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But I live in NJ and I dont own a car--that does make things harder.
Privatize our elections then privatize Social Security, right?
Recently it has come to our attention that the Essex County Supervisor of Elections has decided to purchase Touchscreen Voting machines (DRE's, Direct Recording Electronic) from Sequoia. These Voting Machines will not be equipped with the paper receipt printer. This is unacceptable.
During this time of Federal, State, and County budget deficits, the need for fiscal constraint is clear. The County Supervisor of Elections has chosen the most expensive Voting system currently available. This is unacceptable.
Of the voting systems that qualify for funds under the Help America Vote Act of 2002, a touchsreen voting system is three times as expensive as the next cheapest system, optical scanners. One optical scanner can process up to 360 paper ballots per hour. One DRE or touchscreen voting machine can process up to 10 ballots per hour; one person can count 20 paper ballots for President in one minute. When one factors in the cost of warehousing, keeping the batteries charged, ballot writing and preparation of touchscreen voting machines, and remember you need 10 times the number of touchscreens compared to optical scanners, the choice is clear. The optical scanner is the fiscally responsible purchase. And if you consider that the optical scanner feeds ballot information into a computer--your vote still ends up in the computerized corporate ballot box. It becomes obvious that without the Federal funds from HAVA these computerized voting systems would not viable choices.
Our task is clear: education and action.1) Educating the public as to the issues of cost and the reliability of voting into a Black Box; 2) Developing a mandate from this educational process; and 3) using the mandate to take action that effects positive change. Strategically speaking we need a multi-pronged approach for the effort to stem the tide of DRE's entering Essex County. If we set the standard in Essex County, the other Counties in N.J. will know that it can be done.
Here are 8 paths to victory:
1) Media outreach
2) Community outreach
3) Pubic Officials outreach
4) Educational forums
5) Rallies/Protests
6) Referendum
7) Court action
8) County grassroots leadership council
9) Town resolutions banning DRE's
10) The Plan
Individual Tactics
Media Outreach
Getting earned media coverage requires the exploration of different possibilities. Every meeting and forum can be an opportunity to write and send out news releases. Getting public officials with name recognition to attend an event is an excellent way of getting earned media coverage of the event. Letters to the Editors of local news papers is another good tool.
Community Outreach
One effective method of reaching out and engaging members of our communities are educational forums. These forums are the tools with which we build a mandate. We can also apply classic GOTV methods to the outreach effort, canvassing, phone banking and handing out flyers at supermarkets and train stations. Recruiting volunteers from the recently converted adds to our ranks and helps build turnout at public events. These volunteers can then recruit more volunteers. The message "BBV (Black Box Voting) costs too much money" will resonate with the largest group of voters, with an underlying message of, "you can't trust BBV". The more that people are talking about BBV, the closer we are to our goal.
Pubic Officials Outreach
Email and letter writing to public officials will ensure that they know where their constituency stands on the issue. Inviting public officials to every event is a must, as is the earned media effort behind each event. Letters to the editor, can also be effective. Contacting community, civic, religious, and labor organizations asking them to come on board to support our Public Officials, will swell our ranks, enlarging the numbers at public events. The show of support for any public official whosupports our goal is vital, They must be informed that by supporting the drive to rid Essex County of DRE's they are earning our vote come November.
Educational forums
Create a series of public educational forums in each town in Essex County whose objectives are to explore the pros & cons of computerized voting systems, and to engage the voting public, their elected representatives, and the Media in the larger effort to rid Essex County of DRE's. These forums will provide an excellent opportunity to get some of that earned media. Every town should hold public forums. Certainly standardization using video or DVD based presentations is a viable option. Creating a County "Team" to go on tour might be a way getting the job done.
Rallies/Protests
During a political campaign these activities are sometimes referred to as "visibility". They also provide an opportunity for earned media. Six people with poster board and some markers, making signs that say: " Paper Ballots" and "Ban Computerized Voting" going out to a busy intersection for 2 hours may be seen by 1000 people. Those 1000 people will have those 2 phrases on the tip of their tongue for at least 48 hours. And they will most likely tell someone about what they saw.
Referendums
Getting a county by county "Ban Computerized Voting" on the ballot in November is an excellent idea. A winning effort will require state wide volunteer recruiting. In other words, a lot of hard work. This effort can fit hand in glove with other efforts. The education of the voting public as to the problems of Computerized Voting is essential irregardless of the tactic being employed.
Court action
In the court house an existing law suit to work with. Open Government/sunshines laws in NJ states that the DRE's with their "Top Secret" source code are illegal. Asking for an Injunction to stop delivery of the DRE's to Essex County will buy us time and put adjoining counties on notice. Suing Seqouia as voters in the state of Washington did is also a possibility.
County grassroots leadership councilv
One strategy is to call for a series of county wide leadership summits to bring all the grassroots groups together to hash out common tactical and strategic doctrines as well as to coordinate a front line legal attack. It may make sense to invite the leadership of community, religious, labor, and civic organizations as well.
Town Resolutions banning DRE's
Every town should be pressured to pass a resolution banning DRE's. Before beginning the resolution effort, each town should have had at least three if not five or six educational forums on BBV. A full Media blitz should be undertaken in the local newspapers and TV using press releases for events and letter to the Editors.
Tactical review
The need to build a foundation before building a house should be quite clear to everyone. In our case we need to do the same. Our foundation starts with Educational forums. But these forums need to be conducted in coordination with a Media, community and pubic officials outreach. Inviting members of Congress to speak at or attend a forum when Congress is in recess gives us a realistic chance of their participation and an opportunity for some good earned media. Letters to editors and public officials thanking the public officials for their support gives us two opportunities for earned media before the forum and one after, besides educating the public as to the issues of cost and reliability of voting into a Black Box. It is imperative that a mandate be developed from this educational process, and that that mandate be used to take action that effects positive change.
Once these events have engaged the communities we should be ready to use our political capital to pass Town Resolutions banning DRE's. By now each member of the town government should have been invited to each event, and asked to attend or participate in each forum. Providing town officials with educational materials above and beyond the call is a must. Any concerns or questions they have should be addressed directly. Any opportunities to engage these officials in a private meeting should be taken full advantage of. During this process a petition drive should be initiated to get a question on the ballot in that county. A County referendum to ban DRE's should take full advantage of all momentum gained to this point. An educated County resident is more likely to vote in their own self interest to ban DRE's.
Rallies & Protests get the same media treatment as forums, a coordinated media, community and pubic officials outreach. Rallies and protests are invaluable for an issue oriented campaign. We know the benefits from the Civil Rights and Vietnam War movements. Rallies and protests give our issue good visibility and earned media. While engaging the community and public officials, an event gives them an opportunity to show their support. And don’t forget those letters of thanks for any Public Officials that support or show up for any event. These events should be organized county wide, and just like the instructions on a bottle of shampoo: repeat if necessary.
As far as I'm concerned any time is a good time for a legal action. Injunctions and law suits may ultimately prove to be the home run that wins the game. And finally every group in New Jersey has to be one the same page. And towards that goal, a County grassroots leadership council should be formed to coordinate all efforts in the state.
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