Colorado language - ELECTION REFORM

[eaglenetsupport]

Request for a tear down and feed back.

Well we've gone through an over all change in focus on how to accomplish reform via initiative procedure. It was extremely difficult to write into law the whole multitude of scenarios, and make illegal, all the possible methods to disenfranchise. However we think this is the way to go.

http://interblog.org/electionreform/electionreformdraft.doc
http://interblog.org/electionreform/electionreformdraft.txt

In this process I'll be outlining for discussion our interblog concept that we used for the first time in producing this plan. It was even more effective than I had first envisioned. The interblog concept is an affirmative action plan, organized around a think tank format, beginning with 5-6 people with significant experience in a particular discipline. It is an aggressive blog as opposed discussion format designed to move items out of the blogisphere and transition ideas happening there into the real world were change occurs.

For example this first group, we called a think tank module, a small focused group of highly experienced folks in their field, was composed of people with DIRECT hands on experience in the initiative procedure. Between the 6 of us in this focus group, we've produced over a dozen initiative or recall procedures, including hemp initiative the founder of COHIP (Colorado Hemp Initiative Project), C-SINS (Coloradoan for Shutdown Initiative of Nuclear Systems) Proposition One, an incredible piece of work by four individuals and tested by initiative in Washington DC and two Maryland counties, First recall of a Governor in American history, Arizona, one of my babies, Colorado's Med Marijuana initiative and a few more. The model can be utilized across the board on a number of issues to produce a real plan with high degree of chance of success.

The next step on the reform initiative is to further perfect the language on two fronts. I’ll do it here in Colorado and take advantage of one of the best initiative procedures in the states. Here we have what’s called The Legislative Council. When a committee files for a petition under the initiative procedure the language is handed to that council. This Council normally functions for the legislature. If your representative wants to pass legislation on a subject they give the Legislative Council an out line of what she wishes to accomplish and the council’s lawyers and paralegals turn the outline into legal language that fits into current law. They’ll do things like give feed back toward the perfection of language concerning conflict with existing law, confirm or recommend placement of proper section and subsection form even typos are expunged and other recommendations. The process takes one to two months and two council meetings. Having gone through the same procedure in a number of states I can tell you this one is superior in perfecting language on an initiative. Having gone through the procedure here three times and quite familiar with the complexities I’ve decided to handle it myself as the proposer. We will probably withdraw the proposal after the perfecting language is added, as we want to go through the qualifying procedures next year for 2006 election.
We’ll resubmit in early winter 2006 probably January. However by advancing the timetable here, we will be able to apply language changes for other states in a more timely manor. We’ll have better than nine months to perfect language for other individual states. As this will be occurring simultaneously in the other jurisdictions, it will allow for a comfortable time table.

The other method of perfecting language will be on the blogs through feed back. Now lets get into it and see if it will produce our desired effect. Get your ideas in here now because I wish to present it to the Colorado Legislative Council in about a month. Once it gets chiseled into stone there will be no opportunity for changes.

[Carolab]

1. Excellent. Thank you for providing this.

It can help serve as a model for other initiatives in other states.

[eaglenetsupport]

5. Any other state committees that you know of

working on language for an initiative should contact me as I have lots of "friends" and resources and extensive experience in these matters. A committee can waste a lot of time getting through the first stage, coming up with their text of the initiative and remain constitutional is challenging. To know the road ahead ask those returning.

[e-mail]

[The Doctor.]

2. Thank You.

Let me get my head back on and I'll see if I can't come up with anything.

[eaglenetsupport]

4. Great - you know it is time for

the people to rise up and demonstrate the ultimate sovereign power of the people. Once the procedure starts a clock begins to tick. They can ignore it if they want to, but it will not go away. To me the definition of empowerment is when they can't ignore you. I'm afraid their going to get their pee-pees whacked on this one.

[Carolab]

6. This is what Dean has said we must do. Initiatives are the only way.

The "leadership" is NOT getting it. Look at the bills out there. Look at how the Republicans are fighting it.

What other avenues are there? This is the way we can do it.

[eaglenetsupport]

7. In fact this IS the only way

The best legislation I've seen tackles one or two of the issues. None of the initiatives or state legislative proposals deals with ALL ten of the Items that need dealing with. We need one initiative one proposal with a simple yes that will fix it all, once and for all. If we don't do it this way we'll be pissing around for ten years trying to save our mother, and we'll loose her.

[Carolab]

8. Since you posted this, can you do take it a step further?

Can you get this to the DNC? To Dean? Maybe they can start putting examples like this up on the blog. Start an "initiative initiative"!
If Dean/DNC leads the campaign to do this and gives people the tools plus a way to interact and report on progress we can do this nationwide! People can put it on the agenda in MeetUps too.

[eaglenetsupport]

9. That's a good idea, one heavy hitter will

go a long way toward getting this revolution under way. The inside scoop is the revolution has already begun. Personally I'm not sitting around waiting for impeachment. It won't happen. These are the hands we are given. Either we do it or we don't.

[Carolab]

10. Dean says "we have the power" and he says we must use it.

Let's do it!!!! Thanks for getting this ball rolling!!!!

[eaglenetsupport]

11. Thanks but I would not want

to take credit for starting something that Bush has caused. It is also just your standard "Let the word go forth the torch is passed to a new generation. And the light from that fire will truly light up the world."

[hootinholler]

3. Kick and rec. N/T

[Wow]

12. Thanks

Thanks for taking steps toward action. I really believe that the initiative process is our only hope to get out of this mess.

[trudyco]

13. Eagle - can you tell me what happened with the Common Cause

efforts in CO? I thought they were going for legislation requiring voter verified voting, random audits, open source code for vote counting machines, etc. Did that die in the state congress?

The only big concern I have with this initiative is that you are placing almost entire faith on the commission. In Ohio they were supposedly bipartisan at every county that had "irregularities" and had rules for recounts, etc that they didn't follow. What are the penalties for the officials not following the law? Can an official not following the law/rules be grounds for not making results official until the infraction is resolved??

I don't see any provisions for open source code or the prohibition of networking on the vote counting machines. Also, what will be the requirements for recounts if any citizen or candidate is concerned with the election process? Will registration/poll books also have the requirement of a paper trail? Will provisional ballots be counted for national offices even if the voter delivers it to the wrong precinct?

This is great! We should take it to the state level, since the national level is going to sputter. Also, since not all states are created equal the Democrats should consider asking an international group to conduct extensive exit polls. Independent of USA MSM. This is used in other countries to insure fair elections. Why not us?

Thanks for doing this!

[eaglenetsupport]

14. legislative method in CO and other questions

I don't now about Common Cause and whether or not they are involved in the Colorado legislative actions, but those actions are getting whittled down and don't cover all the approximately ten items that need to be dealt with. In fact all of the legislative and initiative proposals being considered deal with one or two or three items. Ours, which is why I'm proposing this as a national agenda, goes after all the ten items listed at the end of the Conyers report that the republicans are doing. We need to do this one time do it right and get it over with. This current piece meal approach will take 10-20 years and probably never do what ours will do, ONCE.

Yes it does place almost all the faith in the commission. But this is not like any other commission current or proposed in the country. This commission is an investigative body with enforcement powers, subpoena powers, and power to compel testimony. It is a commission with the most significant guidelines for required actions then any I've seen or heard of. It contains provisions and requires actions of the Attorney General and Governor and General Assembly to implement. I do have some "neglect of duty" language I used in C-SINS, with penalties for state officers failing to comply. I'll take a look at adding those penalties in here also as this is a good suggestion.

Computers are forbidden at the precinct level. The equipment used in other matters such as tabulating results must be certified. The certification procedure comes in the form of administrative rules they will promulgate through The Colorado Administrative Procedures Act. The Act is similar to the federal act before it was gutted where the public comments on the proposals as they are being developed and the commission, pursuant to the act must accommodate those public opinions. The commission can not ignore the public comments or the resulting procedures can be challenged on that issue alone. For example 100 public comments say no oranges and 17 says yes oranges they can't add oranges or the rule can be challenged and thrown out for that error.

the other issues you raised,
Basically we found great difficulty in coming up with rules for all the possible infractions the republicans use. Clearly, via hard knocks, we found that ELECTION REFORM is a clear case for the republican form of government. Election law is so complex that the people need experts to delve into and solve all the various issues that could arise. We, in the end, choose to more fully empower the commission and charge it with strict guidelines for their task. Issues such as open source software and others you mentioned will have to be followed at each of these commissions by the citizens and make those recommendations there through their comments.