Paper ballots, hand counted, at precincts, in public, NOW!

The San Diego Elections Task Force has decided not to address the issue of Ballot Tabulation for at least a year. Well, they didn't actually decide that, the City Clerk decided it for them. When the Rules Committee (the City Council wearing other hats) met to make the rules for the Elections Task Force (ETF), Councilmember Donna Frye made a motion that the City Clerk and the ETF would decide upon agenda priorities. Somehow, when the "minutes" of that meeting were sent out by the City Clerk, the City Clerk alone had that authority and the ETF, which hadn't met yet was cut out of the decision process. The word "minutes" is in quotes as they have not been approved or even submitted for approval, and the matter has been referred to the City Attorney's office. Should the ETF postpone considering the issue of Ballot Tabulation, how our votes are (mis)counted, for a year, by the time they study the problem, submit their report, and the City Council decides whether or not to act on that report, the 2008 Presidential election will be long over. So here is what I'm doing and what you can do, if you wish. The DVD "Invisible Ballots" will be shown: San Diego Public Library, 820 E. St., April 29th at 2:00 p.m. Joyce Beers Center 1010 Vermont Ave., Hillcrest (Across from Trader Joe's) May 27th and May 30th at 7:00 p.m. Malcolm X Branch, San Diego Public Library, 5148 Market Street (near the Euclid Trolley Station), June 12th at 6:00 p.m. Q&A and discussions will follow all screenings. If you can arrange for more showings of this DVD, please let me know. Everyone is urged to phone or write the Mayor's office and their City Councilmember and tell them that we need paper ballots, hand counted, at the precincts, in public, right now, in order to restore public confidence in the electoral process. As those who have been keeping up with election integrity news know, all voting machines are vulnerable to election fraud and there is no way to be sure it did not occur. In many instances there has been proof that it did indeed occur. If you understand the problem, and can attend a City Council meeting, you can get there early, fill out a non-agenda public comment form, and voice your concerns. If you can attend the next meeting of the Rules Committee, May 10th at 9:00 a.m., or the next Elections Task Force meeting, May 12th at 1:00 p.m., they also accept public comment. Both meetings are held at 202 "C" Street on the 12th floor. That's right by the Civic Center trolley stop downtown. If you don't yet understand the problem, an excellent place to research is blackboxvoting.org The federal government is suing states that don't buy electronic voting machines by saying that only such machines meet the requirement of the Help America Vote Act. The only catch is that the machines they recommend DO NOT meet those requirements, and a lawsuit has just been filed saying so. California State Senator Debra Bowen recently questioned some representatives of the organizations that tested and certified the voting machines, and according to their testimony, they had no idea what they were doing. Diebold voting machines do not meet the standards of California law and were decertified for this reason by the previous California Secretary of State. Our new Secretary of State has recertified them even though they still do not comply with California law. Election fraudsters keep trying to push the buck upstairs. It's a State issue, it's a Federal issue, etc. Remember "think globally, act locally?" This is a LOCAL issue. The ONLY place we can effect change is right here where we are. We need to demand that our representatives start representing us. Even the the federal and state governments won't comply with the laws and the Constitution, we have the power to force our local representatives to do so. Many other cities all over the country are doing the same thing. Real revolution doesn't start at the top, it starts at the bottom. Some states have already enacted publicly-funded elections and started rechartering corporations. Several states have already entered into a compact to elect the President by popular vote, a move which would, if enough states agreed to to, abolish the electoral college. Many city and state legislatures have passed "impeach Bush" and "end the war" resolutions. San Francisco already uses instant run-off voting, and several places have already gone to paper ballots, hand counted, at the precincts, in public. We can do it here. Once we get honest elections, we can vote for things like bike paths, solar energy, better public transit, rezoning, ensuring that our building codes permit eco-friendly architecture, and everything else we need. If you have any suggestions, please let me know how I can help.