Help Floridians fight. Legislature Monday will try to stop recounts.

[madfloridian]

I realize this has been posted before, but this is very complete info from Dean Rapid Response. Links and all. A good explanation.
This is Saturday, they vote Monday afternoon. Our legislature has only token Democrats, most of whom are closer to being Republican.
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The heavily Republican and boldly partisan Florida legislature appears about to pass SB3004 which has language tucked into it that "a manual recount may not be conducted of undervotes on touch-screen machines." Of course, one cannot manually recount a computer that has no paper trail, which is the current situation, so the language is currently functionally useless. But if paper ballot back-ups are installed this may render them useless. This appears to be an end-around to impede certifying new machines with paper ballot capacity on touch screen voting systems in the future.

The Florida Senate Judiciary committee will take this up Monday afternoon. There are efforts within Florida to contact the relevant Senators to express opposition to this measure. Taking this issue national, however, with the appropriate press that the Florida legislature would consider legislating anything that may interfere with insuring that our democracy has fair, accurate and TRUSTED elections, may help legislators do the right thing and vote against this language.

Thoughts:
*Ask yourself, what is the explanation for why they want to pass this language? Is there any honorable explanation?
*Even if their intentions were honorable, such a pre-emptive effort has an appearance that undermines trust in elections - a critical commodity in a functioning democracy
*Glenda Hood, Florida Secretary of State and successor to Katherine Harris, appointed by Governor JEB Bush is on record as saying
"Any effort to undermine that public confidence is a tactic that is wrong and I believe it weakens our democracy by causing voters to doubt if their vote has been counted."

Touchscreen ballots don't have to be recounted, Brendan Ferrington, AP, running in the Miami Herald
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/7940382.htm

*FLORIDA IS A CRITICAL SWING STATE***

*ACTION*

*Write your local paper/political reporter (especially larger papers that are more likely to cover this item)
to make an observation about what is happening in Florida.

This is (should be) a national news item given the Florida recount in 2000 - find your address here:
http://www.capwiz.com/lwv/dbq/media/

Please also write (don't cc - send each separately)
NY Times ([e-mail] )
Washington Post ([e-mail] )
Los Angeles Times ([e-mail] )

ABC World News Tonight: [e-mail]
CNN: [e-mail]
MSNBC and NBC: [e-mail]
CBS - see "contact us" link at the bottom of this page http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/04/16/utility/main506327.shtml


*If you're in Florida and don't get FL RR report, email me and I will send you specific actions you can take today

*Please do it today!!
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find the actual bill here:
http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/index.cfm?Mode=Bills&SubMenu=1&Tab=session&BI_Mode=ViewBillInfo&BillNum=3004&Chamber=Senate&Year=2004&Title=%2D%3EBill%2520Info%3AS%25203004%2D%3ESession%25202004

PLEASE READ THIS ARTICLE:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-fvote01apr01,1,5565090.story
--------------------
Florida Senate plan would ban paper recounts with electronic
voting machines
--------------------

By Jennifer Peltz
Tallahassee Bureau

April 1, 2004

SNIP..."TALLAHASSEE * South Floridians pushing for a touch-screen voting
paper trail are steamed about a state Senate proposal that they
say runs counter to their cause.

Tucked into the 90-page proposal (SB 3004) is a decree that "a
manual recount may not be conducted of undervotes on
touch-screen machines," which are used in South Florida's three
big counties.

There's really nothing to hand-count, since the machines don't
use or produce paper ballots, explained sponsor Anna Cowin,
R-Leesburg.

That's exactly the problem, say Broward, Palm Beach and
Miami-Dade county leaders and activists who want to require
touch-screen machines to spit out and secure paper versions of
each vote as it is cast. They say the printouts would make
manual recounts meaningful and reassure voters leery of the
machines.

"It is actually more than outrageous that after what happened in
the 2000 presidential race, anyone in Florida would suggest that
the ability of voters to have a recount in the closest elections
should be eliminated," said U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca
Raton, who is pressing for ballot printouts in federal court.

Cowin and many elections officials say the machines provide that
certainty. They note that the touch-screen computers have backup
memory, prompt voters to confirm their choices and keep a log of
everything they've recorded. Elections supervisors also suggest
the printouts could bring new problems, from jamming up to
compromising blind voters' ability to cast a secret ballot.

Recent demonstrations and testimony left Cowin with "no doubt
whatsoever" that the machines work properly and printouts are
unnecessary, she said............" END SNIP

Jennifer Peltz can be reached at [e-mail] or
850-224-6214.

Copyright (c) 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Visit Sun-Sentinel.com

[Hippo_Tron]

1. I think there's a realistic chance that the media will pick up on this

Granted most of you here will laugh when I tell you that I'm dead serious. Considering the Florida fiasco last election I think the media could spend a good week talking about whether there will be another Florida. If anything it will at least make Lou Dobbs.

[Bombtrack]

2. Is the Florida legislature gerrymandered? That's would explain

why it's so dominated by the GOP when statewide races are split between dem and repubs relatively evenly.

[madfloridian]

3. Update on two phone #s, and a kick to remind. Vote is tomorrow.

Update from Rapid Response:

"Corrections to the phone numbers with the previous action item:

Sen. Daniel Webster: 407-656-0066
Sen. Charlie Clary: 850-833-9159

Thanks to everyone who is making these calls! We ARE making a difference.

KEEP CALLING!!!!!!!!!!! Email is a waste of time. Sen. Villalobos has 7000+ emails backlogged!!"