Election Complaints Are Pouring In
With somber concern for our democracy and our country, I send out this edition of Election Justice News. Early voting is well underway in many states, and reports are literally pouring in that portray an organized effort by the GOP to steal yet another election. Taken one at a time, they are easy to discount as mistakes, but the pattern is overwhelming. We're seeing many reports of touchscreen voting machines flipping from Obama to McCain in several states, on different types and brands of voting machines. Millions of eligible voters have been purged from the voter rolls in the last few weeks.
The reports are coming in so fast I can't keep up with it all. Every time I think I have this newsletter ready to go out, another report of vote flipping or voter suppression starts to break. It's enough to really get you down. Compared to 2004, it's a little different because more people are aware of the problems, and a few more reporters are willing to talk about it. But the big news agencies are still busy creating a controversy about ACORN that doesn't exist.
The question now that people are starting to ask is, what are we going to do on November 5th, if it looks like the election was stolen? I still have hope, that the sheer numbers will make it difficult if not impossible to overtake, even with the extensive fraudulent efforts we're seeing. But the reality is, yes it could happen again. The answer to the question of what we do next, is not for me to answer at this time, but it is something that every one of us should start thinking about. There are still some things we can do to try to prevent it from happening. It begins with vigilance, which means that as depressing as it can be, we must pay attention and spread the word, so that people know what's going on. From there we can all take specific steps to try to safeguard our votes.
The influx of reports and proximity to the election are causing us to completely revamp the Election Justice Center website. We are moving everything prior to October into the archives, focusing on this election, and grouping reports by category. Please check the website often for daily updates.
You will find this newsletter to be a bit overwhelming. My advice is to read all the headlines to get a feel for what is happening, and then pick a handful of articles you wish to read in more detail. We must stay informed and we must be vigilant. Read on...
--Gary Beckwith, Editor
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We all know those touchscreen voting machines are bad news. Once you cast your vote, it disappears forever into computer "La La Land" where Diebold and ES&S decide what to do with it. You want a recount, or audit? Fuggetaboutit... Well what do you do when you actually see your vote being flipped, right before your eyes on the machine? You'd think that the programmers would at least try to cover up what they're doing and flip the vote after you walk away, but evidently they're not that smart, at least some of the time. The reports are now trickling in of many people clicking on the vote for Obama and seeing it register as a vote for McCain. Not surprisingly, we're still waiting for the first real report of the reverse. If the past is any indication, there won't be many - in 2004 there were thousands of vote flipping incidents reported, and nearly every single one was a person trying to vote for Kerry but seeing their vote flipped to Bush.
We can see this as the tip of the iceberg in several ways. First, early voting has just begun and the fact that vote flipping is already being reported is quite disturbing. But even moreso, consider that these are only the reports of when people can actually see their votes being flipped. If this many people are observing vote flipping, we can only wonder how many more votes are being flipped inside the machine, invisible to our eyes.
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In New York State alone, over 1 million voters have been purged. Some for legitimate reasons, but these purges clearly affect eligible voters significantly. Some have lost their right to vote just because they recently moved, they lost their home, or their driver's license has a middle initial on it and their voter registration doesn't - and the vast majority are Democrats.
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Pre-election polls show that if McCain "wins," there is every reason to suspect fraud.
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Everyone's heard by now the horrible things that ACORN is doing, registering Mickey Mouse to vote. The story is actually a red herring, trying to divert attention from the real fraud being perpetrated by an organization John McCain hired to get registrations for the GOP. While the attacks on ACORN have proven to be baseless, the head of another firm you haven't heard of on TV has been arrested for illegally changing people's party affiation from Democrat to Republican. As well, McCain has hired another registration organization that has a been known shred democratic registration forms it takes in.
Even CNN is now reporting that the attacks on ACORN are 'looking like a fraud committed against ACORN.
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In addition to these new movies, we still recommend these not-so-new but still great films:
Make a commitment to watch at least two of these films before election day, and to watch them with another person. All you need is some popcorn and a friend. Your country needs you!
Stay tuned in the next edition for a list of great and new books on election integrity.
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As part of the effort to get the truth out around election time, we've temporarily marked down everything in our store that relates to elections - 25% or more, including some of the films listed above.
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The Solar Bus Election Justice Newsletter is one source of information on election integrity, voting machines, and election reform. Our newsletters are an attempt to consolidate the most important stories over several weeks time and deliver them with summaries and links to more information. We know you're busy, but you care about our election system.
Other email-based news services provide more frequent and more indepth coverage. If you want more, here are a few good suggestions:
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Election Justice News is a free newsletter of the Solar Bus. Please forward this newsletter. Check the Election Justice Center website for regular updates on the issue of voting machines and election integrity. To receive or discontinue this newsletter, send an email to gary(at)solarbus.org. For information on our other free newsletters, click here.