Save 2006: Let's Have Independent Exit Polling!

[democraticinsurgent]

The 2006 election will be here in a mere 5 months. 5 months. 20 weeks. 150 days.

Following considerable thought and a few down-topic posts on this subject, I am ready to propose what could be our one fighting chance to create a real check on the 2006 vote.

An independent exit poll.

I applaud all the citizen activists who are generating plans for pollwatchers. But we need something more, something systematic, and something statistically impeccable.

I also applaud all of the hard fought battles over the elimination of touch screens and other machines. But we can't win that battle in enough places to make 2006 safe. Especially not with the NSA data mining and the theft of 26 million veterans ID's. There's a lot of loose and valuable data that Bushco is sitting on, I guarantee that. Unless he's in prison, KKKarl will be there flipping switches on election night.

I'm told that Edison-Mitofsky will conduct exit polls this year, but after what happened in 04 they are likely not going to release data uncontaminated with mixed-in "actual" vote tallies, that questionable technique that ensures their totals ultimately match the official results. I am convinced without a doubt they are complicit in the theft and will never be trustworthy again.

No, we need an alternative. We need a consortium of locally and regionally based market research firms, coordinated and paid, to conduct statistically significant exit polls in key states and key districts. It doesn't have to everywhere, not in 06. Pick ten key Senate races, maybe 25 to 50 House races, and forget the rest.

Yes, it's a huge task. Yes, it's very expensive.

But it's doable.

It's doable if we as a community make it a priority. It's doable if an independent organization will step forward and lead the fundraising charge, whether it's MoveOn or even better, a coalition of groups that encompasses those beyond the left of center. Bring in the Libertarians, the moderates, the centrists, even real conservatives, not these pseudo-conservative corporate fraudsters. Get money from anyone who will give it. Get the coalition endorsed by anyone, ANYONE who wants to see free and fair elections.

It's doable if we start now. And when we're done with 2006, we roll it out nationally for 2008.

The data will be valuable. The coalition can sell it to any media or group willing to pay for free and unfettered, untainted data. My bet is there will be a nice market for the data which will help to defray the costs. Maybe even make money.

I am no expert. I am just a citizen with ideas.

I did, however, work as an exit pollster for Edison-Mitofsky in 2004. So the subject is near and dear to my heart. I did the job. I was well-trained and the process was clear and straightforward. So I was pretty offended when Mitofsky made excuses for poorly trained pollsters. BS. They did great. There was NO WAY an exit pollster could not have known how to do their relatively simple job.

I digress.

Let's do this. Who's with me?

[station agent]

1. I wish you well, but

I think we're screwed permanantly. Kennedy's article really brought me down. It's so obvious and it has been since 2000, yet it keeps happening. The conspiracy is too broad. Were toast.

[fasttense]

2. I'm with you but.....

An independent exit poll is good but without politicians with the backbone to stand up to massive fraud, manipulation and deceit, that exit poll will go by the wayside just as the Edison-Mitofsky exit poll of 2004. We can have all the proof we want that repukes are lying cheating, hypocrites who have no compunction about destroying democracy but without a "losing" politician who cares that his voters were ignored, we will get no where.

[UnityDem]

3. How can it be called "independent"?

If a group like moveon or the dnc or anybody leaning left finances it, it will be ridiculed as biased no matter the results. Repubs have no interest in exit polling. So, how do we get any "neutral" group to pursue this?

[Peace Patriot]

4. ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ON IDEA! YES! YES! YES! YES! Best idea yet!!!

Three comments so far. Three objections...

1. "Station Agent" wishes us well, but says: abandon all hope, forget it, give up now, let fascists steal your right to vote and your country, we're screwed, surrender, 230 years of the American Revolution, of increasing democracy and progress in human rights, are over, the bad guys are too powerful, don't even bother.

2. "Fasttense" says that our democracy depends on the politicians; if the politicians don't care that our right to vote has been taken away and our democracy nearly destroyed, there is nothing we can do about it on our own; we're helpless without Great Leaders; abandon all hope; give up, we will get nowhere, might as well get used to it--slaves, peons, victims, from now on; Nelson Mandela 30 years in prison, totally silenced, emerges to become President of South Africa, but we don't have politicians like that, our country is bereft of courage, ingenuity and belief in democracy; it took only six years to kill off every good quality in America; American democracy is dead, don't even try to revive it; it's hopeless without a Great Leader to lead us; don't even think of the millions of South Africans who made Nelson Mandela's triumph possible, who kept the faith and organized and agitated for three decades; in America, we, the people, are just "the masses"--we can't do anything by ourselves. And the "MSM"--to whom we concede the adjective "mainstream"--won't give us the time of day, so, without Great Leaders and without the blessings of the war profiteering corporate news monopolies, we can do nothing. Forget it.

3. "UnityDem" says: The Republicans and their corporate news monopolies will call us "partisan," we need to play dog to their "talking point" fetch, and they will always win that game, so forget it; nobody else's opinion counts; THEY will dismiss it, so WE, the people, shouldn't do it, why bother? Give it up. Abandon all hope. We are powerless. Our right to verify elections and check for fraud in deliberately created non-transparent election conditions, reminiscent of Stalin's Russia, will be dissed by the ridiculing, lying, "swiftboating" corporate news monopolies, so why do it? As with our right to vote itself, the Dark Lords have taken away our right to verify elections--like taking candy from a baby --and we are helpless to do anything about it, because THEY have the corner of "objectivity" and "neutrality," WE have conceded that to them long ago by adopting this phrase "mainstream media," and there is no way out of this "Matrix." End of story.

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What I'm hearing in all of these objections is Karl Rove, the war profiteering corporate news monopolies, and the corrupt and collusive factions of the Democratic Party leadership speaking. They have, indeed, brainwashed us. They're in our heads now, telling us what we can and can't do. We the People. We, the only sovereign power in this country, CANNOT act to verify our own elections, because THEY will defend the non-transparency that they have created, by ridiculing and marginalizing any effort to overcome it, and by calling any effort at transparency "partisan" as if THEIR stance in defense of non-transparency were "neutral."

And we should therefore NOT try to independently verify our elections and check for fraud. We should bend over for their ILLUSORY results. We, the People, don't even want to know the truth, because THEY won't credit it.

Transparent elections are a no-brainer. People vote, and you count the votes openly in public, for all to see. The Republicans, their news monopoly lapdogs and the collusive Dems who CREATED this non-transparent vote counting system did so DELIBERATELY. Their falsification of the news monopoly exit polls in 2004, to conform to non-transparent "results"--derived from "trade secret" formulae owned and controlled by Bushite electronic voting corporations--was DELIBERATELY done. So, of course, they are going to defend it, and engage in all kinds of name-calling and "swiftboating" against anyone who calls it into question.

We can NEVER verify election results and check for fraud in a way that will satisfy THEM. We can only do it in a way that satisfies OURSELVES, we the people, we here at DU and our fellow and sister Americans. It is up to us to verify election results and check for fraud, it is up to us to spread the word on our findings, and it is up to us to gather sufficient momentum and pressure to throw these election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor.' It CAN be done. We have a window of opportunity to do it--these next few years. The power over election systems STILL resides at the state/local level, where ordinary people still have some influence.

The objections that I read above also seem to have been made in ignorance of the great grass roots movement for election reform that has been underway for some time. There are numerous organizations--even including the Democratic Party itself--that could fund and organize independent exit polls. "Independent" will be judged by US, not by the war profiteering corporate news monopolies. Such polls would add to a mountain of evidence of a fraudulent election SYSTEM, and of fraudulent vote counts in several elections (2002, 2004), that is driving this great grass roots movement.

It is a very good idea! I don't have the ability to implement it, or fund it. But others well might. It is absolutely worth pursuing sponsors, funders and groups to get it done.

The thrust of the Bushification of America--as it manifests in the Bush junta, in the corporate news monopolies, or in collusive Democratic leaders--is to disempower us--we, the people--and SHUT US UP.

In so far as we agree to be disempowered and silenced, we are playing the slave victims to their overlord domination. We need to climb out of that psychological hole and stop buying into their "talking points." We need to stop dissing good ideas "because the 'MSM' won't cover it,' or "the 'MSM' will ignore, marginalize or ridicule it." We need to TRUST OURSELVES. That IS democracy, after all, and, if we want to get our democracy back, we need to first of all believe in it--and in ourselves.

[Peace Patriot]

5. SOME RESOURCES FOR AMERICAN REVOLUTION II...

SOME RESOURCES FOR AMERICAN REVOLUTION II:

Practical suggestions for the immediate future:

1. ABSENTEE BALLOT VOTING. Promote absentee ballot voting. It's not the ultimate solution, by any means, but it at least provides a tangible paper record for challenging suspicious election results, and for recounts and investigations. (Absentee ballots were a great help to investigators in 2004.) Absentee ballot voting is also a form of protest against the machines. 50% of Californians are now requesting Absentee Ballots. If enough people do it, the machines will be obsolete; then we can work on getting rid of the central tabulators.

2. MONITOR THE ELECTIONS. Join with others to closely monitor the coming elections and gather and document evidence. See www.UScountvotes.org, and other resources, below. UScountvotes.org needs donations!

3. DEMAND INDEPENDENT EXIT POLLS. Demand that the Democratic Party fund INDEPENDENT EXIT POLLS. Exit polls are used worldwide to verify elections and check for fraud. The war profiteering corporate news monopoly exit polls cannot be trusted (they are doctored to match the results from the voting machines' secret programming code; rather than being used to verify elections, they are used to confirm NON-TRANSPARENT "official results"). The Democratic Party owes us, big time, for their lack of vigilance--and in some cases corruption--on electronic voting. This is one critically needed thing that they can do to help.

4. THINK LONG TERM. Saving our democracy promises to be a long hard struggle. We obviously can't get rid of these machines before the '06 elections, so focus on doing our best with the Diebold/ES&S handicap (a 5% to 10% "thumb on the scales" for Bushites and warmongers), and getting rid of these machines afterward, for '08 and beyond.

5. TELL PEOPLE THE TRUTH. They NEED to know it. Engage them in the fight. Bumper sticker: "Help Us Beat the Machines--VOTE!" There is nothing more demoralizing and disempowering than constantly losing and not knowing WHY. There is evidence that the machines CAN be beaten by massive turnout. Get people involved! Help them to SEE what's happening! THEY will solve the problem, ultimately--if they can only IDENTIFY what it is!

6. PRESSURE LOCAL/STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS. Right now, the best place to fight this fight is at the state/local level, where ordinary people still have some influence. Bush's Congress is NOT going to give us back our right to vote--they are the ones who took it away (with the collusion of some corrupt Dems). Don't look to the Feds--look to your local county registrar, your state election boards, your secretaries of state. Demand TRANSPARENT elections. Also educate and mobilize your local Democratic Party groups.

The first priority in this historic fight for American democracy is restoring our right to vote--the mechanism by which we exercise our sovereignty as a people. Without it, we have no power. We MUST change this.

Never give up on our right to vote! NEVER!

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR AMERICAN REVOLUTION II:

Hopeful signs - latest news:

California voters sue the state over Diebold:
www.VoterAction.org is suing the state of California and 18 Calif county registrars on behalf of 25 California voter/plaintiffs, on the illegal Diebold "certification" by Schwarzenegger appointee Bruce McPherson.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2180496
Seven of these counties have promised the judge they would use PAPER BALLOTS, and were dismissed from this lawsuit (4/27/06).
http://kcbs.com/pages/29285.php
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2249205

Maryland rejects Diebold:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x418263

Florida - anti-trust accusations against Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia, re: heroic Florida election official Ion Sancho:
(FLA AG subpoenas the companies)
http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,110192,00.html
http://www.tbo.com/news/politics/MGBKSY8W8LE.html
(info & discussion)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2183630

Utah county clerk fights back!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x419226

(Tide turning?) New York Times: "New Fears of Security Risks in Electronic Voting Systems" (5/12/06)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2278829

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INFORMATION AND ACTIVIST RESOURCES for American Revolution II:

www.votersunite.org (MythBreakers - easy primer on electronic voting--one of the myths is that HAVA requires electronic voting; it does not.)
www.UScountvotes.org (statistical monitoring of '06 and '08 elections--they need donations)


(Activist sites with links to state activist groups or info)
www.votetrustusa.org (news of this great movement from around the country)
www.votersunited.org (good general info, and state links)
www.verifiedvoting.org (great activist site)
www.solarbus.org/election/index.shtml (fab compendium of all election info)

www.freepress.org (devoted to election reform)
www.bradblog.com (also great, and devoted to election reform)
www.TruthIsAll.net (analysis of the 2004 election)* :patriot: :applause: :patriot:
www.votepa.us (well-organized local group of citizen activists in Pennsylvania, where important legal issues are at stake, including state's rights over election systems)
Provisions of the PA lawsuit:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x423739

The Voter Confidence Resolution
http://tinyurl.com/rlnr2 (“We Do Not Consent”)
http://guvwurld.blogspot.com (GuvWurld blog main page)
http://tinyurl.com/amryg (Voter Confidence Resolution

www.debrabowen.com (Calif Senator running for Sec of State to reform election system)
www.johnbonifaz.com (running for Massachusetts Sec of State on strong election reform and antiwar platform)

*Some tributes to TruthIsAll, who is very ill:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x417007
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x417231
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x675477

Congressional bills:

Russ Holt's HR 550 requires a real paper ballot, bans secret software in "voting machines", and has more than 170 co-sponsors, but the audit required is too weak, it promotes electronic voting and centralized power, and the secret software might be permitted to continue in the central tabulators (the bill is not clear). At lot of discussion at DU of the loopholes/pitfalls in HR 550 (many DUers support the bill):
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x422926
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x421136
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=422967&mesg_id=422967
To sign the HR 550 petition: http://www.rushholt.com/petition.html

(Note: Senate Bill-SB 330 and House-HR704 simply require a "voter verified paper audit trail" (VVPAT), which may be best for the moment.)


Also of interest:

Michael Collins (Autorank)'s searing election reform article for New Zealand's Scoop.com
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x971363

Bob Koehler (-- four recent election reform initiatives in Ohio, predicted to win by 60/40 votes, flipped over, on election day, into 60/40 LOSSES!--the biggest flipover we've seen yet; the election theft machines and their masters are now dictating election policy! Title: "Poll Shock" 11/24/05)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col321.htm

Bob Koehler's latest: "Trust us: Take this box and stuff it" (3/16/06)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col337.htm
More Koehler:
www.tmsfeatures.com/tmsfeatures/subcategory.jsp?file=20051124ctnbk-a.txt&catid=1824&code=ctnbk

Amaryllis (Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia lavish lobbying of election officials - Beverly Hilton, Aug. '05)
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x380340

HOWARD DEAN remarks on electronic voting machines 04/06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x994507

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Throw Diebold, ES&S and ALL election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW!

:think: :patriot: :woohoo: :patriot: :think:

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"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it." --Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence

[UnityDem]

6. If DNC does fund an independent poll

I'm not saying that this is a bad idea....I actually like it...I'm just anticipating the brushback.
However, some of that might be somewhat stymied if we are pro-active in announcing the polling.
We need a "champion" of this cause and it needs to be trumpeted well in advance of the election.
The message would be: "Yes, the DNC (or whomever) is paying for this exit polling. However, we are only do this because so many other organizations will not do so. So, we are introducing this group to you today. In the name of transparency, this group has no ties to the Democratic party. Their results will be released to everyone at one time. The DNC will not see these results before anyone else does, etc. etc.". Then, the head of the polling company (e.g. XYZ POLLING, INC.) is introduced and takes over the press conference to talk about their methodology. This group then needs to do as much press as possible before November.
I realize that a lot of the MSM Repub owned cronies will still say it will be biased polling, but at least this route will be getting OUT IN FRONT on the story.

p.s. Love the Absentee Voting idea. I plan to do that and I tell everyone that will listen that they should as well. Keep up the good fight, PP!