That's how they do it in Canada--paper ballots hand-counted at the precinct level. And they do the count in less than a day, usually--although speed should not even be a consideration, only accuracy and verifiability.
And in Germany, they have that old-fashioned glass jar. Everybody watches the ballots go in; everybody watches the ballots come out. Their exit polls are clean (not controlled by corporate news monopolies), and are used to verify elections and check for fraud. (Transparent elections are a no-brainer, really. So...why do we not have them???!!!)
BUT, we now have a wholly transformed and wholly corrupt, NON-TRANSPARENT, UNVERIFIABLE election system, almost everywhere in this country, and furthermore, we have the private Bushite corporations which control it hanging onto their power with tooth and claw.
So, what do we do NOW--this year? Here are my suggestions...
1. Think long term. Closely monitor the coming elections, watch everything they do (that is watchable), gather evidence, document it, get ready for challenges and lawsuits, and for presenting evidence later in battles against the machines. See activist web sites below.
2. Demand that the Democratic Party fund INDEPENDENT EXIT POLLS in every Congressional election (and I'd like to see them in the primaries, too). Badly needed. Exit polls are the best tool for verifying elections. They are used worldwide for this purpose. The war profiteering corporate news monopoly exit polls cannot be trusted. And the Dem Party owes us this--for their failure of vigilance and corruption on election integrity. (See exit poll analysis, below.)
3. Go for whatever paper ballot you can get. For instance, urge people to request absentee ballots. Absentee ballots are not the total answer, by any means, but they, a) provide a tangible record of the vote for challenges/recounts (and were very helpful to investigators in 2004); and b) are a form of protest against the machines!--and if enough people do it, the machines will be obsolete, and then we can work on getting rid of the central tabulators. (See below, "MythBreakers" - www.votersunite.org.)
4. Engage the public in this fight for our democracy. Bumper sticker: "Help Us Beat the Machines--VOTE!" The American people NEED TO KNOW! Don't lie to them! Tell them the truth! They will be so relieved that the country didn't go batshit crazy in '04--that we're just suffering from rigged elections. It will confirm what they know in their gut. And it may well be possible to beat the machines with big turnouts (--the evidence is that they have to be pre-programmed, and the programning is not so easy to change on election day, so if they underestimate the turnout and the anti-Bushite vote, we can beat them with sheer numbers).
5. Support good Sec of State candidates. Two listed below: Debra Bowen in Calif, and John Bonifaz in Mass. SEND DONATIONS! This is where the fight is going to be won or lost--in who we put into office to oversee elections. Our support right now is critically important. Spread the word!
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SOME RESOURCES FOR AMERICAN REVOLUTION II:
Hopeful signs - latest news:
TODAY: New York Times: "New Fears of Security Risks in Electronic Voting Systems" (5/12/06)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2278829California voters sue the state over Diebold:
www.VoterAction.org is suing the state of California and 18 Calif county registrars on behalf of 25 California voter/plaintiffs, on the illegal Diebold "certification" by Schwarzenegger appointee Bruce McPherson.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2180496Seven of these counties just promised the judge they would use PAPER BALLOTS, and were dismissed from this lawsuit (4/27/06).
http://kcbs.com/pages/29285.php http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2249205Maryland rejects Diebold:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x418263Florida - anti-trust accusations against Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia, re: heroic Florida election official Ion Sancho:
(FLA AG subpoenas the companies)
http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,110192,00.htmlhttp://www.tbo.com/news/politics/MGBKSY8W8LE.html(info & discussion)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2183630Utah county clerk fights back!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x419226-----
More resources for American Revolution II:
www.votersunite.org (MythBreakers - easy primer on electronic voting--one of the myths is that HAVA requires electronic voting; it does not.)
www.UScountvotes.org (statistical monitoring of '06 and '08 elections--they need donations)
(Activist sites with links to state activist groups or info)
www.votetrustusa.org (news of this great movement from around the country)
www.votersunited.org (good general info, and state links)
www.verifiedvoting.org (great activist site)
www.solarbus.org/election/index.shtml (fab compendium of all election info)
www.freepress.org (devoted to election reform)
www.bradblog.com (also great, and devoted to election reform)
www.TruthIsAll.net (analysis of the 2004 election)* :patriot: :applause: :patriot:
www.votepa.us (well-organized local group of citizen activists in Pennsylvania, where important legal issues are at stake, including state's rights over election systems)
Provisions of the PA lawsuit:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x423739The Voter Confidence Resolution
http://tinyurl.com/rlnr2 (“We Do Not Consent”)
http://guvwurld.blogspot.com (GuvWurld blog main page)
http://tinyurl.com/amryg (Voter Confidence Resolution
www.debrabowen.com (Calif Senator running for Sec of State to reform election system)
www.johnbonifaz.com (running for Massachusetts Sec of State on strong election reform and antiwar platform)
*Some tributes to TruthIsAll, who is very ill:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x417007http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x417231http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x675477Congressional bills:
Russ Holt's HR 550 requires a real paper ballot, bans secret software in "voting machines", and has more than 170 co-sponsors, but the audit required is too weak, it promotes electronic voting and centralized power, and the secret software might be permitted to continue in the central tabulators (the bill is not clear). To sign the HR 550 petition:
http://www.rushholt.com/petition.htmlAt lot of discussion at DU of the loopholes/pitfalls in HR 550:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x422926http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x421136http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=422967&mesg_id=422967(Note: Senate Bill-SB 330 and House-HR704 simply require a "voter verified paper audit trail" (VVPAT), which may be best for the moment.)
Also of interest:
Michael Collins (Autorank)'s searing election reform article for New Zealand's Scoop.com
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x971363 Bob Koehler (-- four recent election reform initiatives in Ohio, predicted to win by 60/40 votes, flipped over, on election day, into 60/40 LOSSES!--the biggest flipover we've seen yet; the election theft machines and their masters are now dictating election policy! Title: "Poll Shock" 11/24/05)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col321.htm Bob Koehler's latest: "Trust us: Take this box and stuff it" (3/16/06)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col337.htmMore Koehler:
www.tmsfeatures.com/tmsfeatures/subcategory.jsp?file=20051124ctnbk-a.txt&catid=1824&code=ctnbk
Amaryllis (Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia lavish lobbying of election officials - Beverly Hilton, Aug. '05)
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x380340
HOWARD DEAN remarks on electronic voting machines 04/06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x994507------------------------------------------------
Throw Diebold, ES&S and ALL election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW!
:think: :patriot: :woohoo: :patriot: :think:
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"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it." --Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence