Guest Blogged by John Gideon
Tonight Lou and Kitty Pilgrim report on the litigation that is taking place around the country in order to stop the use of paperless voting machines.
Video in Streaming Flash format…
Video in Windows Media format…
The text-transcript of tonight’s segment on Lou Dobbs Tonight follows in full…
Kitty Pilgrim reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sixty percent of the votes in the 2004 presidential election were cast or tallied by electronic voting machines. And that may hit 80 percent by this November’s elections. Twenty-eight states with more than half the U.S. population have legislation or rules for a mandatory paper record of the vote, but 22 states are holding out.
Now activists are banding together and suing.
LOWELL FINLEY, VOTER ACTION: Sometimes litigation is the only way to get the attention of the officials. And in the end, sometimes the only way that the change can be brought about, by asking a judge to order it.
PILGRIM: Today, voter activists filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania against the secretary of state and county election officials alleging current electronic voting machines violate state election codes and the state constitution.
There is a groundswell of e-voting litigation with cases in California, Arizona, Colorado Maryland, New Jersey and Georgia. In New Mexico, a successful court case forced the entire state to use optically-scanned paper ballots. In Georgia, plaintiffs representing the state’s nine million voters have filed a lawsuit.
GARLAND FAVORITO, VOTERGA.ORG: We have a group of approximately eight plaintiffs that span the complete political spectrum. And we all agree on one thing: we have to be able to hold legitimate elections before we can even discuss political issues. So we’ve decided to put all our political issues or differences aside, and let’s focus on one thing. Let’s restore the integrity of Georgia elections.
PILGRIM: In Georgia, activists say they did not push for this November’s midterm election. They would rather not rush a judge and have the issue examined in depth before the next presidential election.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Now, some cases challenge the reliability of the electronic voting machines, saying they can be hacked or tampered with. Other cases focus on the state constitution and the obligation to provide a permanent record of the election.
The goal is the same, to make sure that a permanent record exists of any election held in the United States — Lou.
DOBBS: What a good idea.
PILGRIM: It seems pretty simple.
DOBBS: It’s straightforward. You know, I cannot believe that there would be anyone who would suggest there shouldn’t be a paper record of these votes, irrespective of the machine or the type of equipment used.
PILGRIM: Well, it’s come to the point that they actually have to sue to get it. They can’t get legislation to do it.
Kitty, thank you very much, as we continue your excellent series of reports on our democracy at risk. Taking a look now at your thoughts.
LITIGATION ?
We lost that right to correct any wrongs long ago when they imposed tort reform. Do attorneys make house calls
to barbed wired concentration camps ?
Check out the new Rolling Stone article about how the Bushit administration is building these concentration camp jails across Amerikkka. Since we are outsourcing most products and work to other countries, these criminals in power have been promoting the idea of private jails as the new money makers for dying US towns as well as taking a towns with a surplus and moving it into debt. http://www.rollingstone.com Go Fascism! 911 was all abouit 19 arabs armed with box cutters. Keep your oil war going! Don’t pay attention to world scientists and keep praying to that statue of yourself. Terrorists in Washington don’t need a reason to bomb and invade a nation to kill 100,000 Iraqi civilians do they? Keep selling off the wild lands dirt cheap to your developer cronies! Keep that electronic voting machine plug in. NO PAPER TRAIL REQUIRED.
Go FASCISM,.. Go NAZISM,..
OOPS,.. I think I am getting brainwashed by all this
exciting bu$$h/cheney propaganda.
Hurry up November,.. so we can incarcerate these clowns.
OldTurk said, “Hurry up November,.. so we can incarcerate these clowns”. That’s exactly why the Repuglicans will cheat, steal and lie to maintain power in November and probably be successful. This administration knows their ass is grass in a big way if the Dems ever get the power to subpoena and truly investigate actions, policies and secrets that go way beyond corruption to an absolute subversion of everything this country was supposed to stand for. Perhaps, even their minions would be shocked if everything came out, although I may be giving such bottom feeders more credit than they deserve.
Go Georgia! Garland was spot on, it’s about restoring the integrity of elections. Because in the end, if you can’t count the damn paper what can you count?
are mexican citizens the only ones with election backbone anymore? i think not… let’s show them that American backbone we all know a few of us in the election reform community still have..
in Georgia the VoterGA lawsuit has serious legs. website is http://www.voterga.org check it out! Kudos to Garland and team for doing an awesome job.
But don’t count on that as being all Georgia has up her sleeve.
we’re just getting started down here..
I don’t know when Lou Dobbs woke up and took the honesty pill, but I thank God he finally did…. and Kitty is really doing great work!
as usual, Lowell is a god… rock on folks!
Steve – Re: Comment # 4
We have got to pound those ballot boxes with the anti-fascist votes. We are not going to salvage our bruised and battered democracy if only 35% to 40% show up at the polls,.. we need 75% to 80%. The Jesus-freaks are only 35% of the total electorate but they show up
enmasse. We must beat and surpass the Christo-fascist
tidalwave at the election booth. Or we can kiss our democratic form of government bye bye and usher in a
Christian Fascist Theocracy.
Phyllis Huster – Re: Comment # 5
Well girl,.. your just full to the top with vinegar and gumption. She is going to single handedly snatch
our stolen democracy back from the grasp of the thieves.
There’s a positive attitude ! Go get ’em !
It will be good if the ’06 election gives us a congress that have the ability and motivation to take up the cause to give America back to the people. Personally, I am pessimistic. The stakes are too high and the ones who should be removed from power control the election process.
Its good that Dobbs/Pilgrim are bringing this up. Most voters are fairly blase’ about their voting rights, and don’t realize the importance of this issue, OR are unaware that there IS an issue at all.
Criminal prosecutions are litigation.
The torture boys are beginning to be sent to prison (link here).
Hope the prosecutors work their way up to The Dick, one of the most fascist people claiming to be an American on earth today.