Hi folks. Wanted to follow up on the
intense and passionate discussion from yesterday the concerning the latest report released on 2004 presidential elections which seemed to substantiate so many of suspicions election reform activists have concerning the November 2 elections. Turns out that was not the only bomb shell. There were 2 of them. Barbara Burt who heads all the
election reform related campaigns at Common Causetalked about it on our blog this morning. With her permission I am cutting and pasting
her blog post on Commonblog here. Please let us know what you think ... and what we can be doing more to push for truely open, fair, and transparent elections. We really need your input and your advice because the fate of democracy rests on the ability of well-informed voters to trust election outcomes, and we need to find ways to work together. After the jump.
Elections past -- November 2, 2004, to be exact: The long awaited study,
Analysis of the 2004 Presidential Election Exit Poll Discrepancies by statisticians was released yesterday by
U.S. Count Votes. Here is a quote from the article's summary:
There is already a strong case that there were significant irregularities in the presidential vote count from the 2004 election. Nevertheless, critics are asking for firmer proof before going forward with a thorough investigation. We feel strongly that this is the wrong standard. One cannot have proof before an investigation.
In fact, the burden of proof should be to show that the election process is accurate and fair. The integrity of the American electoral system can and should be beyond reproach. Citizens in the world's oldest and greatest democracy should be provided every assurance that the mechanisms they have put in place to count our votes are fair and accurate. The legitimacy of our elected leaders depends upon it.
Elections future -- Brad Friedman, author of the
BradBlog, has been following the development of a supposedly nonpartisan nonprofit 501(c)3 organization named American Center for Voting Rights. It turns out that the ACVR is (1) run by former Bush/Cheney 2004 lead attorney Thor Hearne; (2) is exhibiting extremely close ties with rightwing press outlets such as Cybercast News Service; and (3) seems more concerned with taking away voting rights, as is shown by the organization's testimony at the congressional hearing looking at the Ohio election. (During his testimony, which poo-pooed any possibility of malfeasance, Hearne didn't disclose his connections to the Bush/Cheney 04 organization. Hmmm, do you think he was an impartial observer?)
An invitation -- The organization of ACVR, and its obvious wealth of resources -- both funding and connections -- brings me to the last part of this post. We who truly believe in open, fair, and transparent elections, we who know that the fate of democracy rests on the ability of well-informed voters to trust election outcomes, need to find ways to work together. To that end, Common Cause is launching an electronic meeting place: CommonForum.com. (It's still in its beta phase, so feel free to make suggestions about how we can improve it.) We're hoping to make the Common Forum a place where advocates can meet, share experience, knowledge, and resources, and work together. There's a ton of passion, creativity, and expertise available; its power will be multiplied many times if it is shared with others. I invite you to visit the Common Forum, sign on, and start posting.
See you there.