If elections are so rigged sthat even a landslide gets reversed, and
if the Supreme Court is packed such that even blatant fraud gets a pass,
then we have reached the end of the line in terms of legal solutions.
At that point, the only thing left is violent insurrection: overthrowing an illegitimate government by force of arms.
But before we go there, there is one other step we need to take, one more strategy we need to try, and try with all our might.
It's our last best hope for preserving democracy and preventing the equivalent of Civil War II. Read on...
A few words about insurrection. Here's how it would most likely go.
Option One: Anywhere from 30% to 60% of the US military would go into open revolt, backed up by all those civilians who have been practicing their 2nd Amendment rights to keep & bear arms. Here's where I get that figure from:
About 40% of the military are Democrats: a few points higher among enlisted, a few points lower among commissioned officers. Some of the Democrats won't go with the rebellion because they can't bear the thought of revolt. Some of the Republicans will go with the rebellion, because they're oldschool conservatives who will not tolerate tyrrany even from their own party. Think of the military oath to "protect and defend the United States Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic." That includes protect it from domestic tyranny.
I'm not going to say more about the logistics of military revolt here. Suffice to say that civilians would have a supporting role, which is why your Second Amendment rights matter. They would be acting under the command of the rebellion's local military leadership, performing roles such as patrol, guard duty, and so on, where civilian-grade arms have a viable role.
Option Two: Key generals go into revolt mode in Washington and announce their intentions to use force unless the election occurs and is free and fair by international standards. This is basically a military coup.
It would not require actual use of force nor would it require armed civilian support. It would occur behind the scenes, with as few visible signs as possible. Or, it would occur with the aid of tanks rolling through the streets of Washington DC.
Another version of this would entail the military directly removing the illegitimate regime from office, taking direct control of the government, and running the nation for a short period of time until new elections could be scheduled using paper ballots and with proper international oversight. Military culture is highly averse to messing with civilian politics, so they would try to minimize the period of martial control and get things back to normalcy as quickly as possible.
Either way, the economy would crash overnight, lives might well be lost, perhaps in large numbers, and it would be a tragedy -though arguably a necessary one- for our country.
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The other option. Our last best hope for peace at home.
Are you willing to take up arms in defense of your country? Are you willing to fight and possibly die for your country? Everyone who has ever put on a military uniform has already answered those questions in the affirmative.
Now if you are willing to go that far, are you willing to put up with a few days of inconvenience and lost income, in defense of your country...?
Here is what I propose: a comprehensive, highly organized, well-coordinated plan to watch the polls across the United States and act swiftly through legal channels in the event of even the slightest discrepancy. Read on....
First we need poll-watchers. Hundreds of thousands of them.
This is where we get the item about "if you're willing to die for your country, how'bout a few days of inconvenience instead?"
Each poll watcher would register for an absentee ballot and send it in well ahead of election day. Thereby, the poll watchers don't lose their own votes while going forth to protect others'.
Each poll watcher would, via their local branch of the organization, establish plans for travel to and accommodations at the location where they were going to be watching polls. For example, if you're from Los Angeles and your destination is a precinct in Arizona, you would book air or train or bus tickets or set up a car pool to go there on election day, and you would make hotel/motel reservations in or near your designated precinct.
The item about travel is based on the assumption that there will be surpluses of poll watchers in some areas, and shortages in others. This will have to be addressed by having some people travel from the over-served areas to the under-served areas, to make sure every polling place in each critical area has coverage.
All poll watchers would be trained, and trained, and trained, and trained some more. Training would include practice sessions, role-plays, and anything else needed to equip them to deal with any contingency: rigged machines, voters turned away, hostile local authorities, the whole nine yards.
Poll watchers would carry cameras (film, digital, and video), tape recorders, and cellphones, and be trained on how to use them effectively in this context, and how to gather photographic and audiotaped evidence that will stand up in court. They will also carry prepaid phone cards for use from public phones in the event their cellphones don't work.
They will also be given distinctive T-shirts bearing the words "Poll watcher" in English and a few other languages as may be needed. These T-shirts should only be available to actual poll watchers, and the design itself should be distinct enough that it can't be faked without stirring up a copyright or trademark infringement suit. They will also be given photo ID badges that can be worn around their necks for ready identification, like press passes.
So now what we have is a nationwide army of poll watchers, properly trained, and ready to travel as needed, and get the evidence on film and video.
Second, we need attorneys. Hundreds of them.
In each state, we need to identify attorneys and law firms who are ready and willing to do pro-bono work in support of this effort. These attorneys need to be organized on a national scale. They need to be trained in their roles as part of the project.
Each attorney's office would have to establish procedures for handling emergency calls from poll watchers. These procedures would enable immediate response to the slightest allegations of trouble. Procedures could include having legal documents written ahead of time with "fill in the blanks" places to add specific details as needed, and get them into court on a same-day basis. I'm not an attorney but it seems to me that the key items will be to take depositions from affected voters, and file requests for injunctions and other court orders that can be acted upon same-day. Some of these items can be turned into standard forms with blanks to fill in. Other items would require things like interviews, so each attorney also needs paralegals and admin support signed up in advance.
Each critical precinct would have access to multiple attorneys, at different offices, for the sake of redundant preparedness. This point addresses issues such as attorneys in some areas being swamped with election cases, or phone lines "mysteriously" going out of order, or other contingencies we can't foresee at this point.
The participating attorneys would also be organized with a logistical plan such that in the event any given attorney gets overloaded with election work, his/her staff knows how to refer callers to an alternate attorney. Each attorney's office would also have lists of geeks to call in the event of allegations of tampering with electronic voting (see below).
And last but not least, each attorneys' office would establish contact with local press reporters for newspapers, radio, television, and the blogs. This would enable getting news out as quickly as possible in the event of an election emergency.
Third, we need geeks.
Given the potential for tampering with electronic voting systems, we need geeks who are properly trained & qualified to assess these points. These individuals would have, in advance, familiarized themselves with the voting systems in use in their localities.
They would spend election day waiting for calls from attorneys, and be ready to go to polling places and vote-counting locations on a moment's notice. Each member of the geek squad will need a cellphone and a landline, also for redundant backup to be sure calls get through.
Bringing it all together
Advance publicity via all available media lets all of America know that the poll watch will occur nationwide. The poll watchers' distinctive t-shirts will be shown so every voter knows how to identify them. The ID badges will be mentioned as well.
Election day approaches. The poll watchers have already sent in their own absentee ballots. Now a day or two ahead of election day, those who have to travel, get onboard their (buses, trains, planes, carpools) go to their assigned precincts, and check in at their motels/hotels.
On election day, the poll watchers go to their assigned polling places. Each one has a camera, video camera, or tape recorder, and a cellphone. Each one carries a copy of a list of the attorneys they are to call in the event they observe any potential problems.
The poll watchers work in teams so there are always two people watching each polling place (independent witnesses). Having three people on a team would enable one to take a break when needed (e.g. bathroom, meals, etc.). If possible it would be interesting for them to take exit polls, though that function might have to be performed by independent media.
In the event of the slightest discrepancy, the poll watchers are able to make recorded interviews with voters and local elections workers. They would get the necessary personal information where possible, and offer to put the affected voters in touch with attorneys who would work these cases pro bono.
The poll watchers could also call attorneys to report directly in the event of any problems.
When an emergency call is made to an attorney's office, the attorney dispatches a paralegal to the affected polling place, equipped with the relevant legal documents to take depostions or take other actions as may be needed. If that attorney is already swamped, the caller is directed to call another attorney until one is found who can respond to the call.
Paralegals would return with documents to attorneys, who could then head directly to the courts of relevant jurisdiction, to file the documents and start the legal processes moving.
After the polling places close, the poll watchers watch the vote counts. This is a key point where electronic voting results could be tampered with. Local counts, regional counts, and statewide counts, would all be watched.
While this is going on, other members of the overall organization are correlating published exit poll results with reported vote counts. This could be done by attorneys, paralegals, or geeks who don't yet have emergencies to deal with.
Finally, after results are announced, the poll watchers would go to work on the issue of potential discrepancies with exit polls. They would be able to call up voters with whom they had spoken earlier, and perform whatever other follow-ups are needed.
Outcomes....
If all goes right, the very fact of this degree of scrutiny will prevent the worst of abuses and assure a free and fair election in 2006 and again in 2008.
If there are allegations of fraud or vote suppression, poll watchers in the affected areas might have to spend a few more days locally, providing their evidence to the local attorneys, giving depositions, and so on. Here's some more inconvenience for you, but it's better than being on armed patrol under a local dissident military commander during an insurrection.
If the election appears to have been substantially tampered with, particularly if it appears that the outcome was affected, then begins the long series of lawsuits and the biggest spotlight of publicity that can be gotten.
There is always the small possibility that the very fact of all this scrutiny will provoke the outright cancellation of elections on one transparent excuse or another. At that point, we might be back to one of the Second Amendment options. But, God help us, we can certainly do everything in our power to prevent that terrible necessity from arising.
What's needed now to get started.
An organization, preferably an existing one, needs to take this project on. It could be done by the ACLU, by a coalition of political entities, by a professional organization e.g. of lawyers, journalists, etc.; or something else. The organization needs to have credibility nationwide, already established.
The organization needs funding for this project. For example to cover the expenses of poll watchers who don't have the money to pay for their own travel & accommodations. And for example to cover the cost of renting adequate public meeting space to conduct training sessions. Ideally the funding will come in large chunks from wealthy individuals who understand the importance of the mission.
And it needs volunteers. Hundreds of thousands. Enough to make up an army. It will be the army of the electorate, and it will mobilize to protect the most important institution in our society.
The army of the electorate will do battle using words and photographs and legal documents, and the power of the law and the press. It may be our last chance for democracy, and our last chance for peaceful change.
Uncle Sam really does need you this time. Enlist now.