The amount of diaries of late about the 2004 election, electronic machines, election fraud, etc. have been encouraging regarding informing people. However, just reporting on this won't do much to preserve our Democratic Republic, what little we have left of it after giving it away for the last six plus years. I sincerely believe we are at the point as a country of having no more wiggle room to simply "talk" about it. We need to start demanding as Americans (not as Democrats as this effects all Americans) how we wish elections to be run in this country, and that to to me begins with demanding paper ballots.
My question then is regarding this: Since we KNOW 2000 was stolen (and have yet to even properly seek justice for that) and believe more than likely 2004 may have been as well, why are
we allowing it to go unpunished? It seems it is being turned into a soundbite issue for getting votes in other elections rather than something we really seek justice for for ALL Americans. Electronic machines must go completely, period, and those who dare to take this right away from us brought to justice. Why aren't we then standing up to these companies like DIEBOLD? To Congress? Where is the outcry?
If our Congress is too chickenshit to do what our Founding Fathers did in standing up to TPTB, then WE have to do it. We can report all we want here about abuses which we already know exist (and that is a good thing,) but it doesn't do any damn good in the end without a PLAN TO FIGHT IT. Now granted, this is just one little petition below by a small group of Americans that don't really mean anything in a big community where Congressmen, Senators, and other "notables" who get noticed instantly no matter what they write, and I know that because when I posted this previously as a diary it got totally ignored.
However, I am not giving up in telling people that PAPER BALLOTS (primarily for me because they do provide a better audit trail) are the ONLY way to go, and unless WE the people BOMBARD our legislatures with this and DEMAND that as citizens in a Democracy we have the voting method WE desire with proper oversight, FORGET ABOUT IT. I am tired of being forced to vote on an electronic voting machine I had no say in having at the polling station and have no trust in. I am tired of not having an option. I am tired of HAVING NO VOICE. I want to vote at the polls on a paper ballot. Simple. Or is it? I have written to my SOS THREE TIMES already in the last year and a half and NOTHING in response. We need to then also face that voting has become a very lucrative PRIVATIZATION scheme much like our water services, our military, and many social services. It is defintely part of a bigger scheme, and it will consume us if we only continue to sit reporting about it.
It's time to start YELLING at these people that we do not want electronic voting systems anymore, but also that they will not make us STOP VOTING because of it. I truly do fear that because of all this going down with these machines that more and more people will stop voting. And what if that was the plan all along? So the answer is not to stop voting. Hell, no. Make sure you show your face EVERYTIME no matter how you feel about these machines. Stick it in their faces that you are an American citizen and that the voting process in this country is YOUR RIGHT to have a say in. And realize that the only way this will now be fixed is for US to get up and do it.
Just like the climate crisis we face, it has now come down to US regarding the preservation of our Democratic process because for so many years prior the people were too lax in thinking it would all be taken care of. Bottomline: fraud or no fraud the only proven effective method of voting is PAPER BALLOTS. It's time to start DEMANDING THEM LOUDLY. It is also time for those concerned about this issue to then be willing to take an active part in RESTORING FAITH IN THIS SYSTEM TO AMERICANS, (which is in my view the primary reason why all of this has come down as it has,) counting ballots, working polling stations, and being a part of that plan.
I can't believe that as Americans who have accomplished all we have in these past 230 years, that we are now prepared to just give it all away because we are simply too lazy to get up and do what needs to be done to preserve something sacred to our Democratic process that so many shed blood for!
A few states like New Mexico and I believe Maryland already have paper balllots. If anyone has knowledge of any others, please post about it. It's time for the rest of the country to follow in saying, you will not PRIVATIZE our votes. And again, this is not a Democratic or Republican issue, this is an AMERICAN issue. And if you don't wish to sign this petition because it wasn't written by a "famous" person, that's fine. Then do something on your own. Just please, do something.
This will be sent to state legislatures.
Thank you.
Paper Ballots for Democracy Petition
Paper Ballots for Democracy
To State Legislatures:
This issue is where it all begins. Without elections Americans can feel safe about, we have nothing else. In my opinion fair elections are also a matter of national security. Just take a look at what 2000 has wrought for all Americans who believe in Democracy.
Yet, to this day not only has justice for that crime and the other anomalies these machines have now brought us been sought, but our representatives stick their heads in the sand regarding this issue thinking it either doesn't exist, or that it will go away. Well, they are wrong on both counts.
Eighty percent of our votes are now counted by electronic voting machines with anomalies and outright fraud and vote switching being proven. The GEMS system on DIEBOLD allows hacking and that also has been proven. Also in many states, these companies refuse to make their source codes public, and by doing that bring suspicion upon themselves. These companies are also beholding to both Republicans and Democrats, with Republicans however getting the lions share of donations. This simply goes against what we believe as Americans.
These machines on the whole are counterproductive to Democracy and they must go. Voters regardless of political affiliation must be given an option of paper ballots at the polls. This is something I believe we need to get back to. It is also something many others of all politics believe in as well who are not being heard as they should be on this issue. We need to change all of that, and we need to get back to basics.
Our country was also not founded on secret ballots. Secret ballots were not used until after the Civil War in this country, and our voting process needs to be transparent in order to be considered safe and fair. Our Founding Fathers also affixed their names boldly to a document that for sure would have seen them hanged had not the American Revolution been a success. They had the courage to speak out clearly and boldly about where they stood. Americans today must regain that spirit and courage in open voting and in standing up for the country those men died for. It is in my view the only way to save her.
Since we the people also have no legal recourse according to the Constitution to fire those who violate our Constitution save impeachment by our representatives, then doing all we can as citizens to take our votes back is in my view the next logical step.
Paper ballots are the only way to ensure the integrity of our vote in America.
NO secrets, NO electronic voting, NO corporate sponsorship, NO ties to the politicians running for office, and NO privatization of our Democracy!
DIEBOLD OUT!
Won't you join this fight for our very soul as a nation?
~~~~~~~~~~~
PFG Paper Ballot Initiative
(1) All votes for elected office should be cast on paper ballots nationwide with specific audit controls in place. The ballot should note the voter's name and address in their handwriting for further verification of their vote in case of a recount.
(2) All votes cast should then be hand counted in public view, and this manual count will be the official count of the votes to be announced publicly at the time of counting.
(3) The totals for all elected offices should then be posted at polling places before ballots are moved to any central facility for audit purposes. All subsequent totals should then be verified to the public vote total for accuracy.
(4) On election day, teams of election auditors would then be employed to do spot checks of randomly selected polling stations to verify that procedures are being adhered to according to the law and that all verification processes are in accordance with precribed accounting practices.
(5) In any precinct where votes for elected office are cast on punch card or optical scan ballots, the machine totals for those offices should also be posted at the location where the votes are machine-counted before being moved to any other facility, where their totals will then be subsequently footed.
(6) All absentee votes and early voting votes for elected offices should also be cast on paper and counted in full public view at a publicly announced place prior to the election in election day, and those totals also publicly posted after counting.
(7) All precinct results for all votes should then be manually entered on spreadsheets and officially signed off by election auditors.
The heart and soul of America is now being stolen from us.
Please do the right thing by the American people.
Here also is an excellent case made for paper ballots by
NYVV:
Paper Ballots/Optical Scan Systems Over Electronic Voting Machines