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Departments Election Issues Introducing Psephos Psephos (pronounced SEA-foss) is the new nonprofit organization I will be working with to pursue our mutual and common interests in defending elections and defending democracy. This Greek word is defined in my signature line below, and it relates deeply to elections. Our tagline for Psephos is "In a Democracy, the People Count." Most recently these common interests all citizens share in defending democracy have led to productive discussions with leaders of PFAW on strengthening what can be accomplished in the restoration of our public elections. Emerging from discussions like these is a new and perhaps more powerful formulation of what our mutual efforts are all directly about: Specifically, it is my strong belief that our fundamental right to "toss the rascals out", which is the #1 inalienable right upon which the Declaration of Independence is built, must be secured. And, in order for the right to change our whole government via elections to be secure, especially against "rascals" or corrupt governmental officials, this right and elections themselves must be secured FROM the government. Of course, we need this right at all times and don't always know who the rascals or the corrupt are, until it's too late. Under our system "guaranteeing and securing the rights of the people" is the very reason governments are formed in the first place. So, given this purpose, how is it that total governmental/corporate control of elections (with the secret vote counting that occurs on all first counts on all forms of electronic voting machines) something that in fact secures us this inalienable right? Whenever the government can gang up with a chosen vendor to count votes secretly and thereby defeat the public's right to know and supervise its own elections, our inalienable right to change our government or get rid of the rascals is, to say the least, insecure. Thus, the government is clearly failing to secure and guarantee to We the People our #1 inalienable right. This is an extremely grave situation, a crisis for democracy. This is the gravest threat and crisis our democracy has ever faced. Freedom itself is not secure unless voting, the right that protects all other rights, is secured from any possibility of governmental interference. While these alone are huge stakes, it gets even more important when one realizes that under our American system of governance, elections simply don't pass legitimate power to elected candidates unless the consent of the governed, i.e., the consent of We the People, is validly and fairly obtained. Today, with secret electronic vote counting, we are left with no evidence that this is fairly occurring. Instead, all we get are "magic totals" and public officials and vendors who refuse (on grounds of trade secrecy) to perform simple acts of addition in public. In the 2nd grade math class I attended, refusing to show your math work was grounds for either getting an "F" or having to do the work over! Until publicly controlled elections are restored, our government is going to get an "F" from Psephos on securing and guaranteeing our rights, which is it's #1 responsibility and job. There will be little or no rest for citizens who love liberty and democracy until elections are restored to We the People. And, it should go without saying that there is nothing about modernity or computers or anything else that renders these inalienable rights and our elections a single whit less important, or more susceptible to compromise. A compromise of a Right is a violation of that same Right. In other words, Rights are things that trump other concerns. In significant part, Psephos will be dedicated to defending democracy for all citizens, and restoring our inalienable right to publicly controlled elections. We hope you will join us in whatever way you can, because with anything less than securing our elections from our government, we simply can not rest assured that our rights and freedoms will continue, or even that our government exercises legitimate power under the terms of our very own Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Thus, this illegitimacy is not a "charge" being made, it is a stated consequence under the long-established American way of not doing elections right and not obtaining the consent of the governed in a properly evidenced manner. If any of you will be at the San Diego Convention Center for the DCCC event Friday April 27, please let's get introduced, say hello, or at least get a chance to see our short press conference. Basic info is below. Thank you. Many of us will also be attending the PDA event Thursday night at 730pm at the Scottish Rite Center in San Diego. Paul R. Lehto Juris Doctor Co-Founder, Psephos (858) 750-5906 (Psephos office) Psephos means "pebble" in Greek, the original ballot. Psephology is the study of elections. |
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Recent Election Issues Articles Nonviolent resisters put Senator Clinton on notice In-depth, post-EVEREST interview with Ohio's Secretary of State The phrase that could defeat Hillary Clinton Ohio will likely face big vote-counting problems in 2008 "Critical security failures" leads Ohio Sec. of State to recommend ban of DRE (touch-screen) voting machines Ohio Secretary of State confirms 2004 election could have been stolen Kucinich first, Edwards second in PDA straw poll Hillary and the politics of disappointment Voting can be a real battle for U.S. troops and others overseas in the 2008 primaries Wolf Blitzer loses Democratic debate Another Clinton campaign fraud We remember… Nov. 2 memorial anniversary of the 2004 Ohio election The weak slat under the bed of democracy Aurora Dairy exemption from check-off program challenged; USDA should demand retroactive payment from faux organic milk producers Kucinich tops other Dem Presidential leaders in key CA straw poll Will the GOP election theft machine do it again in 2008? Exactly how the good guys finally won Voter purging: a legal way for Republicans to swing elections? Why doesn't the GOP want Ohio's voting machines tested? The Cat in the Hat, elusive happy endings, and the [election] mess that is so big, and so deep, and so tall The Death of the DRE: gone the way of Lawn Jarts Fooled Again series: exclusive interview with Michael Collins Fooled again series: exclusive interview with "Diebold whistleblower" Steve Heller The Dan Rather voting machine special, a recipe for election disaster, and serious food for thought Resistance of one The dog ate my homework continues: inter-office Ohio Board of Elections email prompted by SAVE THE BALLOTS website gives a glimpse into the attitudes of Ohio election officials Look at who runs our boards of elections Restore health to America's elections and pull the plug on SDD virus threat Paper ballots for California: Secretary of State announces de-certification/re-certification plans for e-voting systems The dog ate my homework Welcome to jail for destruction of election records… for some of the ladies and gentlemen of the Ohio Boards of Elections! The criminal cover-up of Ohio's stolen 2004 election sinks to the fraudulent, the absurd, the pathetic Part II – Squire v. Geer: Facts the Magistrate left out are even more shocking than the ones he included Will Bush cancel the 2008 election? Ohio's 2004 presidential election records missing or destroyed Sausage making and electronic voting machines Shreds of evidence Missing records and record access in Ohio, July 2007 On-site observations of the hand-counting of paper ballots and recommendations for the general election of 2008 Sicko ? John Edwards supports "open source" for voting systems Will electronic voting reform create new ways to steal elections? US Attorney resigns following Conyers’ request for BBC documents Will Al Gore face his inconvenient truths about our stolen elections? Giving the voters "poisoned food" to "nourish" democracy In the land of the free, and the home of the brave The globalization of electronic election theft RFK: Rove and Rove's brain, 'Should be in jail,' not in office Introducing Psephos Are Rove's missing e-mails the smoking guns of the stolen 2004 election? The GOP's cyber election hit squad Another path to peace: the case for Kucinich Virtual election season Bye bye to Cleveland GOP Election Chair Bob "Ballots for Bush" Bennett Bye bye to Cleveland GOP Election Chair Bob "Ballots for Bush" Bennett Auditing the mid-term election Two big victories boost Ohio's election protection movement More potential 2004 election illegalities rock Ohio's Hocking County as Cleveland braces for a legal firestorm New Ohio evidence exposes apparently illegal 2004 recount activity by Hocking County's GOP Election Director, and a stinging complaint is filed in Cleveland Explosive new vote fraud developments continue to rock Ohio and Florida Forced resignations and stiff prison sentences intensify the escalating blowback from Ohio's 2004 stolen election Election fraud, my ass After Ohio's recount rigging convictions in Cuyahoga, is Coshocton County next? Florida setting example Sequoia Voting Systems contract with San Francisco needs added section to ensure transparency Ohio's spreading stolen 2004 election scandal claims another victim First criminal convictions from Ohio's stolen 2004 election confirm recount was rigged Election attorneys amplify importance of convictions for recount rigging in Ohio 2004 presidential race Do new Ohio recount prosecutions indicate unraveling of 2004 election theft cover-up? The mystic voting hall: for the love of democracy DREs, magic and other sleights of hand Read Election Issues Articles by Year: |
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