BBV Alert: Great minds needed now

[shirlden]

Mother Nature cancelled my biking weekend (rain and rain). She said she would let me do lots of biking after we get the planet-destroying-apes out of Al Gore's house. I know it's not wise to piss-off Mother Nature so.........

First things first.

We need to get our voting calamity under control. I have spent many hours in the last couple of weeks reading and researching the mess we call electronic voting. It is one huge, entrenched, well-organized, RW scheme (read conspiracy) reaching into the highest levels of the Fed, State, and local gov. with tentacles snaking into not just business, but the military-industrial complex. But you knew that.

How do we attack such a behemoth ??? We play David. Get our little slingshot and cut him off at the knees. Think small. Think local level. Think counties, which still have the ultimate say so on our voting rights. We lose if we try to cut off the head...it is too big. But we can slay the monster one toe and a time.

Bev Harris....please...check in here. You are owner, manager and coach of this Evil Duers team. All the research that has been done can now be used to begin the base activist work we need. Send us out to play, coach.

Get thinking. How do we do this ?? Local demo's. Flyers on cars in the Wal-mart lot. Phone calls....nagging/harrasing to local election boards, newspapers, civic groups, churches. Volunteer to be poll watcher and let the little guys on the local board know that we will be watching and will hold them responsible when trouble happens. Get your local anti-war activist on this issue.

I want to see a thread here of 5000 responses. Keep this kicked, please.

:bounce: Let's go get em !!!

[shance]

1. You are GOOD!****

It would be great to establish local groups that could meet at like a Starbucks or whatever.

Im in Los Angeles and am up for working the local angle here.

[Zhade]

21. Me too

I'm in Santa Monica. Count me in, too! Let's nail these bastards.

[aquart]

2. The coming elections are all local.

Asking those candidates for their position on bbv might help make it a local issue.

Simply attend a local meeting and ask the question. Have some downloaded material in your hand for when other people ask you what the hell you're talking about.

And then make sure local voters know THIS election is the one that counts.

[KT2000]

3. You are so right

Lots of people are not really grasping the issue. It would be a good idea for those who do, to become more of a presence and therefore force the issue out into the open on a local level.
Let's go get 'em! Yes!

[gristy]

4. Need to target your activity

I suggest that those interested do the following:

1. Study up on the HAVA legislation. You can get a summary on it here (courtesy of NY State).

2. Study up on Rush Holt's bill "The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003" here. This bill, if/when passed, will help reduce (though not eliminate, by any means) the likelihood of fraud using the new electronic voting machines.

3. Find out what type of voting system changes your state is planning to implement. Search the web for "State Plan" <your state>. Or go to your Secretary of State's web page and search for "State Plan". Search your local paper for keywords such as "electronic voting".

4. Contact your state's SOS and/or Director of Elections and tell them of your concerns w.r.t. electronic voting. Implore them to first follow these four simple steps for honest elections:

a) paper ballots
b) locked ballot boxes
c) multiple sets of eyes
d) basic accounting

And then point out that
- Paper ballots are easily counted and recounted using optical scan and/or manually.
- Paper ballots can help instill confidence because their state's voters can verify them, handle them, and be confident they are the sole record of their vote.
- To satisfy HAVA requirements for the disabled, electronic ballot-generation machines can and should be used.

Votes SHOULD NOT be tabulated electronically by any vote-casting machine, paper "trail" or not.

And note: "paper ballots" are different from a "paper trail". Paper ballots are generally considered a "master record" of the voters' intent, and it is these paper ballots (whether generated by filling in circles or with the assistance of a machine) which are counted. A paper trail is generally considered just a "record" of the voters' intent. The master record is buried as bits and bats in an electronic machine - which is where the fraud can happen. A paper trail can help identify if fraud has occurred, but only after the fact, and only if you count or audit the paper trail. Even if a paper trail exists, after an election is stolen there will be great, great pressure to prevent the counting of votes using the paper trail.

[Eloriel]

5. Election Reform is already a MeetUp topic

I don't believe they have BBV in mind, but OTOH their agendas don't seem all that well fleshed out.

Eloriel

[gristy]

7. OTOH? What's that stand for?

I had signed up for Election Reform. I think the problem has been that not enough people signed up in my area for a meeting place vote to come up.

[Lars39]

8. OTOH: on the other hand. : )

[Pastiche423]

10. A great resource...

for DU slang/computer speak:

http://dug.seattleactivist.org/

^ new Url above.

[Citzk]

6. Join us!

I work with VoterWest.org and with the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club in the S.F. Bay Area.

We are doing great regsitration and voter education work.

We are telling people to vote by mail so they do not use the voting machines without a paper trail!

I will try to post more information so anyone in this area can join us.

Email me in the meantime if you have any time to volunteer!

[gristy]

9. My take on voting by mail...

and I think you would agree - voting by mail doesn't solve the overall problem. And, therefore I say, is pointless. Further, it could cause harm to the paper-ballot-based election system movement because some people may THINK that voting by mail solves or reduces the problem - which it doesn't, since far too few voters will actually vote by mail.

If, on the other hand, you took each of those voters who are so concerned about voting fraud that they intend to vote by mail and put them to work lobbying their state SOS and congresscritters, writing letters to editors, etc., THEN you'd have a huge impact!

Glad you are active. Voter registration and education are key components!

[WHAT]

11. for what it's worth...

my mind went off on a convoluted tangent yesterday after reading the thread about the grafitti art used in the Dean presentation. I started thinking of ways to present BBV ideas as street art after I graphically visualized a few black boxes...

black crate, chicken wire, chicken with eagle head trapped inside...
delicate, black velvet box with exquisite eagle egg...
plastic black box with winged ballots trying to escape...
etc.etc.etc...

anyway, I thought of all these black boxes and wondered if people at street fairs would recognize the symbolism...if questions would be asked, if information could be given...could there be an art contest for "the black box"?

I'm not socially adept enough to organize anything but this is just an idea I fell into yesterday and I think it synchronistic that the idea of presenting information publicaly came-up today on DU.

for what it's worth...

[shirlden]

12. Good start folks

Keep thinking and keep this kicked. Thanks.

:kick:

[Bushfire]

13. Glad to see people thinking local

as well as national. I tell just about everyone I know how important this is, and some DO get it. Our state has yet to buy TSVM, but with HAVA it is a REAL possibility. Engage locally, think nationally.

[peabody71]

14. Dean even said it. Exit Polling!!

Citizens must safeguard their own democracy.
http://www.POLLWATCH.org

[Wickster]

15. Thank you

and thanks to all who have been involved in the BBV issue. Because of all of you, this weekend I spent writing and sending off emails to the elected officials in my state. Little do they know that they will all be receiving more emails - every Saturday until they answer appropriately: we will use voter verified paper ballots.

I have followed Bev Harris' excellent work (and DemActivist's, et.al.) but since I am not a programmer or a researcher of the caliber of some, I would just read, learn and pass on information to people in my community. You gave me inspiration that I could do something -- so I did. I realize it is just a start but what is the old saying about a 1000 mile journey - it starts with one step.

Thanks for the impetus.

[shirlden]

16. OHIO

Please PM me with your screen name if you want to get involved in a project for our state. We are trying to get organized and get something going.

Thanks, and Go Bucks

Shirl

:bounce:

[screembloodymurder]

17. Flyers against fascism

nice ring to it.

[BlueCollar]

18. I had dinner last night

with a couple of DUers. We've been kicking this around since Kay Granger (TX-12) had her town hall meeting two weeks ago.

We're working on it locally...

[RedEagle]

19. Bev has her plate pretty full..

...but then, this is the citizen involvement that will be so critical. Good ideas everyone, you can do this part locally and free up the people who are working more regionally.

I wonder, is it illegal to stand outside grocery stores and hand out fliers?

[shirlden]

20. I have gotten many a flier

just walking into a Wal-Mart. I have also gotten a dented fender from parking in a Wal-Mart lot. Didn't even leave me a love note on the windshield. Does that indicate that W-M shoppers are irresponsible and rude? If so, then guess they are Repugs and it won't do us any good to pass out fliers there. Just kidding....

:think:

[4dog]

22. Certification of electronic voting machines

if they are already bought, could be made an issue, but the electoral officials may not be able to understand that certification of a black box is meaningless. In NJ it appears they will run some tests provided by the mfr and declare they pass. I am writing the governor & director of elections (under the AG, not SoS), but am a lone voice as far as I know.