FOR STEALING AMERICA: VOTE BY VOTE
DOWNLOAD STEALING AMERICA DISCUSSIONPOINTS.PDF
IT’S UP TO US. WE SAW THE FILM. WE HAVE THE INFORMATION. WE MUST ACT. We must take responsibility. As the narrator in the film says, “Together we can take our country back.”
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Why even bother to vote? The more votes cast and the larger the margin of victory in any race, the harder it is to manipulate outcomes. Vote and encourage others to vote. Vote as a way to honor those who struggled for the right to vote. We must not abandon our legacy. What’s the outlook for this election? We are still in serious trouble. Most of the dangers from 2004 and 2006 are still in place. Some progress has been made but there are not nearly enough of us working on these issues. Many of our elected officials have benefitted from the system and are reluctant to effect real change. The involvement of every person who becomes aware of the situation is needed. Why hasn’t my party done something? Why haven’t my candidates spoken up about this? We don’t know the answer. We do know that we must raise our voices and demand accountability. Call them, write to them, make appointments to see them. In addition to contacting candidates, whom else should I contact? Write letters to newspapers and send copies to our elected officials, boards of elections, City or Town Clerks and Secretaries of State. They need to hear our concerns--and give us answers about what they are doing. They work for us. Why haven’t I heard about the electronic fraud on radio or TV? Even on the 'liberal' stations? The media also needs to hear from us; especially those we think are the ‘liberal media.’ They sometimes report on overt disenfranchisement, but not the hidden, covert, computerized fraud. We need to write and call them. “Why don’t you know about this? If you know, why aren’t you reporting it? The public needs to know.” What is the solution? What do we want to have happen? We need to demand citizen participation and observation. The gold standard is hand-counting paper ballots, at least the federal races (President, U.S. Representative, and U.S. Senator) on Election Night at the precinct level. We need: (1) voter-marked paper ballots; (2) ballots counted by hand is an ideal method, but for now most paper ballots are counted by optical scanners. If so, then we also need election-night verification or audits with 99% statistical confidence level that outcomes are correct; and (3) citizen observation of the ‘chain of custody’ of ballots and memory cards beginning Election Night and until the election is certified. How can I possibly know what to do or how to do it? The action website suggests a wide range of actions people can take between now and November that can make a real difference. Some are small and simple, others more involved. There is something every one of us can do. Many of us can take several actions. Start by verifying that you, your family, friends, and co-workers are registered to vote. But what can I do that will make a difference in November? Some of the action items listed on the action website are designed to prevent problems with this year's election, while others are designed to detect, document and respond to problems. Wherever possible, choose actions first that may prevent problems. What is most important varies with where you are and possibly even whether you can travel for Election Day. Important: on Election Day, if it is legal in your state, take your camera, especially a video camera, to the polls with you and videotape everything (except people’s secret ballot selections!). Videos are valuable in resolving disputes later about what happened. Read more on www.stealingamerica.org/getactive. Is there anything we can do to get real exit poll data this year? It is critical this year to run Citizen Exit Polls (Election Verification Polling) to validate announced outcomes or flag them as needing investigation. Several thousand volunteers are needed in key states. Please sign up through the website or at www.ElectionDefenseAlliance.org/evp. To sign up by phone, call 510-233-2144. Can I work alone? If I want to find a group, how do I do that? Some things can be done as an individual, others require a group. Use the action site to find local groups or even national groups you may wish to work with. How can I make a financial donation where it will do the most good? Election integrity groups need financial assistance. They are struggling on small budgets while committed people volunteer hundreds and thousands of hours. Many are listed on the website. What if it appears that this election is stolen too? We cannot afford to ‘roll over’ again in 2008. Visit the action site to sign up for action alerts. We must demand immediate investigations. Contingency plans for protests are underway now. ADDITIONAL POINTS Many of us grew up believing that America was truly a democracy and that our government or our party would bring us honest elections. As the narrator says at the end of the film, “It‘s time to wake up…And together we can take our country back.” WE need to take action. WE need to hold our elected officials and our media accountable. We all need to get busy. To receive occasional news and action alerts, sign up for the mailing list of the national group Election Defense Alliance: www.ElectionDefenseAlliance.org and sign up in the Subscription box. There are good blogs and excellent websites but the quickest, simplest way to learn a lot quickly and with minimal effort is to subscribe to Daily Voting News: subscribe through the film website or go to www.votersunite.org/news.asp. It takes about 2 minutes a day to read the headlines. If you want to read an article, simply click its link.
Help spread the word about the serious crisis in our electoral system. DVDs are only $5 each or a dozen for $50!! |
