Email I just sent out to everyone on my email list re: election reform.

[intheflow]

I've taken a moderate, conciliatory tone to try to win over some of my republican family and former co-workers. Most of the articles and links came from DU, but this is how I put them together.
******************************************************************

Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you know, I have been following the election and post-election very closely. This email is not sour grapes or a conspiracy theory on my part because my candidate didn't win, but a real concern about the validity of our democracy when private corporations control the voting machines and votes cannot be accounted for because there is no paper trail to audit.

I know we would all like to put this election behind us. It was divisive and negative and psychically draining for the whole country. However, we will never be able to fully put it to rest or unite behind the president until we have acknowledged the nation's voting problems and taken steps to correct them.

The appearance of tampering or fraud is a problem even if no tampering or fraud actually occurred. People will continually protest elections if there is no way to verify the votes. I think this would be as big a concern for Republicans as well as Democrats because establishing fair, unbiased, and transparent elections will serve to validate elections and result in the country uniting behind the president.

I have a dream that both parties will come together to fix our broken system. To that end, I have put together a short list of links to make a case that our election process must be overhauled to ensure all eligible citizens are able to vote and have their vote be counted. Feel free to forward this email to anyone who might be interested.

Please take the time to look at (at least) one or two of the links. Guaranteeing public trust in the democratic process is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It is a voting rights issue to ensure a healthy and functioning government.

Thank you,
Jinnie
Denver, CO

Articles:

Restoring Trust in the Vote, by Thom Hartmann
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1115-24.htm
This article refers to a movie clip. See the short clip here: http://homepage.mac.com/duffyb/nobush/iMovieTheater256.html

Nashua (NH) Telegraph: Did lawyer-observers on Election Day miss fraud incidents? by Ian A. Solomon, Assoc. Dean, Yale Law School
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041114/OPINION04/111140009/-1/opinion

Specific "glitches" from around the country:

"Voting machine 'glitch' changes election." WTVW (Fox, Evansville, IN) (15 November, 2004) http://www.7onyourside.com/Global/story.asp?S=2558518&nav=7CPDT4VX

"33,000 ballots lost in shuffle." Salt Lake (UT) Tribune (13 November 2004), http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2453243

"Ohio voters tell of Election Day troubles at hearing." Cleveland (OH) Plain Dealer (14 November 2004) http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1100428444286470.xml

“Computer error at voting machine gives Bush 3,893 extra votes.” Akron (OH) Beacon Journal (5 November 2004), http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/10103910.html

"Countinghouse Blues: Too Many Votes" - Nebraska has 10,000 more votes than voters. 6News (NBC) Omaha (NE), 11/7/04
http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/1161971.html

"Winner so far: Confusion - Agriculture, education races change as counties fix vote-tally errors." The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC), 11/5/04 - Quote from article: "The roller coaster of fate was caused by vote-counting glitches in at least five counties besides Mecklenburg. Foul-ups ranged from stubborn levers to a computer error that changed some results by 22,000 votes and, in Carteret County, 4,500 votes that were lost and may not be recovered."
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/charlotte/news/special_packages/election2004/10104576.htm

MSNBC: Keith Olbermann, 11/7/04. "George, John, and Warren" - Warren, OH county officials bar reporters from the vote count claiming national security.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240

Video: Ohio Voter Intimidation and Disenfranshisement (Michael Moore election day footage) 2 November 2004. http://www.metroblogging.com/videothevote/

General Information:

Congressional request for investigation into the 2004 Presidential Election by the General Accountability Office (www.gao.gov)
A) Conyers, John Jr., Jerrold Nadler, Robert Wexler (Members of the Congress of the United States , House of Representatives). “Letter to GAO Comptroller Walker Requesting Investigation of Voting Machines and Technologies Used in 2004 Election.” 5 November 2004. http://www.house.gov/conyers.
B) Conyers, John Jr., Jerrold Nadler, Robert Wexler, Robert C. Scott, Melvin Watt, Rush Holt (Members of the Congress of the United States, House of Representatives). “Follow-up Letter to GAO Comptroller Walker Requesting Investigation of Voting Machines and Technologies Used in 2004 Election.” 8 November 2004. http://www.house.gov/conyers.

Voters Unite! Reports of election problems
http://www.votersunite.org/electionproblems.asp

Black Box Voting
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/

Wikpedia Online Encylopedia: 2004 U.S. Election controversies and irregularities
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_U.S._Election_controversies_and_irregularities#Evidence_of_electronic_voting_bias

List of alternative news sources
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0630-20.htm

Movie of Rep. Tim Ryan on the congressional floor regarding the current administration's integrity:
http://homepage.mac.com/njenson/movies/timryanlow.html

What you can do:

Sign a petition to Congress requesting an investigation into the Presidential Election of 2004
http://www.petitiononline.com/uselect/petition.html

Volunteer to be an observer in the Ohio recount
http://web.greens.org/c/cobb/supporters.cgi?function=volunteer&process=7

Get involved at a local level. Call your local Green Party, Democratic Party, peace and justice center, church social justice group and see if they or anyone they know is working on these issues. Attend meetings and rallies.

Write letters to the editor of your local newspapers asking why secure elections are not being followed up in the press or by the media. Most major newspapers' contact information can be found here: http://dir.yahoo.com/News_and_Media/Newspapers/

Write your representatives and senators and ask them to support investigation into possible fraud and/or transparency of results in the electronic voting age. Find their contact information here:
Senate: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
House: http://www.house.gov/writerep/