Democracy for New Mexico

NM ACLU Reacts to Sweeps of Border Immigrant Communities

From the American Civil Liberties Union of NM:
LAS CRUCES, NM—The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico condemned recent immigration raids by Otero and Doña Ana County Sheriff's deputies in the border towns of Chaparral and Vado today. The local police agencies are assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to conduct sweeps of immigrant neighborhoods, knocking on doors and checking identification. Authorities also are stopping motorists and entering private businesses. 

The ACLU is investigating multiple reports that sheriff's deputies retrieved children from schools and entered homes without consent or warrants. The ACLU has filed public records requests with both sheriff’s departments seeking information about the collaboration with federal immigration agencies.

“This is irresponsible policing,” said Maria Nape, Director of the ACLU's Border Rights office. “Immigrants in these communities may never again trust that they can report crimes to sheriff’s deputies, even if they are the victims. When local police become border patrol agents, it rips a hole in the fabric of public safety that takes years to mend. It’s not just immigrants that are affected.”

The raids stem from a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) program called "Operation Stonegarden" which gave New Mexico roughly $1.6 million in support of local law enforcement participation in immigration enforcement along the border. In total, the four Southwest border states received $12 million in grant awards.

“These raids are symptomatic of the same reactionary policies that have failed to address nationwide concerns about immigration for decades,” Nape said.  “Do we want to live in a country that makes life so intolerable for hundreds of thousands of families who live and work here that they leave? Or would we rather live in an America that brings immigrants out of the shadows of society and enables them to be taxpaying, contributing citizens?

Download the public records requests: https://www.aclu-nm.org/News_Events/news_9_14_07.html

The mission of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico is to maintain and advance the cause of civil liberties within the state of New Mexico, with particular emphasis on the freedom of religion, speech, press, association, and assemblage, and the right to vote, due process of law and equal protection of law, and to take any legitimate action in the furtherance and defense of such purposes. These objectives shall be sought wholly without political partisanship. For more information, visit us on the web: www.aclu-nm.org.

Visit the ACLU of New Mexico's new blog. To donate to the ACLU of New Mexico securely online, click here.

Guest Blog: We Didn't Cross Any Borders, They Crossed Us

This is a guest blog by JaciCee that originally appeared as a diary on Daily Kos:

Okay, maybe we did cross a couple of borders.  We marched up through Central America and Mexico and entered Native American land when we first settled here.  But since the early 1600's we haven't moved.  Who are we?  The first families and explorers that settled into New Mexico.  You know, that state that sets between Texas and Arizona and is north of Mexico and under Colorado.  We are actually part of the United States and have been since 1912.  Many Americans don't know that.  In case you don't believe me, check this out.  One of our local publications features stories about misperceptions and flat out ignorance about our state.

Let's talk a little about what happened before we became a state in 1912.  I'll give you a quick historical rundown but if you want more on our state's rich history, go here or here.

The Native American cultures were thriving here when the Spaniards first arrived.  Those incredible cultures date back to at least 1100 A.D.  The first Europeans arrived in New Mexico with Francisco Vasquez de Coronado's expedition in 1540.  Up until 1821 we lived under the Spanish flag.  In 1821 Mexico acquired New Mexico from Spain.  We then lived under the Mexican flag until 1846 when we fell under US control.  In 1862 Albuquerque surrendered to the South during the Civil War.  In 1912 we officially became a state.  We have lived under three flags without going anywhere. 

Some of our families had relatives living south of the New Mexican territory.  The borders were open. We could travel all over and see who we liked.  These relationships still exist today.

Why does this matter?  My family arrived here in 1603.  They came here with other families.  They married other Spaniards, Indians and Mexicans.  They created an incredibly diverse human landscape that is still thriving today.  These same families, whether they live in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Espanola or Taos still speak Spanish in their homes.  Many still have accents.  They are Americans. They are dark, light, tall, short, skinny and fat.  They have brown eyes, blue eyes and green eyes. Many outsiders can't tell the difference between a sixth generation New Mexican or an illegal immigrant.

I have been somewhat silent about the immigation debate. I have some pretty strong views about it but not until I saw this yesterday did I become absolutely enraged.

Some local Republicans have decided it is cool to drive a billboard around Albuquerque with the slogan "Mayor Chavez's sanctuary city for criminal illegal immigrants!"  They are pissed off because Mayor Chavez refuses to use the Albuquerque Police Department to round up "illegal aliens."  According to Allen Weh, a local Republican:

"We’re talking about public safety, and in the area of public safety, my view and our view is it’s a non-negotiable item, we’re all in this together, we all live in this city, we all live in this state, and our families should be safe,"

Safety?  I would like to see some hard facts from Mr. Weh about how many crimes are committed by illegal immigrants in New Mexico. But I doubt any New Mexican will get any facts from hatemongers.  I don't call them hatemongers lightly either.  Look at the message they are currently driving around a major US city that has a huge Hispanic population.  They are associating the workers they depend on to manicure their lawns, clean their houses, work on their roofs, care for their children, clean their hotel rooms, wash their dishes, cook their food, pick their chile crops to the level of a criminal.  I feel bad for the children of the shadow workers, who on their way to school, have to watch a billboard rolling by on a publicly funded street that equates their mother or father to a murderer.

I feel worse though that Republicans, like Weh, think they have a right to be abusive and uninformed towards a population that they know nothing about.  I am sure Weh could not tell an American citizen from an illegal in this state. 

Kudos to Mayor Marty for standing firm on this.

"And I will not have the police stopping Americans based on the color of their skin, so they need to get off it and help our congressional delegation find meaningful solutions to our immigration dilemma," said Mayor Martin Chavez.

That is my greatest fear; that someday somebody who has moved to New Mexico from a flyover state will question me or my children about our citizenship. My family has been here for multiple generations. Each of those generations has produced family members who served our nation during times of war.

Before you consider immigration reform, please think about how any of those reforms will affect American citizens, like me.

Editor's Note: This is a guest blog by JaciCee. It was originally posted as a diary on Daily Kos.

Guest blogs provide our readers with an opportunity to express themselves and may or may not represent our views. If you'd like to submit a post for consideration as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link on the upper left-hand corner of the page.

Elevator 9 Trial: Guilty

I hope Sen. Pete Domenici, his staff and the federal government feel proud and powerful today after the "win" against Domenici's constituents. For irony's sake, it's just too bad the case wasn't tried in the new federal courthouse instead of the old one. The new one is named after Domenici. As reported in an article in the Albuquerque Journal:

A federal magistrate handed down guilty verdicts Thursday against six anti-war activists who occupied an elevator for more than five hours last year at a federal office building in Santa Fe. Magistrate Don Svet ruled that the activists "unreasonably" blocked access to the elevator when they tried unsuccessfully to deliver an anti-war message to the office of Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.

The six defendants were among nine activists who remained on the elevator at the Joseph M. Montoya Federal Building from about 11 a.m. to after 5 p.m. on Sept. 26, 2006. Security guards cut power to the elevator as the activists tried to reach Domenici's third-floor office, witnesses testified.

Each faces a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail and a $5,000 fine for the class C federal misdemeanor offense of failing to comply with signs and directions. Svet said he will hold a sentencing hearing within 30 days. Svet also accepted negotiated plea agreements Thursday from two of the nine activists and ordered each to pay a $25 fine. The two are Bruno Keller and Jan Lustig, both of Santa Fe. Federal prosecutors dropped charges against a ninth activist because he is a juvenile.

The Rev. John Dear, one of the six found guilty Thursday, said Svet's ruling is an attempt to silence anti-war protest. The ruling "sent a very strong signal to people who care about" the Iraq war, Dear said outside a federal court building in Albuquerque after the daylong trial. That message is, "don't speak out against the war," Dear said.

... An attorney for the co-defendants, Todd Hotchkiss of Albuquerque, said in closing that he was "surprised by the pettiness" federal officials showed by cutting power to the elevator when the activists tried to visit Domenici's office. "That response does not speak to the heart of democracy," Hotchkiss said.

... The co-defendants testified that they intended to visit Domenici's office as a group. Guards turned off power to the elevator after the nine entered the car, they said.

I'll bet if a group of Domenici's deep pocket campaign donors wanted to ride up in the elevator to express themselves, his staff would have fallen over backwards to accommodate them. Apparently constituents have to pay to get the Senator's ear. You know how he is.

See our previous post for more info on this case.

Lawless: Tell Congress to Do Their Damned Job

Raise a ruckess. If we don't do it, who will?

Rove Paid Homage to Domenici on Bush Visit to NM

Turns out Karl Rove was on a stealth mission with The Decider when Bush zoomed into Albuquerque on August 27th to attend a big dollar fundraiser for Sen. Pete Domenici at the home of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque Mayor Larry Abraham. According to a report by Jeff Jones in today's Albuquerque Journal (which I can't find online), Abraham told him he rode back to Kirtland Air Foce Base in the presidential limo with both Bush and Rove after the luncheon fundraiser.

There had been no previous mention of Rove's presence in New Mexico with Bush, probably with good reason. Testimony and emails have linked Rove with the U.S. Attorney firing scandal in no uncertain terms. And Domenici and NM GOP operatives were clearly enmeshed with Rove in the unethical political maneuvering that unsuccessfully pressured New Mexico's former U.S. Attorney, David Iglesias, to file bogus "voter fraud" cases and rush indictments in the Albuquerque courthouse case before the November 2006 election. Domenici and other New Mexican Repubs, you may recall, reportedly urged Rove and others to see that Iglesias was fired when he didn't buckle under their pressure.

Iglesias was back in the news recently when Alberto Gonzales finally resigned in disgrace. He's quoted in an article in the Albuquerque Tribune:

"Alberto Gonzales is not solely responsible for my illicit firing. People like (Sen.) Pete Domenici also were responsible," Iglesias told The Tribune.

Iglesias said he believes Karl Rove, former White House deputy chief of staff, "cooked up" the plan to fire the U.S. attorneys with the aid of people such as Domenici, the Albuquerque Republican who today hosted President Bush at a fund-raiser in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque

Since Rove's last day on the job was August 31st, one of his last acts while on the White House payroll was to jet here to see his old cronies in the New Mexico GOP. Rove apparently thought it important to touch base with Domenici, helping him raise cash while undoubtedly urging him to continue his support for Bush's miserably misbegotten Iraq occupation. I'm sure Karl also made a point of hugging Pat Rogers, Mickey Barnett and Repub Party Chair Allen Weh, who were so instrumental in attempting to execute Rove's long running battleground state "voter fraud" strategy to disenfranchise and discourage Dem voters. The three, along with Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson, were also heavily involved in the process that led to former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias getting fired.

To refresh your memory, Domenici and Weh reportedly urged Rove to pass along the word to Bush and Alberto Gonzales that they wanted Iglesias fired for refusing to make the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Mexico an arm of the GOP political operation. Soon afterwards, Iglesias was gone.

Check out the discussion about the involvement of Rogers and Barnett in our post from May of this year. Also be sure to revisit the excellent piece by James Scarantino from the May 24-30, 2007 edition of the alibi that details the shady dealings of Pat Rogers, Pete Domenici and Rove related to the "voter fraud" campaign and Iglesias' firing.

No wonder Rove accompanied the president to New Mexico last month. He wanted to link up once again with the New Mexico Repubs who were such important cogs in the machine Rove created to politicize the U.S. Department of Justice and make the federal government just another element of his grand plan for GOP dominance at the polls. Oh to have been a fly on the wall when Rove reunited with his New Mexico GOP hit team to reminisce and plot one last time before he left his post at the White House to pursue who knows what. I'm sure Rove wanted to remind his cronies to stick with the party line in any future proceedings in DC about the attorney firings. After all, neither Domenici nor Wilson have yet to be cleared of wrongdoing in their admitted calls to Iglesias before the 2006 election. Silence is golden, and loose lips sink ships -- even ships of state.

For a collection of our previous posts on the firing of David Iglesias and the U.S. Attorney scandal, visit our archive.

American Democracy: Time Has Come Today

I often feel speechless these days, which isn't a natural state for me. But what more can really be said about the eternal, unabated horrors of the Bush administration and its assaults on government accountability, reason, democracy, the Constitution, civil liberties, the rule of law, the environment, the economy and even common decency? It's all been said -- the savaging of so much has been documented infinitely clearly, repeatedly. And there's more new evidence every day.

What's needed is some listening and, most of all, action on the part of people who have the power to do something about this lawless demogogue and his complicit cronies. We need them (if there are any) to get real -- to be as serious about their opposition as BushCo is about its relentless assault on justice and democracy. Without that, we are dead. Our democracy is dead. Our future is dead. The planet is dead.

Instead, we have business as usual in the Congress, business as usual in the traditional media, business as usual in the citizenry, business as usual everywhere. Are we really supposed to content ourselves with weak, toothless, picky complaints about minor, peripheral matters as the infrastructure of self-government implodes in full sight of anyone willing and able raise their eyes to it?

I do it myself. Busy myself with political day-to-day, with the latest wrinkles in the latest political maneuverings, with the minutia of the machine. I convince myself that doing things that might possibly help to mitigate the worst of BushCo's impacts is worth it, at least for now. But with almost zero in the way of genuine, effective or honest responses from our "leaders" and "representatives," how much longer can I keep it up?

I'm sure many of you reading this can relate. We can't afford any more beating around the bush, literally or figuratively. What we need is for people with real power to wake up and use it on behalf of the people and the democracy. As ex-Marine Bruce Clark (whose son is stationed north of Baghdad) said at the recent Iraq Summer event -- this is TREASON, this is TYRANNY. More and more of the people -- some in relatively high places -- are admitting it, yet our public figures and power brokers limp on, murmuring platitudes. We raise our voices, we protest, we petition, we build cases, we attempt to apply pressure but no matter how convincingly or loudly we do these things, the status quo is allowed to carry on or worsen.

There is a sort of deadly paralysis infecting those who should know better, those who know in their hearts they must act now or forever be silent. We can only do so much out here in the hinterlands. Those in the circles of power are the ones who must, at last, LEAD. They must take it all seriously, for what it is: a no-holds-barred attack on our democracy and everything positive it has ever achieved or can achieve. But is it already too late for even that?

Eloquent critic and writer Chris Floyd says it is in his very long, chilling, but eminently logical piece entitled, "Post-Mortem America: Bush's Year of Triumph and the Hard Way Ahead." I can't possibly quote enough for you to get the full flavor, so please do read the entire post. Here are just a few nuggests, to lure you into reading the whole thing:

The Republic you wanted -- and at one time might have had the power to take back -- is finished. You no longer have the power to keep it; it's not there. It was kidnapped in December 2000, raped by the primed and ready exploiters of 9/11, whored by the war pimps of the 2003 aggression, gut-knifed by the corrupters of the 2004 vote, and raped again by its "rescuers" after the 2006 election. Beaten, abused, diseased and abandoned, it finally died. We are living in its grave.

The annus horribilis of 2007 has turned out to be a year of triumph for the Bush Faction -- the hit men who delivered the coup de grâce to the long-moribund Republic. Bush was written off as a lame duck after the Democrat's November 2006 election "triumph" (in fact, the narrowest of victories eked out despite an orgy of cheating and fixing by the losers), and the subsequent salvo of Establishment consensus from the Iraq Study Group, advocating a de-escalation of the war in Iraq. Then came a series of scandals, investigations, high-profile resignations, even the criminal conviction of a top White House official. But despite all this -- and abysmal poll ratings as well -- over the past eight months Bush and his coupsters have seen every single element of their violent tyranny confirmed, countenanced and extended.

What can we do? What can we do? What can we do? Does anyone know the answer? How can we get those in positions of power to act -- appropriately, strongly and now?

In certain circles words like rebellion and revolution and anarchy and resistance are bandied about as necessities, as the only ways to counteract the forces of high tech fascism. But even in these enclaves, there is no movement strong enough to make a dent. There is only more hand-wringing, criticism, fatalism, empty gestures, rote responses. I suppose this post is just more of the same. The truth is, no-one seems to know what to do or how to do it or how to foment it or how to shape it and inspire it.

The war which we were told the Democrats and ISG consensus would end or wind down has of course been escalated to its greatest level yet -- more troops, more airstrikes, more mercenaries, more Iraqi captives swelling the mammoth prison camps of the occupying power, more instability destroying the very fabric of Iraqi society. The patently illegal surveillance programs of the authoritarian regime have now been codified into law by the Democratic Congress, which has also let stand the evisceration of habeas corpus in the Military Commissions Act, and a raft of other liberty-stripping laws, rules, regulations and executive orders. Bush's self-proclaimed arbitrary power to seize American citizens (and others) without charge and hold them indefinitely -- even kill them -- has likewise been unchallenged by the legislators. Bush has brazenly defied Congressional subpoenas -- and even arbitrarily stripped the Justice Department of the power to enforce them -- to no other reaction than a stern promise from Democratic leaders to "look further into this matter." His spokesmen -- and his "signing statements" -- now openly proclaim his utter disdain for representative government, and assert at every turn his sovereign right to "interpret" -- or ignore -- legislation as he wishes.

What we lack are leaders up to the task, no matter where we look, whether within or without. We need a new Martin Luther King, Jr., a new Mahatma, a new Mother Jones, a new Jefferson, a new suffragette city of sorts. I don't sense anything or anyone like that on the horizon, do you? And I certainly don't sense anything truly up to the task within myself. How about you? Can we the people rise at last, bidden or unbidden, and make any difference at all? Isn't there at least intrinsic value in trying something? But what?

Again, as Floyd writes:

... there is no place left for the kind of [civil disobedience] action that Thoreau advocated. His way – and that of Gandhi and King, who took so much from him – envisions a state opponent which one could hope to shame into honorable action by the superior moral force of principled civil disobedience. But the very hallmark of the present regime is its shamelessness, its utter lack of any sense of honor or principle, its bestial addiction to raw power.

Still, there is this, if only this:

So whatever we can do, we must do it ourselves. If we have no power or influence, if we cannot take large actions, then we must take small ones. Every word or action raised against the overthrow of the Republic will find an echo somewhere, from one person to another to another to the next -- each isolated, individual voice slowly finding its way into a swelling chorus of dissent.

We Can't Make It Here Anymore: Labor Day Edition

The mood of the country this Labor Day seems ripe for a little James McMurtry. A house of cards collapsing in on itself because of crooked deals and unpayable debt. "Free" trade robber barons piling up their tax-free bloat. Criminals in the board rooms and government and K Street. We're entrenched in one corporate quagmire war, while another threatens as Bush plots ways to attack Iran. Oh, and here's what our Democratic "leaders" are saying about continuing funding for Iraq. Happy Labor Day 2007. Think I'll head to the mountains, for some grounding.

Visuals: Iraq Summer 'Take a Stand' in Albuquerque

I haven't had a chance to report on the moving and well-attended Take a Stand Town Hall organized in Albuquerque by the Iraq Summer campaign and others. The August 28th event at the UNM Continuing Education Auditorium attracted more than 300 people to hear Albuquerque City Counselor Martin Heinrich; ex-Marine Bruce Clark (videos above), the parent of two sons in the military, one of whom is stationed north of Baghdad right now; Major General Mel Montano, US Air National Guard, Retired, and former Adjunct General of New Mexico; Judy Pratt, activist, former NM State Senator and 1984 U.S. Senate candidate against Pete Domenici; and Greg Richardson of the Iraq Summer campaign.

Both Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson were invited to participate, but refused the invitation to speak with their constituents about what they plan to do to end the carnage in Iraq.

I've compiled images from the Albuquerque event in this photo album for you to check out.

City Councilor Martin Heinrich speaks to crowd

The videos at the top of this post are excerpts of Bruce Clark's extremely emotional and passionate speech. They're of rather poor quality, taken with our little digital camera, but I hope you'll listen to Bruce's words about the real intent of Bush, his cronies and his supporters like Domenici and Wilson. If everyone in New Mexico could hear Bruce speak, I know that most of them would have a clear picture of what's truly at stake here. The other speakers were also excellent, and I'll cover more of what they had to say later. For now, please listen to Mr. Clark and do what you can to convince Domenici and Wilson to do what's right for the country, not what's right for the GOP or the Bush administration.

The event was moderated by Carter Bundy of AFSCME, who did a bang up job, and began with what seemed like an eternity of total silence as we watched a slideshow with the faces and names of members of the military from New Mexico who have died in the war. Lives are at stake. Time is of the essence. And still Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson won't vote to stop the deadly and damaging occupation.

By the way, Iraq Summer, MoveOn, True Majority and others helped organize similar events in many other states around the nation that day. Click to see a slide show of photos from other states.

Help Elect Replacements for Wilson and Domenici
The Beat Back Bush New Mexico page was created at Act Blue to counteract Bush's recent visit to Albuquerque to raise money for Pete Domenici. It's designed to raise donations from New Mexico's progressive netroots-grassroots for candidates who will run against the Republicans here. If you haven't donated yet, there's still time. Contrbute a few bucks to Martin Heinrich and Don Wiviot -- candidates who want to get rid of Heather Wilson and Pete Domenici once and for all in November 2008.

Click to read our previous posts about Beat Back Bush New Mexico.

Katrina: Two Years of Neglect and Corruption

Two years ago today. Nothing but incompetence, thievery, corruption, neglect and false promises from the powers that be since then. Beyond shameful. Almost everything positive has been done by volunteers or the residents themselves. Learn more and sign the petition urging the Senate to pass Chris Dodd's Gulf Coast Recovery Bill of 2007 (S1668). Be forewarned: This horror could happen to any community next, with similarly dismal and dire results.

Bush and his "compassionate conservative" cohorts have broken so many parts of our government just to show that "government is the problem, not the solution." They seem to have no intention of doing what needs to be done quickly or fairly in the Gulf Coast region. Unfortunately, too many Democratic members of government have been almost as bad -- passive, at best, in effectively addressing the emergency and keeping the issue alive.

We all know what the real problem is -- greed on the part of elite corporate and development interests coupled with a refusal by key political forces to provide meaningful oversight that demands accountability for the massive money flows that are going to enrich the few at the expense of the many. It's like a free-for-all for the worst among us, encouraged from above by those who are supposed to represent the needs of the people.

Here's an excellent report on the current status of New Orleans from a city councilwoman who ran for office and won after getting stonewalled by her nonresponsive representatives. Excerpt:

We are in fact doing our part locally in New Orleans despite contrary comments by the Bush administration. Our intense civic activity and government reform initiatives are serious indicators of our local commitment to do our part for the recovery.  But we are drowning in federal red tape. We are being nickel and dimed to death by Bush’s Federal Emergency Management Agency. We are resource-starved at the city level. The mission here is not accomplished.  What we need is Presidential leadership, not just another speech filled with empty promises.

... I hope you can take the time to click on the link to my , Press Release and Fact Sheet so you can realize that New Orleans will not allow the discussion of our recovery be anything but factual and done via the reality based community and not through spin and talking points.

For the facts, read this report released this week by the Institute for Southern Studies and RFK Center for Human Rights. For more ideas on how to help, visit the website of the People's Hurricane Relief Fund and Oversite Coalition.

I'm sure our criminal president won't let anything bother him as he visits New Orleans today, bragging about what's been done and "vowing" to do more. Nothing ever really bothers the The Decider unless it's someone telling him the truth to his face.

Sign Petition to Support Voter Action Call for Congressional Investigation of Voting Systems Companies

From Voter Action:
Public Call Issued Following New Evidence Revealed by Dan Rather Reports -- "The Trouble with Touch Screens"-- Group Says Voting Systems Companies May Have Engaged in Commercial Fraud

Last week, Voter Action released the following statement calling for a full congressional investigation into the new evidence revealed by Dan Rather Reports - "The Trouble with Touch Screens", which aired recently on HDnet and can now be accessed via .

The recent broadcast by Dan Rather Reports of "The Trouble with Touch Screens" raises serious questions as to whether US voting systems companies have engaged in commercial fraud by knowingly marketing defective products to jurisdictions throughout the country. It also serves as a wake-up call to the nation of the dangers associated with the outsourcing of key election functions to private vendors. Voter Action calls on the United States Congress to launch a full investigation into the increasing influence and control that private companies wage in the way we conduct our elections and to determine whether certain US voting systems companies have committed crimes under federal and state anti-fraud statutes which should be referred to the appropriate authorities for prosecution.

This investigation should include a focus on the following revelations emerging from "The Trouble with Touch Screens":

•   The report quotes an employee of a contractor for the ES&S voting machine company who was sent to overhaul operations at a factory in the Philippines as saying that 15,000 or more potentially defective voting machines were shipped from that factory to the United States. Did the ES&S voting machine company knowingly market defective voting machines to jurisdictions throughout the United States? Did the company's subcontractors knowingly market defective parts in the manufacturing of these machines? Have any of the other voting machine manufacturers or their subcontractors knowingly marketed defective products for conducting our elections?

•   The report cites the 2006 election for Florida's 13th congressional district as an example of the problems with electronic voting machines. Where did the potentially defective voting machines assembled at a Manila factory get used and in which elections? Are there previously unknown discrepancies in those election outcomes? Are those machines still in use?

•   The report cites seven former employees of Sequoia, the companyvthat made punch card ballots used in the 2000 election in Florida, as saying that in 2000, the company began printing ballots on cheaper and possibly defective paper. Did the Sequoia company knowingly market defective paper for the printing of ballots in the 2000 election in Florida? Have any of the other voting systems companies knowingly marketed defective paper for the printing of ballots and, if so, in which other US elections have voters cast their votes on such ballots?

•   The report demonstrates that election officials in this country increasingly rely on private vendors to carry out key functions of our democracy - from the printing of ballots to the counting and recording
of our votes. This outsourcing extends to other critical aspects of the way we conduct our elections, including the maintenance of voter registration databases, the use of electronic poll books, and the means by which we recount and audit our elections. What is the relationship between election officials and vendors? How prevalent is the pattern of election officials becoming employees of the private vendors after leaving their public positions or becoming otherwise compromised? What standards, if any, are in place in the nation to avoid actual conflicts or the appearance of conflicts between the public and private interests at stake in this arena?

The American public deserves answers to these questions and others emerging from this report. Congress should get to the bottom of this and should determine whether any private voting systems companies have committed commercial fraud in the marketing of their products to election officials around the country. Further, it should fully investigate the threat to our democracy posed by the outsourcing of key election functions to private companies, and it should take all necessary measures to reclaim our elections for the public domain.

We urge voters across the nation to join us in this public call by signing our petition here.

For further review of the performance of voting system companies, click here.

Editor's Note: So much is happening in the realm of voting systems and election reform that it would take long hours of daily effort to keep up with it. One blogger who does just that is Brad Friedman at BradBlog. Highly recommended as an excellent source of info on this issue.