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Congress about to "just say yes" to permanent secret vote counting
By Nancy Tobi
Online Journal Guest Writer
Jul 2, 2007, 01:46
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Centralized control of voting is a form of tyranny, pure and simple.
Joseph Stalin is said to have explained why: "Those who cast the votes
decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything."
Meet the new boss
Congress is about to pass an election "reform" bill, HR811 (the Holt
Bill). The bill will enshrine secret computerized vote counting,
controlled by the White House.
The Holt bill would tempt the likes of the late Mayor Daley of Chicago
and vote villain Boss Tweed of New York City's Tammany Hall.
How will our modern vote villains resist?
A "yes" vote on the Holt bill allows the federal government to erect an
impenetrable wall between American voters and their votes. It will lock
in secret vote-counting technology owned by corporations. The public
will be shut out for good.
That's why our New Hampshire Secretary State, the New Hampshire City and
Town Clerks Association, and the Democracy for New Hampshire (DFNH) Fair
Elections Committee all oppose the bill.
They're not alone.
National organizations for the chief voting officials in all 50 states,
state legislators, and the nation's counties all oppose the Holt bill.
There are more than 100 national and regional voting rights groups who
oppose the bill as well.
So, why is Congressman Paul Hodes (D-NH) a cosponsor of the Holt bill?
And, why is Congresswoman Carol Shea Porter (D-NH) undecided on the issue?
Lobbyists like Common Cause are promoting HR811 to "get it straight by
2008." But HR811 is primarily drafted for a 2010 effective date. It will
never protect our 2008 elections.
Grassroots activists have drafted a simple bill that really can make a
difference for 2008. They need a congressional sponsor but have yet to
find any takers.
Congress is stuck on HR811, dangerous flaws and all.
"Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely"
The Help America Vote Act (HAVA), passed in 2002, created the Election
Assistance Commission. This shadow White House agency -- four
presidential appointees -- wields total control over voting system
standards. They design the computerized voting machines, and even the
paper ballots, used in our nation's elections.
HR811 cements voting system control in the hands of the president,
shifting the balance of power in elections from the citizenry to the
Elections Assistance Commission.
This is a complete reversal of the founders' vision of dispersed power.
American revolutionaries rose in opposition to centralized power and
wrote our Constitution to ensure dispersed power, checks and balances,
and respect for the citizenry. The founders knew they needed to limit
human inclinations to abuse power when a very few are given control over
the many.
HR811 makes the Elections Assistance Commission a permanent fixture in
government: one president appointing four commissioners with absolute
control of our elections.
The American people need to think carefully about this.
HR811 gives the commissioners broad reaching powers. They will be the
"deciders" on selecting precincts for election audits. They will control
and own all information related to our voting systems, election results,
and audits. They will define all standards and e-voting equipment. The
states, our state, will have to report to the commission to have our
election results certified. And our elections will become more complex
and computerized, assuring citizens less and less access to the process.
The money trail
It's always instructive to follow the money in hard fought political
battles, as New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner recently
reminded us.
One of the strongest champions of HR811 is an organization called
VoteTrustUSA. This "grassroots" organization has ties to one of the
nation's largest "data consolidation" companies, ChoicePoint. Remember
them? They helped Katherine Harris purge the Florida 2000 voter
registration rolls. Nearly 100,000 registered American voters were
denied their right to vote for what journalist Greg Palast called the
crime of "voting while black." Palast claims the denied vote -- and not
hanging chads -- is what really cost Gore that election.
Last summer the Atlanta Progressive News reported that the wife of
ChoicePoint's CEO Doug Curling has contributed money to VTUSA. Doug
Curling confirmed to Bev Harris of Black Box Voting that his wife Donna
is a VTUSA donor "and probably a board member." Donna Curling also had
participated in leadership groups under an assumed name. She remains
involved with this grassroots group, which now has a full-time
Washington lobbyist working for passage of the Holt bill.
Why would a grassroots election reform organization have these ties to
ChoicePoint?
Absolute power: The marriage of federal and corporate power
A corporation like ChoicePoint, combined with the commission, would have
one-stop shopping control over our elections. The commission controls
the voting systems and all information relating to elections everywhere
in the country.
All the data consolidation company needs to do is overlay their vast
demographic and other election data maps over a map of our nation, put
together their game plan, and they'll own every election.
They succeeded in Florida. HR811, the Holt Bill, gives them the nation.
Nancy Tobi is the author of numerous articles on election integrity,
including "The Gifts of HAVA: Time to Ask for a Refund," "What's Wrong
with the Holt Bill,"and "We're Counting the Votes: An Election
Preparedness Kit." She is Legislative Coordinator of Election Defense
Alliance, co-founder of Democracy for New Hampshire and Chair of the New
Hampshire Fair Elections Committee. Her writings may be found at
http://www.electiondefensealliance.org and
www.democracyfornewhampshire.com.
Copyright 1998-2007 Online Journal
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