VIDEO: Michael Connell Cancelled Two Flights on Suspicion his Plane May be Sabotaged

Michael Connell, the Bush IT expert who has been directly implicated in the rigging of George Bush’s 2000 and 2004 elections, was killed last night when his single engine plane crashed three miles short of the Akron airport. Velvet Revolution (“VR”), a non-profit that has been investigating Mr. Connell’s activities for the past two years, can now reveal that a person close to Mr. Connell has recently been discussing with a VR investigator how he can tell all about his work for George Bush. Mr. Connell told a close associate that he was afraid that George Bush and Dick Cheney would “throw [him] under the bus.”

WATCH VIDEO HERE

Mike Connell Dead

Story and updates courtesy of MCM

Stark Co. plane crash: Who was Michael Connell?

http://www.wkyc.com/print.aspx?storyid=103520

Michael Connell was killed when the Piper Supercub he was piloting crashed three miles short of an Akron-Canton Airport runway. He leaves behind a wife and four children.

Connell, 45, of Bath Township, is considered to be one of the Republican Party’s top computer experts. He led the companies that designed websites for the GOP and a virtual who’s-who list of republican political leaders including President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain, as well as national organizations. Connell developed a host of federal government software and data management systems. Connell is also said to be a close confidant of the Bush family.

Earlier this year Connell was subpoenaed to testify in an Ohio federal court regarding voter fraud just days before the November presidential election. His alleged intimate knowledge of White House and Capitol Hill email systems has been a hot topic of conversation for Washington insiders regarding the Karl Rove/White House email scandal.

Connell founded New Media Communications, based in Cleveland, is the CEO of GovTech Solutions, based in Akron, and is associated with several other successful IT, marketing and advertising enterprises. His companies have won numerous awards for the development of political websites, marketing campaigns, and use of technology. New Media Communications placed third on the prestigious Weatherhead 100, a list compiled by Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management that recognizes Northeast Ohio’s fastest growing companies.
© 2008 WKYC-TV
courtesy: www.connelldonatelli.com

###

Mike Connell, Rove’s boy, is the guy who said he helped steal the 2000 election to “Save the babies.”

More information on who Mike Connell was here.

——-

UPDATE: 

- The BRAD BLOG - http://www.bradblog.com -
BREAKING:

Mike Connell, GOP ’IT Guru’ Reportedly Killed in Solo Plane Crash!

Yes, THAT Mike Connell, key witness in the Ohio election fraud case, King-Lincoln v. Blackwell

Posted By Emily Levy On 19th December 2008 @ 23:27 In (Uncategorized), J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio, Karl Rove, Mike Connell | 15 Comments

Guest blogged by Emily Levy of Velvet Revolution [1]

http://www.wkyc.com/print.aspx?storyid=103520

Ohio.com is reporting [2]that Connell’s private plane went down in Lake Township, Ohio tonight, that Connell was killed and was the only person aboard. There are no reports of anyone on the ground being hurt, though the plane crashed in a residential neighborhood.

Connell is a familiar name to readers of The BRAD BLOG [3] as a key witness in the King-Lincoln v. Blackwell lawsuit regarding fraud in the 2004 election in Ohio. That ongoing lawsuit led to Connell’sdeposition [4]on November 3, 2008, the day before the general election. According to plaintiff’s lead attorney Cliff Arnebeck, Connell was also threatened by Karl Rove in attempt to intimidate him into “taking the fall” for Ohio election fraud. (See story linked below.)

This is a quick late-night blog item that will undoubtedly be fleshed out more tomorrow. For now, find background on Connell at these BRAD BLOG [5]links:

        *        So Who Is Mike Connell? A Clip from ‘Free For All’ Gives You an Idea… [6]

        *        Rove Threatened GOP IT Guru If He Does Not ‘Take the Fall’ for Election Fraud in Ohio, Says Attorney [7]

Velvet Revolution, of which The BRAD BLOG is a co-founder, has a website devoted to the King-Lincoln case and surrounding issues, RoveCybergate.com [8].

Other than to express our condolences to Connell’s loved ones, we will withhold comment until more is known.       

Article printed from The BRAD BLOG: http://www.bradblog.com
URL to article: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6765
URLs in this post:
[1] Velvet Revolution: http://www.velvetrevolution.us/electionstrikeforce
[2] reporting : http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/36482529.html
[3] The BRAD BLOG: http://bradblog.com
[4] deposition : http://www.velvetrevolution.us/prosecute_rove/
[5] BRAD BLOG : http://bradblog.com
[6] So Who Is Mike Connell? A Clip from ‘Free For All’ Gives You an Idea…: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6220
[7] Rove Threatened GOP IT Guru If He Does Not ‘Take the Fall’ for Election Fraud in Ohio, Says Attorney: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6214
[8] RoveCybergate.com: http://www.rovecybergate.com
Click here to print.

——-

Pilot killed as plane crashes in Lake Twp.

By Jewell Cardwell, John Higgins and David Knox
Beacon Journal staff writers

POSTED: 11:30 p.m. EST, Dec 19, 2008

http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/36482529.html

LAKE TWP.: A single-prop, private airplane crashed next to a vacant 
house on Charolais Street Northwest Friday evening, exploding into 
flames and killing the pilot.

Michael Connell, 45, of Bath Township, was alone in the plane, 
according to State Highway Patrol Lt. Eric Sheppard.

Connell was a prominent Republican political consultant. He founded 
New Media Communications in Richfield, which developed campaign Web 
sites for Republican presidential candidate John McCain and President 
George W. Bush.

The plane was attempting to land around 6 p.m. Friday at Akron-Canton 
Airport when it crashed about three miles short of the runway…

—-

Updated at 12:00 PM

From Larisa Alexandrovna:

One of my sources died in a plane crash last night…

http://www.atlargely.com/

I don’t usually reveal sources, but I think this is incredibly important. Michael Connell died in a plane crash last night. He was a key witness in the Ohio election fraud case that I have been reporting on (http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Republican_IT_consultant_subpoenaed_in_case_0929.html).

More importantly, however, he had information that he was ready to share.

You see, Mike Connell set-up the alternate email and communications system for the White House. He was responsible for creating the system that hosted the infamous GWB43.comaccounts that Karl Rove and others used. When asked by Congress to provide these emails, the White House said that they were destroyed. But in reality, what Connell is alleged to have done is move these files to other servers after having allegedly scrubbed the files from all “known” Karl Rove accounts.

In addition, I have reason to believe that the alternate accounts were used to communicate with US Attorneys involved in political prosecutions, like that of Don Siegelman. This is what I have been working on to prove for over a year. In fact, it was through following the Siegelman-Rove trail that I found evidence leading to Connell. That is how I became aware of him. Mike was getting ready to talk. He was frightened.

He has flown his private plane for years without incident. I know he was going to DC last night, but I don’t know why. He apparently ran out of gas, something I find hard to believe. I am not saying that this was a hit nor am I resigned to this being simply an accident either. I am no expert on aviation and cannot provide an opinion on the matter. What I am saying, however, is that given the context, this event needs to be examined carefully. If you want to understand the context more broadly, I suggest you read this article I did a while back about the break-ins and arson cases that Siegelman and others have experienced (http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Breakins_plague_Justice_Department_whistleblowers_0430.html).

Just to be very clear and state again, I am not claiming conspiracy theory or direct relation to Karl Rove or the White House in any of these events. What I am saying, however, is that these possible relationships cannot and should not be overlooked by investigators. There are far too many serious and reasonable questions that must be answered for the public.

I have been to Mr. Connell’s home. Mr. Connell has confided that he was being threatened, something that his attorneys also told the judge in the Ohio election fraud case. When I met with Heather, his wife, I did so carefully because of the threats he was getting.

I left a note for her in her mailbox and asked her to meet me in a local park near their home. Heather came and through our conversation I got the sense that these were not bad people or corrupt people. The Connells really believed that what they were involved in served God’s plan. Regardless of of what any of us think about their religious views or allegations relating to Connell’s involvement in various things, I do think these were good people who got caught up in something bigger than themselves. My heart goes out to Heather and the children.

—–

Updated at 4:00 PM

Huffington Post blogger posted a clip of the story over here.

—–

Updated at 5:00 PM

News Updates from Citizens For Legitimate Government

20 Dec 2008

http://www.legitgov.org/

All items are here:

http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news 

Recently subpoenaed Bush/Rove IT expert, is Wellstoned: Pilot killed as plane crashes in Lake Twp. –Witness: ‘It blew up and shook the ground a little bit.’ 

19 Dec 2008 (OH) A single-prop, private airplane crashed next to a vacant house on Charolais Street Northwest Friday evening, exploding into flames and killing the pilot. Michael Connell, 45, of Bath Township, was alone in the plane, according to State Highway Patrol Lt. Eric Sheppard. Connell was a prominent Republican political consultant. He founded New Media Communications in Richfield, which developed campaign Web sites forRepublican presidential candidate John McCain and President [sic] George W. Bush.

Ohio Attorneys Seek Protection for Mike Connell and his Family against Alleged Threats from Karl Rove 

24 Jul 2008

Sources close to the OhioCorrupt Practices Act/RICO claim sent us a copy of a letter that asks Attorney General Mukasey for protection for Michael Connell and his family who have been allegedly threatened by Karl Rove. Rove is believed to be the strategic mastermind behind the Bush 2004 re-[s]-election campaign and the possible Ohio election improprieties. The alleged threats appear to be the result of the re-opening, through the Ohio Corrupt Practices Act/RICO claim, of the stalled investigation into the 2004 Ohio Elections.

Stark Co. plane crash: Who was Michael Connell? 

20 Dec 2008

Michael Connell was killed when the Piper Supercub he was piloting crashed three miles short of an Akron-Canton Airport runway. He leaves behind a wife and four children. Connell, of Bath Township, is considered to be one of the Republican Party’s top computer experts. He led the companies that designed websites for the GOP and a virtual who’s-who list of republican political leaders including President [sic] George W. Bush, Senator John McCain, as well as national organizations. Connell developed a host of federal government software and data management systems. Connell is also said to be a close confidant of the Bush family. Earlier this year, Connell was subpoenaed to testify in an Ohio federal court regarding voter fraud just days before the November presidential election. His alleged intimate knowledge of White House and Capitol Hill email systems has been a hot topic of conversation for Washington insiders regarding the Karl Rove/White House email scandal.

Please forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested. Those who’d like to be added to the list can go here: http://www.legitgov.org/#subscribe_clg and add your name.Those who wish to be removed from the list can access the same link and click ‘unsubscribe.’

Please write to: signup at legitgov dot org for inquiries/issues/concerns with your subscription.

CLG Managing Editor: Lori Price. Copyright © 2008, Citizens For Legitimate Government ® All rights reserved.

 

Was California’s Anti Gay Proposition Fixed by Religious Zealots?

Mark Crispin Miller

Early evening, Nov. 4, exit poll showing Prop 8 going down to defeat.

Later in that evening, after adding 72 respondents the exit poll figures switched to show a preference for “Yes.” (Screen shot)

Well, well, well. First we find out, happily, that We the People may not be so fiercely racist after all, as Election ’08 has debunked the (feeble) theory of “the Bradley effect.”

And now it turns out that Americans–at least those in gay-friendly California – may not really been as hostile to gay marriage as the outcome of that state’s election has apparently suggested.

As we think about the possibility that Prop 8 was not really passed by California’s voters, let’s note something that the press, and others, won’t discuss: i.e., that the entire apparatus of computerized voting in this country–the e-voting machines and op-scans and central tabulators, etc.–is largely owned by members of the Christianist far right.

Diebold and ES&S were both begun by Bob and Todd Urosevich, two ardent Oklahoma theocrats, while Triad, which makes the central vote tabulators used in Ohio in 2004, is owned by the Rapp family. SmartTech, the company that helped Bush/Cheney steal that state, is owned by evangelical Jeff Averbeck; and his associate Mike Connell, owner of GovTech Solutions, which also helped to steal Ohio, among other races, was motivated to such work by his desire “to save the babies,” according to Stephen Spoonamore.

Why are there so many Christianists among the owners of those companies?

Because the rigging of elections is the only way that that fringe movement ever could impose its theocratic program on the rest of us. As Paul Weyrich used to say out loud, the Christianists despise democracy. After all, that system, if allowed to stand, would put the sinful secular majority in charge–and that can’t be allowed.

And so, whether or not it turns out that Prop 8 was rigged to pass, we need to take a good hard look at those machines, and at the companies that own them–and keep them out of our elections.

Meanwhile, let’s all stop assuming that last week’s outcome was legitimate, and look closely at the evidence around Prop 8.

Mark Crispin Miller

Reports of Vote-Flipping Widespread

Despite an Obama victory, there are numerous reports of vote-flipping.

From John Gideon:

Today we have reports that ES&S software actually flipped votes in three races at one polling place in Crawford Co Kansas. We also have reports that ES&S software incorrectly reported results in one race in Polk Co North Carolina.

The long count of votes in Hillsborough Co Florida seems to be over with the blame for problems being put, where else, on “human error”. It seems that Premier/Diebold had warned Florida users of their high-speed OSX voting machines that those machines could not take a high-volume of ballots without bogging down and causing problems. Hillsborough ignored that warning. However, why would a vendor put out a system for use in elections that cannot be used in a high-volume of ballots. King Co. Washington wanted badly to use that system. If they had it would have been a disaster.

National: Push to Expand Voter Rolls and Early Balloting in U.S.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/us/politics/07voting.html?hp

National: Election gives early-balloting initiatives a boost
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-11-06-voting_N.htm

National: Election-Day Problems — Part Deux
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/11/election-day-pr.html

CA: Election Night traffic slowed Secretary of State’s computers
http://www.capitolweekly.net/article.php?_adctlid=v|jq2q43wvsl855o|xj9ez54zy35esf&issueId=xj4ev62g1hdw61&xid=xj91sfkny7hmq4

FL: Leon County elections officials still counting votes; Boulware needs 158 for House 9 recount
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20081107/CAPITOLNEWS/81107011

FL: Hillsborough County - Two days after polls close, Johnson concedes Hillsborough elections supervisor race to Busansky ‘ [Diebold/Premier OSX optical-scan system]
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/article893690.ece

FL: Hillsborough County – Hillsborough election fixes up to Busansky
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/article893707.ece

FL: Hillsborough County - Human Error Suspected In Election Results Delay
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/nov/07/na-human-error-suspected-in-election-results-delay/news-politics/

FL: Hillsborough County – Ousted Johnson Still Blames Voting Machine Firm
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/nov/07/ousted-elections-supervisor-still-blames-voting-ma/news-politics/

FL: Hillsborough County – Editorial – Cleaning up after Johnson’s disaster
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/article894912.ece

KS: Crawford County sees voting machine error 

[ES&S ballot programming error that flipped votes in some local races]

http://www.morningsun.net/news/x1772937985/County-sees-voting-machine-error

KS: Machine error could affect Crawford County attorney race
http://www.joplinglobe.com/Campaigns_and_Politics/local_story_311233642.html?keyword=topstory

KS: Crawford County – Error comes from voting machine programming 

Officials to test machines Saturday in Frontenac
http://www.morningsun.net/news/x635432391/Error-comes-from-voting-machine-programming

KS: Crawford County - Error in voting machine could affect four races
Officials to test machines Saturday in Frontenac
http://www.morningsun.net/kansas/x1772939006/Error-in-voting-machine-could-affect-four-races

IA: Plymouth County - Speedy ballot count? Result of paper voting machines
http://www.lemarssentinel.com/story/1476419.html

IN: Hamilton County - 350 Hamilton Co. ballots tossed after error
http://www.indystar.com/article/20081107/LOCAL0101/811070499

MN: Man will judge machine: scanner accuracy big in Senate race
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081107-man-will-judge-machine-scanner-accuracy-big-in-senate-race.html

MN: Coleman campaign questions big Franken gains
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/11/07/coleman_franken_recount/

MN: FAQ on the Senate recount
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/11/06/recount_faq/

NC: Polk County - Revised results give Democrats sweep in county board race
[ES&S incorrectly reported results]
http://tryondailybulletin.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1370&Itemid=192

NC: CD-5 – Goode Issues Statement on 5th District Race
http://www.wset.com/news/stories/1108/567963.html

NE: Douglas County – Thousands of early ballots arrive late
http://www.ashland-gazette.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20191610&BRD=2712&PAG=461&dept_id=556239&rfi=6

NY: [Governor] Paterson Seeks Voting Assessment
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2008/11/paterson-seeks-voting-assessme.html

NY: Electronic Voting Machines Still in Limbo
http://www.longislandpress.com/articles/news/541/

SC: Charleston County – Like old times
Voting glitches bring delays of yesteryear to mind
http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/nov/07/like_old_times60766/

TN: Tenn. will pay $25M for voting machines
State spent millions on paperless version less than five years ago
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20081107/NEWS0201/811070412/1009/NEWS01

TN: TN to spend $25M grant on voting machines
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/nov/07/tn-spend-25m-grant-voting-machines/

TX: Scanning paper ballots best election choice, study says
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/local/scanning_paper_ballots_best_election_choice__study_says_11-06-2008.html

VA: North Carolina early voting eliminated hassles
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/11/north-carolina-early-voting-eliminated-hassles

VA: Recount Fictions in Virginia’s Fifth
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/80324

VA: Goode cites ‘irregularities’ in reporting votes
http://www.thefranklinnewspost.com/article.cfm?ID=12261

WV: Release of returns delayed
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/x766434407/Release-of-returns-delayed

GOP Continues to Steal Elections

This isn’t over yet.

From John Gideon:

As we suspected tabulation of ballots has revealed problems with voting systems from all of the vendors. Hillsborough Co Florida is rethinking their contract with Premier/Diebold for $6M after having big problems counting votes. Manatee Co Florida also had a problem with Premier. Palm Beach Co had bad memory cartridges from Sequoia. Counties in Pennsylvania and South Carolina had problems with their ES&S system. We also have a run-off for senator from Georgia and a recount for senator from Minnesota. This election will last for another month at least.

National: Malfunctioning Machines, Ballot Glitches, Election-Law Litigation — and a Busy Day for Lawyers
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202425803382

National: Voting Rights Watch: Relatively few e-voting problems, but GOP still readies for possible action
http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2008/11/voting-rights-watch-relatively-few-e.asp

AZ: Pima County: 10 precincts and number of early, provisional ballots still uncounted
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/265824.php

CA: Santa Cruz County - Vandals hit Santa Cruz County polling places, campaign offices
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_10904483

FL: Hillsborough County - Count Resumes With Hillsborough Elections Chief Race In Limbo
[Johnson said Premier, which he hired for $6 million this year, was dishonest with him and at fault for much of Tuesday's problems with voting machines.]
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/nov/05/051256/state-monitoring-hillsboroughs-tight-elections-chi/news-politics/

FL: Hillsborough results tied up by software glitch
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7794805&version=10&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

FL: Hillsborough vote count likely to continue until Thursday
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=93568&catid=8

FL: Count Resumes With Hillsborough Elections Chief Race In Limbo [Diebold/Premier admits the system was bogged down and stalled due to overload]
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/nov/05/051711/state-monitoring-hillsboroughs-tight-elections-chi/news-politics/

FL: Manatee County - Manatee solves vote-counting problem [Premier/Diebold]
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20081105/BREAKING/811050262?Title=Still_no_solution_to_vote_counting_woes_in_Manatee_County

FL: Manatee County – Small glitch causes big problems in Manatee
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7798848&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

FL: Palm Beach County vote results still incomplete [Bad Sequoia memory cartridges]
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/11/05/1105stillcounting.html

GA: The OTHER Election Night Story in Georgia: No Early Votes Included in Reported Results
http://savdailynews.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=19&ArticleID=20488

GA: Chambliss and Martin prepare for another four weeks
http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=9300183&nav=menu37_2

GA: Gwinnett County - Gwinnett Officials Still Counting Ballots Day After Election
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7797006&version=4&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

KY: Kenton Co. Judge Rules For Vote Recount
http://www.kypost.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=ba97601c-a01a-431e-a8ac-acc0d2bc399e

KY: Madison County - Local turnout heavy as computer glitch delays count
http://www.richmondregister.com/localnews/local_story_310073742.html?keyword=secondarystory

MN: Ritchie: Senate recount will involve hundreds, cost $90K
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/11/05/recount_details/

MN: E-Voting Machines Used in Franken, Coleman Race Failed Tests
http://www.pubrecord.org/politics/474-e-voting-machines-used-in-franken-coleman-race-failed-tests.html

NC: Onslow County - Padgett wants recount
http://www.enctoday.com/news/padgett_60506_jdn__article.html/votes_county.html

NH: Long night of ballot snafus marks voting in Kennebunk
http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20081105-NEWS-81105056

OH: Montgomery County election results delayed until late this evening
http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/11/05/ddn110608elexboardweb.html

PA: Centre County Recounts Ballots After Discrepancy [ES&S M-100 precinct based op-scan]
http://www.wjactv.com/news/17900285/detail.html

PA: Northumberland County – PA County’s Voting Machines Impounded Following Complaints
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/11/pa-countys-voti.html

SC: Charleston County suffers voting problems on Election Day [ES&S problem. The county had to hand input the results from 17,000 ballots]
http://www.live5news.com/Global/story.asp?S=9300365

 

 

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!

This is your eight millionth reminder to go vote today!

Find your polling place over here.

Remind your parents, friends, and coworkers to vote today. If possible, vote on paper ballots, and if you have any problems, call 1 866 OUR VOTE and report it.

If you have a car, offer to drive friends to polling places.

Download the Voter Incident Report

From MCM

Dear Mark,

Please inform your readers around the country:

When you go to the polls, take an incident report with you.  Collecting signed, dated, paper-based evidence of voter fraud, suppression, or inefficiency is the most important action

any concerned citizen can take in this “once-in-a-century election.”

This is the simplest measure any voter can take:  Stand at their own polls, watch what happens,

report evidence on the (downloadable) Incident Report, and then fax it in to the Election Defense Alliance.

The Incident Report comes with the EDA’s fax number, legal help phone numbers and guidelines

for poll monitors.

The Indient Report will be used widely in Los Angeles–the largest voting county in the

nation–by Work the Vote LA org.

One more thing: If election results go bump late in the night, it may be less of a shock if

people are educated in advance.

Votes are being flipped in West VA, Texas and Tennessee.   Here’s a timely video.

Wake Up and Save Your Country has just released Part Two of the “Turdblossom Lecture Series” to explain HOW voting machines can be preprogrammed to crash or change vote totals using proprietary software.  

Please take a look, and share this with your audience.

Thank you for your tremendous leadership during this time.

 

Sheri Leigh Myers

Vern Tuck Taylor

& The Wake Up and Save Your Country Team

http://wakeupandsaveyourcountry.com/

 Here is a cool visual of our Voters Guide.    Here is a visual of the incident report to grab attention

The Wake Up and Save Your Country Team www.wakeupandsaveyourcountry.com

What to Do November 5th

 

MCM:

ALERT 7 – Register your Voter Assemblies now!

This may be the most important message you’ll receive today. Make plans to attend, or if need be, to organize a Voter Assembly in your community on the evening of Wednesday, November 5, the day after the election. Your participation in a Voter Assembly is very important.

A growing database of Voter Assemblies is here:
http://www.nomorestolenelections.org/va

You should register the Voter Assembly you are organizing here:
http://www.nomorestolenelections.org/addva

Here is the plan. Regardless of the declared presidential victor, this Wednesday, we will gather in Voter Assemblies, and we will act:

    A.    If there is reason to believe that the election is likely to be stolen, as was the case in Florida 2000, we will act to prevent this from happening – pressing to prevent the theft and, if that is impossible, demanding a new, honest election.

    B.    If it is unclear whether voting rights violation rise to the level of election theft, as was the case in Ohio 2004, we will mobilize everywhere to demand a full and complete count of the vote.

    C.    If it appears that the election result was defined by the rigging of the process, we will rally nationwide to press for progress in enacting democratic reforms.

By Election Day, millions of people’s right to vote will have been violated. In the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” This is especially true with voting: Voting rights violations anywhere threaten voting rights everywhere. So please, don’t wait for a repeat of Florida 2000, or Ohio 2004, or worse, and don’t think that your community is too distant from the problem to be involved. Get organized, and plan to assemble on November 5. Thank you.

It’s Down to One Week

Courts are packed with cases of people whose voter registrations aren’t on file for some reason.

By RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau

A dramatic presidential race has prompted voter registration drives nationwide, and New York is no exception. Everyone expects long lines at the voting booth on Nov. 4. 

But first comes a different kind of crunch: Local courts already are seeing an influx of people who, for whatever reason, are not listed as registered voters and are petitioning a judge to be enrolled.

While county boards of election typically have judges available on Election Day to rule on such cases, voters this year are heading to court days or even weeks ahead of time.

In Saratoga County, they’ve even set aside mornings to settle registration disputes.

“We’re letting them come in from 8:30 a.m. to noon,” said Saratoga County Judge Jerry Scarano. “We think election day is going to be very busy.”

“They’re being swamped,” agreed Michael Guiry, a retiree who this year moved back to Edinburgh, in Saratoga County, from Florida to be near his family.

Guiry and his wife registered to vote when they got their New York driver’s licenses, but when Guiry applied for a hunting license a few weeks ago and double-checked his voter status, he wasn’t listed. So he drove to Saratoga for a hearing before Scarano, who put him on the voter rolls.

“We have to go after school,” said Jean Harsen of Kinderhook, who plans to take her 18-year-old son, Johnathan, to Columbia County Court this week.

Harsen said Johnathan registered at a booth set up by Barack Obama supporters at the Columbia County Fair, but the county Board of Elections never got his registration.

There are lots of reasons why registrations don’t show up: Sometimes they’re simply lost, or the people running the voting drives forget to turn them in.

“It’s incumbent upon the people who are doing these drives to bring these forms in,” said Geeta Cheddie, acting election commissioner in Columbia County.

She recounted several stories in which people claimed they had sent in registration cards, but after double-checking realized they hadn’t – or had misplaced the cards altogether.

Geddie said she wasn’t sure what happened with Harsen’s registration.

“The courts are always a recourse,” she said, adding that she’s already referred a few unregistered people to the courthouse in Hudson.

Nor is it the presidential race alone that’s sparking the increase in court visits.

The state Board of Elections last year put registration lists online so that voters can check their status. But even that good work has been complicated by the fact that the state board in Albany was swamped last month with thousands of mail-in registration cards that people printed out from the Web site of Rock the Vote, a nationwide campaign to boost voting by young people.

Normally, individuals register at their local county board of elections, since those are the official repositories for voter rolls. But Rock the Vote had people send registrations to the state, which is required to accept all received before the Oct. 15 deadline. The state office was then obliged to sort and send the cards to the individual counties.

“Every day we would send out a shipment to each county,” said state Board of Elections spokesman Bob Brehm.

The upshot was that registrations may have been in the mail, but they weren’t yet listed on the Web site – creating another reason for nervous voters to head for the courts.

Election lawyer Henry Berger said many voters are figuring they can avoid Election Day hassles by going to court in advance if they have doubts about their registration status.

“Some people are getting more sophisticated about this. They are going in early,” he said.

Rick Karlin can be reached at 454-5758 or rkarlin@timesunion.com

To check your voter registration status, visit the state Board of Elections Web site at http://www.elections.state.ny.us

CountTheBallots (CTB) Calls for ‘Citizen Audits’ on Election Day, Warns of Widespread Fraud

 

PHILADELPHIA, PA., Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ — CountTheBallots (CTB), a Philadelphia-based voting rights group, is calling on voters nationwide to conduct ‘Citizen Audits’ at their polls on Election Day.  The purpose of a ‘citizen audit’ is to verify election results, document complaints, and demonstrate how to run a transparent election. 

The group warns that election results can be easily manipulated nationwide by the handful of corporations who control the software programs that count most votes.  Two companies, ES&S and Diebold, will count 80% of all votes.

Private companies have also been contracted by election officials in several states to maintain voter registration rolls.  The group points to the massive purging of the voters rolls in several states, as another cause for serious concern.

“Elections in America have been computerized, privatized, and outsourced to a handful of private companies,” says Lynn Landes, one of the group’s founders.  “Our voting system is virtually invisible.  It’s a behind-closed-doors affair, a breeding ground for election fraud. A citizen audit is not a substitute for a fair and transparent election.  But, right now, it’s the only game in town.”

Landes adds that the U.S. Justice Department has taken a hands-off approach to computerized election fraud.  Similarly, the news media’s exit poll, The National Election Poll (NEP), is not a reliable check against election fraud, as its management has been accused in the past of manipulating exit poll data to match official election results.

Computer fraud isn’t the group’s only concern.  In addition, 50% of voters will be voting early or by absentee ballot.  The voters in Oregon do not even go to the polls.

“Early and absentee voting gives unscrupulous election officials plenty of time to tamper with the votes, regardless of whether those votes are paper ballots or electronic tallies,” says Landes.  “We need to give poll watchers something to watch on Election Day.  Otherwise, all bets are off as to who gets to vote and whose votes get counted,” says Landes.

CountTheBallots.org supports a return to paper ballots and hand counts at the polls on Election Day.  They are opposed tovoting machines, ballot scanners, central counting facilities, early voting, and unrestricted absentee voting.

In past elections, there have been citizen groups in several states that have conducted similar audits.  CountTheBallots.org is encouraging an expansion of that movement, asking voters across the country and from all political parties to participate.
 

How do voters conduct a Citizen Audit?  It’s simple, says Landes.  All that is needed is a box with a slot on top, some pencils, information sheets, audit forms, and a report form.  A “how to” kit and all the necessary forms can be downloaded from their website. 

http://www.CountTheBallots.org

 

CONTACT: 

Lynn Landes, founder

www.CountTheBallots.org
lynnlandes@earthlink.net
215-629-3553