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There is nothing more important to us than the ELECTION FRAUD of 2004, and the continued, now complete domination of the counting of ALL of our votes by--as it turns out--basically ONE corporation (ES&S, which just bought out Diebold), with hair-raising far rightwing connections, and with the vote counting done with 'TRADE SECRET' programming--code that not even our secretaries of state are permitted to review--with virtually no audit/recount controls.
TIA was the VERY FIRST person on this earth to alert me to the magnitude of this problem, right here at DU, just after the 2004 (s)election. The implications of that fraudulent count and the WORSENING of rightwing corporate control of vote tabulation everywhere in the U.S. are staggering and must be the first consideration in every political analysis, or that analysis is driving blind. There is nothing more basic to our democracy--or anyone else's--than TRANSPARENT vote counting. It is arguable that that IS our democracy. We have no other concrete power as a sovereign people. All of our other rights depend on our right to see and understand how our votes are counted. And our elections now are not just corrupt with campaign money and corporate lobbyists, and they are not just unduly influenced by the corpo-fascist 'news' monopolies--the actual counting of the votes has been totally PRIVATIZED. It is done in SECRET. You have NO RIGHT to see it. We are now dependent on this one, far rightwing corporation, with an 80% monopoly on the U.S. voting machine 'market,' to tell us who won or what won--in primaries, in general elections, as to candidates and as to ballot issues, at the federal, state and local level. We have lost the most basic right and power of democracy. Without transparent vote counting, no other serious reform can or will occur.
This can still be changed. The power to choose voting systems still resides at the state/local level, where ordinary people still have some potential influence. But it is going to take a massive and widespread citizen movement to accomplish it--a REAL 'Boston Tea Party.' Let us hope that TIA's--Richard Charnin's--new book, "Proving Election Fraud," is the spark that ignites that citizen movement. We must restore transparent vote counting. We MUST!
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