Feet to the fire

The elections were a suprise to many im sure. Time seemed painfully slow that night. Some might think this is the time to relax, but we need to make sure our representatives are true to their words. Letters, emails, and phone calls are what is required now. Pressure from the constituency is what will solve some of these issues.

We need to demand fair and equitable elections for starters. Machines must be standardized and certified for future elections. Paper trails and adequate access to machines are crucial issues. The fairness doctrine should be resurected and put into law. Media ownership laws need to be revised to limit consolidation. The influence of special interests within the government has to be dealt with. Publicly funded elections with equal coverage for all political views would be democratically healthy . The 2 party system is contrary to our democracy and should be opened up to alternative parties.

Some say another constitutional convention might be constructive as it would facilitate conversation. Law makers are content with the status quo and are stuborn to address these issues without a push. Contact with our representatives is integral in making these changes. Call yours today.

Thanks Joel

Whatever happened to Joel Carlson anyway?

I did some google searches looking for Mr. Carlson, and after a few tries came up with a reference to "lobbyist Joel Carlson". This was curiously placed in a forum where there was some discussion about the newly elected Minnesota 6th district rep Michele Bachmann. Here is the line I noticed. "She ran a perfect endorsement contest," said Knoblach delegate Joel Carlson, a lobbyist and former legislator." After seeing the reference to Joel Carlson being a lobbyist and legislator, I searched a little longer and came up with the "Congress of Minnesota Resorts". If you look at the staff & boardmembers link you will find his name listed.

It is common for legislators to become lobbyist and its not surprising that Joel Carlson became one after his time in the house. Should we thank Joel Carlson or just be glad the events unfolded as they did. Its quite possible that hadn't Joel Carlson been around and introduced the legislation that he did, PEPP might never have been created. Thanks Joel.

HAVA

The 2000 elections made it very evident that there are serious problems with our election system. Consequently, legislation was passed to address these problems. The bill was called HAVA (Help America Vote Act). This legislation appeared to address legitimate concerns within our election system. Modern voting machines, better access for disabled voters, paper records, & security to name a few.

In its wake, HAVA has left many concerns. The first snafu was the presidential appointment of a 4-person commission (EAC, Election Assistance Commission) which was delayed by a year. This in turn delayed everything that followed slowing the process even more. A majority of the issues are still unresolved, as there are still sub committees and rules to create. Were likely in worse shape than we were pre 2000.

Many states have purchased machines that are not certified, because there are no official HAVA standards due to the delays. There is no consensus on independent auditability of voting machines. Non existent security or encryption. Secret proprietary formulas used to tabulate votes with no disclosure, and the lack of reprintable recorded votes. Also you have dubious connections between these companies that manufacture the voting systems and different political organizations.

Walden O’Dell is the man behind Ohio-based Diebold, one of the largest companies supplying voting systems. On August 14 2003, O'Dell sent a fund-raising letter to fellow Republicans saying he's "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president." O’Dell and his company donated more than $100,000 to the Republican National Committee.

And this Quote in an article by In These Times Mark Lewellen-Biddle, "more troubling, the backers of the act and the manufactures of e-voting machines are a rat's nest of conflicts that includes Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and Accenture Ltd.. Why are major defense contractors like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin mucking about in the American electoral system? And who are Accenture and EDS?"

Locally we are in better shape than most of the nation. Minnesota has decided on optically scanned ballots, which have been used previously and are better than most other systems.

I have not even touched on many other issues that affect our voting system. Most notable is how the corporate media influences the system, but that is volumes on its own.

Our democracy is not infallible. We are obligated to maintain the election system. Demand fair and equitable elections.

Informative sites about Voting and HAVA.

BlackBoxVoting.org

SourceWatch-Center for media and Democracy

R. Mercuri at NotableSoftware.com

WishTV

Also

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the 2004 Elections.

Welcome

Welcome to the PEPP: Promoting Democracy Blog. This blog was created to promote discussion about our political system. Both national and local issues will be discussed in relation to PEPP and human services.

Just in case you happened across this blog, here is some information that you might find useful.

PEPP is People Escaping Poverty Project. The organization champions the cause of the poor and disenfranchised who rarely have a voice and almost never have any influence in todays political system. The goal of PEPP is to challenge the status quo and change the system through grassroots efforts.
Visit www.pepp.org for more info.