Re: Time to lobby the City

[Ralph Shnelvar <ralphs@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Evan and all:

On Sat, 20 Nov 2004 10:58:03 -0700 (MST), you wrote:

>
>Alisa told me council will decide, as is proper. She is leaning to
>recommend a mail-in ballot, of course the county (government, not
>people) will count it with Harts secret software if we don't
>mobilize mass numbers to stop them.

And, I hope, you see the logic that if one goes to the trouble of hand
counting the ballots that we should also go to the trouble of making sure
that the ballots are legitimate.

No mail-in ballots.

>
>Evan

Ralph Shnelvar


>
>On Fri, 19 Nov 2004, Paul Tiger - LPBC - Outreach wrote:
>
>> This should have mentioned Alysa Lewis and Linda Salas, because they are the
>> people that are going to decide how the COB election is run. Not the
>> newspapers; not the public-at-large; not the city council, etc.
>>
>> There are workings of government that are more effective when dealt with
>> through the people responsible for those actions. If they fail to respond or
>> perform their tasks as is demanded by the law and their constituents, then
>> nastigrams to the press and waving picket signs on their doorstep is
>> suggested. But first it is best to try normal channels.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Evan Daniel Ravitz [mailto:evan@xxxxxxxx]
>> Sent: Friday, November 19, 2004 10:01 AM
>> To: cvv-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Subject: Time to lobby the City
>>
>>
>> Folks,
>>
>> Please write letters SOON to editors and the City Council, which is
>> VERY SOON to decide how to run the March 8 election to replace Will
>> Toor. Here's mine, sent today to the Camera:
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 09:57:29 -0700 (MST)
>> From: Evan Daniel Ravitz <evan@xxxxxxxx>
>> To: Boulder Daily Camera <evansc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> Subject: letter re: voting tech
>>
>>
>> Editor,
>>
>> The Camera has published several letters saying be patient with the
>> County's new voting system because it's "accurate." There is NO way
>> to know if the system is accurate because the software is a trade
>> secret.
>>
>> Manhattan election commissioner Douglas Kellner told the NY Women's
>> Bar Association: "Using electronic voting machines to count ballots
>> is akin to taking all the paper ballots and handing them over to a
>> couple of computer tech people to count them in a secret room, and
>> then tell us how it came out. This is not an acceptable way of
>> conducting elections in a democracy."
>>
>> The record shows that at two County Commissioners hearings, the ONLY
>> people in favor of the proprietary system bought for $1.5 million
>> were employed by the County or the vendor, Hart InterCivic  (whose
>> major investor is Tom Hicks, who made Bush a millionaire by buying
>> the Texas Rangers.) ALL other citizens testified for either
>> hand-counting, used in Canada, Britain, Germany, etc. and which an
>> MIT/Caltech study shows is the most accurate, or for public
>> software, used in Australia.
>>
>> Never have I seen such a clear example of government against the
>> people.
>>
>> The County seems determined to cover up their contemptuous mistake.
>> County spokesman Jim Burrus told the Rocky Mtn. News: "It's what the
>> folks wanted." They are now investigating themselves, the
>> perpetrators appointing a commission to study the situation.
>>
>> The City is having a special election March 8 to elect Will Toor's
>> replacement. Please contact the city council
>> (council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) and ask for a hand count. Council member
>> Crystal Gray is one of over 130 citizens who volunteered in just 3
>> days for hand counting, which list the County ignored. This is a
>> very simple election, a great time to start doing the public's most
>> important business in public, and keeping our money here.
>>
>> Evan Ravitz
>> 1130 11th St. #3
>> Boulder CO 80302
>> (303)440-6838
>>