters' radar screen. The Senate needs to have voted this in by Friday I think to get this to work...

[JimDandy]

85. Done!! Thanks. n/t

[GetTheRightVote]

57. Oh right ! Perhaps we still have a chance at our votes being counted

and not stolen or thrown out by hacked machines.

:kick:

[annabanana]

58. fanTAStic!

Good work, guys!. . Maybe they all got buckets of faxes with the provisional bill on it? Maybe it looked good to them?

[Digit]

59. Kicking

[Vinca]

61. This is a start, but

as long as there is one electronic machine that can be hacked or programmed in any way to alter the vote, paper ballots should be mandatory. I thank the Senators for starting the ball rolling.

[HomerRamone]

68. This is WORSE than a start.

People STILL don't get it. All it takes is ONE machine to change the winner. This will only enhance the legitimacy of potentially fraudulent results...

[bonito]

64. KICK !!!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[NotGivingUp]

66. a LOT of time has been wasted...better late than never. n/t

[Freddie Stubbs]

67. The Senate is cheduled to recess on Friday

Does anyone think this will even get a committee hearing by then?

[civildisoBDence]

70. A day late and a dollar short

Make that 700 days late and a few million dollars short.

Newsprism

[WildEyedLiberal]

72. Yeah who cares about future elections?

:eyes:

[kestrel91316]

71. I like the trap the Dems have set for the RW.........

if they vote FOR this, they help more people to vote and get counted, and that works in favor of Dems.

If they vote AGAINST the legislation, they are damaged goods in Nov.

[FogerRox]

74. kestrel91316 ,gets it.. The timing is right, considering

the election is what, 46 days out..........

and this issue is ours. Nomatter how you spell it out, kestrel91316 is right. I agree 100%.

[Freddie Stubbs]

76. Except that no vote will be taken on this, as

Congress will be in recess after this week.

[JimDandy]

86. That's true, if it gets to a vote.

I hope it makes it to the floor. Otherwise the GOP and the Maryland Dems will be able to dodge that bullet.

[lrsmith1]

78. I thought the paper ballots were to confusing that made people

mark the incorrect person. What do you think is the best voting system? One that would be as stupid proof as possible

[nicknameless]

81. They should add to that, criminal penalties for those who don't comply.

CA's former SoS, Kevin Shelley, tried to educate voters about their right to use a paper ballot if they felt uncomfortable
about using a DRE. Despite the law, places like Riverside County, did not provide paper ballots as required.
And in 2006, Riverside violated paper ballot voters' rights again, this time even more outrageously.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=2996

[AntiFascist]

82. So many bills....

I just received email from Senator Feinstein who is a cosponsor of the "Voting Integrity and Verification Act of 2005" (S. 330), which would
require electronic voting machines to produce individual, voter verifiable
permanent paper records for every vote cast, so that voters can check the
accuracy of their ballots and officials can conduct a manual audit or
recount should either one be necessary.

She states: "Currently, this legislation is under review in the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. As a member of this Committee, please be assured that I will keep your concerns in mind as the Senate reviews this legislation and other efforts to ensure the legitimacy of the electoral process."

[Laurab]

83. Thank you, Brad K & R n/t

[bridgit]

84. ty for the pm mom cat...

:patriot: k&r'd