Why We Need to Support John Bonifaz, MA Scty of State: No More

[autorank]

John Bonifaz has done the following:

1) Went to Ohio to challenge the 2004 election and recount and faced down the lions and thugs there;
2) Started AfterDowningStreed.Org when the Downing Street memo appeared as THE smoking gun against the insane Iraq war.
3) Developed the Voters Bill of Rights (printable copy in message below).
4) Fought numerous voting rights cases as an attorney throughout the country.

NOW HE’S RUNNING IN THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY FOR
SECRETARY OF STATE, MASSACHUESETTS.

He’s got a good shot with the Democrat in place polling poorly.

Please:

a) if your in Mass, call HQ and volunteer and
http://www.johnbonifaz.com/contact

b) if your not, please CONTRIBUTE what you can.
https://secure.johnbonifaz.com/contribute/direct/1

Thank you very much.

Fighting election fraud and insuring election integrity is one of my top priorities as it is of all DUers. WE HAVE A CHANCE TO GET A REAL SECRETARY OF STATE ELECTED.

HELP IF YOU CAN.

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1. Bonifaz Positions

[autorank]

2. John Bonifaz’s Voter’s Bill of Rights

http://www.johnbonifaz.com/votersbillofrights

Voters' Bill of Rights

FULL PRINTABLE COPY: PASS IT AROUND

1. Count every vote

The right to vote includes the right to have our votes properly counted.

We must ensure that every citizen's vote will be counted. This includes a guarantee of open and transparent elections with verified voting, paper trails, and access to the source codes for, and random audits of, electronic voting machines. It also includes a guarantee that we the people, through our government, will control our voting machines — not private companies.

2. Make voting easier

We should enact election day registration here in Massachusetts, removing the barrier of registration prior to Election Day. Six states have election day registration. They have a higher voter turnout in their elections and have no evidence of voter fraud. We should be encouraging greater participation in the political process, starting with election day registration.

We should also ensure absentee voting for all, allow for early voting, and remove other barriers that make it difficult for people to vote.

3. End the big money dominance of our electoral process

In a democracy, public elections should be publicly financed. In Maine and Arizona, publicly financed elections have enabled people to run for office who would never have dreamed of running under a system dominated by big money interests. We, as voters, need to own our elections, rather than allow the process to be controlled by the wealthy few.

We also need to enact mandatory limits on campaign spending. In 1976, the Supreme Court wrongly struck down mandatory campaign spending limits for congressional elections. A federal appeals court in New York has recently revisited that decision and ruled that campaign spending limits in Vermont can be constitutional. That case is now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Massachusetts should help lead the way with campaign spending limits for our elections.

Please:

a) if your in Mass, call HQ and volunteer and
http://www.johnbonifaz.com/contact

b) if your not, please CONTRIBUTE what you can.
https://secure.johnbonifaz.com/contribute/direct/1

Thank you very much.

[wildeyed]

25. Fabulous.

Sounds like this guy really gets it.

[autorank]

3. Congressman John Conyers Endorses Bonifaz

Congressman John Conyers Endorses Bonifaz
Submitted by Ethan Kiczek on Tue, 03/28/2006 - 9:00am.
http://www.johnbonifaz.com/blog
From press release:

BOSTON, MA - Congressman John Conyers, Jr., the second most senior member in the United States House of Representatives, announced his endorsement today of voting rights leader John Bonifaz for Massachusetts Secretary of State.

"In the wake of Florida 2000 and Ohio 2004, it is more important than ever that we have a Secretary of State like John Bonifaz who will fight for our democracy," said Conyers (D-MI), the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and the dean of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Congressman Conyers and Bonifaz have worked closely together in fighting to protect the integrity of the electoral process, and in challenging the Bush administration on its illegal war in Iraq. In December 2004, Bonifaz, the founder of the National Voting Rights Institute, joined Conyers for hearings the congressman held in Columbus, Ohio, and in Washington, D.C., on the irregularities of the 2004 election in Ohio. Bonifaz led the fight in the courts for a full recount of the 2004 presidential vote in Ohio. The recount fight contributed important evidence to the report Conyers issued, "Preserving Democracy: What Went Wrong in Ohio," which led to the historic challenge in the US Congress in January 2005 to the counting of Ohio's Electoral College votes.

Please:

a) if your in Mass, call HQ and volunteer and
http://www.johnbonifaz.com/contact

b) if your not, please CONTRIBUTE what you can.
https://secure.johnbonifaz.com/contribute/direct/1

Thank you very much.

[Tigress DEM]

9. JC? Don't get much better than that.

[paineinthearse]

13. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Endorses John Bonifaz for Massachusetts SoS

http://www.johnbonifaz.com/pressrelease20060209

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 9, 2006

Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. Endorses John Bonifaz for Massachusetts Secretary of State

-- Jackson and Bonifaz to Speak at Friday Town Hall Meeting in Dorchester --

Boston, MA – Voting rights leader John Bonifaz, Democratic candidate for Massachusetts Secretary of State, gained the endorsement today of U.S. Congressman Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-IL).

"Today, I announce my support for John Bonifaz," stated Congressman Jackson, "Democratic candidate for Secretary of State of Massachusetts in the 2006 election. I am honored to stand with John as he continues to fight to protect every citizen's right to vote free of discrimination. Whether it is in Ohio, Florida, Illinois, or Massachusetts, we need secretaries of state who will fight to safeguard our democracy and make real the promise of political equality for all.

"John Bonifaz will be a leader for Massachusetts and for the nation. Throughout his career, John has demonstrated his political courage time and time again by standing up when it counted. From fighting for a recount of the 2004 presidential vote in Ohio to taking President George W. Bush to federal court on the eve of the Iraq war, John has been at the forefront in the ongoing struggle for our democracy here at home.
"I can think of no better candidate for Secretary of State than John Bonifaz. He will make Massachusetts and the country proud."

Congressman Jackson has repeatedly sponsored a Constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to vote. He is a leading advocate of voting rights and has written at length about individual citizenship and state rights as related to voting.

Both Bonifaz and Congressman Jackson will speak at a Town Hall Meeting hosted by Dorchester's Freedom House, Friday, February 10, at 8:30 a.m., addressing voting rights issues in the Commonwealth and around the country.

Bonifaz, whose life's work has centered on protecting our democracy and returning voters to power, will focus on his plan to establish a Voters' Bill of Rights, ensure that every vote is counted, the Ohio recount, the war in Iraq's effect on our democracy and greater corporate accountability.

Bonifaz, who launched his campaign last December and founded the National Voting Rights Institute in 1994, defended the Massachusetts Clean Elections Law, passed overwhelmingly by voters in 1998, against a Legislature that turned its back on the voters it represents and refused to fund the law.

For over a decade, Bonifaz has been a powerful voice and dedicated leader working with people throughout Massachusetts and across the country to protect the right to vote, demand a full recount in Ohio, overhaul the nation's campaign finance system and broaden citizen participation in the democratic process.

Freedom House is a non-profit, community-based organization with a 55-year history of promoting the long-term, sustainable economic and social development of Boston's communities of color.

WHO: John Bonifaz, Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, and Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL.)

WHAT: A town hall meeting at Freedom House in Dorchester where Bonifaz and Jackson will address voting rights issues in Massachusetts and around the country.

WHEN: Friday, February 10, 8:30 a.m.

WHERE: Freedom House, 14 Crawford Street, Dorchester

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4. Bonifaz Issues Statement on Katrina Survivors in Massachusetts

Bonifaz Issues Statement on Katrina Survivors in Massachusetts
Submitted by Ethan Kiczek on Thu, 04/06/2006 - 11:13am.
http://www.johnbonifaz.com/blog

From press release:

Secretary of State Candidate Says That Massachusetts Should
Lead The Way In Protecting Their Voting Rights

BOSTON, MA - Voting rights leader John Bonifaz, Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, issued the following statement today on the voting rights of Hurricane Katrina survivors currently residing in Massachusetts. Municipal elections in New Orleans are scheduled for April 22.

"As elections in New Orleans move forward without many of its residents, Massachusetts needs to take a leadership role in protecting the voting rights of the displaced New Orleanians now living in the Commonwealth.

"For starters, we should widely publicize the availability of absentee ballots through paid media advertising and community outreach to the groups working with these voters. Massachusetts should open up all city and town clerk offices in the state to provide Katrina victims easy access to the absentee ballot process, allowing them to receive applications, submit them by fax to the Secretary of State office in Louisiana, and receive absentee ballots following the approval of their applications.

"With respect to those Katrina survivors who are ineligible to cast absentee ballots, civil rights organizations, including the NAACP-National Office and ACORN, are coordinating an effort to provide transportation back to New Orleans in order to vote. Massachusetts should join this effort and help provide such transportation to Katrina victims in our state.

"In addition, we should be leading a coalition of Secretaries of State to take the same measures to ensure as full participation as possible by Katrina victims displaced throughout the country.

"Hurricane Katrina exposed to the nation and the world the sad reality that too many of our citizens are locked out of the political process and their voices, therefore, go unheard. In the midst of the ongoing struggle Katrina victims face to rebuild their lives, we ought to ensure that we are doing everything possible to protect their right to vote. Massachusetts can and should be leading the way.

"The clock is ticking on this hotly-contested mayoral election. Where is our Secretary of State on these specific matters - advertising, easier access to the absentee ballot process, and transportation where necessary? If I were Secretary of State today, I would have long ago been leading the charge among secretaries of state around the

[kster]

5. Kick-n-Recommended....nt

[EFerrari]

6. You betcha we need to support him.

:kick:

[hwmnbn]

7. K&R ... He's been in the trenches .....

from the beginning.

[FogerRox]

8. KNR for OUR TEAM member

[acmejack]

10. KnR

[Old and In the Way]

11. A Democrat who gets it.

All the more reason to vote for him for SecState.

Go John.

[paineinthearse]

12. 21st Century Dems endorse Bonifaz

http://www.johnbonifaz.com/node/320

WASHINGTON, D.C. - 21st Century Democrats, the leading national organization working to elect visionary progressive leaders, today announced its endorsement of voting rights leader John Bonifaz for Massachusetts Secretary of State. It is one of only 15 endorsements being made across the country by the group.

"John Bonifaz has been a visionary national leader in protecting voter rights and reducing the influence of money in politics," said 21st Century Democrats Executive Director Kelly Young. "John's extraordinary leadership resulted in his being awarded the prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and we are excited to have chosen John as one of only 15 candidates in the country we will be endorsing and working to elect this year. As Massachusetts Secretary of State, John will inspire elected leaders across the country to make it easier for voters to participate in our democracy, count every vote cast in all elections and reduce the influence of special interest money in government."

21st Century Democrats is a political organization committed to electing extraordinary, visionary leaders who will be courageous risk takers in creating innovative solutions to our country's problems. The group seeks out, trains, and supports candidates who will stand up for what they believe and put forward new visionary ideas. 21st Century Democrats' passion for inspiring people and reaching beyond ideology has produced results. 21st Century Democrats has grown to be the 13th largest political committee in the United States and has elected over 140 candidates to office in the last 7 years.

In the past, 21st Century Democrats has endorsed dozens of candidates per election. This year, the group is limiting its endorsements to a small group - no more than 15 candidates - who are truly remarkable new leaders and who share their vision for the greatness of America.
For over a decade, Bonifaz has been a powerful voice and dedicated leader working with people throughout Massachusetts and across the country to protect the right to vote, demand a full recount in Ohio, overhaul the nation's campaign finance system and broaden citizen participation in the democratic process.

John Bonifaz founded the National Voting Rights Institute in 1994. NVRI has become the pre-eminent legal and public education center committed to preserving the right of all citizens to vote. Bonifaz has been a staunch defender of the Massachusetts Clean Elections Law against the State Legislature that refused to fund the law passed overwhelmingly by voters in 1998. Bonifaz won a landmark ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Court forcing the state to provide the necessary funds to all qualified candidates running in the 2002 election.

In 1999, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded John with a prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. This fellowship is awarded annually by the foundation to approximately two dozen Americans who have demonstrated exceptional originality and creativity, a track record of significant accomplishments and promise for future advances.



Click here to see the endorsement on the 21stCD website.

[EFerrari]

14. kick

[Kurovski]

15. K&R(nt)

[Kurovski]

16. Kick.(nt)

[nicknameless]

17. K&R for an Excellent candidate!

And may the voters of MA have their *true choice* declared the winner.

[I Have A Dream]

18. Kicked & recommended.

:kick:

[eomer]

19. K and R. JB has earned our support (and then some). (eom)

[paineinthearse]

20. "if your in Mass, call HQ and volunteer" - better way

If you want to volunteer, please send an email directly to [e-mail]

Include your

Name
Home address
Zip code
Phone number(s)
email addrdess

&

How you can help:

General office volunteer (Jamaica Plain)
Nomination signature gathering (10,000 needed in 4 weeks)
Phone banking from the office
Phone banking from home*
Fundraising* / hosting a fundraising activity*
Visibility
Blogging*
Letter to the editor*
Other (specify)

If you just want to receive the weekly newsletter and press releases, register online at www.johnbonifaz.com

* These can be done nationally.

Keep on!

[EFerrari]

21. Kick

[Coexist]

22. knr

[Amaryllis]

23. kick

[Amaryllis]

24. kick

[Ian David]

26. KICK!

[Land Shark]

27. kick