Democracy for New Mexico

Thank Dems Who Voted to Contest Ohio's Electoral Votes

If you'd like to thank the 31 Democrats in the House and the ONE Democratic Senator who voted to contest Ohio's electoral votes, here's an easy way to do it. Links to their websites are listed below, on the continuation page of this post.

Here are links to the statement against certification by and a post by on his vote from the DFA Blog for America.

Is it just me or was it completely frustrating to have so many Democrats in the Senate give speeches in support of the Ohio challenge and then turn around and vote to accept the electoral college votes? Are Democrats really that afraid of "offending" Bush? Given their behavior yesterday, what else can we think?

Link to Senator Barbara Boxer's website, the lone Senator who voted to contest Ohio's electoral votes:

Barbara Boxer CA

Senate Roll Call

Links to websites of the 31 Members of the House of Representatives who voted to contest Ohio's electoral votes:

House Roll Call

Corinne Brown, FL
Julia Carson, IN
William "Lacy" Clay, Jr., MO
James E. Clyburn, SC
John Conyers, Jr., MI
Danny K. Davis, IL
Lane Evans, IL
Sam Farr, CA
Bob Filner, CA
Raul Grijalva, AZ
Alcee Hastings, FL
Maurice Hinchey, NY
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., IL
Sheila Jackson Lee, TX
Eddie Bernice Johnson, TX
Stephanie Tubbs Jones, OH
Carolyn Kilpatrick, MI
Dennis Kucinich, OH
Barbara Lee, CA
John Lewis, GA
Edward Markey, MA
Cynthia McKinney, GA
John Olver, MA
Major Owens, NY
Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ
Donald Payne, NJ
Jan Schakowsky, IL
Bennie Thompson, MS
Maxine Waters, CA
Diane Watson, CA
Lynn Woolsey, CA

Boxer's Statement in Electoral Vote Debate

Click for the transcript of Sen. Barbara Boxer's objection to the certification of the electoral votes.

Also here's the voting roll call for the House vote on the objection to election certification. It lists the 31 Democrats who voted to object. In the Senate, only Barbara Boxer voted to object. Many members in both the House and the Senate did not vote on this matter.

Senators Clinton, Obama and Dodd to Stand with Boxer?

In the clearing stands a Boxer and a fighter . . . (apologies to Simon and Garfunkel).

Will Pitt's FYI at Truthout has this to say:

Right now, several other Senators are preparing statements of Support for the Boxer/Tubbs-Jones challenge, and a number of House members will also rise in support. There is every expectation that Senators Clinton, Obama and Dodd will be among those offering statements of support.

Reps. Waters, Conyers and Kucinich will be among the House members who stand. Though Rep. Conyers was the main impetus behind this process, it was decided that Rep. Tubbs-Jones should be the one to make the official challenge, as she is a representative from Ohio, where the dispute is centered.

There is a rumor floating around that one of the Senators to rise in support will be a Republican. That is not in any way confirmed.

The process will begin to unfold at 1:00 PM EST (11 AM Mountain). Cheney, in his role as President of the Senate, will rise and ask if there are any objections. Tubbs-Jones will then announce her objection, and state that a Senator has signed her objection. The joint session will then adjourn, and there will be two hours (perhaps less) of debate on the issue. At the conclusion a straight up-and-down vote will take place on whether or not to support the objection. Almost certainly, the objections will be defeated along party lines.

Boxer Comes Through

House Democrats to challenge Ohio electoral votes
California's Boxer to join in objection in Senate; Kerry won't

Thursday, January 6, 2005 Posted: 10:15 AM EST (1515 GMT) WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Citing massive irregularities on Election Day, a handful of House Democrats and one senator plan to attempt to block Ohio's 20 electoral votes from being counted when a joint session of Congress convenes Thursday to tally results from the 2004 presidential election.
[. . .]
House Democrats involved in this year's protest worked for weeks to enlist the support of a senator, and U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, agreed in a letter Wednesday to join the effort. "I have concluded that objecting to the electoral votes from Ohio is the only immediate way to bring these issues to light by allowing you to have a two-hour debate to let the American people know the facts surrounding Ohio's election," Boxer wrote to U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio.

"I will therefore join you in your objection to the certification of Ohio's electoral votes."

Click to read more of this CNN story. Note that the joint session of Congress meeting to certify the election will be televised on CSPAN today at 11:00 AM MST.

From NOW:

Please send the attached letter to your senators to urge them to join Sen. Boxer - and yes, even if you think they won't do it, send the message anyway. They need to know that their constituents noticed that they did not stand up for the democratic process.

But don't stop there - for many weeks to come, Senator Boxer will be excoriated in Letters to the Editor and on Talk Radio (yes, Rush Limbaugh has already started in on her) and WE MUST RESPOND. Take a minute to write a single paragraph to your local newspaper's editor, or call a radio talk show to praise Sen. Boxer and all of the House members, Democrat and Independent, who took a stand for democracy.
*****************
One way to reward the courage of Sen. Boxer would be to contribute a few bucks to her PAC.

Report Claims Sen. Boxer Will Contest Election Results

From The Nashua Advocate via Democratic Underground:

Boston's "Rally for the Republic" Draws Hundreds; Keynote Speaker David Lytel Asserts Sen. Boxer Will Contest Election

At a Monday-night rally in Boston's Fanueil Hall which drew hundreds of highly-energized progressive protestors, one of the evening's keynote speakers, RedefeatBush.com's David Lytel, asserted that Senator Barbara Boxer of California will in fact contest the results of the presidential election in Ohio along with, at a minimum, U.S. House Representative Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-OH).

Click for more.

IMMEDIATE ACTION ALERT: Call Barbara Boxer Before Thursday Morning About Contesting Ohio

From Lydia Flores, an activist in Central Valley, CA:
"Just came from a group which gathered at Senator Barbara Boxer's Office here in Fresno. There were about 20 of us representing Fresno, Visalia, Porterville and Springville. It was awesome since they had to come to Fresno through the rain.  We were told that Senator Boxer was willing to be the Senator who will ask for the re-election in Ohio provided she sees numbers [of supporters]. One of the activists suggested that we spread the news to call Senator Boxer before Thursday when this concern comes up for a vote."

Okay, let her hear from us!  Please call or fax Senator Boxer at one of the offices listed below and ask her to join Congressman John Conyers and other members of the House of Representatives in opposing certification of the electoral votes from Ohio.  Then send this message out far and wide to your lists. We CAN bring about a fair tally of this election.
Thanks again, Cindy and Jim, CWare@aol.com

* * *
How to contact Senator Barbara Boxer--If the message box for one number is full, try another or send a fax:

in Washington:
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Tel. (202) 224-3553

in Sacramento:
501  I Street, Suite 7-600
Sacramento, CA 95814
Tel. (916) 448-2787
Fax (916) 448-2563

in San Francisco:
1700 Montgomery Street, Suite 240
San Francisco, CA 94111
Tel. (415) 403-0100
Fax (415) 956-6701

in Los Angeles:
312 N. Spring Street, Suite 1748
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tel. (213) 894-5000
Fax (213) 894-5042

in Fresno:
1130 O Street, Suite 2450
Fresno, CA 93721
Tel. (559) 497-5109
Fax (559) 497-5111 fax

in San Diego:
600 B Street, Suite 2240
San Diego, CA 92101
Tel. (619) 239-3884
Fax (619) 239-5719

in San Bernadino:
201 North E Street, Suite 210
San Bernardino, CA 92401
Tel. (909) 888-8525
Fax (909) 888-8613

Last Chance to Urge Senators to Refuse Vote Certification

Passed along from various emails:
On January 6, 2005, Congress will meet in joint session to certify the 2004 presidential election. On that day, if one member of the House and one member of the Senate object to the certification of the vote, then all members of Congress will finally discuss these issues. On January 6, 2001, not a single Senator would join with the Representatives who demanded an inquiry into the Florida recount. This year, let's make our Senators take a stand!

The following seven Senators are some of the most progressive members of the Senate. Please call them immediately, and urge them to defend democracy on 1/6/05.

*SPREAD THE WORD TO PEOPLE YOU KNOW TO KEEP DOING THE SAME UNTIL JANUARY 6.*

Senator Barbara Boxer, (202) 224-3553,
senator@boxer.senate.gov

Senator Dick Durbin, (202) 224-2152,
dick@durbin.senate.gov

Senator Russ Feingold, (202) 224-5323,
russ_feingold@feingold.senate.gov

Senator Tom Harkin, (202) 224-3254,
tom_harkin@harkin.senate.gov

Senator Jim Jeffords, (202) 224-5141,
Vermont@jeffords.senate.gov

Senator Edward Kennedy, 202/224-4543,
senator@kennedy.senate.gov

Senator Patrick Leahy, (202) 224-4242,
senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov

Senator Jeff Bingaman, 1-800-443-8658
(Toll Free from NM Only),
senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov
Or call staff members in his New Mexico offices.

Did We Bounce An Election?

A January 1, 2005 article by Warren Stewart of VotersUnite.org published in the Columbus Free Press takes on the problem of undervotes and phantom votes in the NM election results. Excerpts:

". . . An examination of the New Mexico canvass report of the November 2 election suggests that the state might be running the risk of bouncing an election.

The canvass report (available as a pdf from the NM Secretary of State's website ) is the official record of the election results . . With so much at stake, one would expect the canvass report to be a lot cleaner than my checkbook. That is not the case.

Much has been made of New Mexico's dubious honor of leading the nation in undervote percentage . . . Secretary of State Vigil-Giron seems surprisingly unconcerned about undervotes commenting recently that she doesn't "spend a lot of time on undervote issues, I'm just speculating that some voters are just not concerned with the presidential race." Does it really seem possible that 17,095 people (almost 1 in 20) felt compelled stand in line on Election Day in order to cast no vote for president?  Did 1,664 people actually bother to cast their non-vote early and another 2,325 express their lack of opinion by absentee ballot?  It seems just as likely that some of those undervotes represent votes that were not counted by the machines - and we will never know about how those votes might have affected the outcome.

Had she chosen to spend a little more time on undervote issues she might have noticed the curious fact that 85% of these apathetic voters chose to express their lack of concern on electronic voting machines - the ones without a paper trail. She also might have noticed that the undervote rate is roughly the same in the congressional and judicial races on the ballot, suggesting the possibility that entire ballots may have been blank rather than just the presidential selections. How do we know these machines did not lose entire ballots, as paperless voting machines have been shown to do in other elections?

As for phantom votes, the Secretary of State maintains they are simply "not possible."   Much as I would like to agree with her, the canvass report suggests that there do seem to be phantoms residing in New Mexico - in almost half the counties.  In fact, 228 phantoms seem to be in Dona Ana County precinct 106 where 107 absentee ballots somehow recorded 325 presidential votes.  Bernalillo County Precinct 558, 141 phantoms voted early, while in Precinct 14, 114 phantoms waited until Election Day.  In all there are 2,087 phantom votes in this state where the margin of victory, according to the same canvass report where all these phantom votes are hiding, was 5,988. If these phantom votes were ignored what else was ignored?
-------------------
A report prepared by Ellen Theisen and Warren Stewart in support of the Green/Libertarian New Mexico recount effort along with a comprehensive database on the 2004 New Mexico election can be downloaded at VotersUnite.org.

NM Undervotes Increase According to VotersUnite.org

VotersUnite.org has a piece on Phantom Votes in New Mexico that examines data from the NM Secretary of State's website to conclude that:

". . .the discovery of 2,087 phantom votes shows that New Mexico's excessive undervote rate is really higher than previously thought. Instead of reporting 18,997 ballots with no vote (or an overvote) for president, New Mexico really reported 21,084 presidential undervotes.

Rather than an already high rate of 2.45%, New Mexico's undervote rate for 2004 is actually 2.72%."

You can download a pdf file of the report and the top twenty phantom-vote precincts in New Mexico by clicking here: Download NewMexico-Top20phantom-voteprecincts.pdf.

Click to see all 2,087 phantom votes.

Rallying Sen. Bingaman: Decertifying Electors

From: sfresearch@33o.com
Subject: Phone Calls, SF Press Conference, Rally Bingaman on January 4th, at Santa Fe Capitol, Noon

This week is going to be exciting. Activists are in negotiations with Senator Jeff Bingaman and his people on two counts: decertifying the Ohio *and* the New Mexico electors. Keep up the phone calls to Senator Bingaman on both accounts: DC: 202.224.5521 and NM: 1-800-443-8658. Full office number list: click here.

Call every influential sympathetic citizen you can think of and make sure they have the numbers and are urged to call. This is the only way Democracy is going to work. If you know who finances Bingaman's elections, contact them.

Don't like making phone calls? It's actually a lot of fun. Political conversation is the most dynamic of human interaction short of the spiritual. This is exciting stuff. Feel energized as you realize you are having an effect. Call me at 505.982.3609 if you need a coaching session.

Call friends in other states and have them call their Senators. Full court press, folks. Citizen, take courage. Remember: You have the power. If you can imagine it, you can do it.

We are moving the rally at Bingaman's office to Tuesday the 4th, though we will also assemble there on the 6th at Noon. I will have to see what can be done regarding permits tomorrow.

Regardless, Bingaman's office and the police chief Beverly Lennon (sp) will be notified in advance about the two dates: the 4th and 6th. The importance of the 4th is twofold: get a jump and be proactive before the vote which is on the 6th and piggyback on the press conference at the Roundhouse regarding the New Mexico recount which is at 12 Noon on the 4th.

Tentatively, given permission, we will march from the press conference at the Roundhouse down to the Plaza, past the library and up Marcy Street to Bingaman's office (Suite 101, 119 East Marcy). I recommend that each person bring a personal letter with them and that we each go in individually or in pairs with the letters to drop them off.

We should be dropping off letters and documentation in support of this effort all week. In particular give the Senator articles appearing at Online Journal, Greg Palast, Truthout and Free Press, and the Conyers investiation documents.

Anything you find out there that is a quality news item regarding the vote fraud and election theft is a good thing to accompany a personal letter.

Fax material to: 202-224-2852

Senators listen to their aides. These are the names of Senator Bingaman's Washington aides. Try to get either Stephan or Trudy on the line to determine what's going on and to make an impression:

Chief of Staff: Stephan Ward
Appointment Secretary: Virginia White
Legislative Director: Trudy Vincent
Press Secretary: Jude McCartin

Think of this in two ways:

1. This is citizen lobbying of our elected representatives.
2. This is we provide political cover for our Senator to do the right thing.

Would you believe that the excuse the Senators gave in 2000 for not supporting the Black Caucus in their call for a halt to the Electoral Vote was that no one asked them?

Let's make it perfectly clear. We are asking our Senator, Jeff Bingaman, to put in writing his objection to the Ohio and New Mexico electors according to the United States Code:

"3 U.S.C. ß15: Every objection shall be made in writing, and shall state clearly and concisely, and without argument, the ground thereof, and shall be signed by at least one Senator and one Member of the House of Representatives before the same shall be received."

What happens after that? Here's the details: click for Daily Kos story.

To recap: all week stream into Bingaman's office with personal, handwritten or typed letters including relevant press articles from around the internet or synopses of radio shows like Air America or  Democracy Now.

On Tuesday, show up at the Roundhouse at 12pm Noon to support the continuing efforts to recount the vote in New Mexico. The recent audit in New Mexico showed hundreds of discrepancies in a tiny sampling. New Mexico is not Red yet.

After the press conference, join us for a march to Bingaman's office. This march will be either formal or informal, depending on whether or not we get permission. I will keep everyone updated. At Bingaman's office, let's stay respectful and go in one at a time if we have something to deliver.

Finally, on September 6th, let's once again keep a vigil at Bingaman's office, getting news out to the people about what has transpired in Congress.

Hey, Constitutional Democracy can be fun.