Friday 12/31 Election/Fraud/Recount Thread

In order to organize and document I thought it would be a good idea to have a daily thread to place items related to the recounts/fraud. This also make it easier to "catch up" when we are away from the computer for a while.

Please help us. If you see something that isn't here post it with a link to the thread and a thanks to the author. Thanks to everyone who is helping in this project.


Link to the thread from yesterday here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x210657

Coalition Urges Congress to Act Against Election Fraud

WASHINGTON -- December 30 -- Massachusetts Elector Tom Barbera and local activists with the Coalition Against Election Fraud (CAEF) will call on members of Congress to take action in response to election fraud at a Rally for the Republic, to be held inside of Faneuil Hall on Monday, January 3 at 7:00 p.m. Organizers invite all those concerned about preserving our voting rights to gather at 6:30 p.m. at the State House entrance to Boston Common for a march to the indoor Rally at Faneuil Hall.


The Coalition is part of a nationwide grassroots movement to urge members of Congress to object on January 6 to the Electoral College vote from states such as Ohio, Florida and New Mexico, where mounting evidence of election violations has resulted in questions about the outcome of the 2004 presidential election. This event coincides with Rallies for the Republic planned for early next week in cities across the country, including Columbus, Ohio, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. Organizers aim to influence members of Congress to vote NOT to certify the Electoral College votes from states where the election results are in question, and/or to delay the vote certification entirely due to the need to complete investigations and recounts currently underway.


Coalition members are currently lobbying a national list of Senators, including Massachusetts Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry, to urge them to vote against certification of Electors' votes from states such as Ohio, where the election results are being challenged in court. Several Coalition activists will head to the U.S. Capitol early next week to present their case in person to Senators before Congress reconvenes on January 6. Congress-woman Maxine Waters of California, Chair of the Democratic Caucus Special Committee on Election Reform, stated this week that she, along with other members of the House of Representatives, will be challenging the seating of the Ohio electors.


The Monday Rally, the D.C. Delegation, and a daily vigil outside of the Boston home of Senator John Kerry are among the Coalition's strategies to mount a Constitutional Challenge to the Electoral College vote in response to increasing evidence of election fraud. They cite concerns about discrepancies between vote tallies and the number of registered voters in specific precincts; inequities in the number of voting machines available at highly Democratic polling places; and widespread disenfranchisement of voters through vote suppression tactics targeted largely at African Americans and college students.


"We do not have to suffer another four years of an illegitimate presidency since the Constitution and Federal law set out how to challenge unlawfully acquired electoral votes," according to David Lytel....

more here: http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/1230-08.htm

Politics News
Thursday, December 30, 2004
TheDailyFarce.com - Marcelo Lewin

Election officials in Ohio finally completed the presidential election recount, shaving 300 votes away from President Bush's six figure margin of victory.

"Ok. I give up." Stated Senator Kerry in a final concession speech on television today, "I did not want to give up until all the votes where counted. We got an extra 300 votes! That makes a huge difference. We were so close. Now we have 48.000000009% of the popular votes, instead of the 48% that the right wing media reported."

Michael Moore issued a statement that the entire Presidential election was a fraud and that a complete recount in all the states is necessary to make sure President Bush loses.

"Only 300 votes!!!" stated Michael Moore, "That is a bunch of bull shit. I'm sure we had at least 200,000 votes in our favor. This is the right wing controlling the recount officials. I demand a recount on the recount. We need to continue recounting until the winner is Kerry. It is obvious that everyone wanted Kerry to win!"


http://www.thedailyfarce.com/politics.cfm?story=2004/12/politics_kerryfinallygivesupafterohiorecount_12200400030

Recap of stories from Thursday 12/30
(and a few from previous days)

• Ohio Fraud News
  
  
  • 12/27 - truthout Report: Kerry Files Motion to Protect Ohio Vote Evidence by WRP
    
  • 12/28 - Free Press: Ohio GOP election officials ducking subpoenas as Kerry enters
    
  • 12/28 - Internet Vote Fraud: TRIAD has Means, Motive, and Opportunity
    
  • 12/28 - Congresswoman Maxine Waters Will Challenge Ohio Electors
    
  • 12/28 - TEFLON KERRY: MORE SLICK MOVES ON PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FRAUD
    
  • 12/28 - New Media Communications--fascinating octopus of electoral
    
  • 12/29 - Chief justice refuses to remove self from vote challenge
    
  • 12/29 - ILCA : Presidential Election 2004: CBC Attacks Ohio Voter Disfranchisement
    
  • Cincinnati Post: "Vindication for Ohio"
    
  • truthout Report - Conyers to Object to Ohio Electors, Requests Senate Allies
    
  • Cobb Calls On Congress to Reject Tainted Electoral College Votes
    
  • Video Clip - Obermann says that Conyers will Challenge Ohio Electors
    
  • Candidates Want Second Ohio Recount
    
  • Ohio Judge Denies Knowing Of Presidential Election Fraud Plot
    
  
  
• New Mexico Fraud News
  
  
  • 12/28 - Legal Fight Over New Mexico Recount Could Continue For Weeks
    
  • 12/28 - New Mexico Recount Goes Back to Court
    
  • 12/28 - Recount Fight Still On in NM; Candidates Plan To File Notice of Appeal
    
  • Free Press has "Impossible Phantom Votes in New Mexico"
    
  • BET - Ohio Voters Challenge Recount Results
    
  • Recount Ruling Does Not Jibe with New Mexico State Law
    
  
  
• Texas Fraud News
  
  
  • 12/27 - Texas Election Scandal - Forty Faxes and a Whisper
    
  • 12/27 - (3 PDFs for dl)
    
  
  
• Washington Recount News
  
  
  • 12/29 - Gregoire to be certified as governor, but Rossi won’t concede
    
  • 12/29 - Republican seeks revote in Washington governor's race
    
  • 12/29 - Rossi's letter calling for new election
    
  • Democrat Declared Wash. Governor-Elect
    
  • Washting Gov. Race Continues to "Rock the Vote"
    
  • The WA Gov. campaign's over; the law must rule now
    
  
  
• Act Now!
  
  
  • 12/27 - eFax Senators to Demand They Investigate the Election Fraud
    
  • 12/28 - action alert to send your own senators + rep from deanpeople
    
  • 12/28 - TURN UP THE HEAT ON ASKING CHUCK SCHUMER TO OBJECT TO CERTIFICATION
    
  • 12/29 - Important Ohio Action Memo from Progressive Democrats of Illinois
    
  • 12/29 - Ideas For Those Who Can Make Financial Contributions
    
  • Send a fax to targeted Senators here, asking them to stand up Jan 6th
    
  • TheDeanPeople - This link will get your own state Senators a fax!!
    
  
  
• Protest/Rallies
  
  
  • 12/27 - Labor to Join Count-the-Vote Rally on Jan. 3
    
  • 12/28 - Daily Vigil at Senator Kerry's House, Dec. 28-Jan. 5
    
  • 12/28 - What political activities will you be undertaking in January?
    
  • 12/29 - TN: THE THIRD GATHERING TO SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY SUNDAY, 01/02/05
    
  • 12/29 - January 5th Freedom Ride From Columbus to Washington
    
  • 12/29 - Rally For The Republic at Boston's Faneuil Hall on Jan. 3
    
  • Press release from NYC coordinator of 51capitalmarch.com
    
  • Save Our Votes March -- Baltimore, Maryland, to DC -- Jan. 4th - 6th
    
  • Rally for the Republic - San Francisco, California - Tuesday, January 4th
    
  • Rally - Monday, January 3rd - Columbus, Ohio with Jesse Jackson
    
  
  
• Other Media/Opinions
  
  
  • 12/27 - Ukraine Exit Polls Leave No Doubt that John Kerry Would Have Won
    
  • 12/27 - BRAD BLOG: 'Bloggermann' Keeps Shoveling...
    
  • 12/27 - Reverend Jesse Jackson writes to PDA base
    
  • 12/27 - Doing the Right Thing - "we who believe in freedom cannot rest"
    
  • 12/28 - Montana Court declares "one or more" ballots invalid, Dem. Windham wins
    
  • 12/28 - Do Not Believe the Misinformation Being Fed by the Corporate Media
    
  • 12/29 - OpEdNews: Assassins of Democracy, Votergate 2004 Continues
    
  • 12/29 - Clear Channel refuses to air Right to Vote ad, and 6 other ads
    
  • 12/29 - The 2004 Popular Vote Needs Thorough Investigation
    
  • BradBlog - Email 'Contradicts' Feeney Statements to 'Florida Commission on Ethics'
    
  • Presidential Election Results Can't Be Verified
    
  • Reflections on the 2004 Election - An Interview with Ralph Nader
    
  • Newsweek - Jesse Jackson on why he thinks John Kerry really won the election
    
  • Why Did All the Voting Errors Favor Bush?
    
  • Rep. David Wu on Voting Suppression
    
  • Sheila Parks of Coalition Against Election Fraud on Vigil in Boston Globe
    
  
  
• Resources
  
  
  • 12/27 - Evidence of Fraud and Disenfranchisement in Ohio: A Partial List
    
  • 12/27 - Update from PFAW Election Protection Hotline
    
  • 12/27 - Election Fraud in America - Comparing Mythologies: US, Ukraine, Venezuela
    
  • 12/27 - An Awesome Collection of Links about Fraud 2004! - 350+ Links
    
  • 12/28 - IN ONE SPOT: RECENT HORROR STORIES - A series of posts by DU's TruthIsAll
    
  • 12/29 - Calendar of Events Leading to Constitutional Challenge of Electors on 1/6
    
  • 12/29 - Who Won The Popular Vote? Comparative Validity of Exit Poll and Vote Count
    
  • 12/29 - A Roundup Of The Recent Events Surrounding Election Fraud in Ohio
    
  
  
  
  
  

December 31, 2004

Gregoire focuses on gubernatorial duties
By David Ammons, Associated Press Writer


OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Democratic Gov.-elect Christine Gregoire's Republican rival still wants to overturn the election, but now that she's been certified as the winner, she says she has other things on her mind. Like forming a new government in less than two weeks.

If all goes according to plan -- and little has so far in this topsy-turvy governor's race -- she'll be inaugurated as Washington's 22nd governor on Jan. 12.

The longest, closest governor's race in Washington history, still not completely over, has created the shortest transition.

"Less than two weeks from today I WILL take the oath of office as your next governor of the great state of Washington," an ebullient Gregoire declared Thursday in a Capitol victory speech just hours after she was certified as governor-elect by the secretary of state.

continued...
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/governors/articles/2004/12/31/gregoire_focuses_on_becoming_wash_gov/

Nation & World: Friday, December 31, 2004

A look back at 58-day wait and 3 counts


NOV. 2: Election Day.

Three-term Attorney General Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, finds herself in a tight race with former state Sen. Dino Rossi, a Republican. With Gregoire ahead by just a few thousand votes — and hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots left to count — the race is far too close to call.

NOV. 17: With all counties reporting, Rossi wins by 261 votes. State law triggers a machine recount.

"My experience is ... if you're within a few hundred votes, we still don't know who is going to win the race because that many votes can easily shift," Secretary of State Sam Reed says.

"Making history isn't easy," Rossi says. "It certainly isn't timely either."

NOV. 24: Rossi wins the machine recount, but his lead falls to 42 votes.

Rossi's campaign declares victory. Gregoire declines to concede and Democrats hint at requesting another recount.

"Some people have suggested that Senator Rossi and I stage a duel or flip a coin to break this tie," Gregoire says. "But I prefer to count every vote."

continued...
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=timeline31m&date=20041231

12/31/2004


An Urgent Message From A Longtime Contributor, Ken Reiner

Happy Holidays to each and every one of my many friends throughout the world. This is a time for reflection, to spend with friends and family and get ready for the New Year's challenges. Here in America we have one tremendous challenge that stands above all others. To do, like the Ukrainians did, set a false election aside and demand a new honest one where all votes will be visible and counted. Here, like in the Ukraine, the people voted one way but the votes were counted in another way. The people said "No" to four more years of Bush but his corporate, big business, warmongering supporters faked the election and are trying to claim he won, which he certainly did not as all exit polls the day of the election proved. We in America have three weeks from today to demand, and get a new, honest, verifiable election. Can we do it? I think we can, and will.

Below is a letter I'm sending to one hundred non-profit organizations who represent the best of America's thinkers and doers. I'm asking them to be the Paul Reveres of this country and save us from the corporations now in control attempting to turn America into the largest, most powerful fascist nation the world has ever experienced. The American people don't want that. They abhor it and won't stand for it. I urge each of you to spread this letter as far and as wide as you can. It is a matter of life and death. The life of a democracy that began the 4th of July 1776 but which will die on January 20th 2005 unless we demand and achieve a new, honest election before that date.

Happy Holidays
Ken


An Urgent Message From A Longtime Contributor

Dear Friends,

I have contributed financially to your group for many years, for I recognize the value of your efforts to create a better world. Now I am asking for your immediate help and support to avoid an imminent crisis facing us all.

America faces an apocalyptic moment. On November 2nd, at least thirty three million Americans (John Conyers estimates more than half of all who voted) lost their right to vote; their votes are indeterminate since they cannot be verified by hand count! This is an amazing and historically disastrous fact! Most of us were forced to vote on computers lacking paper evidence of who we voted for. Can any election be more than a sham under such a condition? Even worse, our votes could have been secretly and invisibly changed to favor George Bush or other Republican congressional candidates by the Republican owned business entities that secretly counted them. And all this after publicly promising their Republican associates they'd win! The bottom line: we really cannot know which Congressman, Senator or President was actually elected on November 2, for the vote-counting was able to be secretly and privately manipulated and then blocked from audit because there were no paper trails required. Thus, the entire national election of November 2 was fundamentally and uncorrectably flawed!

Equally alarming, most people in our country still have no idea their votes were able to be easily changed to make it appear that Bush won the presidency. Thousands of instances show this to have happened, first in Ohio where a recount of those votes that can be hand recounted is being blocked by a Republican Secretary of State (who is chair of Bush's election committee; shades of Florida's Katherine Harris) yet even eight weeks after November 2, the American public is not aware of the fraud of this election. It's become the greatest secret since the one, years ago kept at Alamogordo.

continued...
http://www.unobserver.com/layout5.php?id=2059&blz=1

Last Updated: December 31, 2004, 04:45:18 AM PST


Blame Schwarzenegger, not Shelley


A Bee editorial ("Audit emphasizes why Shelley needs to go," Dec. 21) stated that Kevin Shelley, California secretary of state, delayed payments to county election offices from the Help America Vote Act that were urgently needed to train poll workers, educate voters and replace outmoded voting equipment. In fact, it was Gov. Schwarzenegger who withheld millions of HAVA dollars because of trumped-up charges against Shelley by neoconservative Republicans.
Several months before the November elections, Shelley refused to allow touch-screen voting machines without a mechanism for recount to be used in several counties. That is the major reason Republicans went after him.

Shelley has done an admirable job despite a constant barrage of charges by the Republicans. Both the recall election of Gov. Davis and the November general elections went off without a hitch.

It has been the goal of the Republican neoconservatives to eliminate anyone who stands in their way. Davis was recalled by the neoconservative movement and now they intend to eliminate our secretary of state. It appears The Bee has been taken in. Democratic legislators in Sacramento should defend Shelley, who has been an honorable and trustworthy secretary of state.

BEN CREASON Jr.

Modesto

Link:
http://www.modbee.com/opinion/letters/story/9686789p-10569853c.html

last updated: 12/31/2004


Ohio Vote: Second Recount Requested

"This recount was not conducted in accordance with uniform standards," says lawyer.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Two third-party presidential candidates asked a federal court Thursday to force a second recount of the Ohio vote, alleging county election boards altered votes and didn't follow proper procedures in the recount that ended this week.

-snip-

"We've documented in this filing how this recount was not conducted in accordance with uniform standards throughout Ohio" as required by the U.S. Constitution, said John Bonifaz, a lawyer from the National Voting Right Institute representing the candidates.

Ohio law requires an elections board to manually recount a randomly selected 3 percent of ballots. If the totals match certified results for those precincts, all the county's votes are then machine-counted. If the hand count is off, a county must manually recount all its ballots.

The filing, part of an ongoing lawsuit originally brought by a county board of elections to stop the recount, alleges counties did not randomly select precincts for the manual recount and some workers altered votes to prevent a full hand count.

Bonifaz said the filing is based on the experiences of Green Party representatives who observed the recount.


link:
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/news/1231_recount.html

Friday, December 31st, 2004

Rossi continues campaign for new election
BRAD SHANNON THE OLYMPIAN


Republican Dino Rossi, unwilling to concede that he has lost the Washington governor's race by 129 votes in a manual recount, said Thursday that he's pushing forward with an effort to learn what went wrong in the election.

Rossi, a real-estate agent from Sammamish, held a news conference in Bellevue, where he told reporters that he still has questions about how some votes were counted -- and others were not allowed -- in the closest governor's race in U.S. history.
Rossi also brought out a Snohomish County couple -- Charles and Marty Farmer -- whose son, Tyler, is a Marine injured while fighting in Iraq. Tyler Farmer didn't get his ballot until Nov. 3, one day after the election, they said. It was part of Rossi's public relations campaign to build support for a new election early next year, which he says is needed to build public confidence.

-snip-

Options for the Rossi campaign include filing a lawsuit or seeking what is known as an "election contest" in the Democrat-controlled Legislature, which could, in theory, vote to set aside the election results.

link:
http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20041231/topstories/59663.shtml

Come to the PRO-DEMOCRACY/COUNT EVERY VOTE RALLY this Monday, January 3rd from 12:00 Noon to 1:30 pm at (D-CA) Senator Barbara Boxer's San Francisco Office, 1700 Montgomery St (near Chestnut & Embarcadero) Come to the VERIFYGRA RALLY this Thursday, January 6th from 12:00 Noon to 1:30 pm at Senator Barbara Boxer's (D-CA) San Francisco Office, 1700 Montgomery St (near Chestnut & Embarcadero)


Electile Dysfunction got you down?

VERIFYGRA is the answer. Tested and proven effective in Ukraine --- and
now available in the United States.

Ask John Kerry and your Senators to get on Verifygra and stand up
against the inadequate recount in Ohio (and refuse to certify the
election on January 6th).

Tell them, if you can't verify it, don't certify it!

See http://www.InsaneReagan.com to prescribe VERIFYGRA with rallies and press
conferences, faxes, phone calls and graphics.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


Come to the PRO-DEMOCRACY/COUNT EVERY VOTE RALLY this Monday, January
3rd from 12:00 Noon to 1:30 pm
at (D-CA) Senator Barbara Boxer's San Francisco Office,
1700 Montgomery St (near Chestnut & Embarcadero)


Come to the VERIFYGRA RALLY this Thursday, January 6th from 12:00 Noon
to 1:30 pm
at Senator Barbara Boxer's (D-CA) San Francisco Office,
1700 Montgomery St (near Chestnut & Embarcadero)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
If above Verifygra Ad is not viewable in this email go to
http://www.InsaneReagan.com

www.indybay.org/government

Link:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/12/1712031.php

___________________________________________________________

CHAIN-MAIL-NEWS© - December 31, 2004
(THE PURPOSE OF THIS EMAIL IS TO DISSEMINATE IMPORTANT NEWS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE: NEWS MOST AMERICANS WILL NEITHER HEAR NOR READ FROM AMERICA'S MAJOR MEDIA OUTLETS; NEWS THIS PERSON BELIEVES IS IMPORTANT FOR ALL AMERICANS TO KNOW)
(DO NOT SEPARATE THE FOLLOWING TEXT FROM ANY IDENTIFYING COPYRIGHT INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN)

SUBJECT:

CONTEST THE VOTE NOW!

Ask your Senators and House Representative to Stand Up and Support an Election Investigation and Reject the Electoral Votes on January 6th. Make a Sign and Show Up on January 6th.

Fellow citizen,

JANUARY 6th is a seminal date in our struggle to stop this fraudulent election and regain the power and sanctity of our votes and voting systems. Below are 3 actions I ask you to take NOW and on January 6th:


ACTION #1

When Congress reconvenes in January, at least 14 members of the House of Representatives will challenge the validity of the 2004 election. They will request an immediate investigation into many problems and irregularities encountered in the election.
According to the Electoral Count Act of 1887, one senator and one House Representative are required to contest an election prior to inauguration. We have the representatives; we still need a senator. Please let your senators know that you want them to stand up with House Representatives and contest the vote.

ACTION: Go to www.ContestTheVote.org Click on "Sign Online". Fill out the form to sign the petition asking Senators to contest the electoral votes on January 6th.

The signed petitions will be delivered to each senator in person by a coalition of representatives from a variety of concerned organizations and individuals. We will also deliver copies of signed petitions from all states to the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary to encourage them to hold formal hearings on the 2004 election. our senators and the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary: www.ContestTheVote.org



ACTION #2

ACTION: Send a Fax or Western Union letter to your representatives in Congress asking them to contest the electoral votes on January 6th.


Go to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/webreturn/?url=/thedeanpeople/issues/alert/?alertid=6767431. Enter your zip code. Use the message provided or be more effective and compose your own. Fill out the form. Select FAX for each representative. Select a category for each member of congress (some lists don't offer good choices - it doesn't matter).


OR


Be more effective: spend $4.95 and have your message printed and hand-delivered by Western Union. It will be printed out and hand delivered to their Washington DC offices - a much more effective way to ensure your communication is received by a human.


Go to: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/extraimpact/ Click on "Send Extra Impact hand-delivered messages to your Members of Congress" at the top of the page. Compose a short message in your own words. Let them know your future support hinges on their actions on January 6th. Fill out the form. Select categories (mostly a formality).

Select:


ACTION #3


ACTION: Protest at your Town or City Hall at noon on January 6th.

How can I say this politely? If you voted for John Kerry or did not vote for George Bush, you are in the real majority in this country. As you showed up on November 2nd, do so on January 6th. Make a sign and show up at your Town Hall or City Hall at noon local time on January 6th. Get off your butt and make a stand for your vote. Do it for your children. Do it for your democracy. Do it for your country.


If you are afraid you will be the only one there, send this email to everyone you know.
Download this flyer (MS-Word .ZIP 15Kb file): http://www.51capitalmarch.com/SaveOurVotes_JAN6_Flyer.zip

Make copies and post it around your town or city. We ARE the real majority: millions upon millions of Americans who don't like what has happened to our country or to our voting systems. Stand up. Let your voice be heard (unlike your vote), Take a stand and do something!


If you can, join us in our Save Our Votes MARCH ON WASHINGTON DC, January 4-6 (details at: http://www.51capitalmarch.com).
(For all attending the Jan. 6th rally in Washington DC, you are cordially invited to a "Save Our Votes Tent Revival" party at 7pm on Wednesday, January 5th. RSVP to Joy Walls at joy@51capitalmarch.com for details and directions.)

PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW.

Best regards and have a save new year,
Kip Humphrey
51 Capital March


HOW TO FORWARD CHAIN-MAIL-NEWS
1. Remove any personal message and email sign-off (signature) from the top of this email (everything above the line). Add your own personal message and signature (do not alter the Chain-Mail-News content (between the lines).
2. In email address fields (Blind Carbon Copy), place all of the email addresses you are sending this Chain-Mail to (this preserves the privacy of everyone's email addresses)
3. In the email address field, enter: chainmailcount@51capitalmarch.com (we do not read these, we simply count them)
For help, go to http://www.51capitalmarch.com and click on Chain-Mail-News.

Chain-Mail-News© is a free service to provide the American people with important news and information they don't receive through major media outlets. Chain-Mail-News is not spam. If you received this email in error, or wish to discontinue receiving future Chain-Mail-News, simply reply with "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the Subject line. If you stop receiving Chain-Mail and wish to continue receiving it, simply go to http://www.51capitalmarch.com and click on . then click on . Your enrollment in Chain-Mail-News will be good through December 31st 2004.

copyright 2004 KPH Consulting
CHAIN-MAIL-NEWS© - December 31, 2004
(DO NOT SEPARATE THE PRECEDING TEXT FROM ANY IDENTIFYING COPYRIGHT INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN)
____________________________________________________________

the deanpeople will help you contact your own state senators and reps, below them the PDA have targeted a group of senators whose support we really need:

THE DEAN PEOPLE:
Ask Senate and House Members to Declare Their Intent
Regarding Presidential Electors on Jan 6th
We have come to the conclusion that we can no longer tolerate the
intolerable. We all watched in horror (many for the first time) as the
movie Fahrenheit 9/11 opened by recounting how our political
"leaders" sat idly by on Jan. 6, 2001 as the Congressional Black
Caucus tried nobly but futilely to object to the unlawful Florida
electors.
But even Michael Moore seemed unaware of "the rest of the story."
On Jan. 7th two Democratic Senators were asked by Tim Russert
why they didn't come to the defense of their House collegues. Their
answer (in unison): "Nobody asked us."

http://www.thedeanpeople.com/



PDA:
Urge your Senator to stand with the Representatives and contest the vote.
Help avoid a repeat of the 2000 silence from the Senate.

On January 6, 2005, the House and Senate will meet to consider the electoral vote count. Progressive members of the House Representatives will challenge the vote count based on the voting irregularities and recount efforts still underway. Urge your Senator to stand with the Representatives in order to avoid a repeat of the 2000 silence from the Senate. This action also targets potential Senators who are allies in this cause.

http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/mail/oneclick_compose/?aler...

(thanks to WilliamPitt)


Friday December 31, 3:47 pm ET

Press Release Source: Wellstone Democractic Renewal Club

Citizens Stage 'Boxer Rebellion' in San Francisco
At January 3 Rally, Civic Groups Will Urge U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer to Join House Leaders in Challenging the 2004 Election Results
Support from Just One U.S. Senator is Required to Sustain Congressional Challenge

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Concerned citizens and civic organizations will present thousands of voter petitions to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif) at her San Francisco office during a public press conference and rally on Monday, January 3, 12 noon. They will urge Boxer to challenge the results of the 2004 presidential election at a joint session on January 6, 2005, when Congress meets to ratify the vote. Key organization leaders will personally present the petitions to Boxer's deputy at a meeting inside her office. Rev. Jesse Jackson will also lead a rally that day to challenge the vote in Columbus, Ohio.
ADVERTISEMENT


Challenge Requires Senatorial Support

Support from a U.S. Senator is a key step in the challenge process, which requires participation from both the House of Representatives and the Senate. If at least one member of each house makes a written challenge when the Congress meets in joint session on January 6, 2005, Congress members will return to their respective chambers and conduct a time-limited debate going on the election results.

Rep. John Conyers, ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, recently announced that on January 6, he and several other members of the House will object to the counting of the Ohio Electors. Conyers is expected to seek additional support from the following Senators: Joseph Biden (DE), Jeff Bingaman (NM), Barbarba Boxer (CA), Robert Byrd (WV), Hillary Clinton (NY), Kent Conrad (ND), Jon Corzine (NJ), Christopher Dodd (CT), Byron Dorgan (ND), Richard Durbin (IL), Russell Feingold (WI), Tom Harkin (IA), Daniel Inyoue (HI), James Jeffords (VT), Edward Kennedy (MA), John Kerry (MA), Frank Lautenberg (NJ), Patrick Leahy (VT), Carl Levin (MI), Joseph Lieberman (CT), Barbara Mikulski (MD), Bill Nelson (FL), Jack Reed (RI), Harry Reid (NV), Jay Rockefeller (WV), Paul Sarbanes (MD), Debbie Stabenow (MI), Ron Wyden (OR), and the newly elected Barack Obama (IL).

"We expect several members of the House to call for a challenge, but without a single supporter from the Senate, Congress cannot act," said Don Goldmacher, Chair of Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club's Voting Rights Task Force. "This is the scenario we faced after the last election -- memorialized so well in "Fahrenheit 9/11" -- when no U.S. Senator stood up to support members of the Congressional Black Caucus. We can't let that happen again. As Jesse Jackson has said, 'we are not whining for a lost election, but crying out for a fair one.'"

Detailing evidence and testimonials of voter suppression and intimidation at the press conference will be the following civic and political leaders: DOLORES HUERTA, United Farm Workers co-founder and civil rights leader; WALTER RILEY, labor/civil rights attorney, East Bay Votes; MARGOT SMITH, Gray Panthers; MICHAEL EISENSCHER, U. S. Labor Against the War; MAX ANDERSON, Berkeley City Council, 1st Municipal Voting Rights Resolution; TIM PAULSON, Executive Director, San Francisco Labor Council, AFL-CIO; and MICHAEL GOLDSTEIN, Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club.

The speakers will address numerous charges of suppression, intimidation, machine error and fraud in several key states. Problems encountered in Ohio include waits as long as eleven hours at polling places; shortages of poll workers and voting machines; electronic voting machines that malfunctioned; election-counting discrepancies; voters being directed to the wrong polling place, and uneven policies governing the use of provisional ballots. In Florida, questions persist regarding fraud as well as irregularities in counties that relied on paperless electronic voting machines. In New Mexico, there is ample evidence that approximately 21,000 undervotes occurred in heavily Democratic precincts on machines that are known to produce faulty counts. A recount would certainly have overturned the election outcome.

Citizens are encouraged to attend, wave signs and show their support for the presidential election challenge. Participants can get to Boxer's office at 1700 Montgomery Avenue, San Francisco, by public transportation. Many are planning to walk to Boxer's office starting at 11am from the Embarcadero BART station.

E-Voting Problems Hurt Republicans and Democrats Alike

Speakers will address other recent instances of irregularities in the electronic voting system, including the Washington State gubernatorial race where the results recently shifted in favor of Christine Gregoire, the Democratic challenger, after voting officials discovered that electronic voting machines incorrectly tallied 500 votes for Dino Rossi, the Republican in the race. Rossi is now calling for a state-wide revote.

"It's interesting that Republicans are willing to look at e-voting problems when the results go against them," said Goldmacher. "Rossi recently told voters that the 'uncertainty surrounding this election process isn't just bad for you and me -- it is bad for the entire state,' and that 'people need to know for sure that the next governor actually won the election.' Those are the same concerns that voters have about the 2004 presidential election. We urge all political parties to advocate the same principles of fairness to all elections."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Wellstone Democractic Renewal Club


Yahoo Link:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041231/sff049_1.html

DU Thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x216968

Not One **** Dime Day

Since our religious leaders will not speak out against the war in Iraq, since our political leaders don't have the moral courage to oppose it, Inauguration Day, Thursday, January 20th, 2005 is "Not One **** Dime Day" in America. On "Not One **** Dime Day" those who oppose what is happening in our name in Iraq can speak up with a 24-hour national boycott of all forms of consumer spending.

During "Not One **** Dime Day" please don't spend money. Not one **** dime for gasoline. Not one **** dime for necessities or for impulse purchases. Not one **** dime for anything for 24 hours. On "Not One **** Dime Day," please boycott large chain monoliths. Please don't go to the mall or the local convenience store. Please don't buy any fast food (or any groceries at all for that matter).For 24 hours, please do what you can to shut the retail economy down.

The object is simple. Remind the people in power that the war in Iraq is immoral and illegal; that they are responsible for starting it and that it is their responsibility to stop it. Not One **** Dime Day" is to remind them, too, that they work for the people of the United States of America, not for the international corporations and K Street lobbyists who represent the corporations and funnel cash into American politics. Not One **** Dime Day" is about supporting the troops. The politicians put the troops in harm's way. Now 1,200 brave young Americans and (some estimate) 100,000 Iraqis have died. The politicians owe our troops a plan -- a way to come home.

There's no rally to attend. No marching to do. No left or right wing agenda to rant about. On "Not One **** Dime Day" you take action by doing nothing. You open your mouth by keeping your wallet closed. For 24 hours, nothing gets spent, not one **** dime, to remind our religious leaders and our politicians of their moral responsibility to end the war in Iraq and give America back to the people.

Sacrifices anyone?

(thanks to BradBlag)


Feeney's OTHER Hometown Weekly Reports on 'Vote-Rigging' Charges!

'The Oviedo Voice' Jumps Into the Fray!
Reports on 'Off Record' Interview with Congressman.

...the most notable point taken from the article is the fact that Feeney himself, who had contacted the paper to offer an interview on the matter, kept his promise, but would not allow the interview to be "on record"!

So once again, Feeney continues his now-growing track record of, if not having anything to hide, sure as hell acting like someone who does!

Why did he chose to duck attempts to get comment weeks ago from Oviedo's Seminole Chronicle? Why did he decide to approach The Voice only after The Chronicle published their report on the matter? Why all the "off record" interviews and comments to reporters? Why the apparently coordinated threats of lawsuits against a small local newsweekly for merely reporting on public news of note to their local readers?

And perhaps most notably: Why no such legal threats by Feeney against the actual person, Clint Curtis, making the allegations which Feeney's attorneys have described as "outrageous" and "obviously false and defamatory"?...

THOSE QUESTIONS ASKED, IF NOT ANSWERED IN FULL, AT:
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001087.htm

---
Brad Friedman
THE BRAD BLOG - The uprising continues...
http://www.BradBlog.com


DU Thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x217289

Saturday, 1 January 2005, 1:04 pm

Cobb Asks for New, Meaningful Recount


Press Release: United States Green Party

COBB/LaMARCHE 2004 GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
http://www.votecobb.org
NEWS RELEASE

For immediate release:
December 30, 2004

Cobb Asks Court to Order a New Recount in Ohio Says Congress Should Not Certify Presidential Vote

Attorneys for Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb today filed an amended complaint in federal court demanding that the recount of Ohio's presidential vote be done again, this time in conformance with state and federal law.

The amended complaint, filed on behalf of Cobb and Libertarian presidential candidate Michael Badnarik, seeks to enjoin Ohio's Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell, from declaring the final results of the presidential vote "until every county has fully conducted and completed a meaningful and fundamentally fair recount of the votes cast in Ohio for president in accordance with uniform standards throughout the state of Ohio."

"The people of Ohio deserve to have their votes counted fairly and accurately. The initial recount of Ohio's presidential vote was conducted inconsistently, haphazardly and in clear violation of even Mr. Blackwell's minimal standards," said Cobb.

"There's clearly a legitimate basis for a new recount. In a previous hearing, the judge indicated that if the recount was not conducted in accordance with uniform standards that we could petition the court for a new recount," said Cobb-LaMarche Media Director Blair Bobier.

One of the most significant problems with the recount was that few of Ohio's 88 counties randomly selected sample precincts for the recount as is required by Ohio law. Other problems with the recount included a lack of security for the ballots and voting machines-including allegations of interference with voting machines by representatives of the Diebold and Triad corporations-and the refusal of some counties to do a full hand recount when required by law to do so. Detailed reports from observers outlining a wide range of irregularities with the recount are available at http://www.votecobb.org/recount/ohio_reports/index.php.

"With the Ohio results still not final, it would be inappropriate for Congress to certify the presidential vote, especially while it is the subject of pending litigation in federal court," said Cobb.

Cobb will be in Washington, DC on January 6, the day Congress considers the votes of the presidential electors, speaking at public rallies and urging Congress to reject the votes from Ohio's Electoral College delegation. Cobb will speak at a rally in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, at 10 a.m., and at a separate event later in the day at Upper Senate Park on Capitol Hill.

-30-

MORE INFO

Additional information about the recount and the Cobb-LaMarche campaign can be found at http://www.votecobb.org.

The website for the national Green Party is http://www.gp.org.

Saturday, 1 January 2005, 1:05 pm
Press Release: United States Green Party

For Immediate Release
December 30th, 2004

Conyers Seeks Senate Support to Challenge of Ohio Electors
Ranking Minority Member on Judiciary Sends Letter to Colleagues

Rainbow / PUSH has circulated a letter addressed to Senator Barbara Boxer of California, sent by Representative John Conyers, apparently to each member of Congress. In the letter Mr. Conyers asks for the support of a member of the Senate for bringing a challenge to the seating of the Electoral College delegation from Ohio. Congress is scheduled to meet in joint session on Thursday, January 6th at 1:00 pm to certify the results of the 2004 Presidential election.

In his letter, Mr. Conyers cites the procedures agreed to by Congress when they adopted the Electoral Count Act of 1887 and goes on to write: "However, if a State - in this case Ohio - has not followed its own procedures and met its obligation to conduct a free and fair election, a valid objection -if endorsed by at least one Senator and a Member of the House of Representatives- should be debated by each body separately until 'disposed of'."

Many members from the Congressional Black Caucus sought to place before the 2000 Joint Session of Congress charged with counting the votes from the last Presidential Election, such an objection. Lacking the support of a Member of the Senate, Al Gore, then President of the U.S. Senate was required to rule each such attempt by a House Member to bring such an objection, out of order.

The full text of the Mr. Conyers letter follows:

Dear Senator Boxer,

As you know, on January 6, 2005, at 1:00 P.M, the electoral votes for the election of the president are to be opened and counted in a joint session of Congress, commencing at 1:00 P.M. I and a number of House Members are planning to object to the counting of the Ohio votes, due to numerous unexplained irregularities in the Ohio presidential vote, many of which appear to violate both federal and state law. I am hoping that you will consider joining us in this important effort to debate and highlight the problems in Ohio which disenfranchised innumerable voters. I will shortly forward you a draft report itemizing and analyzing the many irregularities we have come across as part of our hearings and investigation into the Ohio presidential election.

3 U.S.C. 715 provides when the results from each of the states are announced, that "the President of the Senate shall call for objections, if any." Any objection must be presented in writing and "signed by at least one Senator and one Member of the House of Representatives before the same shall be received."1. The objection must "state clearly and concisely, and without argument, the ground thereof."2 When an objection has been properly made in writing and endorsed by a member of each body the Senate withdraws from the House chamber, and each body meets separately to consider the objection.

"No votes . . . from any other State shall be acted upon until the objection . . . finally disposed of."3 U.S.C. 717 limits debate on the objections in each body to two hours, during which time no member may speak more than once and not for more than five minutes. Both the Senate and the House must separately agree to the objection; otherwise, the challenged vote or votes are counted.

Historically, there appears to be three general grounds for objecting to the counting of electoral votes. The language of 3 U.S.C. 715 suggests that objection may be made on the grounds that (1) a vote was not "regularly given" by the challenged elector(s); and/or (2) the elector(s) was not "lawfully certified" under state law; or (3) two slates of electors have been presented to Congress from the same State.

Since the Electoral Count Act of 1887, no objection meeting the requirements of the Act have been made against an entire slate of state electors.5 In the 2000 election several Members of the House of Representatives attempted to challenge the electoral votes from the State of Florida. However, no Senator joined in the objection, and therefore, the objection was not "received." In addition, there was no determination whether the objection constituted an appropriate basis under the 1887 Act. How ever, if a State - in this case Ohio - has not followed its own procedures and met its obligation to conduct a free and fair election, a valid objection -if endorsed by at least one Senator and a Member of the House of Representatives- should be debated by each body separately until "disposed of".

Please contact me at 225-5126 to appraise me of your thoughts on this important matter. If your staff has questions, that may be forwar ded to Perry Apelbaum or Ted Kalo of my Judiciary Committee staff at 225-6504.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.

-- 30 --

Link:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00007.htm

(I found the title of this press release to be interesting)

30 December 2004

2004 U.S. Elections Results Finally Complete
Washington governor-elect is certified after two recounts



Washington -- Nearly two months after Election Day on November 2, the results of the 2004 U.S. elections are complete. The December 30 certification -- after two recounts -- of Democratic candidate Christine Gregoire as the governor-elect of the state of Washington concluded the closest election in state history.

Republican candidate Dino Rossi won the initial vote tally in November by 261 votes, leading to an automatic machine recount. Washington state law mandates a machine recount if the winning margin of votes is less than 2000 votes. Recounts seek to identify and correct any errors -- committed by humans or machines -- that occurred in the original count. Rossi won the first recount by 42 votes.

Washington’s Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed ordered a second recount -- this time by hand -- on December 6. The unprecedented statewide manual recount ultimately put Gregoire ahead by 129 votes out of more than 2.8 million cast. Gregoire benefited from the post-Election Day discovery of more than 700 previously uncounted ballots. Reed certified the result of this second recount, giving Gregoire the victory.

Rossi has not conceded the election and has called for a new election. According to the Associated Press, he has not ruled out the possibility of contesting the election result in court. Any legal challenge must be filed by January 22, 2005, 10 days after Gregoire’s scheduled inauguration as governor.

Rounding out the 2004 elections results, the makeup of the U.S. House of Representatives is now settled following the December 4 runoff election in two Louisiana districts. In accordance with Louisiana state election law, because no candidate in these districts received over 50 percent of the vote in the November election, the top two contenders faced each other in a runoff contest. Democrat Charlie Melancon won the third district and Republican Charles Boustany won the seventh district, bringing the final balance of the U.S. House of Representatives to 232 Republicans, 202 Democrats and one Independent.


(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov )


Link:
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=December&x=200412301613402KCeeL0.5189478&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html

Send this to KEY Senators and to YOUR Senators and to anyone else you think might be swayed by seeing the accumulation of evidence in Ohio!

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x217897>

:bounce:

December 31, 2004

Ohio's official non-recount ends amidst new evidence of fraud, theft and judicial contempt mirrored in New Mexico
by Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman


COLUMBUS -- The Ohio presidential recount was officially terminated Tuesday, December 28.

But the end comes amidst bitter dispute over official certification of impossible voter turnout numbers, over the refusal of Ohio's Republican Supreme Court Chief Justice to recuse himself from crucial court challenges involving his own re-election campaign, over the Republican Secretary of State's refusal to testify under subpoena, over apparent tampering with tabulation machines, over more than 100,000 provisional and machine-rejected ballots left uncounted, over major discrepancies in certified vote counts and turnout ratios, and over a wide range of unresolved disputes that continue to leave the true outcome of Ohio's presidential vote in serious doubt.

-snip-

Blackwell, who was co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign, announced that his recount awarded 734 additional votes to Kerry and 449 additional votes to Bush. Meanwhile, more than 92,672 machine-rejected ballots remain unchecked and uncounted, as do at least 14,000 provisional ballots. Conservative estimates of Kerry’s net gain among those ballots are another 36,000 to 40,000 votes. No accounting in the count or recount has been made for voters turned away at the polls due to insufficient voting machines, computer malfunction, tampering with registration data, mishandling of absentee ballots, misinformation and intimidation, or a wide range of other problems.

-snip-

Meanwhile, a new precinct-by-precinct analysis in many Ohio counties indicates that Bush's margin here was likely obtained by fraud. That is the main claim of the election challenge suit now at the Ohio Supreme Court, where Ohio's GOP Supreme Court Chief Justice, Thomas Moyer, has refused to recuse himself, even though allegations of vote switching – where votes cast for one candidate are assigned to another in the computerized tabulation stage – involve his own re-election campaign.

-snip-

Parallel problems have now surfaced in New Mexico, where a bitter recount battle is also being waged. At a public hearing in Columbus convened by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), senior Democrat on the US House Judiciary Committee, Rev. Jesse Jackson testified that Sen. Kerry was informed in a phone conversation that optical scan machines were being used in New Mexico to steal votes. New Mexico allegedly went to Bush by some 7,000 votes in an election with widespread charges of manipulation and fraud, especially in heavily Hispanic precincts. According to Jackson, Kerry said he know that every single New Mexico precinct fitted with optical scan machines went for Bush, demographically a virtual impossibility.

continued...
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2004/1057

December 31, 2004


For Immediate Release December 31, 2004
Contact Stephen Gaskill 202-257-9298
http://www.redefeatbush.com

Former Congressman Peter Deutsch to Assist Constitutional Challenge of Electors on Behalf of ReDefeatBush, the DoNotConcede Coalition and other Parties

Rallies for the Republic in Boston Monday and San Francisco Tuesday


The Committee to ReDefeat the President, a federal PAC better known by the name of its popular ReDefeatBush.com Web site, has secured the assistance of Peter Deutsch, who will conclude his tenure as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives at noon on Monday 1/3/05. Deutsch will help ReDefeatBush and other organizations that are working on a Constitutional Challenge to the electoral votes of Florida, Ohio and potentially other states.

Preparations are underway for a public forum on Wednesday afternoon at the Capitol at which Deutsch will publicly question some of the key witnesses to activities that may have surpassed the boundaries of normal partisanship and crossed over into illegal activity in Florida. For the benefit of Members of Congress considering supporting the challenge Deutsch will be publicly questioning Bev Harris of Black Box Voting, who witnessed the unlawful disposal of original voter registries that are required to be archived under Florida law and other key witnesses and experts.

"I am enormously pleased to be working with Peter Deutsch," said ReDefeatBush founder David Lytel, "because I am sure that he can explain what happened in Florida on election day with great clarity. Peter's intellect, integrity and his standing with his former colleagues make him the ideal person to help us with this," Lytel added.

ReDefeatBush is sponsoring two Rallies for the Republic this week. The first is in Boston on Monday at 7:00 PM at Fanueil Hall. In addition to Lytel, former Green Party Vice Presidential candidate Pat Lemarche will speak, as well Tom Barbera, one of the Massashusetts electors; Faye Morrison, a Selectwoman in Ayre who has worked with Election Protection in several states; Donna Palermino, attorney who will speak on the legal aspects of the challenge and Jonathan Simon, a lawyer and investigator who has done original research work on the 2004 election results.

On Tuesday Lytel will be at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco at 7:00 Herbst Theater along with some recent graduates of the Electoral College in California and Emily Levy, who will report on her work with statistician Richard Hayes Phillips about anomalies in the results in Ohio. Music and humor will be provided by Verifygra. Linda Bryket's 24 minute film on what happened in Columbus, OH on election day entitled video the vote will be shown at both events.

On Thursday January 6 there will be a Defend Democracy, Support the Challenge rally at noon in Upper Senate Park with Green Party Presidential candidate David Cobb, Rev. Jesse Jackson (invited), voting rights activists Granny D, Deutsch, Lytel and other speakers. Musical guests will include Swing States Road Show, and singer/songwriters Yikes McGee and Jack Chernos.

ReDefeatBush has a quarter page advertisement scheduled to run on the Federal Page of the Washington Post on Monday and this week is putting out a 20,000 piece mailing asking for financial support for its activities.


Link:
http://fairnessbybeckerman.blogspot.com/2004/12/former-congressman-peter-deutsch-to.html

(could we be seeing this in out country soon?)

Published: January 1, 2005



Premier in Ukraine Quits, Giving Way to Opposition Rule

By STEVEN LEE MYERS


MOSCOW, Dec. 31 - Viktor F. Yanukovich resigned as Ukraine's prime minister on Friday, signaling the end of a tumultuous political drama that nearly propelled him to the presidency but resulted in his defeat after a popular uprising against state-sponsored electoral fraud.

-snip-

Mr. Yanukovich's resignation capped an excruciating chapter in Ukraine's recent political history, beginning when his seeming victory in a runoff against Mr. Yushchenko on Nov. 21 was immediately called into question by reports of widespread fraud and intimidation.

After 17 days of huge street protests by Yushchenko supporters in Kiev, and a bitter political struggle in which the heavily pro-Yanukovich eastern part of the country briefly threatened to secede, the Supreme Court nullified the vote. Observers of the new election declared it relatively free of the type of bare-knuckled fraud that doomed the original.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/01/international/europe/01ukraine.html

12/31/04

Small steps correcting the Wrongs of the “Right”
By Bonnie Yarbrough

On this last day of a long, grim year as frustrations still swarm around Ohiogate, it’s important to note some small victories. In spite of the impending plans for Bush 2 Inaugural, now estimated to cost $40 million, there are a few bright spots for Democrats.


You gotta love Jesse Jackson, Sr. May his message ring throughout the new year:



Outside of Ohio, though, here are a few highlights:

-snip-

Finally, we have a decision from the North Carolina State Board of Elections on the Commissioner of Agriculture race. A new statewide election!

-snip-

As long as we’re going to try to correct mishaps in North Carolina, we’d be happy to have the Ohio folks come down and re-run their election process. (Maybe we could borrow some of the Inaugural buses to transport the state’s residents down here.)

Of course, Republicans promise they will challenge all of the above results, but the struggle will continue in the new year.

God bless Jesse, John Conyers, Maxine Waters, and Kofi Annan for their good work in very troubling times.


Link:
http://www.politicalstrategy.org/archives/001016.php

Friday 31st December 2004 (20h17) :


Election fraud: Ignored by everyone -- even Ripley’s Believe it or Not!

by Jane Stillwater


While I was on vacation, I talked with people from all over America. "I have here in my hand," I told them, "absolute proof that George Bush stole the 2004 election."

No one wanted to see my proof.

No one even cared.

If I had made this outrageous statement to George Washington or Thomas Jefferson, they would have ripped the documents right out of my hand in their haste to get to the truth. "What do you mean -- election fraud? That’s a serious accusation. Can you REALLY prove it? Either show us some real proof or shut up about it."

If I were a patriotic American and someone offered to show ME proof that a US presidential election had been stolen, I would want to see it. Is this actually true or is this person some kind of nut or kook?

-snip-

"Please!" I begged Americans. "If you care about honesty and decency and the soul of America, please just read this!" They sighed, shook their heads, looked inconvenienced and fervently hoped that I would just shut up and go away.


continued...
http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=4926

Friday, December 31, 2004


Rossi vs. Gregoire - What About The Other Counties?

-snip-

I think that their efforts to investigate the correctness of the registered voter and ballot numbers would have more credibility with non-Rossi supporters if it also included an investigation into the 69% of ballots that were cast in all the other counties. There have been very curious numbers coming out of many other counties, that mostly went to Rossi by large numbers, and by choosing to only target King County, no matter how valid their reasons might be - should they prove to pan out - will look more like a desperate attempt to undo the final result, and less like trying to uphold a fair election count.

For example, here are a few things that could also be investigated:



So in all, an awful lot of other potentially fishy votes that I'm not hearing about anyone investigating, that should be if we're going to scrutinize King County so closely.


Link:
http://www.kirkdorffer.com/ontheroadto2008/2004/12/rossi-vs-gregoire-what-about-other.shtml

Posted on Fri, Dec. 31, 2004


Majority of provisional ballots thrown out in November


They're better odds than Lotto. Still, if you were one of 27,451 Florida voters forced to cast a provisional ballot in the 2004 election, chances are your vote didn't count.

Two-thirds of all provisional ballots submitted in the general election were rejected, according to a Tallahassee Democrat analysis of reports provided by the state's 67 county supervisors of elections. Most ballots were thrown out because the voter was not registered in that county.

Provisional ballots were required for the first time nationwide in the 2004 election as a way to give elections officials more time to verify ballots of voters whose eligibility was in question. It would be expected that most voters who don't show up on the voting rolls would be ineligible to vote.

Still, the high rejection rate gives some election activists pause.

For a full analysis of the use of provisional ballots in Florida, as well as what elections officials and voter activists think needs to happen next, read Saturday's Tallahassee Democrat.

(http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/local/10539608.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp">Source via Miamedia: http://www.miamedia.com/votergate">The Votergate Resource Center)


Link:
http://nostolendemocracy.typepad.com/blog/2004/12/majority_of_pro.html

(thanks to SueZhope)

December 31, 2004


Congress Dropped the Ball in 2001, Will They Do So in 2005?

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION

A BuzzFlash reader sent us a clip from Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 that shows members of congress contesting the 2000 election and begging for one senator, just one, to step forward and join them. Not even Al Gore, who let the election be ripped from his hands, would do so.

And now look at our country. Let's hope there's one senator with intestinal fortitude to speak the truth: our democracy was stolen in 2000 and in 2004. No one should be given public office if their margin of victory was achieved by suppressing and intimidating the voters for the other candidate.

No one. Ever.



BuzzFlash with video:
http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/04/12/con04577.html

DU Thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x218685

Saturday, January 1, 2005; Page A22


Reversal of Fortune

ACANDIDATE SHOULD know he has reached the end of the line when, on the losing end of a razor-thin electoral margin, he starts calling for a do-over. Since Election Day, Washington state has seen a contested gubernatorial election that makes the 2000 presidential contest in Florida look like a blowout. The initial count had Republican Dino Rossi leading by 261 votes out of nearly 3 million cast. A statutorily required machine recount dropped that margin to only 42 votes. More recently, a full hand recount requested by the Democrats put their candidate, state Attorney General Christine Gregoire, on top by 129 votes. This resulted in her being certified Thursday as the election's winner by Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed, who has served as an unusually honest broker for a partisan official supervising a high-stakes election dispute. Mr. Rossi, however, is not through. He is calling for a new election. "A revote," he wrote in an open letter to Ms. Gregoire, "would be the best solution for the people of our state, and would give us a legitimate governorship."

Such an idea may work to resolve a close play in a schoolyard baseball game, but it's not the way Americans resolve electoral disputes. An election this close can never produce a result that is fully satisfying from a democratic standpoint; the margin of victory is so eclipsed by the margin of error in the count that it is simply impossible to know with confidence which side received more support. And Washington's recount process, to be sure, contained glitches and errors and legitimate arguments about which votes should count under state law. With the margin so thin, the resolution of such questions -- always somewhat arbitrary -- takes on immense significance. Still, as the secretary of state said, there is no evidence of fraud or intentional manipulation of the count in either side's favor. Under such circumstances, the certified results, doubt and all, constitute the most democratically legitimate outcome available.


continued...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40042-2004Dec31.html

Friday, 31 December 2004


Election Fraid


57,000 voter complaints of "irregularities" in the 2004 election reported to the House Judiciary Committee. How many more went unreported?

I've watched the videos of people who waited in line for 2, 3, 4...up to 9 hours to vote because there were not enough voting machines in the predominantly minority and low income precincts. Or those who were got to the head of the line after 3 hours and were told they should have been in the other line across the room. Or those who were told that they were registered to vote beforehand and yet were only given a provisional ballot which may or may not have been counted when they went to the polling place. I've listened to the congressional hearings on the matter and the stories people have told about the problems with Republican voting machines and, more recently, the problems with the so-called "random" recount of the precincts in Ohio.

And yet nothing has been done. Can you really blame the Republicans though? I mean, this strategy worked in 2000 and many would say in 2002 as well. Why should they care about people who probably weren't going to vote Republican anyway


continued...
http://wildwriter.typepad.com/wildwriter/2004/12/january_6th.html

Friday, December 31, 2004


Americans to Stage Last Stand for Democracy: "Boxer Rebellion" Set for Noon on January 3, 2005 at Senator's San Francisco Office
BY ADVOCATE STAFF


According to William Rivers Pitt of Truthout.org, "concerned citizens and civic organizations will present thousands of voter petitions to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) at her San Francisco office during a public press conference and rally on Monday, January 3, 2005 at noon."

The purpose of both the petitions and the rally is to convince the Senator to take a stand for democracy in America and challenge the certification of President Bush's re-election.

Numerous revelations of fraud, mistake, error, and obstruction have been uncovered in the State of Ohio since Election Day. .


continued...
http://nashuaadvocate.blogspot.com/2004/12/news-election-2004-americans-to-stage.html

January 01,2005


Election voted top story of '04
Sun Journal Staff


Upsets, allegations, personalities and controversy swirled around the 2004 election process.

Incumbent N.C. House member Mike Gorman lost in July's delayed primary, in which voter fraud was alleged in Jones County.

The Nov. 2 general election featured incorrect vote totals blamed on electronic voting software that was eventually corrected as well as triumphs for Scott Thomas and Alice Underhill.

Those were just some of the reasons the Sun Journal voted the election as the biggest story of 2004 by an overwhelming margin.

In voting by staffers, the election received six first-place votes and 120 points, while the number of deadly wrecks on area roads received 74 points as the second-biggest story of 2004.

-snip-

From a delayed North Carolina primary to problems with vote totals, the 2004 election process kept voters wondering last year.

Redistricting was finally settled, but the delayed primary in July produced an upset when Gorman lost to Michael Speciale, while four voters were charged with fraud in Jones County for voting twice.

-snip-

Still, the winners weren't so much the story as the problems with electronic voting machines. Craven County's first unofficial vote totals were skewed and showed Republican challenger Tony Michalek had defeated incumbent Democrat Leon Staton for the District 5 Board of Commissioners seat.


Link:
http://www.newbernsj.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=19211&Section=Local

Dec. 31 2004


The Year That Was

As we get ready to ring out the old and ring in the new, I thought it would be fun to make a list of the Top 10 FOX News stories as well as a list of the Top 10 Underreported Ones. Here's my list, made with some help from my wonderful and amazing blogmates. Feel free to add to the list, make one of your own or start a new Top 10 category.

-snip-

Top Ten Under-Reported
1. Prisoner abuse
2. Afghanistan war/Efforts to Find Osama bin Laden
3. Halliburton investigations
4. Iraqi death toll
5. Voting Problems/Ohio recount
6. Missing Al Qaqaa explosives
7. Sudan crisis
8. 9/11 Commission investigation
9. Bush's military record
10. Tom DeLay Ethics investigations


Link:
http://www.newshounds.us/2004/12/31/the_year_that_was.php

January 1, 2005


Election 2004: Vote count smoother, still some problems

By THOMAS HARGROVE, Scripps Howard News Service

-snip-

But the study did find wide variations among states in the accuracy of vote counts. Some states were eight times more likely than others to have ballots that didn't tally a choice for president last month, often because of poor ballot design or errors in tabulation.

-snip-

The 2000 presidential recount in Florida made many Americans aware for the first time that there is a significant margin of error in how votes get counted. Several states enacted sweeping reforms that included wholesale abolition of punch-card and lever-action voting machines in favor of newer technologies like optically scanned balloting and touch-screen computer terminals.

-snip-

Florida went from 97.1 percent of its ballots recording a presidential vote four years ago to 99.6 percent counting last month.

-snip-

"We were first? I predicted we'd have the lowest!" said Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller. "Last December, we decertified all punch-card machines in this state. Nevada's confidence in the validity of this presidential election is the highest in the nation."

-snip-

A few other states with historically high rates of undervoting showed little or no improvement this year, including the key battleground state of Ohio. Some 96,580 ballots in the Buckeye State failed to register a presidential vote this year, up from 93,991 four years ago.

Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, noting that 68 of Ohio's 88 counties still used punch-card ballots last month, said the results underscore the need for updated voting equipment. But Blackwell also suggested his state's 1.7 percent undervote — more than four times higher than Florida's this year — could be caused by the voters themselves.


continued...
http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/news/article/0,2071,NPDN_14940_3438514,00.html

January 1, 2005


EDITORIAL
Wishful Thinking


So, with dashed New Year's wishes from the past in mind, we aimed for a touch of realism in our editorial page wishes this time around. Losing 20 pounds would be swell. Losing 5 pounds would at least get the proverbial beggar's foot in the stirrup. So we won't wish for an end to all poverty and all wars. Here's our wish list for 2005:




continued...
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-wishlist1jan01,1,954663.story?coll=la-news-comment-editorials

Saturday, 01/01/05


By HOLLY EDWARDS
Staff Writer


Organizers insist that congressional inquiry needed


Civil rights leaders, social scientists, elected officials and local activists will rally tomorrow afternoon for a federal investigation into allegations of fraud in the November presidential election.

The House Judiciary Committee reported after the election that it received some 57,000 complaints about voting problems on election day, ranging from a shortage of voting machines to glitches with electronic vote casting machines. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has launched an investigation into the complaints.

Rally organizers said the sheer volume of complaints warrants a Congressional investigation into possible election tampering and points to the need for a massive overhaul of the country's voting system. They said they hope Congress looks into the complaints before it accepts the decision of the Electoral College.

''After looking at all the evidence, this appears to be a fraudulent election,'' said Bernie Ellis of Murray County, who organized the rally. ''In the future, we need an election that's verifiable with a paper trail. The sanctity of the voting process is in question and we're tampering with the future of our democracy here.''

At the third ''Gathering to Save Our Democracy'' rally tomorrow, leaders of the 1960s Nashville civil rights movement will discuss what was necessary to secure voting rights in the past, social scientists will review the latest evidence of election problems in Ohio and other states, and elected officials will discuss what can be done now.

continued...
http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/04/12/63568178.shtml?Element_ID=63568178

January 1, 2005


White House Watch: An Ohio city looks to calmer times
By ANN McFEATTERS, Block News Alliance


SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — My old hometown has been having interesting times lately. The Chinese were right. That's a curse.

Some years ago, Newsweek magazine decided to celebrate its 50th anniversary by devoting an entire issue to a city that the editors felt most represented the changes in the United States during those five decades. They chose Springfield, with about 88,000 people, to typify the struggle from an agricultural to an industrial-retail economy, submerged racial tensions and a citizenry full of optimism, independent spirit and entrepreneurial ambition. That issue of the magazine did not sell spectacularly well, but it made its mark — as Springfield goes, so goes the nation.

At least, that's what proud Springfielders have thought ever since.

This last election, White House political guru Karl Rove decided to put unprecedented grass-roots efforts into places such as Clark County, Ohio, for which Springfield is the county seat. That made the Democrats sit up and get to work. And soon President Bush and Sen. John Kerry began making what seemed to the folks of Clark County to be almost daily visits.

The New York Times quickly figured out that Springfield was the place to watch, and that brought the city to the attention of All of Europe, which did not want Bush re-elected because of opposition to the war in Iraq. A liberal British newspaper, The Guardian of London, suggested that its readers write to Springfield voters to suggest politely that they vote for Kerry. Many readers did, via e-mail and regular mail.

-snip-

Some Kerry supporters were horrified, saying The Guardian's tactic was helping Bush with a backlash effect. And when all the recounting was done, Clark County went narrowly for Bush; Ohio went narrowly for Bush; the nation went narrowly for Bush. You must draw your own conclusion.

Link:
http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/pe_columnists/article/0,2071,NPDN_14960_3437880,00.html

Posted on Friday, December 31, 2004


Films and DVDs of the Year


I didn’t get to the cinema as much as I’d liked to this year. I don’t have a good excuse. In contrast, the number of DVDs I bought this year was a trifle excessive. Parts of the caravan are actually bowing under the weight of them but I can’t bear to put any of them in storage. I bought far too many this year. Some were well worth it, others I’ll probably never watch again:

Top 3 Movies:

3. Fahrenheit 911. This just made Bush’s re-election even harder to stomach. Sure, it’s flawed and it has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, but try to remember: it was aimed at Americans.

continued...
http://tachyontv.typepad.com/tachyon_tv/2004/12/films_and_dvds_.html

12/31/2004


National exit poll data leaked

By John Byrne | RAW STORY Editor



Some national exit poll data from the presidential and other election races on Nov. 2 have been leaked online.

Others in prominent positions are in the process of vetting the data for any useful and/or relevant information, RAW STORY has learned. This site hopes to provide further context over the days to come, but for now the data can be viewed at Scoop.co.nz.

The leaked data show weighted results from the six-network exit poll pool at various points on Nov. 2 and Nov. 3, up until the point Sen. Kerry conceded. They display exit polls for various regions, including the South, East and Midwest.

They do not, however, provide the “raw” data that many have been looking for. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich), whose minority half of the House Judiciary Committee is investigating election irregularities, has asked the networks to release the raw data–that is data that is broken down by county and state–and the networks have refused, claiming their tallies are proprietary.

The national exit polls are a point of contention for many progressives, as they seemed to show Senator Kerry with a clear margin of victory on Nov. 2. Exit polls leaked to the press and this site for specific states showed Kerry defeating President Bush
by roughly four points nationally; Kerry was projected to win both Florida and Ohio.

Many feel that the exit polls suggested vote-rigging, though the battle has swung from side to side, and the national press has given more credence to Massachusetts Institute of Technology studies showing that the polls could have varied due to natural error.

A RAW STORY analyst, however, who formerly taught Mathematics at MIT, David Anick, found that the odds of Bush gaining by four percentage points over the exit polls nationwide was one in 50,000. Subsequent studies put the odds at an even greater margin



Link:
http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=524


DU Threads:
Mitofsky Exit Polls Released on Scoop -- From Another Board
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=215658
Any evidence of fraud in the Ukraine besides the exit poll discrepancy?
Other Places on the Net are Reporting Clear Evidence of Crime!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=214701
Can someone send this link to Conyers NOW?????

What precincts did select for the exit polls?

I know that in Alachua County they only did exit polling in one precinct. The was in Jonesville which is one of the most rural and conservative precincts in the county. Alachua County is home to the University of Florida and is a major liberal stronghold.

I think if we can find out what were the other sites that they selected that we will find a definite bias to try to make Bush look better.