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Cleita

(75,480 posts)
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:08 PM Sep 2012

Uh, oh, could the fix be in for elections in California? Computer voting in place for election.

I just got this in my email:

Dear Cleita,

Today, California's Secretary of State launched the state's first ever online voter registration system. Thanks to California Common Cause members like you, we were able to spearhead efforts to get this important bill passed and put in place in time for the November elections.

Tell your friends, family and neighbors –- you can now register to vote in your PJs! The new online voter registration system is up and running today, and you can register or update your voter information online.

California Common Cause has worked closely with state and local elections officials and partner organizations to develop tools and programs to promote this new election registration technology. California has taken an important step in to make voting accessible, free and fair for eligible voters. Not only that, but this system will save the state millions of dollars.

Check out the new online voter registration site -- share it with your friends and family and encourage them to register online today!

We expect millions of voters -- whether they are young, on the move, or strapped for time -- to use this innovative system over the next few years. With online voter registration ready in time for the November election, California has taken a forward-thinking stand to increase voter registration and participation.

Thanks for all you do,

Kathay Feng
and the rest of the team at California Common Cause


Who are these people? I went to their website and this is what I found:

http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4846369

I've got to admit I don't keep up with local or state politics as much as I do national so I didn't recognize the names on the Board of Directors as to what their political affiliations are. As we know from past experience, those claiming to be non-partisan are anything but.

Is this something to worry about? I'm already worried because I'm in favor of hand counted paper ballots as being the most uncorrupt system of voting. Why is this any different than putting our vote in the hands of Diebold, which we know the votes can be changed internally?

Talk me down on this and if it smells like a rat, DU lawyers how can we stop this for the November election?

23 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Uh, oh, could the fix be in for elections in California? Computer voting in place for election. (Original Post) Cleita Sep 2012 OP
Best way to research political affiliation is using the donor database justiceischeap Sep 2012 #1
I'm familiar with Open Secrets. First search yielded nothing. Cleita Sep 2012 #2
I don't know much about this, saw the tease on local LA news last night but missed the story... winstars Sep 2012 #3
I love Debra myself, but even she can't do a whole lot if she's been Cleita Sep 2012 #4
I'm pretty sure Common Cause is a good, liberal group. Arugula Latte Sep 2012 #5
Yes, it is DonViejo Sep 2012 #14
It's a legitimate non-profit, non-partisan public interest organization pinboy3niner Sep 2012 #6
Thanks to bemildred in the CA Forum, here is more: Cleita Sep 2012 #7
hand counted paper ballots is the way to go but there is no $$PROFIT in it really nt msongs Sep 2012 #8
I dont agree with this at all Egnever Sep 2012 #13
This seems to be about registration rather than voting arcane1 Sep 2012 #9
Oh, thank God. That's not as bad. n/t Cleita Sep 2012 #12
It's online registration, not voting KamaAina Sep 2012 #10
The Democratic party is in charge of all statewide offices woolldog Sep 2012 #11
I believe it is all elected state offices at the moment. bemildred Sep 2012 #15
This is about voter REGISTRATION, not voting. n/t BeeBee Sep 2012 #16
So others have said. Thanks. n/t Cleita Sep 2012 #17
The new allows same day voting/immediate registration musiclawyer Sep 2012 #18
That would be on every progressive's wish list. n/t Cleita Sep 2012 #19
We've had online voter registration in WA since 2008... countryjake Sep 2012 #20
Thanks. People on this thread have been very helpful. I feel okay with it now. n.t. Cleita Sep 2012 #21
I have checked on my registration status online before SoCalDem Sep 2012 #22
We've had computer-counted votes for a long time Retrograde Sep 2012 #23

Cleita

(75,480 posts)
2. I'm familiar with Open Secrets. First search yielded nothing.
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:15 PM
Sep 2012

I will keep plugging and thanks for the link.

winstars

(4,213 posts)
3. I don't know much about this, saw the tease on local LA news last night but missed the story...
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:15 PM
Sep 2012

But what I do definitely know is that Debra Bowen is a very, very smart and dedicated Secretary of State here in CA and future Senator or Governor. I believe that upon further inspection this measure will prove to be a progressive idea that helps more people, not less people vote.
I am off to Google this to see whats what...

Cleita

(75,480 posts)
4. I love Debra myself, but even she can't do a whole lot if she's been
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:16 PM
Sep 2012

pressured into accepting this mandate. Let's hope she can keep it clean and honest though.

DonViejo

(60,536 posts)
14. Yes, it is
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:43 PM
Sep 2012

Common Cause is a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1970 by John Gardner as a vehicle for citizens to make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest.

Today, Common Cause is one of the most active, effective, and respected nonprofit organizations working for political change in America. Common Cause strives to strengthen our democracy by empowering our members, supporters and the general public to take action on critical policy issues.

Now with nearly 400,000 members and supporters and 35 state organizations, Common Cause remains committed to honest, open and accountable government, as well as encouraging citizen participation in democracy.

In 2000, the organization created the Common Cause Education Fund, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity, as its public education and research affiliate.

Our Leadership


Bob Edgar is the president and CEO of Common Cause. Bob arrived at Common Cause in 2007 with a long history of leadership and public service that included 12 years in Congress. He was the general secretary of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA for seven years immediately before becoming Common Cause President. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974 to represent the Seventh Congressional District of Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia, Bob was part of the congressional class nicknamed "the Watergate babies," those elected in the wake of the Watergate scandal and who led sweeping reforms of Congress.

Robert Reich is the Chair of the National Governing Board. Reich is a professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He was Secretary of Labor under President Clinton, with Time magazine naming him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the last century. He has published 13 books, including Supercapitalism (2007), which makes the case for why capitalism must be kept separate from democracy, and why corporate money in politics threatens both. His newest book, Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future, has just been released. He is founding co-editor of The American Prospect, a syndicated columnist, regular commentator on public radio's Marketplace and other radio and television programs, and blogs at www.robertreich.org.

Martha Tierney is the Vice Chair of the National Governing Board. Martha is a partner at the Denver law firm of Kelly Garnsey Hubbell + Lass LLC, where she concentrates on civil rights and election law matters, as well as commercial litigation in both federal and state courts. Martha joined the Common Cause National Governing Board in 2005 and also serves on the board of Colorado Common Cause. She is a member of the board of directors of the Colorado Lawyer’s Committee and serves on its election task force, as well as the Colorado Secretary of State’s campaign finance advisory committee. Martha received her law degree from Vermont Law School and is graduate of Colorado College.

Common Cause's National Governing Board serves as its policy-making body and provides broad oversight for the organization. The members of the board are chosen for three-year terms. The board meets in Washington, DC three times a year to discuss, determine and oversee issue, financial and organizational matters. Click here for a list of board members and their affiliations.

Common Cause is dedicated to restoring the core values of American democracy, reinventing an open, honest and accountable government that serves the public interest, and empowering ordinary people to make their voices heard in the political process.
In this spirit, Common Cause serves as an independent voice for change and a watchdog against corruption and abuse of power. Together with our sister organization, the Common Cause Education Fund, we employ a powerful combination of grassroots organizing, coalition building, research, policy development, public education, lobbying and litigation to win reform at all levels of government.
Founded with 4,000 core members in 1970 to serve as a people’s lobby, Common Cause has grown into a nationwide network of more than 400,000 members and supporters, with offices in 36 states and Washington, D.C. Today it works tirelessly to:
• Strengthen public participation and faith in our institutions of self-government;
• Ensure that government and the political process serve the common good, rather than special interests;
• Curb the excessive influence of money on government decisions and elections and illuminate the connections between lobbying money coming in and government expenditures going out;
• Promote fair, honest and transparent elections;
• Hold government officials accountable for working within the rule of law and under high standards of ethical conduct;
• Fight for a vigorous, independent and diverse media; and
• Protect the civil rights and civil liberties of all Americans.
To make our democracy work, we must claim it as our own. John Gardner, Common Cause’s founder, wrote that, "The citizen can bring our political and governmental institutions back to life, make them responsive and accountable and keep them honest. No one else can."
This then is our common cause: to forge a democracy by and responsive to an engaged public, and committed to progress in the struggle for social, economic and environmental justice for all.

Much more:
http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4860183

pinboy3niner

(53,339 posts)
6. It's a legitimate non-profit, non-partisan public interest organization
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:21 PM
Sep 2012

It's modeled after the national Common Cause organization that began in 1970.

 

Egnever

(21,506 posts)
13. I dont agree with this at all
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:35 PM
Sep 2012

The way to go is to get as many people access to voting as possible be it online or otherwise. There is nothing inherently dishonest about computers in fact just the opposite.

 

arcane1

(38,613 posts)
9. This seems to be about registration rather than voting
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:24 PM
Sep 2012

I've been voting using those paper-scanner machines the entire time I've been in California. I don't think any of that is changing, though I could be wrong.

 

KamaAina

(78,249 posts)
10. It's online registration, not voting
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:28 PM
Sep 2012

it only works if your signature is on file with DMV (i.e. driver license or state ID).

 

woolldog

(8,791 posts)
11. The Democratic party is in charge of all statewide offices
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:31 PM
Sep 2012

(or almost all of them) so I highly doubt that.

bemildred

(90,061 posts)
15. I believe it is all elected state offices at the moment.
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 02:49 PM
Sep 2012

I know we kicked some ass last election, the one the Teahadis did well in elsewhere, in 2010.

musiclawyer

(2,335 posts)
18. The new allows same day voting/immediate registration
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 03:59 PM
Sep 2012

Does nto start for a few years because they need time to create the database. It's not a creepy database. It will be used simply to verify if one is registered. If not your data gets put in as late as the day of election and you vote provisionally, basically. It's the exact opposite of voter suppression. It's total voter inclusion.

Honesly, what we need at a the Federal level is law declaring uniform voting standards--all mail default AND same day registration with paper optical scan backup for those who forget to mail. DRE machines outlawed

countryjake

(8,554 posts)
20. We've had online voter registration in WA since 2008...
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 04:14 PM
Sep 2012

and it is extremely convenient if, for instance, someone moves and needs to submit a change of address quickly, in order to be eligible to vote in an upcoming election.

This year, they've even begun a FaceBook page for registering, so folks can register, "like", and pass it on to any of their friends who may be unregistered (or not up to date).

It's cool, Cleita.

Retrograde

(10,068 posts)
23. We've had computer-counted votes for a long time
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 04:23 PM
Sep 2012

This fall we'll be deciding on pres/vp, senator, representative, state senator, state assemblyperson, ten state-wide propositions, I don't know how many county and city ones, city council and school board in my town, and I'm sure I've overlooked: counting each race by hand is not only time consuming but open to human mistakes and miscounts. Even the paper mail-in ballots are machine counted. Now, if a race is close, like the cigarette tax proposition in the last election, that race may be recounted by hand: I can't speak for all the counties, but mine uses voting machines that print a hard-copy record of the votes cast electronically that the voter is supposed to check for correctness.

The new on-line registration is just that: you can register to vote if you already have a California driver's license or state id, or you can report a change of address if you move. We don't have on-line voting.

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