Comments on: Tell Them You Want to Vote on Paper in Tennessee in November http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/ with Mary Mancini & Freddie O'Connell Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:43:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: G. MacLeamh http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/comment-page-1/#comment-103314 G. MacLeamh Sat, 10 May 2008 15:06:08 +0000 http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/#comment-103314 Having worked a polling site on the "bad" side of town during the 2004 election hijacking, I saw firsthand some of the tried n' true GOP methods... Fake voter "registration" drives... messages left on answering machines (in housing projects or adjacent neighborhoods) telling voters to arrive prepared to pay overdue traffic fines and/or utility bills... extra-heavy police prescence around working-class polling places. I also saw what happened after local Democrat organizers urged us to report any irregularities ("we have a team of lawyers who will take your information...") -- NOTHING. Despite similar, numerous reports to HQ, no action was taken. There was no "team of lawyers." Worst of all there was no explanation for those of us who worked so hard for the Tenn. Kerry campaign. 'Twas as if party leaders were told to ignore our queries. Two things became immediately clear: 1. The Tenn. Democratic Party has little respect for its volunteer campaigners. 2. The state and national party orgs -- given that no one has raised election fraud as a campaign issue for 2008 -- seems to have no regard for, or interest in, our right to a fair election. Seems that voting is, at best, futile. Having worked a polling site on the “bad” side of town during the 2004 election hijacking, I saw firsthand some of the tried n’ true GOP methods…

Fake voter “registration” drives… messages left on answering machines (in housing projects or adjacent neighborhoods) telling voters to arrive prepared to pay overdue traffic fines and/or utility bills… extra-heavy police prescence around working-class polling places.

I also saw what happened after local Democrat organizers urged us to report any irregularities (“we have a team of lawyers who will take your information…”) — NOTHING. Despite similar, numerous reports to HQ, no action was taken. There was no “team of lawyers.”

Worst of all there was no explanation for those of us who worked so hard for the Tenn. Kerry campaign. ‘Twas as if party leaders were told to ignore our queries.

Two things became immediately clear:

1. The Tenn. Democratic Party has little respect for its volunteer campaigners.
2. The state and national party orgs — given that no one has raised election fraud as a campaign issue for 2008 — seems to have no regard for, or interest in, our right to a fair election.

Seems that voting is, at best, futile.

]]> By: Mary http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/comment-page-1/#comment-101027 Mary Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:19:24 +0000 http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/#comment-101027 Vote in private, count in public. Vote in private, count in public.

]]> By: Mary http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/comment-page-1/#comment-101023 Mary Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:10:57 +0000 http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/#comment-101023 James, Electronic, at this point, is not safer or secure. Until we get rid of the privatization of the machines, closed software development and updating, and easy access to the machines themselves, they will not be. Trust is not an option. Fighting for appropriate safeguards and oversight is, but we can get that with paper as well. The process for getting safeguards and oversight applied to electronic machines is painfully slow and is being fought all the way by state and local governments and election commissions. Election integrity activists in states using these machines are having to file lawsuits to get access to the software. Not a very open process and quick process. Mary James,

Electronic, at this point, is not safer or secure. Until we get rid of the privatization of the machines, closed software development and updating, and easy access to the machines themselves, they will not be.

Trust is not an option. Fighting for appropriate safeguards and oversight is, but we can get that with paper as well. The process for getting safeguards and oversight applied to electronic machines is painfully slow and is being fought all the way by state and local governments and election commissions. Election integrity activists in states using these machines are having to file lawsuits to get access to the software. Not a very open process and quick process.

Mary

]]> By: James http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/comment-page-1/#comment-100999 James Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:10:07 +0000 http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/#comment-100999 This bring back the whole idea of use credit cards vs checks. While touching a piece of paper is nice I remember the hanging chad circus in Florida. You use ATM's, check cards daily, email, etc. you just have to trust and fight for appropriate safe guards and oversight. Electronic is safer, secure and quicker and we don't have the repeat of Florida or Ohio again. This bring back the whole idea of use credit cards vs checks. While touching a piece of paper is nice I remember the hanging chad circus in Florida. You use ATM’s, check cards daily, email, etc. you just have to trust and fight for appropriate safe guards and oversight. Electronic is safer, secure and quicker and we don’t have the repeat of Florida or Ohio again.

]]> By: Trust But Verify : Post Politics: Political News and Views in Tennessee http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/comment-page-1/#comment-100994 Trust But Verify : Post Politics: Political News and Views in Tennessee Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:15:32 +0000 http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/#comment-100994 [...] SEE ALSO: TennViews Liberadio [...] [...] SEE ALSO: TennViews Liberadio [...]

]]> By: Mary http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/comment-page-1/#comment-100988 Mary Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:25:27 +0000 http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/#comment-100988 Hi Alex, A receipt after voting that is verifiable by the voter would be OK but it, instead of the tabulation spit out by the machine, would have to be used as the ballot of record. I am more comfortable starting out with a ballot that I mark rather than starting out with the machine and having it spit out a receipt for me. Others feel differently. I am most comfortable with a piece of paper and a pencil and no machine at all. Mary Hi Alex,

A receipt after voting that is verifiable by the voter would be OK but it, instead of the tabulation spit out by the machine, would have to be used as the ballot of record. I am more comfortable starting out with a ballot that I mark rather than starting out with the machine and having it spit out a receipt for me. Others feel differently. I am most comfortable with a piece of paper and a pencil and no machine at all.

Mary

]]> By: Mary http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/comment-page-1/#comment-100987 Mary Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:22:27 +0000 http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/#comment-100987 Thanks for the link Terri! Thanks for the link Terri!

]]> By: Alex http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/comment-page-1/#comment-100986 Alex Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:20:58 +0000 http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/#comment-100986 What if we just get a receipt after we vote? Would that satisfy a paper trail? What if we just get a receipt after we vote? Would that satisfy a paper trail?

]]> By: Terri http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/comment-page-1/#comment-100949 Terri Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:17:13 +0000 http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/#comment-100949 OK, so I can't embed it, so here is a LINK to my documentary on the topic: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4204340160730151734 Thanks for watching! Terri OK, so I can’t embed it, so here is a LINK to my documentary on the topic:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4204340160730151734

Thanks for watching!
Terri

]]> By: Terri http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/comment-page-1/#comment-100948 Terri Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:16:31 +0000 http://www.liberadio.com/2008/04/29/tell-you-want-to-vote-on-paper-in-tennessee-in-november/#comment-100948