 |
Thu May 15 2008 | |||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
Departments Election Issues Think globally, protect the vote locally by Paul Rogat Loeb December 1, 2006 Just as local cities have adopted environmental and wage laws that exceed federal standards, maybe it's time for local initiatives protecting the sanctity of the vote. We've been seeing electoral abuses and manipulations since the Bush administration took power. So we need to ensure the Democrats make national electoral protection a priority. But we can also act on a local level. Though the Democratic surge took back the Senate and House, some ugly actions quite likely shifted several close Congressional races. The poster race for this election's abuses, appropriately, is Catherine Harris's old Congressional district in Sarasota, FL. Whether through manipulation or error, electronic voting machines in that district logged 18,000 fewer votes in this neck-and-neck congressional race than for governor or senator, and fewer than wholly uncontroversial down-ballot races like the Sarasota Public Hospital Board. Whatever the causes, these votes disappeared in a county that Democrat Christine Jennings carried by 53 percent, and would have likely allowed her to defeat Republican Vern Buchanan. Harris's district saw more than just voting machine problems. In the Jennings/Buchanan election as in over 50 key races throughout the country, Republicans called voters again and again with automated robocalls that led with the name of the Democratic candidate, and then followed with scurrilous attacks. Because voters tend to hang up on these harassing calls as soon as they begin, or delete them from answering systems, many assumed they were coming from the Democrats, so switched their votes in anger. Volunteers all over the country heard people say they'd never vote for Democratic candidates, they were so furious at the presumed source of this harassment. As a Venice, Florida, man wrote to the Sarasota Herald Tribune, "So Christine Jennings lost by 368 votes. I think I can tell her why. She should sit at home and have the telephone ring twice a day, at lunch and dinner time, for two or three weeks, and then decide if she should vote for the person doing the calling." In Maryland, the Democrats won, but Republicans bused in homeless men from Philadelphia to hand out fliers in black neighborhoods featuring photographs of former Congressman Kweisi Mfume and Prince Georges County executive Jack Johnson. "Ehrlich-Steele Democrats," proclaimed the flier, and announced: "These are OUR Choices," as if Mfume and Johnson had endorsed Republican gubernatorial and senatorial candidates, Robert Ehrlich and Michael Steele. Since both Mfume and Johnson unequivocally supported their fellow Democrats, it was a blatant lie, as were the accompanying fliers headlined "Democratic Sample Ballot" with boxes checked in red promoting Ehrlich and Steele. These weren't the only abuses. Republican-linked calls in various states gave misleading information on polling locations or told legitimate voters that they were registered in other states so would be arrested if they voted. A letter to Latino voters in Orange County, CA threatened jail to all immigrants who voted, ignoring that many were naturalized citizens. In Tucson, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund photographed armed men attempting to prevent Hispanic voters from entering polling places. In Texas, a federal judged stopped Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott from prosecuting 13 largely elderly Democrats who took sealed absentee ballots from their friends to place in mail boxes. The abuses probably weren't on the level of 2000 or 2004, in part because of major coordinated voter protection efforts where citizens monitored the polls and had lawyers on call for instant intervention. But they were substantial enough to have probably diminished the margin of their victory. To prevent similar future abuses, Barack Obama's Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act would make it a felony to give deliberately misleading information on the time, date or location of elections, or about voter eligibility. New Jersey Congressman and former Princeton physicist Rush Holt has offered the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act, mandating a verifiable paper trail for all election machines, requiring random audits to ensure ballots are properly counted, and banning wireless connections to make machines less vulnerable to hacking. Holt's bill had a majority of House members supporting it even before the past election, and should have an irrefutable additional argument with the meltdown of the machines in the Jennings/Buchanan race (not to mention the inability of Republicans to do comprehensive recounts in states like Virginia, where most machines lacked a paper trail). An even stronger alternative would be Dennis Kucinich's HB 6200, mandating paper ballots hand counted at the precinct level. The Democrats need to do all they can to pass this legislation. They also need to ensure that that new state and federal voter identification laws don't disenfranchise poor and minority voters, as seems to be their frequent intent, and that abuses like the misleading robocalls carry the maximum possible penalties (which might mean outlawing robocalls of all kinds). In the process, they can hold visible hearings on the entire Republican legacy of purged voters, tossed provisional ballots, and voting machines pulled from key Democratic districts. If the Republicans filibuster or Bush vetoes these laws, citizens need to ensure the Democrats keep pressing the issue. But just as local minimum wage and environmental ordinances often surpass federal standards, we don't have to rely entirely on national efforts to protect the vote. Because most of the areas targeted by voter suppression attempts are urban and minority communities, Democratic mayors, county executives and governors already control many of the key jurisdictions. They just need to act on the potential power that they have. Where useful local laws already exist, elected officials can use them to hold the perpetrators of these abuses accountable for every instance. The New Hampshire Attorney General's office already threatened the National Republican Congressional Committee with prosecution under a state law mandating $5,000 fines for each prerecorded calls to anyone on the national do-not-call list. Activists now need to convince the state to prosecute the NRCC for the 200,000 illegal calls they made before finally stopping-a suit that would potentially bankrupt the NRCC if successful. Former Bush-Cheney New England coordinator James Tobin has already been convicted for an illegal phone-jamming operation during the 2002 New Hampshire Senate campaign. Other states may be able to sue the NRCC and their allies as well. Perhaps former Congressman Mfume and County Executive Johnson could even sue the Republican creators of the leaflets that featured their picture-arguing that this reckless disregard for the truth defames their good name by implying they endorse politicians they diametrically oppose. Whether or not these suits entirely succeed, they'd keep these profoundly antidemocratic actions in the public eye. Passing tough new local laws to protect the vote could create an immediate check against voter suppression in a situation where the Bush administration is unlikely to prosecute its own political allies. Since the election, elected officials in Missouri, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin have introduced bills to protect citizens from automated robocalls. Michigan already had a bill on the agenda, and some Connecticut legislators are reportedly interested. If state and local voter protection laws were enacted before 2008, they could prove a major deterrent against the kinds of abuses we've seen in the past several elections, ensuring their perpetrators could be prosecuted no matter who won at the national level. We still need strong national laws to safeguard elections in Republican controlled states-Florida, for instance, has continued its voter purges, and instituted draconian procedures and penalties that have made it virtually impossible for groups like the League of Women Voters to even begin major registration drives. But even in these situations, local initiatives can mitigate disenfranchisement. In the most recent election, California's since-defeated Republican Secretary of State Bruce McPherson tried to reject 40% of new registrants, primarily Democratic-leaning Hispanics, by claiming they didn't match state databases. In response, the office of Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villagarosa contacted those purged, verified their information, and got almost all of them back on the rolls. Local officials in Miami, Tampa, and Orlando could have done the same to challenge Jeb Bush and Catherine Harris when they gave Bush his 2000 victory by knocking out 94,000 largely Democratic and minority voters for supposedly being disenfranchised felons-a BBC follow-up found that 90 percent of those scrubbed were legitimate voters. Officials in Cleveland and Columbus might have countered Ken Blackwell's purging of 300,000 largely Democratic voters in 2004, his pulling of voting machines from key urban neighborhoods, and his refusal to count ballots cast in the wrong precincts. Strong local laws and aggressive citizen oversight can counter electoral manipulation even while the federal executive branch remains in the hands of a party that's benefiting from its use. Imagine if the Republicans risked jail for making misleading Robocalls into Philadelphia or Cleveland, Houston, Miami, or Albuquerque, or for telling voters they'd be arrested for voting while being behind on their rent. Imagine if they ran this risk whether or not the Feds intervened. The stronger the local laws, the more they could set a federal standard. The recent election has created a window of opportunity to help protect the vote, for now and in the future. Linking national and local protection efforts could help ensure that this actually happens. --- Paul Rogat Loeb is the author of The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear, named the #3 political book of 2004 by the History Channel and the American Book Association. His previous books include Soul of a Citizen: Living With Conviction in a Cynical Time. See www.paulloeb.org To receive his monthly articles email sympa@lists.onenw.org with the subject line: subscribe paulloeb-articles This article ran originally on www.thenation.com Email this article to a friend |
Don't forget to check out articles from 2007 and 2008
"Renowned computer security expert agrees to meet California county supervisor's '1000 to 1' challenge to 'manipulate' Sequoia voting machine!"
December 13, 2006
Brad Friedman
"100 phantom votes found in one precinct; DelCo board of elections hinders investigation"
December 12, 2006
Stephanie Frank Singer
"Think globally, protect the vote locally"
December 1, 2006
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Will they or won't they: last chance for Democrats"
November 17, 2006
David Swanson
"The vote protectors"
November 16, 2006
Robert C. Koehler
"Ohio's 2006 vote count now includes a higher percentage of uncounted ballots than in 2004, and a statistically impossible swing to the Republicans"
November 14, 2006
Bob Fitrakis, Harvey Wasserman and Ron Baiman
"The drama of empty numbers"
November 9, 2006
Robert C. Koehler
"A monumental victory for the election protection movement"
November 8, 2006
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Pick a number 2006"
November 7, 2006
Mike Ferner
"How they stole the mid-term election"
November 7, 2006
Greg Palast, The Guardian ( UK ), Comment
"STOP Blackwell, what's that sign: Everyone look what's going down"
November 7, 2006
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Parallel election midday report"
November 7, 2006
Rady Ananda
"Tuesday's outcome may depend on the power of the election protection movement"
November 5, 2006
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"The power of a social movement can beat the GOP double Chickenhawks"
November 2, 2006
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Check out We Count for a great TownHall confrontation between Vicki Lovegren of Ohio Vigilance and Michael Vu, Supervisor of Cuyahoga County BOE"
November 1, 2006
Victoria Lovegren, Ph.D.
"Official states electronic voting system added votes never cast in 2004 Presidential election; audit log missing"
November 1, 2006
Peter Peckarsky, Ron Baiman, and Robert Fitrakis
"Repairing the U.S. system of voting: 50 concrete steps"
November 1, 2006
Harvey Wasserman, Bob Fitrakis and Steve Rosenfeld
"Will a shocking new GOP court victory and Karl Rove's attack on Ohio 2006 doom the Democrats nationwide?"
October 30, 2006
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Renoite sue Sequoia Voting Systems"
October 28, 2006
Patricia Axelrod
"Severe election problems seen in ten states"
October 27, 2006
Jason Leopold
"Direct material proof of massive election fraud in Ohio in the 2004 U.S. presidential election"
October 26, 2006
Ron Baiman
"A talk with Mark Crispin Miller about what voters can do to prevent another stolen election"
October 26, 2006
The Ostroy Report
"Will Ken Blackwell find the ways to steal Ohio 2006 as he did in 2004?"
October 25, 2006
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Important voter activism"
October 22, 2006
Victoria Lovegren, Ph.D.
"A loaves & fishes/Holy Ghost victory for the GOP in November?"
October 17, 2006
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Why is the man who stole Ohio campaigning with a white supremacist?"
October 9, 2006
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"This cannot be"
September 28, 2006
Robert C. Koehler
"Court victory lets preserved Ohio 2004 ballots tell new tales of theft and fraud as indictments and convictions mount"
September 25, 2006
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Unfit for use in ANY democracy"
September 20, 2006
Rady Ananda
"An open letter to Gov. Robert Taft and Sec. of State J. Kenneth Blackwell"
September 8, 2006
Harvey Wasserman, et. al.
"Coshocton County complaint"
September 3, 2006
Tim Kettler
"Saving the ballot evidence from Ohio 2004"
September 2, 2006
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"San Diego suit’s second hearing: Judge to rule next Tuesday on constitutional and jurisdictional questions"
August 25, 2006
Rady Ananda
"New Zogby Poll: It’s Nearly Unanimous"
August 24, 2006
Michael Collins, “Scoop” Independent Media
"How the last presidential election awoke me from an unsound sleep"
July 22, 2006
Jeanne Norris Weinberg
"PFAW's Neas praises advance of Voting Rights Act, Calls on Bush Administration to start enforcing the law"
July 22, 2006
People For the American Way
"Why Democrats don't count: lessons from the un-Gore of Mexico"
July 16, 2006
Greg Palast
"Resolution of no confidence in current U.S. elections"
July 16, 2006
J30 Coalition
"An open letter from Ohio to the people of Mexico"
July 13, 2006
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"The stolen election of 2004"
July 11, 2006
Michael Parenti
"The Democrats must now say "We Do Not Concede" in the U.S. as it's being said in Mexico"
July 9, 2006
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Project Vote, voting rights organizations, file to overturn restrictive voter registration rules "
July 7, 2006
Brian Mellor
"BBV: Unredacted Hursti Diebold reports, photos released"
July 4, 2006
Bev Harris
"Ignore that man behind the screen, Dorothy"
July 1, 2006
Greg Palast
"Bob Fitrakis for Governor -- he is now on the ballot"
July 1, 2006
Fitrakis campaign
"Alameda County supervisors embrace election fraud"
July 1, 2006
Allen C. Michaan
"San Diego’s run-off election aggregate results are plausible"
June 18, 2006
Ron Baiman
"A vote of no confidence: democracy left to languish in living rooms, garages"
June 15, 2006
Robert C. Koehler
"Kennedy's challenge: Salon, Mother Jones & the tortured dialogue"
June 15, 2006
Michael Collins and
"Warren County revisited"
June 12, 2006
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Something smells fishy in San Diego!"
June 11, 2006
Ron Baiman
"Response to Salon Magazine"
June 6, 2006
Ron Baiman
"Analysis of Connally spreadsheet and other documents"
June 5, 2006
Ron Baiman
"RFK and Rolling Stone nail Ohio's stolen 2004 election, but much more must be done"
June 3, 2006
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Pick a card, any card"
May 27, 2006
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Will the major media finally cover the electronic election fraud issue?"
May 15, 2006
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"The money pit: Diebold vs. America "
May 15, 2006
Denis Wright
"Worst security flaw ever - 3 states invoke Diebold emergency procedures"
May 15, 2006
Black Box Voting
"Cranks and Kooks: Kerry won in '04"
May 11, 2006
Greg Palast
"Ohio 2004 election thief grabs Gov nod while (surprise! surprise!) voting machines malfunction"
May 5, 2006
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Hand counted paper ballots in 2008"
April 14, 2006
Sheila Parks
"Busheviks connected to New Hampshire phone-jamming scheme"
April 14, 2006
The Ostroy Report
"Are mainstream churches finally standing up to the GOP’s hateful “Christian” blitzkrieg?"
April 9, 2006
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Thousands march in New Orleans for right for Katrina survivors to vote in the city’s April 22 election"
April 7, 2006
Rainbow/PUSH Coalition
"Shocking Diebold conflict of interest revelations from Secretary of State further taint Ohio's electoral credibility"
April 6, 2006
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Faith-based voting"
March 30, 2006
Robert C. Koehler, Tribune Media Services
"Targeting the voters in Toledo"
March 30, 2006
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Targeting the voters in Cincinnati"
March 30, 2006
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Through a glass Darkely"
March 30, 2006
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Is the Mainstream Media finally getting half the rigged voting machine story?"
March 29, 2006
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Please help Clint Curtis"
March 23, 2006
Robert Lockwood Mills
"Utah testing of the Diebold touch-screen reveals new problems"
March 19, 2006
Black Box Voting
"Trust us"
March 17, 2006
Robert C. Koehler, Tribune Media Services
"Harman vs. Winograd, tough choice?"
March 17, 2006
David Swanson
"Why did J. Kenneth Blackwell seek, then hide, his association with super-rich extremists and e-voting magnates?"
March 10, 2006
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Did 308,000 cancelled Ohio voter registrations put Bush back in the White House?"
February 28, 2006
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Statisticians recommend new measures to ensure vote count accuracy, release "Ohio’s 2004 exit poll analysis for novices”"
February 17, 2006
Kathy Dopp
"As Alito takes Supreme Court seat, Ohio GOP guts election protection "
February 1, 2006
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"The Harri Hursti hack and its importance to our nation"
January 29, 2006
Susan Pynchon, Florida Fair Elections Coalition
"Programmer Jeff Dean worked for chief of White House Plumbers unit"
January 26, 2006
Bev Harris, Kathleen Wynne, and John Howard
"Free Press Editor in Film at Sundance"
January 23, 2006
Free Press Staff
"PA activists sue to vote on machines"
January 20, 2006
Rady Ananda
"Important documents"
January 20, 2006
Free Press staff
"The gun is smoking - The gun is smoking - 2004 Ohio precinct-level exit poll data show virtually irrefutable evidence of vote miscount"
January 18, 2006
Kathy Dopp and Ron Baiman
"Recipe for hacking ES&S and Sequoia, Hursti-style"
January 4, 2006
Black Box Voting
"What’s all the fuss about Diebold in Florida and California?"
January 4, 2006
John Washburn, for VoteTrustUSA
"New info may take out Diebold touchscreens"
January 1, 2006
Black Box Voting
Read Articles by Year:
2007 2006 2005 2004
2003 2002 2001 2000
All content © 1970-2008
The Columbus Free Press
Disclaimer