In the 2004 election I voted for……no one. Well, I tried to vote for John Kerry, not because I liked John Kerry so much, but more because I hated what Bush was doing to our country. But my vote didn’t count. How do I know this for certain? I still have my absentee ballot sitting in my filing cabinet!

Having just moved back home, I decided to “be safe” and use an absentee ballot since I didn’t trust the voting machines that were designed to not leave an audit trail. I was told that my signature did not match the one on file. I was told this one week before the election, and after many phones calls and mailings I was finally able to convince the Board of Elections that I was me. So they promptly mailed my ballot several days later to arrive at noon, on……. Election Day!

A few of the tactics used by people wanting to RIG THE VOTES:

Caging



Here’s how this has worked in the past, and in fact this example was used in Jacksonville Florida in the 2004 election targeting predominately black servicemen. The RNC mailed these voters’ letters in envelopes marked, 'Do not forward', to be returned to the sender. These letters were mailed to servicemen and women, some stationed overseas, to their US home addresses. The letters then returned to the Bush-Cheney campaign as 'undeliverable.' The RNC in Florida could then dispute these voters’ absentee votes.

Or, they might target a large Democratic community and send letters that appear to be from the Board of Elections telling them that their polling place has changed, or they are to vote on Wednesday. Both tactics have been documented to keep Democrats from going to the poll. Keep in mind that at any time the Democrats could decide to do this, if they’re not already, and it would be Republicans that are targeted.

Another caging method is simply to make it difficult to nearly impossible to vote. Broken machines (often with poll workers who don’t understand how they work), long lines, towing cars, spreading rumors and much more.

Here is a small taste of what happened in Ohio in 2004.



Partisan redistricting aka Gerrymandering

Redrawing the voter district lines making dividing groups of people that may be more likely to vote one way or another, in this way boundaries are manipulated for electoral advantage.

This tactic started with Tom Delay in TX and continues to work in many states where redistricting is allowed. Pay careful attention to your local politicians.



Outright THEFT

One word Diebold - actually now called Premier. Why was anyone be so naïve as to think that a machine that wouldn’t leave a paper trail could actually be trustworthy? Especially a company that contributes to one party, promises that same party they will deliver a win, and then said party does win!

Athan Gibbs had a machine that would count votes leaving a paper audit. But Athan had a (some say) suspiciously timed accident just as his machines were getting noticed.



Can you imagine what kind of temper tantrum our "pResident" would have if this stuff happened in another country? Venezuela or Russia or Iraq? Our House and Senate would be up in arms, the Republicans screaming the loudest. So how come we don't hear John Boehner screaming about this?

What can you do to stop our votes from being stolen…..again?

Volunteer to be a poll watcher.

Demand from your state that there is a verifiable paper trail.

Be aware of ploys to change the boundaries of voter districts.

Watch this movie on DVD or the Starz network to learn more: