The GOP is Planning on Turning MILLIONS Away At The Polls

[rucky]

it's pretty obvious what the GOP 2006/2008 strategy is going to be: 1) Scrub the rolls, 2) Hamper registration efforts, 3) Fix the machine counts.

If we're organized, we can catch them in the act - instead of poring over the data after the fact.

So WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?

If it doesn't exist, there needs to be an organization of poll-watchers - at the crime-scenes - er - polling places - this November. They need to be trained at what to watch for, and how to record the evidence. We need to catch people who are being turned away, and keep in touch with them. We need to demand open counting, look out for live internet connections on machines, and the switching of network cards, etc.

I'm sure I'm not the first person to have thought of this, so if you are involved in an organization who is doing just this, please post volunteer information so other DU-ers can sign up.

NOW IS THE TIME TO VOLUNTEER FOR THIS. NOW IS THE TIME FOR THESE WATCHDOG GROUPS TO GET ORGANIZED.

I know there are plenty of other people like myself who feel helpless and nervous as hell about 2006, and want to do something about it.

[LA lady]

1. Check it early

I tell everyone to check your voter registration ahead of time. Be Prepared.

[Epiphany4z]

3. how does one check

there voter registration? I was an Indy until this last primary..I had to declare to vote in it...I would like make sure that screw up anything for me..Plus if I don't know ...then a lot of others don't know and I would like to be able to tell them how.

It seems to me a campaign to double check would be a good idea.

[jojo54]

4. Call your local voter registration office.

It should be in the phone book. Don't know if they'll send you a new voter card, but at least you'll know that all is in order. Or, you can call your local representative and they'll direct you to the proper department. Good luck.

[acmejack]

5. Most places you can check online.

Go to your County Secretary's Office Website or the equivalent where you live.

[Epiphany4z]

66. Thanks for the info

I think it would be a good idea to post a link our countys on our local dem club web sight ...one thing though...shudder...ken blackwells pic is at the top....ack....ack...but I think it would be worth it to get people to check on there registration before the election.

[Joanne98]

16. Yes! We have to hammer this in people's heads.

[SmokingJacket]

2. Yep -- I'm going to be an election worker this year -- first time.

I want to see what's going on from the inside.

[jojo54]

6. Me too, although it won't be my first time.

I ususally check the addresses for correction and duplication. Kind of a cool job for $60 bucks!!

[rucky]

10. How do you become one? n/t

[SmokingJacket]

11. I signed a mailing list the last time I voted,

and they sent me a letter a couple of months ago to see if I was still interested. I was!

But I bet you could just call your county board of elections.

[NMDemDist2]

30. me too! I'm gonna sign up at the same time I register to vote in NM

next month

[bdamomma]

49. great idea, the more help the better

[WA98296]

7. Why is the Democratic Party NOT planning EXIT POLLS for Christ's sake?

[Doctor_J]

15. What good would that do?

The exit polls in OH two years ago made it crystal clear that Kerry was elected president. So what is your point?

[ldf]

25. Great!

throw the baby out with the bath water.

that is an EXCELLENT idea.

there are no paper trails, so the only way to know IS exit polls.

also make sure that EVERYONE knows that if necessary, a notarized statement that you voted, and who you voted for, may be required. it can be matched against your signature that you voted, on the voter sign in sheets.

this "secret voting" shit is exactly why we are where we are at.

are you ASHAMED of who you voted for? if so, then don't vote.

and the democratic party, if it was worth a penny, would be working on a way to follow through on making sure ALL votes are counted as they should have been, and for the candidate that should have received their vote.

it's not impossible, folks. it may be a bit of work for everyone, but i, for one, think that it is worth it.

the democratic candidate should tell everyone voting to go ahead and get the notarized statement, JUST in case it is needed.

if you think there is a possibility that your signature may be scrubbed, have someone discreetly take a non-flash photo of you signing in. hopefully you will never need it, but at least it could be used, whether "legal" or not.

that would be great. the gop fighting to keep suppressed PROOF that you voted. that would go over really well.

that may make the cheaters think twice before trying to rig the vote.

we HAVE to do something.

:grr:

[goclark]

52. Excellent post ~ I'm with you all the way!!

[Doremus]

54. And another thing. If we can't beat them, join them.

Instead of running around frantically trying to 1) find, 2) identify, and 3) clean up after the pigs' underhanded disenfranchisement plots after the fact, has anyone ever given thought to taking a page from their book?

The repugs aren't known for their intelligence, are they? Might there be some orchestrated campaign WE could concoct to throw some chaos and confusion at their base?

Seems to me if THEY have to spend their time undoing a disinformation campaign or two, they'd have ALOT less free time to be throwing wrenches at us.

It has to be something legal. We're not thugs like them.

But what?

(Oh piffle. This was meant to be posted down thread, sorry.)

[benddem]

8. we need to have a drive

to have Democrats working in every precinct in the country. I don't know about all states but Wisconsin and Oregon are supposed to have an equal number of poll workers.
Then we need to have poll watchers at every precinct.
Then we need to have everyone equiped with cell phones/cameras so they can photograph the perps and call for help.

[seriousstan]

9. Be a poll worker. Call your local board of election and also check your

voting registration at the same time.

[Seedersandleechers]

28. I just got hired to be a poll worker last Wednesday

I made a call and damn they hired me over the phone the same day. Using Diebold for the first time here.

[earthside]

12. They Were Caught in the Act Last Time

Remember the Kerry campaign and national Democratic Party teams of thousands of lawyers all over the country that were going to make sure that everyone who wanted to vote could vote and that ALL the votes would be counted?

Greg Palast in his new book Armed Madhouse says on page 259:

... But on November 2, 2004, within hours of the polls closing the party threw in the towel with that $51 million left in its war chest.

I can't say the Dems made no preparations to stop another steal. I was assured that "we had a team of lawyers" -- literally thousands of them "ready for Election Day." It was a very Democratic response. By Election Day 2004, the vote-spoiling machines were already in place, the "caging" lists already active in Florida and Michigan, the polling stations already removed from Black precincts in Ohio. Election Day was too late for lawyers; the fix was already in. And when it happened as predicted, a heartsick official in the NAACP Voter Protections Fund told me (anonymously, of course that McAuliff's captains gave the order to those thousands of lawyers to stand down.

Something is wrong with the Democratic Party leadership ... then, and sadly now. I'm not seeing anyone talking about preventing those same radical Republican/Rove dirty tricks from happening in just a little over four months.

Yes, it is very depressing ... but when I see a Congressman calling for reporters to be arrested and tried for treason for telling the truth about more illegal spying ... well ... you tell me what hope there is?

[rucky]

14. Is the NAACP Voter Protections Fund something we should get involved in?

obviously the party is not being helpful, and individual poll-watching is not organized nor credible.

I think this is the kind of thing we "colored people" need to attach ourselves to.

[roseBudd]

35. In addition I beleive the lawyers were not computer savvy, they don't know

about if then statements.

The Kerry lawyer covering Warren County stated he thought the tabulation was honest even though the press was denied access and he had to split his time between 2 rooms.

[snot]

45. lord knows that's true -- they're all on on PC's!

[roseBudd]

64. Using PCs has nothing to do with knowing about programming language

If (something is true)

then (something will happen)

If a punchacrd ballot has a whole lot of impossible holes punched because of ballot shields

then every fourth punch for Kerry shall be assigned to Bush

This is how preelection testing would fail to uncover such an if then statement

BTW such ballots have been discovered in Warren County

[snot]

44. I agree--I am frustrated and mystified about it, and feel

we deserve a better answer.

[KansDem]

13. I don't want to sound like a gadfly here, but...

Even if these desparadoes are watched constantly, what's to keep them from alterring vote data after hours or out of the public's eye? Like what happened in Warren County:

Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Warren Co. defends lockdown decision


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FBI denies warning officials of any special threat

By Erica Solvig and Dan Horn
Enquirer staff writers


LEBANON - Warren County officials, facing scrutiny of their decision to lock down the administration building on election night, say they were responding to a terrorist threat that ranked a "10" on a scale of 1 to 10.

The information, which Commissioner Pat South said was previously deemed confidential, is coming out a week after the public was barred from viewing the Warren County vote count. The Ohio Secretary of State's office doesn't know of any other county in the state to impose such a restriction.

County officials initially said they feared that having reporters and photographers present could interfere with the ballot counting. They subsequently cited homeland security concerns.

Now, they say an FBI agent told them that Warren County ranked a "10" on a terrorism scale. However, state and federal homeland security officials said Tuesday they were unaware of any specific threat against the county.

County officials locked down the administration building on Justice Drive after the polls there had closed. Officials say having both a polling place and the board of elections in one location increased security concerns.

--more--

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/11/10/loc_warrenvote10.html

How do you stop this?

[rucky]

17. 20/20 Hindsight, but here's what i would've done....

follow them. trespass. have THEM call the police and explain why they're doing what they're doing.

If they use "level 10 terrorist threat" on the cops, there would be some servious head-scratching.

I'm afraid acts of civil disobedience will be necessary to stop the 2006 fraud.

[KansDem]

24. I'm with you on this...

I'm afraid acts of civil disobedience will be necessary to stop the 2006 fraud.

I'd love to wade into a mob of GOP thugs like this one:



I may be the first one to go down, but at least I'd feel I did something...

on edit: no more standing on the sidelines saying, "Wha' the...?" "Huh?" "Isn't anyone gonna stop this...?"

[Joanne98]

18. We accuse them of cheating BEFORE they do...

them if they do, we can raze a huge stink.

[snot]

46. That's one reason exit polls remain critically impt., if only so WE know

what really happened.

[Doctor_J]

19. Duh

For myself, it's a fait accompli. This election is over and done with - it will again be stolen, with the results in Ohio and Florida being fixed in such a way to keep the House and Senate in GOP hands. I look for whitewell to be elected governor as well. All the poll watchers in the world aren't going to help if there aren't enough voting machines in Dem precincts. Nor are they going to be able to prevent elligible voters from being purged between now and November, and GOP ciminals from pretending to register people and then leaving them off of the rolls.

This is not going to end nice, folks. We MAYBE had a chance to do something about it in 2000. If Delay's mob in Florida had been met with baseball bats and fire hoses when they attempted to stop the recount, we may have discouraged subsequent efforts. Now, with the GOP Congress on the verge of codifying Jim Crow, it will soon be legal for Repubs to deny people their right to vote.

[rucky]

20. then how about a baseball bat brigade?

metaphorically, of course ;)

[Doctor_J]

22. As I posted, the time that this might have worked was 2000

it's gone.

[femrap]

34. What about the new 'Vote Early' program in Ohio?

From what I understand, voting will begin at BOEs on October 3. And paper ballots will be used. I am starting now to educate folks about this. We can have 'voting parties.' Drive 5 people to the BOE, have them vote, then stop for ice cream on the way home...or maybe pumpkin pie.

I suppose the pugs have some plan about that as well.

[bobbieinok]

41. they 'lose' the ballots, the form wasn't filled out properly, etc, etc,

[blm]

21. GOP works for FOUR YEARS STRAIGHT on suppressing Dem votes - they never

wait to see how a campaign goes - they don't CARE. Their candidate only has to show up and do his thing. He can depend on his group of merry thieves to do all the devious work that keeps them in office.

[Supersedeas]

29. yep, Pubbies really value democracy

[rucky]

23. ARE THERE SERIOUSLY NO ORGANIZATIONS DOING THIS?

nobody's posted any yet.

:shrug:

[MaineDem]

26. Your local state Dem party will be doing this

Training will get underway in September.

In fact, the DNC will have a national day of training in September.

I urge you to contact your state organization. Please don't be upset if they have nothing organized yet. Just tell them you want to volunteer to be a poll watcher on Election Day. Hopefully, someone will take your contact information. Be sure you follow-up after Labor Day. I'd love to assume the follow-up won't be needed but I'd do it to be sure.

The coordinated campaigns are just getting going in most states. Be persistent.

[rucky]

27. Thanks! I'm in Ohio...

Miami county, more specifically.

we better have something organized

[mom cat]

37. This should already be organized by now. I think that a citizens

group or groups could go a long way in this.

[MaineDem]

40. The plans are probably in place but it's still early to be geared up 100%

Some people are very engaged, like most here at DU. But, in fact, most average people won't get excited about the election until after summer. If training is done for election day workers now it will all be put in cold storage until November. It'll be better to train people and then have them go out and practice what they've learned immediately.

I know Election Day plans are in place in most, if not all, states right now. But the people haven't been recruited for those positions yet. It really is too early. Lists are being maintained of volunteers. It's never too early to start that.

[rucky]

42. There needs to be an awareness campaign this Summer

so people have time to verify if they are (still) registered to vote.

I'm afraid if they're scrubbed this Summer, they'll find out after it's too late.

[MaineDem]

58. That's a different issue but I agree with you

We don't have that problem here in Maine because we allow same-day registration.

But I agree that people should be urged to double check their registration status before the deadline for registering. Excellent point!

[mom cat]

67. I wish that I had confidence that a plan was in place, I just don't.

[w4rma]

31. Yup. A multi-tiered voter denial strategy. (nt)

[coalition_unwilling]

32. These fascists won't voluntarily relinquish power. They will

not go down without being forced to step down. I'll leave you with those words to ponder.

[formercia]

33. and bring a camera to the polls

one of the one-use jobs. It's probably better than a digital model because of the difficulty in tampering with the image. Check your local laws and make sure it's ok with the officials. I was able to catch one violation in 2004. Pictures help if it goes to litigation.

Cockaroaches will often back down if there's a camera.

Make them think about the idea of going to prison for the 'gang'.

[McCamy Taylor]

36. This is all illegal--and why they want to get rid of Voting Rights Act.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

38. The people handing out info for Dems candidates at the polls

should have a second piece they hand out that says:

If you are denied your right to vote and you believe that you are a legally registered voter call this number. That second number should be a law firm that specializes in civil and voting rights. This handout should also have information about what EXACTLY their rights are and how they can go about filing a provisional ballot if that is possible. People leave frustrated and angry, but they don't know what to DO IMMEDIATELY or who to contact IMMEDIATELY. I also think this would put the fritz on people trying to suppress voters.

If I were denied the right to vote because I was illegally purged from some list - you better believe that I would be taking names right and left. I would also call up the television stations and the newspapers.

Don't take this lying down!

[emcguffie]

39. Thank God.

It must be me. I used to post things like this, and no one would pay any attention to them. I'm so glad someone is that people will respond to.

Yes, it certainly seems to me that we should be organizing all across the country, grassroots style, maybe through the DFA set up, but why not through DU?, to have alternative poll watchers and exit polls and everything else we can come up with. Or else it is just all over.

[Awsi Dooger]

43. I'm a big believer in 1 and 2

Not 3.

Our election officials need to be curtailing 1 and 2 as much as possible right now and thru November. If it gets to election day we've lost. Challenges and lawyers are like the pound of cure, not going to work.

Voter roll purging is where we lose thousands of net votes when it's allowed to occur, so I damn sure hope we're prioritizing that in every state.

[IndyOp]

47. Rucky - I've written you (and everyone!) a detailed response here:

There are *many* good organizations that are getting on the ball and need help!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1513269

Go Rucky! :applause:

[lonestarnot]

48. Millions better turn the tables and fast!

[bdamomma]

50. Our voting will be the only way

to show them that we will not relinquish our vote, and will not be ignored or be played fools again. Just get out there and vote.

[lonestarnot]

62. Plan on it but...

if the machine flips it to a repuke or it's not counted someone is going to pay this time.

[ThoughtCriminal]

51. I'm expecting problems

Arizona's new ID law is a problem for us. We received new ID cards, but these are not enough to vote anymore.

When we moved a year ago, we went to Motor Vehicles to take care of the change of address. They told us we did not have to get new licenses printed unless we wanted to pay the fee and wait in line. We were rather busy, and I seldom need to show ID, so we passed. You can also use a utility bill with a matching address, but we use a seperate PO Box for almost all our bills. I think that our property tax bill is about the only thing we can use that has our names and an address that matches our voter ID. We'll proably get new driver licenses before the next election just to simplify things.

Nothing - and I mean nothing will stand in my way from voting, but I forsee lots and lots of people - especially those who are mobile getting hosed by this in November. Provisional ballot? Pfffft, I might as well drop it in a Fellows brand shredder.

[Doremus]

53. How do you thwart caging and phone banks giving bogus info?

Both occurred in Ohio in 2004, and probably all other states.

The swine targeted Dem precincts with direct mailers only a couple of weeks before the election. The ones returned to sender were removed from the voting rolls, most of the time erroneously because the post office was wrong, the person was out of town and in several cases they were soldiers serving in Iraq. (I firmly believe Bill Bennett passed that little tip along to the Fla. repugs who recently targeted black soldiers from units known to be in Iraq :mad: :mad: ).

They also brought in their favorite cast of thugs to call Dem voters to tell them precincts had moved, voting day was changed, the usual stuff.

I just know Ken Hackwell is going to wait until the last minute and send out an edict that only state-issued IDs will suffice for voting, knowing full well that most people without them won't have time to obtain one before the election. (And he'll make sure of that by creating some bottleneck or other at the state license bureaus...)

The pigs have systematically and methodically prepared their plan of attack -- a comprehensive, thorough and detailed plan honed from years of experience. We have ... what? A hastily-assembled corps of volunteers given a couple hours' training? NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

What the hell can we accomplish up against skilled, trained professional CROOKS? We will be mincemeat for the pit bulls ---- AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN ---- until this party starts taking this seriously!

[OneBlueSky]

55. of course they are! . . . is it so difficult to comprehend . . .

that BushCo CAN NOT lose control of either the House or the Senate? . . . it is quite literally a matter of life and death for them, and they will do ANYTHING to ensure that it doesn't happen . . . not only would it end their total control of our government, but it would likely result in any number of them going to jail for a long, long time . . .

and I don't know what the solution is . . . since the Democrats have NOT been fighting the election fraud issue tooth and nail for the past five years -- or even the past two -- all of the systems will be in place to ensure that just enough Republicans are elected/re-elected to maintain control of both houses . . . they have the motive, the means, and the motivation -- why wouldn't they use them? . . .

I fear the 2006 is going to see a lot of Max Clelands in states like Ohio, Florida, and elsewhere . . .

[GreenTea]

56. Your correct.

The lower the turnout, always favors the republicans, they know this, and will do all to ensure a small turnout.(Do they have us running & wondering, well we should).

It's much easier to steal an election with Diebold with a small 50% turnout or they hope, LESS!

Expect the republicans to pull anything off (fraud)to keep it in their favor to continue with the corporate fascist majority. - If all goes as planned for the republicans, we haven't seen nothing yet that even resembles their ruthlessness.

[rman]

57. I expect mixed up voter IDs

You know, two people with the same voter ID: neither can vote until the issue is resolved - which will be after the election, if at all.

[Kukesa]

59. I'm a poll worker in Ohio -

I worked the primary election and will work in the general as well. I figured this was the best way to keep an eye on Diebold, from the inside.

If there is even a hint of fraud in my precinct, you'll hear me screaming all the way to Columbus.

Seriously, folks, volunteer to work at the polls; Ohio needs Dem workers. Check your local Board of Elections' website or give them a phone call.

[Name removed]

60. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[rucky]

63. ...

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20040307-9999-1n7vote.html

http://www.local10.com/news/3878344/detail.html

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2002/05/07/News/Voters.Turned.Away.At.Three.Polling.Places-501992.shtml?norewrite200606271106&sourcedomain=www.dailytexanonline.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A64737-2004Dec14?language=printer

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041022/NEWS09/410220382/1001/NEWS

http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/1020-03.htm

http://www.wndu.com/news/112002/news_17068.php

http://www.electionscience.org/Members/blach/electionexperience.2004-11-02.5873397271

http://www.kctalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4665

http://www.democrats.org/a/2005/05/dean_calls_on_m.php

http://www-tech.mit.edu/V116/N57/heimburger.57c.html

http://www.cincypost.com/news/1998/elect110398.html


Welcome to DU. Enjoy your stay.

[Name removed]

61. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Scriptor Ignotus]

65. i would highly recommend

all pollwatchers VIDEOTAPE everything that goes on. If it's not on tape, it's almost as if it didn't happen.