Citizens Gone Wild Taking Control of Our Democracy

Citizens Gone Wild: Taking Control of Our Democracy Nancy Tobi - Democracy For New Hampshire, Election Defense Alliance

Moses: Leader of a Democratic Movement n n A stuttering, humble, poor, shepherd refugee, led his people from slavery to freedom, invoking pure democratic law, applying to all people, and understood by all people. He himself died without stepping foot in the promised land.

Lexington, Massachusetts n Birthplace of American Liberty

What Kind of Democracy Do We Want What brings you to a talk about democracy? n What do you bring to a talk about democracy? n What kind of democracy do we have? n Is everything okay? n What do I mean by “Citizens Gone Wild? ” n

What Kind of Democracy Do We Have?

Our American Birthright Government is the servant of the people, and not the master of them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. We insist on remaining informed so that we may retain control over the instruments of government we have created. - Bev Harris

1776: Declaration of Independence n We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

1776: Declaration of Independence n whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it

1787: US Constitution: Article IV n Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government

Wikipedia n n A republic is a state or country that is not led by a hereditary monarch, where the people of that state or country (or at least a part of that people) have impact on its government, and that is usually indicated as a republic. The term "republic" is sometimes used to describe a representative democracy, in contrast to a direct democracy.

1788: New Hampshire Constitution, [Art. ] 8 n All power residing originally in, and being derived from, the people, all the magistrates and officers of government are their substitutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them. Government, therefore, should be open, accessible, accountable and responsive. To that end, the public’s right of access to governmental proceedings and records shall not be unreasonably restricted.

1788: New Hampshire Constitution, Article 1 n All men are born equally free and independent; therefore, all government of right originates from the people, is founded in consent, and instituted for the general good.

NH Constitution, Art. 32 n [The] moderator, who shall, in the presence of the selectmen (whose duty it shall be to attend) in open meeting, receive the votes of all the inhabitants of such towns and wards present, and qualified to vote for senators; and shall, in said meetings, in presence of the said selectmen, and of the town or city clerk, in said meetings, sort and count the said votes, and make a public declaration thereof,

322 BCE: Demosthenes n There is one safeguard known generally to the wise, which is an advantage and security to all, but especially to democracies against despots —suspicion.

Hallmarks of the American Democratic Birthright n n n n the consent of the governed it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish [their government] guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government all power residing originally in, and being derived from, the people the public’s right of access to governmental proceedings and records shall not be unreasonably restricted all government of right originates from the people, is founded in consent safeguard for democracy is suspicion CITIZEN OVERSIGHT FREE AND OPEN ELECTIONS

Free and Open Elections Distrust: Checks and balances n Fully open and observable n Citizen oversight of the entire voting system with the exception of the secret ballot n The only thing “secret” in an election should be the voter’s ballot n

The Vote n “The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men. ” (Lyndon Johnson, 36 th President USA)

The Vote n The ballot is stronger than the bullet. (Abraham Lincoln, 16 th President USA)

The Vote n Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason. (Anonymous)

The Vote n “The people who cast the votes don't decide an election, the people who count the votes do. ” (Joseph Stalin, Russian Prime Minister, 1929 -1953)

Is Everything Okay?

Election Crime n n Just like any other crime, except that it affects the health and well-being of the entire planet. Like any criminal, the election criminal has: – – – Means: Control of the vote count Motive: Control of the planet Opportunity: Control of the electoral mechanism (our voting systems)

So, America, Who is Counting Our Votes? n n Nationally: 80% ballots counted by corporate owned and programmed computers using secret vote counting software* New Hampshire: 81% ballots counted by corporate owned and programmed computers using secret vote counting software** *Election Data Services **http: //www. sos. nh. gov/voting%20 machines 2006. htm

The Granite State n n All voters use paper ballots Two approved vote counting systems: – Hand count (19%) n n n Community counters Publicly observable Checks and balances – Diebold count (81%) n n n Black box counting Secret counting Corporate controlled

Diebold Cities & Towns in the Granite State Albany East Kingston Northwood Alton Eaton Laconia Nottingham Auburn Effingham Lee Ossipee Barrington Epping Londonderry Plaistow Barnstead Exeter Madbury Portsmouth Bartlett Farmington Madison Raymond Bedford Freedom Manchester Rye Belmont Fremont Meredith Rochester Brentwood Gilford Merrimack Rollinsford* Brookfield Gilmanton Middleton Sandown Candia Goffstown Milton Sandwich Center Harbor Greenland Moultonborough Seabrook Chatham Hale's Location New Castle Somersworth Chester Hampstead New Durham South Hampton Conway Hampton New Hampton Strafford Danville Hampton Falls Newfields Stratham Deerfield Hart's Location Newington Tamworth Derry* Hooksett Newmarket Tuftonboro Dover Jackson Newton Wakefield Durham Kensington North Hampton Wolfeboro

Who’s Counting 81% of NH’s Votes? n n Diebold Election Systems Management: 2003 CEO Wally O’Dell pens a memo pledging “to help Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the President. "

Diebold’s Accuvote Management Team n n n Diebold Election Systems Accuvote Team: Software Developer, Jeffrey Dean: Convicted embezzler, specialized in sophisticated alteration of computer records whose scam involved former Watergate burglary mastermind, Egil “Bud” Krogh Manager, Ballot Printing/Design, John Elder: Convicted cocaine trafficker

Diebold’s New England Vendor: LHS Associates n n Business #1, Programming Elections: With their first line of business, LHS Associates alone has access to and control over the secret vote counting software that counts 81% of NH's votes. Business #2, Collecting Census Data: With their second line of business, LHS Associates performs what is known as "data mining". They collect census data, information about who lives where, what are their incomes, their professions, their habits, their properties, their family histories.

Data Mining and Political Activities The legitimate intersection: Political Campaigns Find out where the opposition votes are, Find out where the supporters are Campaign Canvass, advertise, campaign Use your resources wisely based On your knowledge of the demographics

Data Mining and Political Activities The not so legitimate intersection: Election Programming Find out where the opposition votes are Fraud Program the vote to deal with it Florida 2000 Presidential Election: Choice. Point, a data mining company, helped out George Bush's campaign by systematically stripping out (purging) 94, 000 eligible voters - all identified as Democrat-leaning - from the voter registration rolls. They were denied their right to vote in that election.

So What’s the Problem?

The “Glitch” n n Voting machines failed to tally “yes” votes on the 2002 school bond issue in Gretna, Nebraska. This error gave the false impression that the measure had failed miserably, but it actually passed by a 2 to 1 margin. Responsibility for the errors was attributed to ES&S, the Omaha company that had provided the ballots and the machines. -BLACK BOX VOTING: Ballot-Tampering in the 21 st Century, www. blackboxvoting. org

The “Glitch” n n A squeaker — no, a landslide — oops, we reversed the totals — and about those absentee votes, make that 72 -19, not 44 -47. Software programming errors, sorry. Oh, and reverse that election, we announced the wrong winner. In the 2002 Clay County, Kansas, commissioner primary, voting machines said Jerry Mayo ran a close race but lost, garnering 48 percent of the vote, but a hand recount revealed Mayo had won by a landslide, receiving 76 percent of the vote. -BLACK BOX VOTING: Ballot-Tampering in the 21 st Century, www. blackboxvoting. org

The “Glitch” Swanzey, NH 2006: A manual recount resulted in a change of winners in two resulted in a school district posts, where the voter could pick two of three candidates. When voters chose two candidates, the software that counted the ballots threw out the results as invalid. n -Keene State Sentinal n

The “Glitch” n n n “In Volusia County during the November 2006 election, 11 of 249 optical scan memory cards had to be replaced, according to a county report. In Flagler County, one of 51 cards failed. Diebold officials said the 4. 4 percent error rate in Volusia was unusual, that the average was about 1 percent. The company conducted a survey of 27 Florida counties that use its machines but refused to release the results, calling them ‘proprietary business information. ’ “ -Daytona Beach News, http: //www. newsjournalonline. com/News. Journal. Online/News/Headlines/frt. HEA D 05 POL 110307. htm

The “Count” n n “One of the first times electronic voting machines were used, in the 1988 New Hampshire presidential primary, former CIA director George Herbert Walker Bush pulled off a stunning and unpredicted upset. The last poll before that primary showed Senator Bob Dole winning with 8 percentage points. Bush won by 9 points, a startling 17 -point shift. Bush’s evoting victory allowed him to claim the White House and paved the way for his son to become the United States’ chief executive. “ -Freepress. org

The “Count” n n n “The GOP's cyber election hit squad” There is more than ample documentation to show that on Election Night 2004, Ohio's "official" Secretary of State website – which gave the world the presidential election results – was redirected from an Ohio government server to a group of servers that contain scores of Republican web sites, including the secret White House e-mail accounts that have emerged in the scandal surrounding Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s firing of eight federal prosecutors. -Freepress. org

Oops, wrong President! n n 2000: DIEBOLD GIVES GORE NEGATIVE 16, 022 VOTES "DELAND, Fla. , Nov. 11, 2000 - Something very strange happened on election night to Deborah Tannenbaum, a Democratic Party official in Volusia County. At 10 p. m. , she called the county elections department and learned that Al Gore was leading George W. Bush 83, 000 votes to 62, 000. But when she checked the county's Web site for an update half an hour later, she found a startling development: Gore's count had dropped by 16, 000 votes, while an obscure Socialist candidate had picked up 10, 000 --all because of a single precinct with only 600 voters. " Internal Diebold memos (leaked in 2003) show that the company officials knew about the 16, 022 Gore votes that were subtracted, and they still don't have an explanation for why the votes were lost. Tampering may have been the cause. - -BLACK BOX VOTING: Ballot-Tampering in the 21 st Century, www. blackboxvoting. org, Voters. Unite. org

The “Recount” n n n First criminal convictions from Ohio's stolen 2004 election confirm recount was rigged by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman, January 27, 2007 The convictions have come down in Cuyahoga County, where Democratic candidates traditionally run up huge majorities. Suspicious vote counts and other irregularities cut deeply into John Kerry's margins in 2004. Official vote counts gave the state---and thus the presidency---to George W. Bush by about 118, 000 votes out of 5. 5 million counted. Forced resignations and stiff prison sentences intensify the escalating blowback from Ohio's 2004 stolen election by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman March 20, 2007 Felony convictions have resulted in 18 -month prison sentences for two employees of the Cuyahoga BOE as a result of what the county prosecutor in the case calls the "rigging" of the outcome in the recount following the 2004 presidential election. Further problems surfaced in the conduct of Cuyahoga County's May, 2006 primary, in the wake of which Michel Vu, Executive Director of the county's Board of Elections recently resigned. -Freepress. org

Diebold Optical Scanners (Accuvote) n Security Analysis of the Diebold Accu. Basic Interpreter, Voting Systems Technology Assessment Advisory Board (VSTAAB), University of California, Berkeley, February 14, 2006 n Testimony to BLC: Report Findings on Diebold Accuvote

Citizens Gone Wild n To take control of our democracy in the face of all this, we need our own set of means, motive, and opportunity. – Means: Informed citizen engagement in decision making – Motive: Freedom, democracy, and the American way – Opportunity: Lots in the Granite State

Coming Back to Life If we have the will, we have the means to control human population, to dismantle weapons and deflect wars, and to give everyone a voice in democratic self-governance n -Joanna Macy n

Hands-on Elections: Our Choice in the Granite State n Corporate controlled elections have no citizen oversight. Other than the check in the mail, they have no checks, and no balances. They operate in secret, withhold information as trade secret and proprietary, and are accountable only to those who pay them. And we never know who that may be. n Real democratic elections have built in oversight: checks and balances. A well managed hand count has self-auditing built in to the process, with multiple sets of eyes watching and checking and balancing the count as it proceeds on election night. Onsite, polling place election night reconciliation should promote any miscounts in public, observable, view, and should be corrected then and there.

Granite State Grassroots n Getting Rid of Secret Vote Counting: – We already have paper ballots – We have local elected (not appointed) election officials – We have local decision making control – Our laws support hand counting – We live free or die

And We Are Kickin’ It with Community Spirit n n n n In 2006, 330, 000 New Hampshire volunteers dedicated 41. 1 million hours of service. Between 1989 and the present, New Hampshire’s volunteer rate increased by 12. 6 percentage points, making it the fourth-highest increase in the nation. New Hampshire had the third-highest volunteer rate among states in the Northeast region. New Hampshire was one of 17 states in the nation in which providing professional services was one of the top four activities for volunteers. In addition to the 330, 000 New Hampshire volunteers in 2006, more than 36, 000 people participated informally by working with their neighbors to improve the community. Overall, 39. 2% of people in New Hampshire engaged in civic life by volunteering, working with their neighbors, or attending public meetings. -SOURCE: Corporation for National and Community Service

New Hampshire Knows How to Hand Count n n n n n In New Hampshire, approximately 80% of our ballots are counted using optical scan machines, and 20% are hand counted. 139 polling places (45%) in NH rely on hand counting 170 polling places (55%) in NH rely on optical scanning machines 138 jurisdictions (58%) in NH rely on hand counting 98 jurisdictions (42%) in NH rely on optical scanning machines NH has perhaps the highest volume of hand recounts conducted at the state level in the nation, 10 -32 recounts per election cycle 50 -136 candidates involved in recounts per cycle (due to the large legislature and multimember districts) In the 2004 general election, there were 7 hand counting polling places with over 2, 500 persons registered to vote. Each counted over 2, 000 ballots, or over 3 X the ballots cast in an average-sized U. S. precinct.

What Does it Take? n n n To count 700 ballots with 20 contests in under 3 hours: 7 teams X (2 counters + observer = 3 persons per team) = 21 counters/observers + 3 managers = 24 total staff Estimated Staff Costs 21 counters/observers X 3 hours @ $10/hr = $630 3 managers X 4 hours @ $20/hr = $240 Total: $870 Hands-on Elections: An Informational Handbook for Running Real Elections, Using Real Paper Ballots, Counted by Real People

Concentric Circles of Community Voting System Decisions in NH Vote / Run for Office Petition for Town Meeting Warrant Article Talk to State Representative, Pass Laws Ask for Ballot Law Commission Hearing

What We Can Do n n n Town Meeting Warrant Article Petition for Town Warrant Article regarding the counting of votes: To see if the Town of _________ will prohibit delegating to private corporations the public governmental functions of sorting and counting votes in an election and, further, will require that all methods used for sorting and counting the votes in an election must be open and observable for full citizen oversight of the entire voting system.

Find the Wind at Your Back n n n Play your part Town Meetings: March 2008! NH Fair Elections Committee Your local group? Start it or join it. Be informed: handouts, Hands-on Elections Handbook Video: Pulling up the Stone: Patriots at Work