"The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which other rights are protected." - Thomas PaineVoter Related OrganizationsElection Problems Galore - 2006 Election Problems GaloreWill your vote count in the next election? Maybe not! How will we even know? Democracy For America Clean Election Essentials Public Campaign - Clean Money, Clean Elections VerifiedVoting.Org BlackBoxVoting.Org Vote TrustUSA Common Cause - Actions for Elections VotesMustCount.Com Fair Elections FairVote-The Center for Voting and Democracy The National Ballot Integrity Project Task Force League of Women Voters League Of Women Voters: Voter Information Get Educated On the Issues Get Educated On the Candidates State & Local Leagues History of Voting Machines Bill Moyers Video - The Road To Clean Elections Election News - United States of AmericaElection Problems Galore - 2006 Election Problems GaloreDid 308,000 cancelled Ohio voter registrations put Bush back in the White House? It turns out, we missed more than a few of the dirty tricks Karl Rove, Ken Blackwell and their GOP used to get themselves four more years. In an election won with death by a thousand cuts, some that are still hidden go very deep. Over the next few weeks we will list them as they are verified. Did 308,000 cancelled Ohio voter registrations put Bush back in the White House? Public Campaign - How Clean Money, Clean Elections Campaign Reform Works The Clean Money, Clean Elections (CMCE) approach is designed to provide a clear alternative to the current system of raising and spending largely special-interest money to finance election campaigns. It allows qualified candidates to run for public office without compromising their independence since they won't have to ask for money from those with a vested interest in public policy. The system is completely voluntary and candidates who do not wish to participate are able to raise and spend private money for their campaigns, as they do today. Public Campaign Truth-in-campaign law struck down A state law prohibiting political candidates from lying about their opponents is an unconstitutional violation of free speech and chills political discourse, a state appeals court ruled yesterday. Truth-in-campaign law struck down Two Ohio election officials indicted over 2004 recount Two Cuyahoga County elections officials were indicted Tuesday on charges of not handling ballots correctly during the recount of the 2004 presidential election. officials indicted Statisticians recommend new measures to ensure vote count accuracy, release "Ohio’s 2004 exit poll analysis for novices” On February 14, 2006, the National Election Data Archive, a group of volunteer mathematicians and statisticians, released a report asking that new measures be taken immediately in order to assure the integrity of future U.S. election results. Their new report discusses why current measures to ensure vote count accuracy, such as testing and certification, are inadequate; discusses how evidence of vote miscounts are hidden by current election reporting procedures; and recommends independent vote count audits, public detailed election data monitoring, and public exit poll data. Statisticians recommend new measures to ensure vote count accuracy, release "Ohio’s 2004 exit poll analysis for novices” Jeanine Pirro: Speechless "Ms. Pirro began this campaign with attacks, mistakes, a flip flop and little substance. Jeanine Pirro: Speechless The Right to VOTE Ms. Noe's own scandal: Wife of Ohio GOP fundraiser does some election reform of her own. Ms. Noe's own scandal Voting in the United States is based on the constitutional principle of states' rights. The 10th Amendment to the Constitution states: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the State, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Since the word "vote" appears in the Constitution only with respect to non-discrimination, the so-called right to vote is a "state right." Only a constitutional amendment would give every American an individual affirmative citizenship right to vote. The Right to VOTE Verified Voting Sweeps the States! VerifiedVoting.org, our partners, and voters across the country have successfully persuaded state governments to pass or propose legislation / regulations to require voter-verified paper ballots. Help us complete the legislative landslide toward reliable, secure, and transparent elections! VeifiedVoting.Org A host of computer scientists and activists have joined forces to form the National Committee for Voting Integrity (NCVI) and to throw down a gauntlet to presidential candidates, inviting them to take a stance on electronic voting. PCWorld.com: New Coalition Raises Concerns About E-Voting Vote for Change Following the noisy debates over voting technology during the 2004 election, companies that make electronic voting machines are trying to plan a strategy for the future. Vote for change Voting Machines This page has some frequently asked questions about electronic voting machines and Common Cause answers. Voting Machines Analysis Points to Election 'Corruption' There's a one-in-959,000 chance that exit polls could have been so wrong in predicting the outcome of the 2004 presidential election, according to a statistical analysis released Thursday. ``All voting equipment technologies except paper ballots were associated with large unexplained exit poll discrepancies all favoring the same party, (which) certainly warrants further inquiry,'' the report concludes. Analysis Points to Election 'Corruption' Carter, Baker to Study Election Reform American University's Center for Democracy and Election Management announced yesterday that former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James A. Baker II will team-up to give recommendations to improve the nation’s election process. Carter, Baker to Study Election Reform Senator Boxer's Statement On Her Objection To The Certification Of Ohio's Electoral Votes - January 6, 2005 Senator Boxer's Statement On Her Objection To The Certification Of Ohio's Electoral Votes "...the centerpiece of this country is democracy, and the centerpiece of democracy is ensuring the right to vote." -- Senator Barbara Boxer, CaliforniaJanuary 7th, 2005 10:15 pm - Objection to Ohio Vote Count and Debate (video) Objection to Ohio Vote Count and Debate (video)Political Protest Overwhelmed by Voter Apathy One day when we're once again able to talk about political profiles in courage without gagging, we'll look back on the first week of January 2005 with a mixture of amazement and horror. Political Protest Overwhelmed by Voter Apathy Blackwell letter asks for illegal contributions COLUMBUS, Ohio - The state's chief elections officer, already accused of mishandling the presidential vote in Ohio and criticized for backing President Bush, sent a fund-raising letter for his 2006 gubernatorial campaign in which he asks for illegal corporate contributions. Blackwell letter asks for illegal contributions BBC TV Reveals New Florida Vote Scandal Republican "Caging List" A secret document obtained from inside Bush campaign headquarters in Florida suggests a plan - possibly in violation of US law - to disrupt voting in the state's African-American voting districts, a BBC Newsnight investigation reveals. BBC TV Reveals New Florida Vote Scandal Republican "Caging List" Senior Republican charged in phone jamming plot A former Bush campaign official has been charged with plotting to jam the phone networks of political opponents during the November 2002 election. Senior Republican charged in phone jamming plot Top-Giving PACs Favor GOP Candidates 10-1 Of 268 corporate PACs that donated $100,000 or more to presidential and congressional candidates from January 2003 through the middle of last month, 245 gave the majority of their contributions to GOP hopefuls, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Political Money Line campaign finance tracking service. Top-Giving PACs Favor GOP Candidates 10-1 Election System Still Fundamentally Flawed Do not let the reports in the news media fool you. The notion that the election ran "smoothly" in contested states is just so much self-serving happy talk. The truth is, the election system remains virtually closed to millions of Americans; significant barriers to the ballot box still exist for minorities and the poor. Election System Still Fundamentally Flawed Abolish Election Day The Internet is alive with furious messages from my frustrated friends, fanning the flames of Florida 2000. Along with many others, Thom Hartmann, a columnist and radio host writing on the respected site CommonDreams.org, has zeroed in on the discrepancy between the exit polls and the final results. How, he demands to know, could the leaks that so strongly favored John Kerry early in the evening have been so far wrong? Abolish Election Day Be Faithful to Your Moral Values! “The nation learned an important lesson this year,” said Reverend Carlton W. Veazey, President of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. “Our enemies are intolerance, extremism, and ignorance.” Be Faithful to Your Moral Values! Media overplayed "moral values" as "decisive" election issue. Media overplayed "moral values" as "decisive" election issue. Survey: Format Influenced Voter Priorities Whether voters named "moral values" their key issue partly depended on whether that subject was included in a list of choices provided by pollsters, according to a Pew Research Center analysis released Thursday. Survey: Format Influenced Voter Priorities The Ohio Factor: Did Homeland Security and the FBI interfere With the Vote Count? In Warren County, Ohio, election officials took a rather unprecedented action on November 2: They locked down the building where the votes were being tallied, blocking anyone from observing the vote counting process. President Bush won 72% of the vote in the county. We speak with the reporter who broke the story. The Ohio Factor: Did Homeland Security and the FBI interfere With the Vote Count? Did God tell them to steal the votes? Discussion of relationship between Christian Reconstructionists (Calvinist theocrats) and the electronic voting industry. Did God tell them to steal the votes? Post ElectionConservatives rail against MSNBC's Olbermann for reporting election irregularities Media conservatives have labeled MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann a "voice of paranoia" and accused him of perpetuating "idiotic conspiracy theories" for his sustained spotlight on the numerous local news reports of voting irregularities during the November 2 presidential election. Conservatives rail against MSNBC's Olbermann for reporting election irregularitiesOhio Finds Possible Double Votes, Counts COLUMBUS, Ohio - Election officials in one Ohio county found that about 2,600 ballots were double-counted, and two other counties have discovered possible cases of people voting twice in the presidential election. Ohio Finds Possible Double Votes, Counts Sorry About The Bush Re-election A Joint Statement of National Voting Rights Institute, DEMOS, People For the American Way Foundation, Common Cause, and the Fannie Lou Hamer Project Statement in Support of the Ohio Recount and for Conserving Ballots and Examining Procedures Nationwide Under Cheney, Halliburton expanded its trade with Iran through an offshore subsidiary. That arrangement is now being investigated by a federal grand jury. Top Bush campaign contributors fined for business with 'enemy' Given the reality of the 9-11 attacks, given the utter complicity of the media in the Bush regime's campaign of lies about Iraq and WMDs, it is not so surprising that fear has ruled the day. The politics of fear has a long pedigree in human affairs. What Moral Values? In areas with electronic voting machines, voters reported "malfunctions" that switched their choices from Democrat to Republican. Most tellingly, exit polling varied -- often wildly -- from the final "official" counts, often most in Bush's favor in those areas with electronic voting machines installed by private companies with Republican ties. On CNN, exit polls were changed to match. President Bush isn't a conservative. He's a radical - the leader of a coalition that deeply dislikes America as it is. Part of that coalition wants to tear down the legacy of Franklin Roosevelt, eviscerating Social Security and, eventually, Medicare. Another part wants to break down the barriers between church and state. And thanks to a heavy turnout by evangelical Christians, Mr. Bush has four more years to advance that radical agenda. No Surrender ~ By Paul Krugman Machine Errors Gives Bush Extra Votes Voters nationwide reported some 1,100 problems with electronic voting machines on Tuesday, including trouble choosing their intended candidates. Electronic Voting Machine Woes Reported Using County-by-County election return data from USA Today together with County boundary data from the US Census' Tiger database we produced the following graphic depicting the results. Of course, blue is for the democrats, red is for the republicans, and green is for all other. Each county's color is a mix of these three color components in proportion to the results for that county. Election 2004 Results Exit Poll Graphic IndyMedia.us Pre ElectionBefore one vote was cast in early voting this week in Florida, the new touch-screen computer voting machines of Florida started out with a several-thousand vote lead for George W. Bush. That is, the mechanics of the new digital democracy boxes "spoil" votes at a predictably high rate in African-American precincts, effectively voiding enough votes cast for John Kerry to in a tight race, keep the White House safe from the will of the voters. Florida's Computers Have Already Counted Thousands of Votes for George W. BushBush administration lawyers are now attempting to overturn decades of legal precedence by claiming that under the Help America Vote Act only Attorney General John Ashcroft -- and not individual voters - have a right to ask federal courts to enforce voting rights. Bush Administration Attempts To Overturn Decades of Legal Precedence & Block Voting Rights Lawsuits From Voters Ohio GOP challenges 35,000 voters Electronic voting unreliable without receipt Investigative reporter Greg Palast exposes a secret document within the Republican Party in Florida that contains nearly 1,900 names and addresses of voters in the predominantly black and Democratic areas of Jacksonville. The so-called "caging list" could be used to block and harass African-American voters. Secret Document Suggests GOP Preparing to Challenge Black Vote in Florida A secret document obtained from inside Bush campaign headquarters in Florida suggests a plan - possibly in violation of US law - to disrupt voting in the state's African-American voting districts, a BBC Newsnight investigation reveals. New Florida vote scandal feared Hip-hop's influence expected at polls BBC TV TO REVEAL NEW FLORIDA VOTE SCANDAL REPUBLICAN "CAGING LIST" Rock The Vote: Register To Vote GOP Pressures Rock the Vote to Stop Talking About the Draft Diebold Voting Machines Voter Fraud 2004Ohio GOP Loses Bid to Fight RegistrationsCampaign 2004: Voter registration workers cry foul Jimmy Carter fears repeat of election fiasco in Florida Flyer About Black Voters Angers Mo. GOP Sunday 17 October 2004: Florida Gov. Jeb Bush ignored advice to throw out a flawed felon voter list before it went out to county election offices despite warnings from state officials, according to a published report Saturday. Report: Jeb Bush Ignored Felon List Advice A voter registration outfit largely funded by the Republican National Committee is being accused of destroying the registration forms of hundreds of newly registered Democratic voters in Nevada. Democracy in a Trash Can Knapp reported that two former employees claimed that they had "personally witnessed company supervisors rip up and trash registration forms signed by Democrats." Trashing democracy If voters were leaning Republican, the group is said to have assisted in their registration. If they leaned Democratic, the group allegedly ignored them or later destroyed the form. Voter Fraud Charges Out West Past Voter FraudNation Investigation Reveals Florida Officials Shut Out Tens of Thousands of Black Voters on Election DayOpinions On ElectionsIf you've been following the news on the U.S. indymedia network this week, you know that a free and fair election was not held on Tuesday. The Election was Stolen; How we know & Why it mattersKerry Won. Here are the Facts ~ by Greg Palast Ed Shultz Talks To Senator Clinton About Voting Machines Protect the Vote Voting MachinesReports of electronic voting trouble top 1,000Watchdogs Spot E-Vote Glitches E-Voting Tests Get Failing Grade |