Must See-- Our Own Election Protection Activists Fight for California

[Helga Scow Stern]

Despite the clear, well reasoned arguments from JunkYardDogg, Marcy Winograd (riveting--gave me chills), and the moving concerns of Mervyn Dymally, the committee wimps out.

http://www.calchannel.com/archive.php
Select from pulldown menu on the left the month, March, then go down to 03302005 Assembly Rules Committee Hearing. The first 10' or so are just waiting for the committee to convene.

I will post more about it when I finish watching. It is definitely worth seeing, whichever state you are from.

Edit:

Please see direct link below.

[Helga Scow Stern]

1. New link:

http://www.calchannel.com/MEDIA/0330D.asx

[Peace Patriot]

2. I'm getting a blank page when I click the new link. Now I'm going to try

...the link in your main post.

[Peace Patriot]

3. Your main post link: There doesn't seem to be a number 03302005.

I see a number 033005, Assembly, Rules...but I'm still getting a blank page. I think it's because it requires Windows Media Player.

Later...

Luckily I have my techie son here. He spent an hour trying to enable me to view the meeting. However, it's going to take a lot more doing than that. 1) Calchannel provides only Windows Media Player, which engages in endless buffering and re-buffering (on my computer, Mac OS-10)--making the thing unwatchable. 2) Any other player (Quicktime, Realplayer, etc.) would be possible, I often use them--but not Windows Media Player ("a piece of crap"); 3) I'm in a remote rural area--no DSL, no Cable. 3) I need Calchannel to provide a clickable link to download the entire video media clip so I can play it (I'm writing to them about that).

The upshot is that I can't watch any of the Calif. gov't committee hearings--unless and until Calchannel makes the service available to me (with clickable link to download the clips). (--or my son figures out another way for me to view it, which will take some days. He will be working on it. He doesn't have the right tools here.)

Could you describe the Rules meeting in more detail for me? Would appreciate it!

[Helga Scow Stern]

5. I wondered if that would be a problem for some.

Did you try this link?
http://www.calchannel.com/MEDIA/0330D.asx

It is still WMP, so you may be out of luck.

I'll do my best to summarize shortly, and I have also asked dzika to post in Quicktime or Realplayer some of the more salient speeches, like JYD's Marcy Winograd's, Mervyn Dymally's, and those of the activists. Although it's best to see the whole thing, when possible.

[emlev]

6. I can't view it either n/t

[Helga Scow Stern]

7. I am trying to type up the highlights,

but it is slow because I just erased some of what I had typed. :(

I have asked dzika if he can convert it to Quicktime of Realplayer, or if not, at least post a few of the speeches. I haven't heard back from him yet, though.

Also, yurbud and xxqqqzme posted in the California forum that they called and ordered an audio version and the list of 28 questions and McPherson's answers. They expect to have it early this week.

[emlev]

9. Thanks. That all sounds great. n/t

[berniew1]

4. California had lots of election problems including touch screen swithching

http://www.flcv.com/californ.html

and most other states as well
http://www.flcv.com/summary.html

[FreepFryer]

8. Excellent post. I'm looking fwd to the transcript, and more discussion.

Pick a front, and apply pressure - these folks are excellent example of our ongoing efforts to protect our democracy.

Nothing less is at stake.

[JunkYardDogg]

10. We got them to think-see Coto's message to Marcy

Further Information on our Hearing Presentation:
At the end of the week, Marcy Winograd, of PDLA, received an E-Mail from Assemblyman Coto requesting that we send him a list of Election Protection Qualified Candidates, preferably Minority, which we could recommend.Further, he requested that we put him and a number of other Assembly Persons on our E-Mail advisory notice list. His request was as follows:
T“hanks for sending me the recommendations. I am going to send McPherson these recommendations on Monday. “
“Please add me to the voter protection e mail list. Please also add members Baca, Torrico, De la Torre, Arrumbula, Nava, Montanez, Parra, Calderon, Salinas, Levine, Klehs, Hancock, Chan, and Laird for starters......thanks and stay in touch....joe coto
Evidently,
We made a much stronger impact than we thought
And evidently, we (all of us –including you) made people think
Your efforts were not in vain

[Helga Scow Stern]

11. This is an encouraging beginning.

Are we the voter protection email list?

"Coto, Baca, Torrico, De la Torre, Arrumbula, Nava, Montanez, Parra, Calderon, Salinas, Levine, Klehs, Hancock, Chan, and Laird for starters."

Plus the other four, Dymally, Koretz, Goldberg, and Saldana.

Maybe we should send them that excellent Sacramento Bee (!) editorial posted in the McPherson Watch thread for starters:

Editorial: Voting Regulation Must be Vital to Calif. Secretary of State

by Steven Hill, The Sacramento Bee
March 17th, 2005

California is about to hire a new secretary of state. If former state Sen. Bruce McPherson is confirmed by the Legislature, which seems likely, he will have to decide whether to continue reforms to California's election practices begun by his predecessor, Kevin Shelley.

His decisions will be crucial to the future of California's elections.
--snip

The secretary of state's office oversees a little-known appointed body called the Voting Systems and Procedures Panel. This VSPP is charged with managing the certification of voting equipment, not only software and hardware but also detailed election administration procedures, including testing of the equipment and procedures. They are supposed to ensure that election equipment functions accurately and securely.
snip--

Now county election officials have mounted their latest lobbying effort - to overturn Shelley's mandate for a voter-verified paper trail. There is something troubling about county election officials having a lobbying agenda focused on elections policy rather than operations efficiency. They are supposed to implement the laws, not decide which ones to ignore.

The words "special interest" have been overused lately, but election officials in California have become one. And that's not how it's supposed to be.
--snip

https://www.verifiedvoting.org/article.php?id=5654

Maybe send this combined with the information that the VSPP panel that was scheduled for the March 17 and transferred to April 21 will be about these very issues, complete with Conny McCormack herself.

Edited to add this information from pauldp:

On Thursday, April
21st, Conny McCormack, LA's Registrar, will make the
case to the Voting Systems and Practices committee
that Shelley's decertification of the Diebold
touchscreens should be overturned!

It's the Voting Systems and Proceedures Panel Meeting
It's at 10am at the office of SOS 1500 11th St. 1st Fl. Sacramento.

Michael Wagaman is apparently taking names of people who wish to make an oral statement. His #: 916 657-2166
[email protected]