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| Request for Advice in Iowa |
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| Author |
Message |
    
Leslie Irvin
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Leslieirvin
Post Number: 1
Registered: 07-2005
Best of Black Box? 
Votes: 1 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 10:59 am: | 
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Advice for Washington D.C. visit by Iowa group
I am part of a delegation of 10 Iowans who are going to Washington DC in May to meet with our congress critters and various other places to discuss issues and concerns.
One of the issues we would like to address is voting and elections. Other than the FEC or rather than the FEC where would be good places to go and people to see to discuss our viewpoints and concerns?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Leslie} |
Bev Harris
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 4071
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box?
Votes: 4 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 11:48 am: |
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Hi, Leslie! Welcome to Black Box Voting.
What kind of group is it? (i.e., is your group specializing in voting issues or more broad based concerns?)
Elections and voting breaks out to three subcategories
1. Campaign finance and disclosure issues
2. Voter disenfranchisement and bogus voter issues
3. Accuracy of results
The FEC (Federal Election Commission) handles campaign finance and disclosure isses. It is a small entity made up of a handful of presidential appointees.
The EAC (Election Assistance Commission) handles issues of voter registration, voter access, and voting systems. Therefore anything to do with voter registration suppression (or, conversely, registration of bogus voters) would be under the voter registration topic and probably falls within the EAC's purview. Anything to do with accuracy of results would encompass voting machines, also under the purview of the EAC.
The DOJ (Dept. of Justice) is charged with consequating tactics that may deliberately impede a voter's right to vote. Such tactics can include switching polling places, shorting ballots, shorting voting machines, or deliberate wrongful purging of voter registration lists. The kicker here is proving that it was deliberate, since the DOJ is a law enforcement arm, not a policy arm.
The U.S. Congress deals with policy issues in each of the above areas, but it is best to approach congressional staffers with a specific focus in mind.
Elections issues are, as you can see, an amorphous multifacted creature.
Recommendation
It may help you focus your efforts is you select an area first. When you have done that, return here and let us know which area your group would like to establish a Washington D.C. dialog about, and we'll provide you with more specifics.
Good luck, and America thanks you for your vigilance in the area of citizen oversight of our elections process.
Bev Harris
Director
Black Box Voting |
Leslie Irvin
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Leslieirvin
Post Number: 2
Registered: 07-2005
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 1:28 pm: |
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Hi Bev,
Thank you so much for your rapid response. The information you provided is exactly what I needed. I knew your site would be the place to go. I have been following your activities for a long time and very much appreciate all that you and your organization do.
To answer your question about our group, it is a small delegation of grassroot Progressive Democrats that meets together monthly in Iowa. Originally we had set ourselves up as sort of a think tank, but we have grown into more. Our group has had some success in attracting candidates and special interest speakers to attend our meetings.
About a month ago one of the group offered to fund 10 delegates to go to DC and talk to congress critters and the DNC about issues. We formed our delegation and now we are researching information to present (based on our individual interests or passions) to the appropriate people, committees etc, etc.
To give you a basic idea, this is a highly unusual thing for Iowans to do. Though we have come a long way, we stand at about a 50/50 party affiliation compared to years ago when it was almost solid conservative. Iowans are still pretty staid no matter what their affiliation. So for Iowans to fund a trip to speak about issues, this is a very big deal in our state. We have even generated some media interest in the trip.
To me all the issues of the day, Iraq, economy etc, etc are major concerns but pale in comparison if we can't have fair elections to put the leaders in that we want to lead us out of the mess we are in. My mindset is there is not a single issue more important than that. My passion has been fair elections since the thefts of 2000 and 2004.
What we plan on doing once we get to DC is breaking off into smaller groups, again based on our interests and preferences of people to see and voicing our concerns, objections and suggestions to them. There are at least 2 other delegates that feel strongly about the voting issues and will join me in whoever we end up seeing about it in DC. If it can be effective for the entire group to be at one place we can do that too. Though generally we understand that most people and places are put on the defensive when a large group shows up, which is why we opted to break up into smaller factions.
I did some research this morning on the FEC and found what you mentioned about a handful of presidential appointees, 6 to be exact. What is supposed to be a bi-partisan committee is filled with 5 Bush appointees and one Clinton appointee. One of the Bush appointees is Ellen Weintraub a Democrat. Four to 2, hmmmm. Something smells there.
Though campaign finance is something others in my group are interested in and yes I'm interested too, my main focus remains the two stolen elections and preventing that from happening again in the future. The touch screen voting and no paper trail are especially something I want to address.
All 3 places sound like places we would need to go to. I'm sure if appointments are made they're not going to give us a tremendous amount of time, so likely we could fit all 3 in. If I had to pick one it would be the EAC, then FEC and lastly DOJ in order of preference. If there are specific congressmen/women related to voting and elections we would really appreciate knowing who they are too.
So I guess any information for people to contact, etc, that you could give us based on the above would be greatly appreciated. Do you have staff here in Iowa or in DC? |
Bev Harris
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 4073
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 5:45 pm: |
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If you pick the EAC, one of the most helpful things we'd like to see would be to request a brief question and answer period with someone who is a bona fide spokesman (i.e. not an administrative assistant). Tell them that you need to bring the information back to Iowa in as precise a form as possible and that your group has asked you to bring a tape record or video camera.
The two keys to this are:
- Ask and answer questions
- Record it to keep a precise record of what was said.
If you can get this set up, we'll be delighted to prep you with questions, possibly in a more private setting.
Especially after the testing labs hearing in California, some valuable answers to carefully selected questions will do a great deal -- not just in Iowa, but in the nation -- for moving this issue forward.
Let us know how it goes! |
Leslie Irvin
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Leslieirvin
Post Number: 3
Registered: 07-2005
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 4:25 pm: |
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Bev,
We've decided to visit with the EAC first and the FEC 2nd as time permits. So questions to ask and contact people would be very helpful for both places.
I also noticed that the FEC has a public meeting scheduled for the time we are there. Any idea what that would entail? Would it be worth our while to go? |
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