The BRAD BLOG : Election 2006

You have the right to fight back! Here's how?

By John Gideon on 4/25/2006 3:48pm PT

Did you know that if your state took any funds from the federal government to purchase voting machines you have the legal right to file a complaint? And that you must be given a public hearing in the bargain if you ask for one?

According to the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) Section 402 any person who believes that there is a violation of any provision of HAVA Title III (including a violation which has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur) may file a complaint which must then be dealt with in 90 days time.

Title III of HAVA is the section that includes such things as the accessibility mandates of voting devices for disabled-voters, the ability to verify the votes selected by the voter on the ballot before the ballot is cast and counted, the requirement for warning voters of overvotes, audit capacity of voting systems, provisional voting, computerized statewide voter registration lists, and other issues.

Part of this right to file a complaint is the right to request, and be granted, an on-the-record public hearing of your complaint. This cannot be denied to you according to federal law.

Realizing that I had this right, I spoke with some attorneys who are working on voting technology issues and I was told that actions that I took by filing a complaint would not hurt their work in any way and it might be helpful as it will help to build a public paper record. I then composed my complaint, which is now posted at VoteTrustUSA in full, and filed it yesterday.

We'll see where it goes, but I wanted to mention this to BRAD BLOG readers who might consider doing the same thing. HAVA mandates that every state must create a process for such complaints to be filed by voters. Check with your Secretary of State's office to see what might be required in your state.

If "6 or 7" of us do this in each state, who knows what might come of it? Since all the states have different procedures, please feel free to share your experiences for others here in comments, along with any tips for filing in your own state as you may find them.

Feel free to use my complaint as a template if you like, or drop me an email if you have any specific questions

	Tweet

( 10 so far... )

Article Categories: Election 2006, HAVA

CNN POLL: Bush Approval at 32%

Hello 20's?

By Brad Friedman on 4/24/2006 3:34pm PT

We've truly enjoyed watching the contortions of Bush's GOP dead-enders who spin each and every new poll showing Bush at his lowest approval ratings yet, by trying to say that the numbers have "bottomed out", "can't get any lower" and therefore "have nowhere to go but up."

We (not so) respectfully disagree.

On the heels of last week's Fox News Poll showing Bush at 33% (which also revealed Republican voters as desperately out of touch with mainstream America,) followed by today's CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll just out showing Bush at an all-new new low of 32% with Republican support dropping off precipitously, we see no reason why numbers in the 20's (and falling) shouldn't be far behind.

Do you?

	Tweet

( 37 so far... )

Article Categories: Election 2006, Accountability, Republicans

Columnist Asks 'Could a Sharp Eighth Grader Swing a Florida Election'?

We Believe the Sharp Columnist Knows the Answer...

By Brad Friedman on 4/24/2006 10:25am PT

Ralph De La Cruz writes today in his South Florida Sun-Sentinel column titled "Could a sharp eighth grader swing Florida election?":

Tallahassee· There's always a word or phrase.

Something that captures the mood of the moment. The ear, if not the imagination, of a legislative session.

Last year it was "living will." Or, depending on your take on the Terri Schiavo case, perhaps it was "judicial tyranny."

This year, it may be "transparency."

That word has been surfacing a lot in Tallahassee. Unfortunately, it's not coming from the Capitol.

It's become the favored word of Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho, who's become a lightning rod for concerns about electronic voting machines.
...
Now, it's already bad enough to consider that our voting systems can be corrupted by a sharp eighth grader who might be able to access an elections office.

Think of what a savvy, committed adult could do.

As Mr. De La Cruz writes for a South Florida paper, and includes his email address and phone number at the bottom of his column, perhaps a few of you may wish to thank him for his coverage of Ion's story, and suggest to him that he cover Clint Curtis' story in a future column as well.

After all, in Curtis' affidavit, he says he was told that the vote-rigging prototype Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) asked him to create was meant "to control the vote in South Florida."

For those unfamiliar with Curtis' amazing story, a good primer is always available at this address: www.BradBlog.com/ClintCurtisSummary.htm.

While we're on the topic, please remember that Curtis is now running for Congress against Feeney and his massive DeLay/Abramoff/Top-Tier-GOP Money Machine and your support is needed if he is to stand a chance of beating Feeney in the very "conservative" district which Feeney carved out for himself when he was Florida House Speaker. See below for more details on how you can help him take on one of Congress' most corrupt Friends-of-the-Bushes...

For more info on The BRAD BLOG's continuing investigative series on
The Clint Curtis/Tom Feeney/Yang Enterprises Vote-Rigging Scandal series, please see:
- A Quick Summary of the story so far.
- An Index of all the Key Articles & Evidence in the series so far.
- Curtis is now running for U.S. Congress against Feeney.
To support or for more info, see: www.ClintCurtis.com

	Tweet

( 10 so far... )

Article Categories: Florida, Election 2006

FOX 'NEWS' POLL: Republicans Out of Touch With Mainstream America!

Those Identified in Survey as Independent Voters Vastly Agree with Democrats, Not Republicans, as GOP Voters Continue Their Move to the Extreme Political Margins

By Brad Friedman on 4/21/2006 1:01pm PT

According to a BRAD BLOG analysis of the Fox "News"/Opinion Dynamics poll [PDF] released yesterday, which showed George W. Bush's latest approval rating at an all-time low of 33%, respondents in the poll who identified themselves as Republican are revealed by the survey time and again to be completely out of touch with mainstream American voters.

A review of the 13 questions asked in the survey where Republican majority responses differed completely from Democratic majority responses to the same question, finds that those identifying themselves as Independents agreed with the Democratic majority opinion nearly 100% of the time.

For example, on the question "Do you think it is appropriate for retired military generals to openly criticize Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during wartime or not?," 71% of Democratic respondents said YES and just 24% said NO.

On the other hand, Republicans had the opposite opinion - YES: 36% and NO: 62%.

Breaking the tie then, were those identified as Independents who agreed with the Democrats on the matter by answering YES: 64% and NO: 32%.

In virtually every single case where Republican majority opinion disagreed with Democratic majority opinion, the Independents agreed with the Democrats --- suggesting that Republican voters, even in (or especially in) a Fox "News" poll are completely out of touch and out of step with mainstream America.

The only minor exception was on the question: "Do you think Donald Rumsfeld should resign as secretary of defense?" Democrats said YES: 57% and NO: 22%. Republicans said YES: 18% and NO: 67%. The tie was broken by Independents barely breaking in Republican favor with responses YES: 41% and NO: 42%.

The poll, however, has a margin of error of plus/minus 3% points. So the response from Independents wasn't conclusive as to whether they agreed more with Dems or Reps on that one question only.

After five years of malicious propaganda by Republican opinion-leaders attempting to paint Democrats as "out of touch with mainstream America," it's interesting to find that the Republicans' own Fox "News" Poll reveals that it is the GOP --- not the Dems --- who now seem to be on the "kook fringe" of American political public opinion.

	Tweet

( 30 so far... )

Article Categories: Fox 'News', Election 2006, Republicans

FOX 'NEWS' POLL: Bush Approval at 33%

Hume, Hannity, Gibson, Limbaugh Forced to Come Up With New Excuses

(We predict it'll all be the fault of the 'Liberal Media' of course)

By Brad Friedman on 4/20/2006 2:48pm PT

How will the poor Fox "News" Bush dead-enders cover for their man now that their own poll is out showing Bush at all-time lows with just a 33% approval rating. That number includes a full 20% drop in Republican support from one year ago!

Just over a month ago, when CBS released their poll pegging Bush Approval at 34% the Fox Wingnuts bent over backwards to dismiss the poll as untrustworthy:

"This is not representative of the --- of the population of the country in any way, shape, manner, or form. Nor is the fact that Bush has 34 percent. ... You just know that's not possible. It simply isn't possible," Rush Limbaugh said on February 28th, when the poll was released.

Brit Hume on Special Report said, "[T]here's good reason to be skeptical of this CBS poll. It's wildly oversampled Democrats."

Sean Hannity spun with, "The first thing we find out that nearly two to one they polled Democrats."

And John Gibson joined the dead-enders-in-denial with, "Of course, it's weighted with more Democrats, so you've got to take that into account."

The CBS poll put Cheney's approval rating at 18% at the time, by the way. The Fox "News" poll, though it asks about the approval ratings of Condi Rice and Don Rumsfield, seems to have failed to poll on Cheney's approval rating for some odd reason. Go figure.

(Hat-tip to MediaMatters.org for tracking Fox "News" and their lack of touch with reality on this matter last February.)

	Tweet

( 57 so far... )

Article Categories: Fox 'News', Election 2006, Republicans

Feingold PAC Releases New Video on Warrantless Domestic Spying Issue

Twist Ending Highlights Bush Threat to American Values, Constitution...

By Brad Friedman on 4/19/2006 11:48am PT

The Progressive Patriots Fund, a Political Action Committee of Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), has released a new video ad, critical of George W. Bush's warrantless domestic spying program.

The video, directed by Bob Newhart Show alum and former Friends director Peter Bonerz is in support of the Senator's Censure Resolution and features a twist ending.

-- The video can be viewed online here.

The organization has issued a press release touting the video's premier last night in Texas. That release follows in full...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

	Tweet

( 7 so far... )

Article Categories: NSA, Election 2006, Russ Feingold

E-VOTE TRAIN WRECK ON COURSE: 'Optical-Scan Voting System Will Fail in May Primary' Predicts Election Official

Summit County, Ohio Elections Director Says He Can't Assume Anything Else

By John Gideon on 4/19/2006 8:08am PT

Guest Blogged by John Gideon

If you recall The BRAD BLOG has reported on the Summit County memory card failures in the recent past; most recently on April 4. Summit County's memory card (PCMCIA) failures have not gotten any better according to an article in this morning's Akron Beacon Journal...

Now, in what is clearly a show of "No Confidence" in their voting machine vendor ES&S, the county elections director is predicting failure with the system in the May 2 Ohio state primary.

Summit County Board of Elections Director Bryan Williams is predicting Election Day failures with the memory cards in the county's new optical scan voting system.

``I don't think we can assume anything else,'' Williams said at a meeting Tuesday, where the elections board reviewed the latest list of troubles.

This seems to be a complete melt-down of everything provided to the county by ES&S. The Beacon-Journal goes on to report the problems...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

	Tweet

( 7 so far... )

Article Categories: (Uncategorized), ES&S, Ohio, Election 2006

VIDEO - GOP Spin: Bush's Low Polls Actually 'Good News'

By David Edwards on 4/19/2006 5:30am PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com

Video in Streaming Flash format...
Video in Windows Media format...
Audio in MP3 format...

On this week's edition of PBS's Washington Week, L.A. Times political reporter Doyle McManus provided analysis of Bush's record low poll numbers.

Doyle relates talking points that were being pushed on him by a Republican operative. Putting a delirious spin on the Bush's low ratings, the GOP says that "those polls were actually good news because the President's popularity has bottomed out. It has stabilized..."

While rolling her eyes, Washington Week moderator Gwen Ifill replies, "I'm dizzy from that spin, I think."

	Tweet

( 36 so far... )

Article Categories: Election 2006

VIDEO - Bush: 'I'm The Decider and I Decide What Is Best'

By David Edwards on 4/18/2006 1:01pm PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com

Video in Streaming Flash format...
Video in Windows Media format...

This morning while announcing staff changes, President Bush explained the inner-workings of presidential authority:

Bush: ...and on Friday I stood up and said I don't appreciate the speculation about Don Rumsfeld. He's doin' a fine job. I strongly support him.

Reporter: What do you say to the critics who believe that you are ignoring the advice of retired generals and military commanders who say there needs to be a change?

Bush: I say I listen to all voices but mine's the final decision and Don Rumsfeld is doing a fine job. He's not only transforming the military, he's fighting a war on terror - He's helping us fight a war on terror. I have strong confidence in Don Rumsfeld. I hear the voices and I read the front page and I know the speculation but I'm the decider and I decide what is best and what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the Secretary of defense.

	Tweet

( 135 so far... )

Article Categories: Election 2006

VIDEO - Post Editor Must Drink 'Kool-Aid' To Defend 'Good Leak' Editorial

By David Edwards on 4/17/2006 5:58pm PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com

Video in Streaming Flash format...
Video in Windows Media format...
Audio in MP3 format...

Colbert King, Deputy Editor of the Washington Post, appeared on this Sunday's edition of Inside Washington, a political show that's broadcast in the D.C. area. Mr. King was asked to defend an editorial recently published in the Washington Post which was titled "A Good Leak." The editorial supported President Bush's position that he participated in partial leaks of the National Intelligence Estimate for the good of the public.

From Mr. King's response it was clear that he had differences but attempted a defense of editorials flawed arguments:

MR. PETERSON: Colby, I want to ask you a question about your newspaper because the lead editorial in your newspaper on Sunday was entitled "The Good Leak," and it was about the leak of intelligence information that went through Cheney to Scooter Libby and then to Judy Miller and so forth. Why ? now, the president can do whatever he wants with intelligence; why a leak and why call it a good leak?

MR. KING: Well, I'm deputy editor of the editorial page, so let me first take a sip of my Kool-Aid ? (laugher) ? and step up and take one for the team. What we were trying to say is that the president had every right to declassify the information and present to the public the information from the National Intelligence Estimate that supported that particular argument about the attempts on the part of the ? of Saddam Hussein to acquire ?

MS. TOTENBERG: You can spit it out.

MR. KING: ? enriched ?

MR. PETERSON: Uranium.

An editorial with a different opinion of President Bush's leak called "A Bad Leak" appeared in Sunday's The New York Times.

This broadcast first aired on Sunday, April 17, 2006. The full transcript is available from the Inside Washington site. More details are available at The Raw Story.

	Tweet

( 12 so far... )

Article Categories: Iraq War, Election 2006

VIDEO - SNL Lampoons White House Staff Changes

By David Edwards on 4/17/2006 1:10pm PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com

Video in Streaming Flash format...
Video in Windows Media format...

The writers at SNL seem more than a little skeptical about the quality of Bush appointments. As White House Press Secretary, Lindsay Lohan couldn't possibly be less informative than Scottie McClellan.

This clip is the opening segment from Saturday night's broadcast.

	Tweet

( 3 so far... )

Article Categories: Election 2006, Republicans

VIDEO - John Dean on Secrets, Leaks and the Path to Dictatorship

By David Edwards on 4/15/2006 10:37am PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com

Video in Streaming Flash format...
Video in Windows Media format...
Audio in MP3 format...

Tavis Smiley interviews former White House Council for the Nixon Administration John Dean. Dean focuses on the moral and legal failings of the current Administration.

Dean recalls his experiences as an insider during a Watergate and is amazed that Bush Administration has ignored those lessons. Dean expands on his March 31, 2006 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee censure hearing where he said,

No president that I can find in the history of our country has really ever adopted a policy of expanding presidential powers for the sake of expanding presidential powers. And I think that's what we have going on here in this presidency.

Dean says that the Bush inner-circle has had a policy of expanding presidential powers from "the day they took office." Secrecy was one of the symptoms of a now obvious campaign to create a presidency unchecked by government or the people. Dean says the actions of the Bush Administration have gone far beyond Nixon's "Imperial Presidency".

Dean goes on to give an ominous warning about slipping into a dictatorship:

The Congress... has lost its' institutional pride. For some reason it doesn't try to check this president.

I've seen the system how it's supposed to work and it's not working that way. When you get it lopsided and one branch is so dominating, it's something other than our founders really designed.

And, of course, the worse case is that if you go on to something that we really don't want to get to and that's a dictatorship. That can happen much more easily than one thinks.

This clip plays for about 10 minutes and was originally broadcast on Wednesday, April 10, 2006.

	Tweet

( 18 so far... )

Article Categories: Election 2006, Rights And Freedoms

Indiana Sec. of State Announces Hearings, Subpeonas, Possible Fines against ES&S Voting Machine Company

Says Company Activity Could be in 'Significant Violation of State Election Law'

NOTE TO MSM: Nothing to read here. Move on.

By Brad Friedman on 4/13/2006 4:08pm PT

The E-Voting Train Wreck continues...

This from a statement released today by the Indiana Secretary of State (to get just a tiny idea of what this statement is in reference to see the "Train Wreck" article linked above...and just about every other damn thing we've been running here at BRAD BLOG for the last God-knows-how-many weeks/months/years)...

Today Secretary of State Todd Rokita announced his intention to bring an enforcement action against the Nebraska based voting system firm, Election Systems and Software. Secretary Rokita will personally conduct a public hearing to determine whether election law violations have occurred, and whether the company should be fined. County sequencing errors and paper ballot problems, noted by Rokita's office this week, have combined to quickly escalate already disturbingly poor service at the county level into what could be a significant violation of state election law. "I have ordered our legal staff to immediately set hearing dates and subpoena company officials," Rokita said.

The Indianapolis Star begins their coverage this way:

The Indiana secretary of state's office is investigating possible law violations by two voting machine companies, as doubts continue about possible hitches in next month's primary elections.

"To protect the voices of Hoosier voters, I intend to hold hearings on these matters to determine whether Indiana law has been violated, and if so, to hold the appropriate parties accountable," Secretary of State Todd Rokita said in a statement today.

"Hoosier taxpayers, voters and county officials deserve voting systems that comply with the high standards mandated by Indiana law."

Rokita said his office, which administers elections across the state, would bring an "enforcement action" to determined whether Election Systems and Software, a Nebraska voting system company, should be fined.

NOTE TO NATIONAL MAINSTREAM MEDIA: Please pay no attention whatsoever to any of the above. It's just a small local story. Nothing of interest. No pattern here here that effects our country as a whole in any way. All is well. Please enjoy your Easter Holiday break! Thank you.

	Tweet

( 7 so far... )

Article Categories: (Uncategorized), ES&S, Indiana, Election 2006, Mainstream Media Failure

VIDEO - Boxer Demands Bush Apology for Politically Motivated Leak

By David Edwards on 4/12/2006 3:20pm PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com

Video in Streaming Flash format...
Video in Windows Media format...
Audio in MP3 format...

Yesterday, Senator Barbara Boxer delivered a letter to President George W. Bush demanding that he apologize for his role in using NIE intelligence for political purposes. Boxer's letter begins, "I am writing to request that you apologize to the American people for your role in declassifying information for political reasons and authorizing its dissemination."

Senator Boxer appeared on MSNBC Hardball to explain her reason for writing Bush. Boxer also spoke in support of Senator Feingold's censure resolution.

From the MSNBC transcript:

MATTHEWS: Thank you, David. Great report. With us now in California is California's own Barbara Boxer, the Democratic senator, who wants to censure President Bush for the NSA's domestic surveillance program and today SHE called on the president to apologize for, "declassifying information for political reasons during the Iraq war."

Let me ask you this, Senator, are you going to follow through with this? Are you going to try to get him censured?

SEN. BARBARA BOXER: Well, I absolutely feel that we can't close our eyes to what this president has done. You could ask me is it a smart, strategic move for the Democrats, I don't know if it is or isn't, Chris. But every day you think it can't get worse and it gets worse.

Now we see how hard the president himself tried to hurt Ambassador Joe Wilson, who told the truth about Saddam Hussein and the nuclear weapons program. He told the truth that it wasn't happening. And yet in fact, this president wanted to release information that even he knew, and the administration knew, was suspect.

	Tweet

( 72 so far... )

Article Categories: Iraq War, MSNBC, CIA, NSA, Election 2006, CIA Leak Case, War On Terror, Impeachment, Accountability

BREAKING: E-Voting Lawsuit Filed against PA County, U.S. Dept. of Justice!

Suit Seeks to Stop Last Minute Implementation of ES&S Voting Machines In Allegheny County

By John Gideon on 4/12/2006 2:06pm PT

Guest Blogged by John Gideon

Just announced by KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the news that a group of citizens and People For The American Way have filed suit against the Secretary of State; Dan Onorato, Allegheny County Chief Executive; James Flynn, County Manager; and senior officials at the federal Department of Justice. The citizen group includes members of the disabilities community who want to make sure the County purchases machines that are accessible to all individuals with disabilities.

KDKA reports:

The lawsuit filed today says that decision risks chaos on Election Day because of the lack of time to train election officials and educate voters about the change from lever machines which have been in use for 40 years.

"This rush to a new and flawed technology just weeks before the election threatens to sow chaos in the primary and compromise the fundamental rights of thousands of voters for years to come," says Harry Litman, the former United States Attorney in Pittsburgh and an attorney for the plaintiffs. "It's a bad deal for Allegheny County, and, we believe, a violation of federal law."

The suit, Celeste Taylor v. Dan Onorato asks the court to prevent use of machines manufactured by Election Systems & Software until the County has spent the time necessary to identify voting systems that are secure; reliable; and accessible to voters with disabilities.
...
The plaintiffs cite elections in Texas, Florida, California, Ohio, and North and South Carolina where ES&S machines failed on Election Day.

A report by the Inspector General in Miami of a 2002 election found that the ES&S machines were not properly prepared; their results could not be audited; poll workers were unable to operate machines; and large number of voters simply gave up as a result.
...
The complaint alleges that DOJ has pressured Allegheny to buy the new machines by improperly threatening to take back about $12 million that has been given to Pennsylvania for improved voting systems.

These machines are sold and serviced by Elections Systems and Software, the same company that has played a major role in failures of memory cards and is a large reason why this nation is headed for a "Train Wreck" in our primary elections and, if no action is taken, in November.

	Tweet

( 13 so far... )

Article Categories: ES&S, Election 2006, VoterAction

Total Pages (26):
« Newest ... « 20 21 22 23 24 [25] 26 »

NATIONWIDE STUDY FINDS ALMOST NO VOTER FRAUD Just 10 cases of in-person impersonation in all 50 states since 2000...
VIDEO: 'Rise of the Tea Bags' Brad interviews American patriots...	'Democracy's Gold Standard' Hand-marked, hand-counted ballots...

ONE TIME ONLY any amount you like... $	MONTHLY SUPPORT any amount you like... $
Or by Snail Mail Make check out to... Brad Friedman 7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594 Los Angeles, CA 90028