Thursday, October 28, 2004
Post-"Election" Planning
On a national level, I have learned about several projects coordinating post-"election" responses.
BeyondVoting.org has a listing of planned actions by city.
No Stolen Elections outlines plans for coordinating first through a "Signal Committee" and then an "Urgent Response Network." This site also has a directory of local actions plus the following pledge which is hosted by United For Peace and Justice:
Bev Harris from BlackBoxVoting.org has made a film called Votergate. Apparently she is going to keep filming through the "election" and eventually release a 90 minute version. There is a 35 minute preview available for free download. It does a good job of telling the story of Bev's ongoing successes at exposing voting vulnerabilities and fraud. History may associate her significance with Woodward and Bernstein's Watergate reporting. Still, I think she comes up way short in discussing only technical and procedural changes in voting. That is, even if there was no question about the integrity of voting, it is still not indicative of democracy for ideas to be kept from competing. This is the case via disenfranchisement, media consolidation, limited debates and having only two major parties who engage in simulated competition.
So what else, let's see...the GuvWurld News Archive has several recent stories about expecting an uncertain outcome:
San Francisco Chronicle - Various Controversies Expected To Delay Election Outcome - 10-23-04
FindLaw - The Coming Post-Election Chaos - 10-22-04
GovExec.com - Justice Dept Not Prepared To Document Election Aftermath - 10-19-04
NYTimes - Imagining the Danger of 2000 Redux - 10-17-04
WashPost - Bush Lawyer Anticipates Delay in Tally - 10-16-04
On the local front here in Humboldt County, this evening I got a phone call from Eureka Mayor Peter La Vallee. Yesterday I heard from City Councilman Jeff Leonard. I also have a phone message from Meghan Vogel, the Eureka Times-Standard reporter who wrote most of the coverage received by the No Confidence Movement earlier in the year. Together primarily with Realizing Community essayist Scott Menzies, we are reaching out to community groups with whom we can present a unified post-election response. Both Mr. La Vallee and Mr. Leonard encouraged me to turn out speakers for the next Council meeting, scheduled for the night of "election" day. We will then certainly be announcing a press conference for Wed and likely pushing for a town hall meeting on Friday.
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BeyondVoting.org has a listing of planned actions by city.
No Stolen Elections outlines plans for coordinating first through a "Signal Committee" and then an "Urgent Response Network." This site also has a directory of local actions plus the following pledge which is hosted by United For Peace and Justice:
"I remember the stolen presidential election of 2000 and I am willing to take action in 2004 if the election is stolen again. I support efforts to protect the right to vote leading up to and on Election Day, November 2nd. If that right is systematically violated, I pledge to join nationwide protests starting on November 3rd, either in my community, in the states where the fraud occurred, or in Washington DC."This Time We're Watching is literally counting down the seconds until "election" day. This is a joint project of The Ruckus Society, The Truth Force Training Center, and The League of Pissed of Voters. TTWW is more of a resource hub than a specific action campaign or coalition.
Bev Harris from BlackBoxVoting.org has made a film called Votergate. Apparently she is going to keep filming through the "election" and eventually release a 90 minute version. There is a 35 minute preview available for free download. It does a good job of telling the story of Bev's ongoing successes at exposing voting vulnerabilities and fraud. History may associate her significance with Woodward and Bernstein's Watergate reporting. Still, I think she comes up way short in discussing only technical and procedural changes in voting. That is, even if there was no question about the integrity of voting, it is still not indicative of democracy for ideas to be kept from competing. This is the case via disenfranchisement, media consolidation, limited debates and having only two major parties who engage in simulated competition.
So what else, let's see...the GuvWurld News Archive has several recent stories about expecting an uncertain outcome:
San Francisco Chronicle - Various Controversies Expected To Delay Election Outcome - 10-23-04
FindLaw - The Coming Post-Election Chaos - 10-22-04
GovExec.com - Justice Dept Not Prepared To Document Election Aftermath - 10-19-04
NYTimes - Imagining the Danger of 2000 Redux - 10-17-04
WashPost - Bush Lawyer Anticipates Delay in Tally - 10-16-04
On the local front here in Humboldt County, this evening I got a phone call from Eureka Mayor Peter La Vallee. Yesterday I heard from City Councilman Jeff Leonard. I also have a phone message from Meghan Vogel, the Eureka Times-Standard reporter who wrote most of the coverage received by the No Confidence Movement earlier in the year. Together primarily with Realizing Community essayist Scott Menzies, we are reaching out to community groups with whom we can present a unified post-election response. Both Mr. La Vallee and Mr. Leonard encouraged me to turn out speakers for the next Council meeting, scheduled for the night of "election" day. We will then certainly be announcing a press conference for Wed and likely pushing for a town hall meeting on Friday.
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