(no subject)
Dear MoveOn member,
This is your last chance to register to vote. The registration deadline in Alaska is this Sunday, October 3rd.
This will be the most important election of our lifetimes -- our only chance to send President Bush and his friends packing. But you will only be able to vote if you're registered.
Registering takes just a few minutes -- register now at:
http://moveonpac.org/vote/
Once you've filled out the form, print it out, sign it, and be sure to mail it in.
Then, send this email along to your friends and family. It's urgent that we all make sure we're registered, right now.
Voter registration among likely Democrats has surged recently, thanks to thousands of volunteers and dozens of major organizations working together more effectively than ever. Sunday's New York Times story on this surge is inspirational -- we've included some highlights below.
Don't be left out. Take 5 minutes to register, right now, at:
http://moveonpac.org/vote/
Then send this notice along to your email circle -- this is our last chance.
Please take a moment think one last time about any personal contacts you have who might not have registered yet. Do you belong to a club, congregation, team or other group? We were surprised to find that about 30% of MoveOn members were unregistered when we checked a random sample.
Your friends, family, neighbors and associates are more likely to respond to you than a stranger. A written or spoken reminder about the last day to register would be a service.
Together, we will prevail in November. We can take back our country, if we register and vote.
Thank you, for all you do.
Sincerely,
--Eli Pariser and the whole MoveOn PAC team
Tuesday, September 28th, 2004
P.S.: Here are some excerpts from that inspiring New York Times story:
A Big Increase of New Voters in Swing States
By FORD FESSENDEN
September 26, 2004
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A sweeping voter registration campaign in heavily Democratic areas has added tens of thousands of new voters to the rolls in the swing states of Ohio and Florida, a surge that has far exceeded the efforts of Republicans in both states, a review of registration data shows.
The analysis by The New York Times of county-by-county data shows that in Democratic areas of Ohio - primarily low-income and minority neighborhoods - new registrations since January have risen 250 percent over the same period in 2000. In comparison, new registrations have increased just 25 percent in Republican areas. A similar pattern is apparent in Florida: in the strongest Democratic areas, the pace of new registration is 60 percent higher than in 2000, while it has risen just 12 percent in the heaviest Republican areas.
While comparable data could not be obtained for other swing states, similar registration drives have been mounted in them as well, and party officials on both sides say record numbers of new voters are being registered nationwide. This largely hidden but deadly earnest battle is widely believed by campaign professionals and political scientists to be potentially decisive in the presidential election.
"We know it's going on, and it's a very encouraging sign," said Steve Elmendorf, deputy campaign manager for Senator John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee. The new voters, Mr. Elmendorf said, "could very much be the difference."...
In Ohio... the campaign has been especially exhaustive. Canvassers ride public transportation, visit coin laundries, and trudge the sidewalks and parking lots at the job centers, housing agencies and community colleges.
In Columbus, Akume Green has haunted the Franklin County Courthouse for months, working the sidewalk between the entrance and the nearby bus stop. Ms. Green says she has signed up more than 700 voters since March here and elsewhere in the city...
Project Vote says it has registered 147,000 new voters in Ohio. Americans Coming Together said that, together with allied groups that are part of America Votes, it had registered 300,000 new voters...
... the groups have added thousands of new Democrats to the rolls and have far outnumbered new registrations in Republican areas. In a 300-square-block area east of the courthouse in downtown Columbus that voted nine to one against Mr. Bush in 2000, for instance, 3,000 new voters have registered this year. That is three times as many as in each of the last two presidential election years. The number of registered voters in the area is up 18 percent since January.
By comparison, in a prosperous area north of downtown with a similar number of voters who are overwhelmingly Republican, just 1,100 new voters have been added this year, increasing registration rolls by 7 percent.
These numbers are similar across Ohio...
In Florida, where The Times was able to analyze data from 60 of the state's 67 counties, new registrations this year also are running far ahead of the 2000 pace, with Republican areas trailing Democratic ones...
...in the heaviest of Democratic areas,... new registrations have increased to 125,000 from 77,000, a jump of more than 60 percent...
"We're using guerrilla tactics to get into the malls and sign up voters before the security guards chase us off," said Adam Broad, 40, an organizer in Duval County with the Florida Consumer Action Network Foundation, one of dozens of community groups registering in Florida.
The groups are building nationwide databases of voters and have committed millions of dollars for continued contact with them before and on Election Day.
"If every Democrat showed up at the polls, you'd win, no question," said James Koehler, a precinct organizer in Columbus working for MoveOn.org... Mr. Koehler said MoveOn hoped to have a volunteer in every precinct to call neighbors on Nov. 2.
[End of excerpts]
Don't miss out on the action. Register now, at:
http://moveonpac.org/vote/
PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC www.moveonpac.org
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Dear MoveOn member,
We've just confirmed we'll hear from Governor Howard Dean during Wednesday's launch party for Leave No Voter Behind. This is exciting news, and we hope you'll be able to come.
Our nation-wide online party will be hosted by MoveOn PAC's Eli Pariser and Adam Ruben, who will share an inside perspective on this new program and tell you about the best ways to help win this election.
We'll also be joined by some of the remarkable people putting Leave No Voter Behind into action: organizers and MoveOn members who are doing the work in the field. To accomodate all time zones, we'll hold two rounds -- one at 8 PM Eastern and one at 7 PM Pacific.
Let us know you're coming, at:
http://www.moveonpac.org/launchparty.html
After the party and briefing, we'll spend an hour making some phone calls to recruit volunteers in key neighborhoods to help run the program.
When George Bush mislead us into this reckless and tragic war, MoveOn members vowed to hold him accountable at the polls. Leave No Voter Behind gives us all the chance to do just that.
Sign up to be a part of Wednesday night's launch at:
http://www.moveonpac.org/launchparty.html
If you have a high-speed Internet connection and speakers, you can join us online. Be sure you have the latest versions of RealPlayer and Flash Player installed, and your speakers are on. On Wednesday at either 8 PM Eastern or 7 PM Pacific, go to:
http://www.moveonpac.org/lnvb/launch/
The Internet option is a lot more fun, but if you can't find a friend with high-speed Internet access, you can listen on the phone by following these instructions:
Call (412) 317-0201 and enter participant code 5673, then press pound.
If this line is full, hang up and call (412) 380-2000, enter participant code 3274152, then press pound.
Thanks for everything you do, and see you Wednesday.
Sincerely,
--Eli Pariser and Adam Ruben
MoveOn PAC
September 27th, 2004 (36 days to go!)
PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC www.moveonpac.org
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
HERE THEY GO AGAIN! NRA PUSHES REPEAL OF D.C.'S GUN LAWS
Can you believe it?? After working with President Bush to kill renewal of the Assault Weapons Ban, the NRA is back with another attack on law enforcement, gun violence victims, and the American public.
Emboldened by the expiration of the Assault Weapons Ban, the NRA is carrying its extremist agenda into the heart of the Nation's Capital.
The Congress of the United States has the power to change any local law in our Nation's Capital and is being pushed by the NRA to repeal locally passed gun laws in Washington, D.C. and prevent the city from enacting any gun laws in the future. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on legislation that would repeal gun laws in the District of Columbia.
Many Members of Congress are on record supporting this extreme piece of legislation - they want more guns and even more assault weapons on the streets. This bill would actually repeal the local ban on assault weapons, and lacking voting representation in Congress, the citizens of D.C. are powerless to stop it and need your help.
This is the same Congress that required metal detectors outside their Congressional offices. They are building concrete barriers and taking other security measures to prevent terrorist attacks on the Capitol. Yet they show complete disregard for the citizens who live outside the government's security cocoon.
Local officials and law enforcement are outraged. Here is what D.C. Chief of Police Charles Ramsey has said in opposition to this legislation:
"Every day, our residents - and our police officers - are confronted by far too many firearms, that are easily accessible to far too many people - including young people who should not possess them. Last year alone, Metropolitan Police officers recovered nearly 2,000 firearms, and we are on track to increase that total this year. To somehow suggest that the District would be safer by introducing even more firepower into our city is pure folly."
Once again, our elected officials in Congress and the White House are turning their back on America's law enforcement and the American people. They will stop at nothing to implement their extreme ideology - no matter what the cost in human lives.
Please help us fight the NRA by calling your Representative through the U.S. Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121. Urge them to oppose any efforts to repeal D.C.'s gun laws. We need you to make your voice heard!
1. Call your Representative through the U.S. Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121
2. Contribute to our campaign to stop the NRA
3. Please forward this e-mail to friends
Thank you so much.
stoptheNRA.com
You know what's at stake if President Bush is reelected on November 2. And you know that we can't defeat him unless we turn out pro-choice voters in historic numbers.
That's where you come in. On October 2 - one month before the election - take action to win back the White House for the only Presidential candidate who will protect your rights - John Kerry.
Host or attend a House Party to "Save the Court." If George Bush wins, he may get to nominate two or three Supreme Court Justices. And that spells big trouble for reproductive rights. By hosting a Save the Court House Party on October 2, just days before the Supreme Court reconvenes for the year, you'll help convince voters to support John Kerry in November.
Click here for materials to help you get started. Let us know if you plan to have a "Save the Court" party so that we can provide you with a call-in number - just click here to sign up.
Sign up for Young America Votes: Election Action Week. Think we can afford to have millions of young voters sit this election out? Think again. The 2000 presidential election was decided by just 537 votes. This November, we have a choice - we can let others choose the leaders of our country, or we can get active, vote and decide for ourselves.
Get involved with the NARAL Pro-Choice America affiliate in your state.
Click here to learn more and sign up for one of the hundreds of activities happening across the country. NARAL Pro-Choice America participates as a key member of this coalition, including on its Board of Directors. Together, we will turn out pro-choice voters to win in November. When you participate in an America Votes event, sign up as a member of NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Thank you for all that you do - we can't do it without you!
America's Future | www.ourfuture.org
Dear Amy,
Please take a moment right now to pick up your phone, dial our toll-free number (below), and join literally thousands who will call on Congress today to stand up for America's public schools!
We’ve coordinated thousands of calls to keep Congress' phones ringing off the hook all day for great public schools. Join this Phone-Blitz right now to ensure the phones keep ringing ALL day long and deliver a simple -- but critical -- message:
Before your Congressperson leaves Washington this year, he or she must act to...
keep their promise to fully fund the "No Child Left Behind" law and special education, NOT shortchange these programs by nearly $10 billion this year, and
REJECT President Bush’s plan to gut education funding across the board in his first budget after the election.
****************************************
Call-In Phone Number: (800) 460-7513
Call-In Date: TODAY - Wednesday, September 29th
Call-In Time: 9am - 6pm Eastern Time
****************************************
When you call this toll-free phone number and enter your zip code, our system will automatically route you to the policy-maker that most needs to hear from you. All you need to do is make the call, and deliver the two points above.
If you'd like more detailed talking points and instructions, please go to: http://www.ourfuture.org/action_center/gpspoints.cfm
Your call can take less than a minute, so please make it now. Together, with thousands of other callers, you will help keep Congress' phones ringing off the hook all day today (literally!) for great public schools.
The President and Congress made big promises to our schools in speeches about the so-called "No Child Left Behind" law. But their rhetoric hasn't matched reality. The president and Congress are $27 billion short on their promises, but expect congratulations. In terms that students and teachers clearly understand - the president and Congress have failed our schools. Mission NOT Accomplished!
Washington needs to hear from you so that they don't leave this job undone, and shortchange our schools and school-children the support they deserve. Please take a minute right now to join the Phone Blitz for public schools, and tell your lawmaker to keep his or her promise and finish the job for our schools.
Everything you need to make your call is right here: http://www.ourfuture.org/action_center/gpspoints.cfm
Thank you in advance for your support. The Campaign for America's Future and our partners in this effort -- including the National Education Association, MoveOn.org, and ACORN -- are building a movement that is just beginning. With your help, this citizen-led fight for our public schools will continue to grow - one living room, one phone call, one conversation at a time.
Thanks so much for doing your part!
Sincerely,
Adam Luna, Policy Director
Campaign for America's Future
P.S. After you make your call, please report back to us and let us know how it went at: http://www.ourfuture.org/action_center/gpscall_feedback.cfm
Your feedback will help the Campaign for America's Future keep the pressure on the Congress (we'll know how many calls they got, and they'll know we know!). It will also help us to design improved call-in days for you in the future. Thank you again!
Dear MoveOn member,
On Friday, an exciting new movie hits theaters -- one that has the power to change the way we see John Kerry forever. Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry is a beautiful and inspiring portrait of Kerry and Vietnam, but it's bigger than that: it's a gripping, powerful film about how our country wrestles with war. It's vivid without being confrontational -- a political movie you can bring your Republican uncle to -- and it has received great reviews from some of the nation's top film critics. You've got to see it.
You can check out the trailer online at:
http://www.goingupriver.com/trailer_main.html
Then, if you live near one of the theaters where the film is opening this weekend, please bring your friends and family and join us in packing the seats Friday night. Like Fahrenheit, we're going to launch this movie with a bang. Find out where the film is playing in your state:
http://www.goingupriver.com/john_kerry_theater_list.html
Two months ago, we brought our friends and family members to theaters across the country and helped make Fahrenheit 9/11 the most successful documentary of all time. Fahrenheit 9/11 laid out the Bush administration's flaws and failings in a way that fundamentally changed how many Americans see President Bush.
Going Upriver doesn't have the controversy and marketing muscle behind it that Fahrenheit 9/11 did. But everyone we know who's seen it has been moved and surprised by its power. It's a word-of-mouth phenomenon waiting to happen, but it's up to us, together, to make it a success when it first hits theaters this Friday.
Critical acclaim for Going Upriver includes the praise from Time Magazine, The New York Times, and Entertainment Weekly, which gave the film an "A" and said:
"This potent and eye-opening documentary…shows us what the media has presented only in fragmentary glimpses: a compelling, blow-by-blow account of John Kerry's service in Vietnam -- and, more than that, the full revealing chronicle of how he ultimately came together with hundreds of his comrades to form Vietnam Veterans Against the War."...
"[P]art of what makes Going Upriver so moving is the tremulous sight of how close these protesters felt to all the soldiers still at war...Anyone who sees Going Upriver will find it hard to argue that what happened close to 35 years ago no longer matters in America today."[1]
The Bush campaign has tried to make voters believe that John Kerry doesn't have what it takes to defend America.
But the John Kerry we know has tremendous heart and determination. As Going Upriver affirms, Kerry not only bravely risked his life serving on Swift Boats in Vietnam, but, upon his return to America, he refused to abandon the men still fighting. Despite vicious personal attacks, John Kerry courageously spoke out to end a war he knew was wrong.
That's the kind of leadership we want in our president.
Make your plans to see this movie now, and round up any friends and family who could use a little inspiration. This film delivers plenty.
Sincerely,
--Adam, Eli, Hannah, James, Laura, and the whole MoveOn PAC Team
September 29, 2004
P.S. The DVD of Going Upriver comes out on October 15th. If you can't make it to see the film in theaters, you can pre-order a DVD online at:
http://www.goingupriver.com/
Footnotes:
[1] Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry, Entertainment Weekly, Sept. 28, 2004, http://www.ew.com/ew/article/review/movie/0,6115,700810_1_0_,00.html
PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC www.moveonpac.org
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Dear Amy,
George Bush is treating voters in "swing states" to an appalling barrage of negative advertising, mail, and even automated phone calls distorting John Kerry's record and life. It's all designed to do one thing: reduce voter turnout. The Bush campaign wants voters to throw up their hands and say, "I give up."
How do we fight back? We get to them first. And that's where you come into the picture.
We've got a huge list of supporters in swing states who have said they want to volunteer. There are too many people for campaign staff to call, so we need your help. We've created an easy way for you to reach into swing states from your home and mobilize volunteers to make door-to-door, face-to-face contact with voters. Every call you make could mobilize a new volunteer to make DOZENS of voter contacts.
Click here learn more and start making calls.
As a volunteer giving your own time to help elect John Kerry, you are the best person to ask supporters in swing states to step up and become volunteers themselves. Most of the people you'll be calling have already said they'd like to volunteer, now they just need to be told where they are needed. Click here to see how easy it is to start making calls:
http://calls.johnkerry.com
In 2000, Al Gore won New Mexico by only 366 votes. And none of us will forget the few hundred votes that made the difference in Florida. What we learned was that the effort of just one person can and does make the difference.
If you can help us recruit enough volunteers, then there is no limit to the number of voters the state campaigns can contact. They're contacting undecided voters with information about John Kerry and other Democrats down the ticket, and they're contacting Democratic "sporadic voters" with an urgent plea to make it to the polls on November 2.
When a volunteer shows up for a door-to-door "canvass," the campaign provides training and a "walk list" of voters in a neighborhood to visit. Canvassers deliver Democratic literature, and have conversations with voters about the issues and about how important it is to vote. Voters who may need help getting to the polls are identified, and will be visited again later.
Face-to-face voter contact is how elections are won, and the failure to do it is how elections are lost. The Democratic Party has built the strongest field program of any presidential campaign in history. And now, with the energy we've accumulated online, we have a chance to double our strength.
We have over 1.5 million supporters in swing states on the JohnKerry.com email list. If just 15,000 of them help us by making these calls, we should be able to reach our entire list of potential volunteers in the next two weeks. If we can make those calls, we'll shatter every record for volunteer involvement in a presidential campaign. And that's exactly what we need to do in order to win.
Please find an hour -- this evening, or another day -- to help make these volunteer recruitment calls to swing states. Learn more and get started here:
http://calls.johnkerry.com
Thanks for standing with us,
Mary Beth Cahill
Campaign Manager
Dear MoveOn member:
Four years ago, George W. Bush won the election by 537 votes. Nearly 4 million
registered voters couldn't get to the polls because their employers wouldn't
give them the time off that they needed. In Alaska, companies that don't give
their employees the chance to vote are breaking the law.
This year, many companies -- like household products company Seventh Generation
-- are giving all of their employees the opportunity to take paid time off to
vote.
It's important that managers and HR departments know that companies standing in
the way of voting could be breaking a state law. If you have questions about
whether your company's policy is legal, go to:
http://www.timetovote.net/voter_leave_laws.html
or email:
info@timetovote.net
or please call the Election Protection Toll-Free
Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683).
Take a few minutes today to ask about your employer's Election Day leave policy.
If they don't have one, ask them to create one. Even if you don't need Election
Day leave, you can speak up for your co-workers who do.
Sadly, we've seen some companies go to extremes to promote a political agenda.
Recently, an Alabama woman was fired from her job for refusing to remove a "John
Kerry for President" sticker from her car. Businesses aggressively supporting a
right-wing agenda this year could try to suppress votes from those who might not
toe the corporate political line.
It's wrong for companies to take advantage of rigid work schedules, long
commutes and limited child care options to keep people from voting.
We've included some recommendations that you can pass along to your company
below. No one should have to choose between earning a living, raising a family
and exercising their right to vote. We need to plan now to ensure that we can
cast an important vote on November 2nd.
This action could make a real difference for all your co-workers.
Thanks for all you do.
Sincerely,
- Lee Bodner and Peter Schurman
MoveOn.org
September 28th, 2004
Ten Recommendations for Companies on Voting Policies
1. Ensure that your company has procedures in place to comply with the laws in
30 states that give workers the right to take time off to vote.
2. Educate line managers and supervisors about state voter leave laws and the
company’s commitment to complying with them. Establish a confidential hotline
employees can call if supervisors are violating their voter leave rights.
3. Conduct a robust communications campaign using e-mail, paycheck inserts,
staff meetings and other methods to educate employees about their right to take
time off to vote.
4. Create a company-wide voter leave policy giving workers the opportunity to
take a limited amount of time off at the beginning or end of the work day to
vote.
5. Adjust the company’s paid time off (PTO) policy to explicitly include
voting. Add an additional one to three hours to all employees' PTO accounts or
let employees know that the company will extend additional PTO equal to the
amount of leave taken for voting if they exhaust their PTO on Election Day and
need time in the future for a medical appointment or family emergency.
6. Encourage Election Day job sharing, allowing employees to cover one
another's work responsibilities so time-pressured employees can vote. Ensure
that any adjustments in work schedules comply with collective bargaining
agreements, state and federal law.
7. Create a "stay in line" policy that exempts employees who are late to work
on Election Day because they were unexpectedly delayed at the polls from
penalties or loss of wages.
8. Encourage managers to avoid planning meetings on Election Day that start
earlier than 11:00 a.m. or end later than 3:00 p.m.
9. Remind employees about early voting and absentee voting.
10. Ensure that election-related activities in the workplace mobilizing
employees likely to vote for a particular agenda are balanced by an equally
robust time off to vote policy available to all workers regardless of their
political beliefs.
For more information on the time challenge facing voters and what you can do to
fix it please go to Time to Vote's Web site: http://www.timetovote.net
Dear Amy Truax,
With only a few days left to register, Planned Parenthood of Alaska wants to make sure your voice is heard!
October 3, 2004 is the LAST day Alaskans can register to vote in the November 2, 2004 election.
To print your voter registration form visit the State of Alaska Division of Elections:
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/ltgov/elections/homepage.html
Once registered, Alaska law provides for the following ways to vote absentee:
In Person- (available 15 days before an election)
By Mail- (deadline for applying: 7 days before an election)
By Fax- (available 15 days before a Primary or General Election)
Special needs voting for disabled voters- (available 15 days before an election)
BALLOTS FOR ALL 40 DISTRICTS ARE AVAILABLE AT ALL REGIONAL ELECTIONS OFFICE BUILDINGS
ANCHORAGE- Dimond Center Mall, Second floor above the ice rink, Suite 3-209
FAIRBANKS- State Office Building, 675 7th Avenue, Suite H3
JUNEAU- Mendenhall Mall, 9109 Mendenhall Mall Road, Suite 3
NOME- State Office Building
Share this important message with others...let them know that THEIR voice will be heard.
YOUR VOTE COUNTS & IT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
VOTE FOR YOUR FUTURE!
~questions/comments email annie.smith@ppfa.org
VOTE IMMINENT! NRA CONTINUES TO PUSH TO REPEAL D.C.'S GUN LAWS
The House of Representatives is once again bowing to the wishes of the NRA and is preparing to vote tomorrow, September 29th, to repeal the majority of the gun laws in our Nation's Capital.
Many Members of Congress are on record supporting this extreme piece of legislation - but many seem unaware of what they are voting to do. Why? Because they are willing to sacrifice public safety in order to get the NRA's help in this election year. The legislation to lift D.C.'s gun laws goes much farther than its leading proponent in Congress is willing to admit. They don't want anyone to know the truth.
Today, Congressman Mark Souder (R-IN) sent out an email that read, "A recent dear colleague to Congressional offices was blatantly wrong in its assertion that 'H.R. 3193 would allow fully loaded assault weapons to be carried in public.'" This is completely false!
Congressman Souder is the one who is wrong! So it is up to you and me to educate the Congress about the true nature of this bill - and defeat it on the House floor.
If passed, this Bill would permit the open carry of loaded assault weapons, including assault pistols like the MAC-10 or the Uzi, on the streets of our Nation's Capital. Of course they are willing to pass this legislation, secure in the fact they are safe in the Baghdad-like "Green Zone" surrounding their offices. Even more outrageous is that the NRA does not allow these weapons into its own conventions, yet wants to force them on the citizens of D.C.
Stand with the broad coalition of businesses, tourism officials and the police, all who strongly oppose the bill.
The most outrageous provisions of the bill would:
Repeal D.C.'s ban on semiautomatic assault weapons and ammunition and allow people to openly carry loaded semiautomatic assault rifles, assault pistols and shotguns on city streets.
Allow teenagers to carry semiautomatic assault rifles on city streets.
Repeal D.C.'s safe firearms storage law. Firearms, including semiautomatic assault weapons, could be kept unlocked, loaded and accessible to children.
Allow persons who have poor vision or are legally blind to possess and use guns, including semiautomatic assault weapons.
Repeal D.C.'s hunting regulations with respect to firearms, but not regulations related to the use of knives or bows for hunting.
And if all that were not enough, the bill would forbid the D.C. City Council to enact future criminal laws relating to guns. Period.
All of this may sound too insane to believe, but what else would you expect from the NRA who pushed President Bush to turn his back on the American people and allow the assault weapons ban to expire. They will stop at nothing to implement their extreme ideology - no matter what the cost in human lives.
Please help us fight the NRA and this terrible bill by calling your Representative through the U.S. Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121. Urge them to oppose any efforts to repeal D.C.'s gun laws. We need you to make your voice heard!
To look up your Representative go to: www.house.gov.
1. Call your Representative through the U.S. Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121
2. Contribute to our campaign to stop the NRA
3. Please forward this e-mail to friends
Thank you so much.
stoptheNRA.com
Dear Amy,
This note is going out just to a small group of the most dedicated MoveOn members. Thanks for your past help.
Today we're working to assemble support for a group of mothers, fathers and family members who've lost their son or daughter in Iraq. A new organization, RealVoices.org, has taped a series of truly remarkable ads by these families, and they're unveiling these ads on Wednesday at a press conference in D.C. They're working to raise enough funds by tomorrow to be able to announce a significant purchase of air time for these ads. RealVoices.org needs to raise about $200,000 for the big media outlets to treat the effort as worth covering.
Please go to the RealVoices.org site right now, and support these families. Just go to:
http://www.realvoices.org
The actual ads are embargoed until the press conference on Wednesday, but when you see them you'll understand why we think this is so important. RealVoices.org has given these families an outlet -- a way to be heard. The ads make real what we otherwise only hear as casualty figures. America needs to see these ads.
Clearly the Bush campaign doesn't want to face the facts about what's going on in Iraq. They're waging a happy-talk campaign, at least until the election, to cover the unraveling situation on the ground. Displaying an almost bizarre disconnection with reality, they talk about progress while more than 1,100 Americans were wounded last month -- more than any month since the invasion.
Let's help get these authentic voices out to America. These aren't slick campaign ads. They are just Americans telling their stories. And these are stories we all have a responsibility to hear.
http://www.realvoices.org
Thanks for everything you do,
--Wes Boyd
MoveOn PAC
September 28th, 2004
PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC www.moveonpac.org
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
35 Days Left: Questions for Candidates: Participating in Candidate Forums
FCNL has prepared "Questions for Candidates" to ask candidates about issues such
as civil liberties, disarmament, and peaceful prevention of deadly conflict.
One way to use them is to ask them of congressional candidates at town hall
meetings, debates and other public events. What are the benefits?
. Raising important questions that have been missed or superficially treated in
the campaign.
. Signaling the candidates that informed, active voters are concerned about
particular issues.
. Putting the candidates on public record in front of voters and the media.
. Using the answer to hold candidates to their positions (or challenge them)
later, particularly if they win their races and take office.
. Educating and mobilizing your community around issues about which you are
concerned.
How to Participate in Candidate Forums
1. Find out about candidate appearances through local League of Women Voters
chapters (http://www.lwv.org
(https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/Link.asp?link=27010) ), candidate and
political party web sites, and newspapers and other local media.
2. Go to the FCNL web site to read candidates' positions and, if incumbents
voting records (https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/Link.asp?link=27011)
3. Chose one of FCNL's Questions to ask candidates.
(https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/Link.asp?link=27012) or write your own.
Practicing your questions with a friend will help you stay focused when you're
on the spot later.
4. Work in teams. Spread several questioners out at the event to increase your
chances of getting heard. Have a note taker write down the answer so you can
follow-up later.
5. Stay calm and speak politely. A well-worded, respectfully asked question
will be taken more seriously by the candidate and the audience.
6. Consider opening with a compliment to show good will. Example: "Senator
Billwriter, thank you for working to uncover the terrible mistreatment of
prisoners in Iraq. What will you do to ensure the fair treatment of detainees
held at Guantanamo Bay?"
After the event, write a letter to the editor praising the candidate or taking
to them to task, and propose that they stick to or change their position, as
appropriate. Also, consider sharing the candidate's responses with relevant
advocacy organizations who may find the information beneficial.
Questioning candidates in public forums brings needed perspectives to election
debates and tells candidates that voters are carefully weighing important issues
as they decide how to vote.
__________________________________________________________
Join FCNL's Build Democracy Vote Campaign:
(https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/Link.asp?link=27013)
Congressional Information:
(https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/Link.asp?link=27014)
Dear Amy:
Council for a Livable World has received numerous inquiries about what people can do to help in the last weeks of the campaign. What the candidates say and do is important; also critical is what individuals do to help defeat George W. Bush and elect good people to Congress. The following is a list of activities you can take part in to help.
Register to Vote
The single most important thing you can do to send George W. Bush back to Texas for good is to vote on November 2.
Click here to register.
Volunteer in battleground states:
Top priorities: Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Mexico, Michigan, Oregon, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Missouri. Also: Arizona, Colorado, Arkansas, North Carolina, Washington, Maine.
If you do not live in a battleground state, you can get your friends together for a road trip or can meet up with the Driving Votes Caravan around the country:
www.drivingvotes.org - (206) 499-1797
Help with Election Protection Activities: People for the American Way
Protect voters rights in 2004 and beyond. "Election Protection" activities are being undertaken by many organizations. Largest coalition: People for the American Way:
http://www.electionprotection2004.org - (866) 204-1941
Encouraging youth involvement: Rock the Vote
Coordinates youth voter registration drives, events and voter education efforts, ensuring that young people take advantage of their right to vote:
www.rockthevote.com
Engaging in contacting voters: Americans Coming Together
ACT operates in 17 of the battleground states, registering voters and targeting swing and Democratic base voters. Includes lots of volunteer opportunities:
www.acthere.org - (202) 974-8300
Donate to candidates for the Senate and the House:
Council for a Livable World Candidate Fund endorses and raises funds for progressive Congressional candidates who are opposed to new nuclear weapons and blocking national missile defense deployment: https://donations.clw.org/donations.asp
Sincerely,
John Isaacs & Guy Stevens
Dear MoveOn member,
This is your last chance to register to vote. The registration deadline in Alaska is this Sunday, October 3rd.
This will be the most important election of our lifetimes -- our only chance to send President Bush and his friends packing. But you will only be able to vote if you're registered.
Registering takes just a few minutes -- register now at:
http://moveonpac.org/vote/
Once you've filled out the form, print it out, sign it, and be sure to mail it in.
Then, send this email along to your friends and family. It's urgent that we all make sure we're registered, right now.
Voter registration among likely Democrats has surged recently, thanks to thousands of volunteers and dozens of major organizations working together more effectively than ever. Sunday's New York Times story on this surge is inspirational -- we've included some highlights below.
Don't be left out. Take 5 minutes to register, right now, at:
http://moveonpac.org/vote/
Then send this notice along to your email circle -- this is our last chance.
Please take a moment think one last time about any personal contacts you have who might not have registered yet. Do you belong to a club, congregation, team or other group? We were surprised to find that about 30% of MoveOn members were unregistered when we checked a random sample.
Your friends, family, neighbors and associates are more likely to respond to you than a stranger. A written or spoken reminder about the last day to register would be a service.
Together, we will prevail in November. We can take back our country, if we register and vote.
Thank you, for all you do.
Sincerely,
--Eli Pariser and the whole MoveOn PAC team
Tuesday, September 28th, 2004
P.S.: Here are some excerpts from that inspiring New York Times story:
A Big Increase of New Voters in Swing States
By FORD FESSENDEN
September 26, 2004
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A sweeping voter registration campaign in heavily Democratic areas has added tens of thousands of new voters to the rolls in the swing states of Ohio and Florida, a surge that has far exceeded the efforts of Republicans in both states, a review of registration data shows.
The analysis by The New York Times of county-by-county data shows that in Democratic areas of Ohio - primarily low-income and minority neighborhoods - new registrations since January have risen 250 percent over the same period in 2000. In comparison, new registrations have increased just 25 percent in Republican areas. A similar pattern is apparent in Florida: in the strongest Democratic areas, the pace of new registration is 60 percent higher than in 2000, while it has risen just 12 percent in the heaviest Republican areas.
While comparable data could not be obtained for other swing states, similar registration drives have been mounted in them as well, and party officials on both sides say record numbers of new voters are being registered nationwide. This largely hidden but deadly earnest battle is widely believed by campaign professionals and political scientists to be potentially decisive in the presidential election.
"We know it's going on, and it's a very encouraging sign," said Steve Elmendorf, deputy campaign manager for Senator John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee. The new voters, Mr. Elmendorf said, "could very much be the difference."...
In Ohio... the campaign has been especially exhaustive. Canvassers ride public transportation, visit coin laundries, and trudge the sidewalks and parking lots at the job centers, housing agencies and community colleges.
In Columbus, Akume Green has haunted the Franklin County Courthouse for months, working the sidewalk between the entrance and the nearby bus stop. Ms. Green says she has signed up more than 700 voters since March here and elsewhere in the city...
Project Vote says it has registered 147,000 new voters in Ohio. Americans Coming Together said that, together with allied groups that are part of America Votes, it had registered 300,000 new voters...
... the groups have added thousands of new Democrats to the rolls and have far outnumbered new registrations in Republican areas. In a 300-square-block area east of the courthouse in downtown Columbus that voted nine to one against Mr. Bush in 2000, for instance, 3,000 new voters have registered this year. That is three times as many as in each of the last two presidential election years. The number of registered voters in the area is up 18 percent since January.
By comparison, in a prosperous area north of downtown with a similar number of voters who are overwhelmingly Republican, just 1,100 new voters have been added this year, increasing registration rolls by 7 percent.
These numbers are similar across Ohio...
In Florida, where The Times was able to analyze data from 60 of the state's 67 counties, new registrations this year also are running far ahead of the 2000 pace, with Republican areas trailing Democratic ones...
...in the heaviest of Democratic areas,... new registrations have increased to 125,000 from 77,000, a jump of more than 60 percent...
"We're using guerrilla tactics to get into the malls and sign up voters before the security guards chase us off," said Adam Broad, 40, an organizer in Duval County with the Florida Consumer Action Network Foundation, one of dozens of community groups registering in Florida.
The groups are building nationwide databases of voters and have committed millions of dollars for continued contact with them before and on Election Day.
"If every Democrat showed up at the polls, you'd win, no question," said James Koehler, a precinct organizer in Columbus working for MoveOn.org... Mr. Koehler said MoveOn hoped to have a volunteer in every precinct to call neighbors on Nov. 2.
[End of excerpts]
Don't miss out on the action. Register now, at:
http://moveonpac.org/vote/
PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC www.moveonpac.org
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Verified Voting Newsletter
Volume 2, Number 11, on September 28, 2004
*** Please forward this newsletter to your friends!
*** Invite them to visit
http://www.verifiedvoting.org/
*** For this and previous newsletters, see
http://www.verifiedvoting.org/newsletter/
CONTENTS
1. Volunteers Needed for the Election Protection Coalition
2. EIRS Debuts Successfully In Florida Primary!
3. Overseas Voter Website Censored by U.S. Government
4. Protect the Privacy of Overseas Voters' Ballots
5. Upcoming Changes to Verified Voting Foundation Website
6. Federal Legislative Update
7. State-By-State Progress on Verified Voting
8. EFF Discussion: "E-Voting and the Upcoming Election"
9. Register to Vote
10. Online Donations to 501(c)(3) Verified Voting Foundation
11. Subscribe and Unsubscribe Information
1. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE ELECTION PROTECTION COALITION
Before, during, and after Election Day on November 2, we
need volunteers to help monitor the election process, either
in your local communities or by traveling to swing states.
Volunteer positions include:
1) Poll watcher or election observer on Election Day
2) Roving troubleshooter to visit problem polling places as
needed on Election Day
3) Poll worker or election judge on Election Day
4) Early voting monitor (some states started September 21)
5) People with legal expertise to respond to incidents
before and during Election Day to make sure voters can
vote and that their votes are counted as intended.
6) Technologists to observe pre-election voting technology
testing, as well as providing voting technology expertise
on Election Day
RIGHT NOW, we need volunteers who can help complete the
Election Incident Reporting System (EIRS), the system that
will provide the electronic support for election-day
activities.
We need significant help with data compilation, programming,
management, training, and other tasks that must be
completed well before Election Day, as described at:
http://www.verifiedvoting.org/eirs/teams-jobs.php
For these activities, we particularly need people who can
make a substantial time commitment (3-4 hours per day for
5-6 days a week for potential team leaders, 10 hours per
week for smaller individual tasks).
To volunteer for these and other election-week jobs, go to
https://www.voteprotect.org/ and click on "Volunteer Now!"
Please do so even if you have signed up elsewhere before,
since we have added new profiling information to EIRS that
will help us coordinate more effectively.
If you don't have time to volunteer, but would like to
contribute money to the EIRS Project, please go to
https://www.verifiedvoting.org/donate/
If you have friends or family who may be interested, please
forward this email on to them as well.
Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.
Let's make sure that every vote counts, this November 2 and
on all Election Days thereafter!
2. EIRS DEBUTS SUCCESSFULLY IN FLORIDA PRIMARY!
The EIRS was given its first major real-world test on
August 31, 2004, during the Florida primary. The system was
deployed at call centers in Florida and Washington, DC,
where dozens of hotline operators recorded about 300
incidents. Incidents are available on-line in the public
portal at https://voteprotect.org/ under the
"Research/Maps" link. The system will be used before,
during, and after the nationwide general election on
November 2, 2004. For more information on the Florida test,
please see the following media release:
http://www.verifiedvoting.org/media/releases/article.asp?id=2666
3. OVERSEAS VOTER WEBSITE CENSORED BY U.S. GOVERNMENT
Verified Voting Foundation Provides Workaround
The International Herald Tribune reported on September 20
that "the Pentagon has begun restricting international
access to the official Web site intended to help overseas
absentee voters cast ballots."
As a service to overseas U.S. citizens, the Verified Voting
Foundation (VVF) is making the Federal Voting Assistance
Program (FVAP) website available through connections in the
US at:
http://register.verifiedvoting.org
If you have friends or family overseas who are trying to
obtain absentee ballots, please forward this link to them.
The U.S. government blocked its own official FVAP website to
some civilians overseas trying to find out how to obtain
absentee ballots in at least 25 countries, including Japan,
France, Great Britain, and Spain.
Pentagon spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Ellen Krenke
confirmed that a number of Internet service providers
worldwide had been blacklisted "to thwart hackers." Such
measures are generally recognized to be ineffective against
hackers while blocking legitimate users.
"We at the Verified Voting Foundation are shocked that the
Pentagon has decided to prevent overseas civilians from
accessing absentee ballot information," said the
organization's Executive Director Will Doherty. "We abhor
any policy that prevents or deters eligible voters from
voting and having their votes counted accurately."
To read the full media release, please go to:
http://www.verifiedvoting.org/article.asp?id=2675
For the page that permits access to the FVAP site and
provides further information on this topic:
http://register.verifiedvoting.org/
To register to vote in the U.S. (use FVAP for overseas):
http://www.yourvotematters.org/VerifiedVoting
For media coverage of this story:
http://www.iht.com/articles/539597.html
4. PROTECT THE PRIVACY AND INTEGRITY OF SOLDIERS' BALLOTS
In an important follow-on to the story above, please note
that three states have announced that they will allow
military voters to EMAIL their absentee ballots to the
Department of Defense, in a move that alarms computer
security experts and voting watchdog groups. Missouri,
North Dakota and Utah now allow ballots from soldiers
overseas to be emailed to a Pentagon contractor, who will
then fax them to local election officials. In addition to
problems ensuring a secret and tamper-proof ballot, this
proposal raises concerns about voter intimidation and
soldiers' right to a secret ballot. Urge Secretary Rumsfeld
to protect our soldiers' rights to a secure and secret
ballot. If you vote in one of those three states, call your
state's chief election official to ask them to ensure a more
secure way for our armed forces to cast their ballots:
MO: 573-751-4936 ND: 800-352-0867 UT: 800-995-VOTE
Regardless of where you live, you can also take action here:
http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?ItemId=17597
5. UPCOMING CHANGES TO VERIFIED VOTING FOUNDATION WEBSITE
You may notice some changes on verifiedvoting.org soon.
We are going to be switching to the open-source AMP content
management system on a Linux server, which will bring about
some slight changes in the look-and-feel and functionality
of the site. Once we've made the migration to the new site,
we'd like to hear about any problems or suggestions you
might have. You can let us know by sending an email to:
webmaster@verifiedvoting.org
6. FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Little time remains for Congress to do the right thing and
pass federal legislation requiring a voter-verified paper
ballot for all the states. But efforts by tireless citizen
lobbyists have resulted in 5 new cosponsors for the Holt
Bill, HR 2239. Total cosponsors are now 156. The most recent
are: Rep. Rodriguez [TX-28], Rep. Mollohan [WV-1], Rep.
Berry [AR-1], Rep. McCarthy [MO-5], and Rep. Sanchez
[CA-47].
There are also 37 cosponsors for the King bill (HR 4187).
Between these two bills, there are now 193 cosponsors
(156+37), but 5 of these are Representatives who are
cosponsors of both bills: Bass [NH], Cole [OK], Issa [CA],
Shays [CT], and Wilson [SC]. Thus, there are now 188
Representatives who are cosponsoring either one or both of
these bills. Add the authors of each bill (HR2239: Holt,
HR4187: King), and we have a total of 190 members (or
43.7%) of the House of Representatives who are now on the
record in favor of a legislation to require a voter-verified
paper ballot.
New co-sponsors on the Senate bills: Senator Feinstein (CA)
signed on to S2437 and Senators Johnson (SD) and Mikulski
(MD) to S2313. Senator Wyden (OR) also co-sponsored S1980,
for a total of 19 Senators calling for voter-verified paper
ballots. May the rest follow close behind! Call your
lawmakers today and urge those who have not yet joined one
of these bills to do so IMMEDIATELY. Toll-free Capitol
switchboard: 800-839-5246.
More info on voter-verified paper ballot legislation:
http://www.verifiedvoting.org/legislation/
7. STATE-BY-STATE PROGRESS ON VERIFIED VOTING
CALIFORNIA:
Governor Schwarzenegger yesterday signed into law SB1438, a
bipartisan bill (Johnson/Perata) to require an accessible
voter-verified paper audit trail for voting systems in
California. The bill passed through the legislature with
unanimous votes, thanks to the support of watchdog groups
and many individuals who called and wrote.
The bill also prohibits the Secretary of State from
certifying paperless e-voting systems after January 1, 2005,
and prohibits counties from purchasing such voting systems
after January 1, 2006. For background, see our alert at
http://www.verifiedvoting.org/article.asp?id=2664
FLORIDA:
Some of the news from Florida is good this week, in spite of
hurricanes wreaking havoc with the landscape. A Federal
appeals court told a lower court to reopen a case brought by
U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler regarding the need for
voter-verified paper ballots in the 15 counties using
paperless touchscreens. (The other counties in Florida all
use optical-scan systems, as was recommended by the task
force convened after 2000 to review voting systems in the
state.) The ACLU and others also succeeded in an
administrative challenge to Secretary of State Glenda Hood's
ruling that touchscreens be exempt from manual recount laws,
leaving 15 counties currently wondering how to do a manual
recount in elections that are decided by 0.25 percent of the
votes cast or less, if they have no paper to recount.
GEORGIA:
One of the first states to jump headlong onto the paperless
touchscreen bandwagon was Georgia, but it hasn't been a bed
of roses. This month GA was stung by a scorecard issued by
FreeCongress.org which gave it the lowest grade of the
fifty states (an F-). GA group CountTheVote.org reported
that July's primary found some counties with equipment
malfunctions, and voters disenfranchised by delays due to
insufficient emergency paper ballots in the polling places.
More information is available here:
http://www.freecongress.org/media/040903.asp
and here:
http://www.countthevote.org/
MARYLAND:
Maryland uses Diebold touch screen voting, but uses optical
scan (paper) ballots for absentee and provisional voting.
Paper ballots are therefore available in the polling place.
Local voting advocacy group TrueVoteMD and
VerifiedVoting.org agree that if additional paper ballots
were printed, they could be used for a "paper ballot
alternative" as in the CA plan for the touch-screen
counties. TrueVoteMD.org has made extraordinary efforts to
compel the state to provide this option, but the courts
recently rejected such an option buying the state's claim
that printing a few more paper ballots and letting voters
use them instead of DREs if they so chose would cause
"chaos"... Meanwhile, the beleaguered elections chief is
under ongoing investigation to determine whether she will
keep her post. More information available at:
http://www.truevoteMD.org/
NEVADA:
On September 7, 2004, Nevada became the first state in the
nation to deploy electronic voting machines with
voter-verified paper audit trail in a real election. As the
Christian Science Monitor said in their editorial about the
successful primary election using this newly deployed
technology, "As obvious as it may sound, the ability to
properly record and count all votes must remain a priority
for the states. More should follow Nevada's example."
Couldn't have said it better ourselves.
NEW JERSEY:
VerifiedVoting.org joined activist Beth Feehan, Renee
Steinhagen of NJ Appleseed PILC, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora
(author of NJ paper trail legislation), and other concerned
organizations and individuals in signing a letter sent in
August 2004 to Governor McGreevey asking that paper ballots
be made available to voters in the polling places in Mercer
County (and other electronic voting machine counties) so
that no voter is disenfranchised by machine malfunctions and
so that voters who prefer to vote on paper rather than on
electronic machines may do so. All the electronic voting
machine counties already print paper ballots for provisional
voting, so the request means merely asking for additional
ballots to be printed.
To date, despite repeated efforts to follow up, Governor
McGreevey has not responded. If you vote in New Jersey,
PLEASE CALL the Governor at (609) 292-6000 and ask him to
make NJ's election more secure by providing paper ballots at
all polling places using e-voting machines. Mention the
letter from Ms. Steinhagen and Mr. Gusciora; the
administration will look it up by the signators. If you
prefer, you can write or email, but do it today:
http://www.state.nj.us/governor/govmail.html
NEW MEXICO:
Activists in New Mexico have been effective in obtaining
media coverage on the issue of verified voting in the
state, and in challenging the Sec. of State and the Director
of Elections on various fronts, including recent revelations
that sizeable contributions were made to the Secretary of
State's campaign from voting system vendors. Activists have
made numerous calls to officials in Bernalillo County (the
most populous county in the state, accounting for some 50%
of voters) in an effort to prevent additional purchases of
paperless DREs. This week the Albuquerque Journal quoted the
State Director of Elections saying, "Electronic machines
with printers were just certified by the federal government
in the last several months -- not enough time to get them
certified in New Mexico."
Yet some were available for at least a year, others early
this year. Some of NM uses the same system as Nevada, where
they were able to implement voter-verified paper ballots for
its voters this year (see NEVADA, above). Finally, a variety
of precinct-based optical scan systems (which DO offer a
voter-verified paper ballot and audit trail) were already
available in NM. In other words, if NM's Director of
Elections and/or Secretary of State chose to, they could do
what NV did and protect the integrity of their elections.
The will of New Mexican voters is to have transparent and
auditable elections, Ms. Lamb. And where there's a will,
there's a way. More info is available here:
http://www.vvnm.org/
UTAH:
Verified Voting joined UtahCountVotes.org and more than a
dozen computer science professors and voting experts,
including Phillip Windley, associate professor of computer
science at Brigham Young University and former CIO of UT,
and Verified Voting Advisory Board member Barbara Simons,
former president of Association for Computing Machinery
(ACM), the largest association of computer professionals in
the US, in a joint response to "American Attitudes About
Electronic Voting" (authored by Professors Thad Hall, UT
professor of political science, and Michael Alvarez). The
group also offer sound advice to the UT Election Office
regarding its pending selection of voting equipment.
The rebuttal found that the data didn't fully support the
claims that were made about paperless e-voting systems. The
state is currently in the process of purchasing new voting
machines. Utah Count Votes and the authors of the joint
response urge the state to write a stronger request for
proposal with more detailed specifics about requirements,
including open source, voter-verified paper ballots, and
sufficient time for thorough review (including by outside
experts) to ensure UT's voting system will be secure and
trustworthy. More details, including press conference photos:
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=36781
and:
http://utahcountvotes.org/
WASHINGTON:
Let your guard down for a split-second and your state may be
loading uncertified software in the voting systems. That's
what WA voter John Gideon found out recently. The state has
installed software with a first-time-ever "provisional"
certification (after a late rule change by the Secretary of
State mid-July, to allow for such a category), on ES&S
optical scan machines in two counties. The software has not
gone through the federal "independent testing authority"
process nor received any federal qualification. According to
officials, the new software was installed because of a
change in ballot styles for the September 14 primary. But
opinions were apparently mixed among the county auditors as
to the need for this late patch, and one (wisely) told the
Sec. of State he would not make any changes this close to an
election. Although the software was expressly required for
the primary, officials refused to remove it for the general
election. The software was written after all major candidates
had been named. The modification affects over half the
voters in the state. The six counties are the most populous
in Washington. If you vote in Washington, please call the
Secretary of State to vigorously protest this lapse in
election security at 360-902-4151 or email at
sreed@secstate.wa.gov Remind him that this practice is the
OPPOSITE of what is recommended in the Election Assistance
Commission's best practices report. Many thanks to John
Gideon at http://www.VotersUnite.org/ for the information.
8. EFF DISCUSSION: "E-VOTING AND THE UPCOMING ELECTION"
Democracy is government by the people, and the right to vote
is critical to determining what each of us wants of our
government. In this upcoming election, nearly one quarter of
American voters will exercise that right using electronic
voting (e-voting) terminals in this election. Unfortunately,
they will be using equipment that has been hastily developed
and poorly tested.
Verified Voting Foundation partner organization the
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is also working to
ensure that votes are verifiable and to train poll workers
about what to do when the machines fail. Come listen to
their team leaders talk about the latest developments, and
share your thoughts on how we can make sure that every vote
is counted. This event is free. Food and drink will be
served (no host bar).
WHO:
* Cindy Cohn, EFF Legal Director and Verified Voting
Foundation Board Member
* Matt Zimmerman, EFF Staff Attorney
* Ren Bucholz, EFF Activism Coordinator
WHEN: Tuesday, October 12th at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time
WHERE:
111 Minna Gallery
111 Minna Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel: (415) 974-1719 or contact Katina at
EFF (415) 436-9333, ext. 129, katina@eff.org
9. REGISTER TO VOTE
Today, September 28, is National Voter Registration Day, and
it may also be your last chance to make sure you can vote on
November 2. If you are not registered to vote or need to
update your voter registration information, go to
http://www.yourvotematters.org/VerifiedVoting
where you can register to vote or change your registration
address. Just fill out the form, print, sign, stamp, and
mail!
Worried about your voter registration status or need to find
your polling place location? Do you know your state's last
day to register? The deadlines start next week! Find your
state's voter registration deadline or contact info here:
http://www.YourVoteMatters.org/VoterRegInfo
10. DONATE TO VERIFIED VOTING
We accept online credit card donations to the 501(c)(3)
Verified Voting Foundation, as well as the 501(c)(4)
lobbying organization called VerifiedVoting.org.
Once the IRS approves our tax-exemp