From: "Mcgrath, Bob___PI_Mkt" <bob.mcgrath@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "'mcgrath_mcnally@xxxxxxx'" <mcgrath_mcnally@xxxxxxx>
Subject: A 6-Month Plan for This November's Elections, from Coloradoans for Voting Integrity
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2004 18:51:22 -0600
"Don't Let the Computer Eat Your Vote -- Demand Hand Counted Paper Ballots!"
That's the theme of Coloradoans for Voting Integrity as many of us have studied the issue of electronic voting machines (DRE's) and worried about whether the vote totals would truly reflect the will of the people in this critical election year. That's also the theme of a rally which we will be coordinating in Denver on July 13th, in connection with 15 other states around the country.
Coloradoans for Voting Integrity has been busy behind the scenes, mobilizing
for both the August 10th primary and the November 2nd general election. We
have also developed a position paper on HR 2239, the federal amendment to
the flawed Help America Vote Act, asking legislators to take their amendment
a step further and demand paper BALLOTS and not merely paper RECEIPTS.
(Here is that position paper):
<<CFVIPositionStatementRevised[1].doc>>
We are fighting for trustworthy elections on many fronts, and we write to you today asking for your help. Many hands lighten the load, and we are in real need of volunteers, as well as funds to help us with many expenses related to getting out the word on this issue.
HELPFUL INFO FOR YOU:
* We are moving to bi-weekly meetings, on Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m.
at the Maes Building in Lakewood, at 1516 Xavier Street (near the
intersection of Colfax just east of Sheridan). Committees will be meeting
in between general meetings, so we welcome you to any of these meetings. We
have a lot of goals and 6 months to do it.
* Are you planning to go see Fahrenheit 9/11? We are in need of
people to take flyers to the movies and distribute them to folks at the
theater, educating them about CFVI and asking them to come to a rally on
July 13th! I have attached the flyer here in case you can print some out
and take them to a theater (you could even distribute them to people there
if you don't plan to attend the movie, but be sure to ask the theater
management for permission to do this!) We believe the rally will take place
on the West steps of the state Capitol, but we wanted you to get this early
version of the flyer so you could use it as early as this weekend! Once we
confirm the location we'll send you the updated version!
<<CFVIActionFlyer.doc>> Remember, you can print this out and distribute it anywhere people gather, or to your friends! You don't have to do it at this movie! And stay tuned for the updated one that will list the confirmed location!
* CFVI will join with True Majority, MoveOn.org, Working Assets,
Democracy for America, Common Cause, VotersUnite, VerifiedVoting.org,
Electronic Frontier Foundation, Computer Scientists for Social
Responsibility, several Peace With Justice groups, and possibly the League
of Women Voters to co-produce a rally and press conference on July 13th, the
National Day of Action, here in Denver, Colorado at 12 noon. WE NEED YOU TO
SHOW UP AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO SHOW UP. We have an unusual rally planned
with street theater and with a high degree of focus upon the Secretary of
State, who has gained enormous power over our elections with the passage of
HB 1227 this year. We need ALL KINDS OF HELP WITH THIS! We need writers
for a media kit, people to make copies of flyers and distribute them, people
to make signs and carry them that day, and someone with a digital camera to
take photos for our website. We need to mobilize over 1,000 people to show
up that day so the media takes notice of our concerns. We hope to march
from the State Capitol to the Secretary of State's Office to deliver
petitions asking for voter verifiable paper ballots that are hand-counted.
We especially could use any help from folks with media contacts.
* We are approaching all 4 major party candidates for U.S. Senate race
in Colorado, asking them to stand in solidarity with CFVI and demand
verifiable voting methods. We welcome anyone who has any relationships with
these campaigns, especially the Republican campaigns and these two
candidates.
* Committees have formed and are in need of your participation and help. Committees include: * Media, PR, Marketing (led by Sam DeLeo) * Outreach (to coalition partners) (led by Laurie Bretz) * Legal (to help with a possible state injunction against the use of DRE's this year) led by Bob McGrath and Cary Lacklen * Rally (to participate with the National Day of Action on Verifiable Voting, on July 13th) led by Margit Johannsen * Training (to train poll watchers, election judges and hotline operators) (Open chair) * Website (congratulations to our webmaster and Assistant Director, Monty Lambie, who has landed a full-time position after a lengthy job search! This means we could use new talent to help update our website!!!!!!) * Hotline (we will man a hotline for the August and November elections and need people to man the phones or call in fraud or malfunctions to this hotline, so we can coordinate media coverage of these instances). (led by Jacqui Shumway)
Want to donate? We are in the process of incorporating as a non-profit.
Until that occurs (hopefully next month) if you wish to donate to CFVI, we
need to ask you to write your checks to Donna Plutschuk, who is our Acting
Treasurer, who will deposit this on file for us and transfer to our account
once we get a tax id from (gulp!) the Secretary of State. Donations for now
are not tax deductible.
* Bob McGrath of CFVI appeared on Inside Out (Reggie Rivers, Channel
12 KBDI TV) in April, along with guests Joe Pezillo of Citizens for
Verifiable Voting in Boulder, County Clerk Faye Griffin of Jefferson County,
and Secretary of State Donetta Davidson. Callers were uniformly in favor of
verifiable voting and we were able to get a pledge from Faye Griffin to
allow voters who so desired to request a paper ballot at their polling place
if they didn't trust voting on a machine. Since that time, members Pete
Klammer and Bob McGrath met with Faye and her IT staff at Jefferson County
to discuss the details of this proposal, as well as to state their concerns
and share some of the problems experienced with voting machines around the
country. This effort continues now since Jefferson County submitted a
request to the Secretary of State's Office for clarification and the latest
we have heard is that the Secretary of State will issue emergency rules
stating any Colorado citizen who wishes to vote on paper ballots may do so
ONLY at their county headquarters (in Jefferson County, for example, at the
Taj Mahal building in Golden). I guess democracy can only be so convenient
for the election staff, never mind the voters! Stay tuned as we continue to
pursue a remedy in time for this year's elections!
We continue to receive requests for media interviews, articles, and look for
volunteers to help with these too. Hope to see you on June 29th or July 6th
at 1516 Xavier in Lakewood!
Bob McGrath, Director Coloradoans for Voting Integrity 2801 Youngfield Street, #300 Golden, CO 80401 Tel. 303.231.1031 http://www.cfvi.org
Attachment:
CFVIPositionStatementRevised[1].doc
Description: MS-Word document
Attachment:
CFVIActionFlyer.doc
Description: MS-Word document