Democracy for New Mexico

Register by September 4 to Vote in Albuquerque's Municipal Election

Albuquerque's municipal election day is October 2, 2007. There will be city council elections for each of the even numbered districts, as well as ballot initiatives and bond issues. You must be registered to vote by the end of the day on Tuesday, September 4, 2007 in order to vote on October 2nd.

Absentee (mail-in) ballots started being sent out to registered voters who request them on August 28, 2007. Call the Albuquerque City Clerk at 768-3030 to request one. Early in-person voting will begin on September 12, 2007 at various locations. This information and more can be found at the website of the Albuquerque City Clerk or by calling 768-3030.

Click for info:

• Summary of ballot propositions (doc) to be voted upon
• Description of bond resolutions (doc) to be voted upon

You can also often get voter registration forms at libraries and community centers. Click for contact info for libraries and community centers, but call them first before visiting them. Then return the completed form to the City Clerk's office

City Council Candidates Seeking Election: I'm listing party affiliation, although this election is officially nonpartisan

District 2:

• Councilor Debbie O'Malley (D), incumbent, current City Council President
• Katherine C. Martinez (D), Government Affairs, Home Builders Association of Central NM

District 4:

• Councilor Brad Winter (R), incumbent, employed by APS
• Paulette de'Pascal (D), business consultant

District 6: Councilor Martin Heinrich is not seeking re-election.

• Rey Garduño (D), retired, community activist
• Joan Griffin (recently changed from R to D), public relations and business owner
• Kevin Wilson (R), owner of toy store
• Blair Kaufman (D), Governing Board, CNM

District 8: Councilor Craig Loy is not seeking re-election.

• Trudy Jones (R), real estate broker

District 9: Recall election to remove Councilor Don Harris (R).

To see our previous posts on Albuquerque Municipal Election, see our archive.

Independent Study Gives Good Marks to NM's Paper Ballot System

According to a press release from the office of Governor Bill Richardson, independent researchers from the Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project, the University of New Mexico and the University of Utah issued a report yesterday on the administration of the 2006 General Election and the state’s transition to a paper ballot voting system. Over eight in 10 voters rated their voting experience excellent or good and the report concluded that “New Mexico is on the cutting edge of election administration and has executive and local leadership forging aggressively ahead with the intent of building a better, strong, efficacious and more voter confident voting system.”

“This independent report confirms that our state’s transition to a paper ballot system has been successful,” said Governor Bill Richardson. “Voters and poll workers favored the new voting process and gave it high marks for reliability, privacy and ease of use. Our experience clearly demonstrates that states can transition to paper ballot in less than a year and conduct accurate and transparent elections.

Gov. Richardson signs 2006 paper ballot blll while bill sponsors and election reform activists watch

According to researchers, New Mexico is the first state to move from a predominantly electronic voting system to a single durable paper ballot system statewide, using optical scanners. Governor Richardson, working closely with New Mexico election reform groups and key state legislators passed legislation in 2005 requiring all state elections to be conducted with a voter verifiable paper trail, but could allow for continued use of Direct Recording Electronic voting systems (DREs). Recognizing state and national concerns over continued use of DREs, during the 2006 legislative session Governor Richardson pushed for a single state-wide voting system using durable paper ballots, which represent the official record of the vote. The paper ballot system allows for recounts of New Mexico elections, which the DRE systems did not, and it also allows elections to be audited for accuracy and provide an environment that promotes greater voter confidence, which the previous electronic systems could not accommodate.

Read the rest of the press release. Click to read the entire independent report.

Editor's Note: Members of United Voters NM, Voter Action NM, Democracy for New Mexico and many others built momentum and worked with key legislators and the governor on the 2006 paper ballot bill. In addition, a lawsuit launched on behalf of New Mexico voters who claimed touchscreen voting machines malfunctioned in the 2004 election gave further impetus to the statewide change. You can read more about the legal case here. Work continues on refining the automatic audit and other provisions to make our voting system even more accurate, transparent and accountable.

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.

Fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias Signs Book Deal

This can't hurt Dems' chances against Pete Domenici and Heather Wilson. According to TPMmuckraker:

The book promises to focus on Iglesias' experiences as a U.S. attorney in the Bush administration and his role in the scandal, before and after the firing. It's anticipated to be released in April, 2008.

Also, we hear that the book will spend some time discussing Iglesias' handling of voter fraud cases -- how the administration directed Iglesias' focus on the issue, and how that direction made Iglesias uncomfortable. Remember that Republicans all the way on up to Karl Rove and President Bush were frustrated with Iglesias' failure to indict liberals for alleged instances of voter fraud. Apparently Iglesias was no stranger to such pressure.

The End (and Beginning) of Rove

Watch till the end to see the future "brain of Bush" working at Nixon's Committee to Re-Elect the President in 1972.

Ah, sweet sorrow, as reported in the Washington Post:

Rove's voice and face betrayed emotion as he then offered his farewell. "I'm grateful to have been a witness to history," he said. "It has been the joy and the honor of a lifetime." Rove added that when he leaves, he will become one of those "ordinary Americans who tell you they are praying for you."

... Rove, 56, who escaped indictment in the CIA leak case, has been under scrutiny by the new Democratic Congress for his role in the firings of U.S. attorneys and in a series of political briefings provided to various agencies across government. Citing executive privilege, he defied a subpoena and refused to show up for a congressional hearing just two weeks ago on the allegedly improper use by White House aides of Republican National Committee e-mail accounts. Fellow Bush advisers have said they believe the congressional probes have been aimed in part at driving Rove out.

But, but, "The White House said Rove's departure was unrelated to the investigations." Right.

Here's what Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy had to say in a statement today:

“Earlier this month, Karl Rove failed to comply with the Judiciary Committee’s subpoena to testify about the mass firings of United States Attorneys. Despite evidence that he played a central role in these firings, just as he did in the Libby case involving the outing of an undercover CIA agent and improper political briefings at over 20 government agencies, Mr. Rove acted as if he was above the law. That is wrong. Now that he is leaving the White House while under subpoena, I continue to ask what Mr. Rove and others at the White House are so desperate to hide. Mr. Rove’s apparent attempts to manipulate elections and push out prosecutors citing bogus claims of voter fraud shows corruption of federal law enforcement for partisan political purposes, and the Senate Judiciary Committee will continue its investigation into this serious issue.

“The list of senior White House and Justice Department officials who have resigned during the course of these congressional investigations continues to grow, and today, Mr. Rove added his name to that list. There is a cloud over this White House, and a gathering storm. A similar cloud envelopes Mr. Rove, even as he leaves the White House.” [emphasis mine]

The plot thickens ....

Cheney in Albuquerque Monday 8.6.07

Cheney's high school yearbook photo

VP Dick Cheney will emerge from his cave in an undisclosed location and be in Albuquerque on Monday, August 6. He's set to address the joint opening session of the Marine Corps League's national convention at the Marriott Hotel located at 2101 Louisiana Boulevard NE. According to the meeting agenda, Cheney will be speaking to the convention from 10:30 to 11:00 AM. No word yet on any other events scheduled for Dick while he's in town.

I wonder if he'll try to raise some bucks for the faltering Repub team while here. Or maybe he'll just have a conversation or two with Pat Rogers or another of the NM Repub biggies about how to illegally keep Democratic voters off the rolls with voter caging techniques or trumped up claims of "voter fraud."

As we previously reported, Bush himself will be attending a fundraiser for Sen. Pete Domenici in New Mexico sometime in late August.

Karl Rove must be fretting about the GOP's chances in New Mexico in 2008. With the House Ethics Committee meeting behind closed doors to hear testimony about  Rep. Heather Wilson's pressuring phone call to fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, Sen. Pete Domenici entangled in a similar controversy on the Senate side and Rep. Steve Pearce voting against a recent House resolution to establish that permanent bases won't be built in Iraq (that passed by a 399-24 margin), Rove has his work cut out for him.

Must See TV Tonight on NOW: Repub Plan to Disqualify Dem Voters in NM, Other Battleground States

Tonight, July 27, 2007 at 8:00 PM Mountain Time on PBS' NOW on KNME: How Secure Is Your Right to Vote? Those interviewed include investigative journalist Greg Palast, who has done extensive work on the issue in New Mexico and elsewhere. (Check local listings.) NOW investigates a secret Republican plan designed to disqualify voters by various means including voter caging:

Was there a White House plot to illegally suppress votes in 2004? Is there a similar plan for the upcoming elections? NOW examines documents and evidence pointing to a Republican Party plan designed to keep Democrats from voting, by targeting people based on their race and ethnicity. Congress is investigating, and so are we. NOW speaks with David Iglesias, one of eight fired US attorneys, who says he lost his job because he refused to go along with the White House plan to suppress votes.

Was the White House involved? David Iglesias, one of the fired U.S. Attorneys, thinks so: "It's reprehensible. It's unethical, it's unlawful. It may very well be criminal." Iglesias told NOW he was repeatedly urged by his superiors at the Justice Department to investigate allegations of false voter registrations. After his investigations came up short, Iglesias said Republican officials got angry, complained to White House aide Karl Rove. Soon after Iglesias lost his job. As a result of allegations by Iglesias and others, Congress is investigating whether the White House acted unlawfully.

The NOW website also reveals key emails and documents covered in their investigation and also features an extended interview with David Iglesias, as well as one with another fired U.S. Attorney, Bud Collins. Excerpts of Iglesias interview:

NOW: It wasn't only officials at the Department of Justice who were expressing an interest in pursuing such [voter fraud] cases. You were getting requests from other individuals, correct?

DI: That's correct. In fact, there was a Republican attorney, Pat Rogers, who was a prominent local attorney who tried to pressure me to come up with cases. He would send emails to my assistant, who I had tasked with running this election fraud taskforce ... And I had lunch with Mr. Rogers last fall and he expressed his concern about what he believed to be this systemic, ongoing election fraud. I did not know at the time that he belonged to an organization called the American Center for Voting Rights. He did not disclose to me that he was representing any other interest. And I've also found out that the Republican Party was very interested in stamping out what it believed to be instances of voter fraud.

NOW: The State Republican Party or the National Republican Party?

DI: Both. But who contacted me or some of my assistants was the State Republican Party.

... NOW: In one press account you're quoted as characterizing Mr. Rogers' interest in this issue as "obsessive."

DI: Yes. I was aware of grumbling within the State Republican Party. I had friends of mine who were attorneys. One was a former federal prosecutor himself and he would tell me during the course of early 2005 through mid-2006 ... "The Republicans are still upset with you. They still expect you to prosecute cases."

So I knew there was this belief that was I intentionally not prosecuting prosecutable cases. And I knew Rogers, as a prominent Republican, who had actually represented the State Republican Party in some civil litigation related to the voter ID issue ... I knew he was interested in the issue. And then I was also aware of the emails and phone calls he had been leaving with my assistant, who I had tasked with prosecuting this. So I knew there was a tremendous amount of dissatisfaction of me not prosecuting any cases.

What I believed, however, was consistent with historic practice—that the Justice Department would insulate me from any partisan political pressure. As it turns out, they didn't do that. And that was one of the bases for forcing my resignation.

... NOW: Trying to use the office of a U.S. Attorney for partisan political purposes is unethical. But you're saying it is actually illegal?

DI: Right. That's why there has been such a circling of the wagons around Karl Rove and Harriet Miers and Sarah Taylor. I believe there to be incriminating, possibly criminally incriminating evidence contained in those e-mails and other memoranda. That's why the White House doesn't want to produce it to Congress.

State Dem Party to Hold Judicial Council and Discussion Meetings in Taos

From the Democratic Party of New Mexico:

DPNM Judicial Council Meeting
The Democratic Party of New Mexico’s Judicial Council will be convening in Taos this Saturday, July 28, from 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM at the Kachina Lodge. Per the ruling of the last Judicial Council meeting on April 26th, 2007, the purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the allocation of the Democratic Party of Taos County’s Central Committee and to interpret the Democratic Party of New Mexico’s rule 9-2.C. Rule 9-2.C outlines the rules for allocating committee members for county party organizations (see below).

DPNM Discussion Panel with State Officers
Also we would like to inform you that the Democratic Party of New Mexico’s Chairman Brian Colón and state officers will be hosting a Discussion Panel in Taos on Sunday, August 12th, also at the Kachina Lodge beginning at 1:30 PM. The Discussion Panel will be an informational session that is geared to give party activists and community members an opportunity to address their concerns about precinct elections that were held in Taos on March 13, 2007. The Discussion Panel will then use information and testimonies from the August 12th meeting to ensure that precinct elections in the future are fair and inclusive.

(Rule 9-2.C-additional committeepersons, as apportioned to the precincts on the basis of the average of votes cast in each precinct for the Democratic candidate in the most recent presidential and gubernatorial elections.  A fair apportionment formula shall be set by the county rules and shall be uniform throughout the county.  The apportionment may vary from one committeeperson for each 200 votes to one committeeperson for each 25 votes, depending on the rules of the county, provided, however, that the apportionment formula shall not result in more than one-third (1/3) of the precincts of the county being represented by only one committeeperson.  The membership allotted to the precinct chair is included in the number of committeepersons apportioned to that precinct.)

Democratic Party of New Mexico
1301 San Pedro NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
Office: (505) 830-3650

Editor's Notes:
As with all Party meetings, all Democrats are welcome to attend.

Some previous posts, including guest blogs, on these issues related to the Taos County Democratic Party:

• April 26, 2007
• April 11, 2007
• April 10, 2007
• March 26, 2007

Ellen Theisen and Brad Friedman Discuss the Dismantling of our Democracy TONIGHT on Voice of the Voters

From the Coalition on Voting Integrity:

Ellen Theisen, Author of the Theisen Report
and Brad Friedman, editor of the Bradblog,
Discuss the Dismantling of our Democracy

TONIGHT on Voice of the Voters Heard on
1360 AM, Philadelphia's Renaissance Radio,
and on the internet (https://wnjc.duxpond.com/)
Wednesday, June 13 -- 6 PM Mountain Time
All Shows archived here

In the wake of the controversy stirred up by the flawed Holt bill, H.R. 811, voting rights activists all over the country hoped that the Senate would provide an improvement. What they got instead was a mandate for the demise of democracy. From Teresa Hommel of WheresThePaper.org:

[Parts of "The Ballot Integrity Act of 2007"] "explicitly sell out American democracy to corporate commercial interests. The EAC and vendors, without other stakeholders such as states, parties, and citizens, will develop a process to protect private interests from public knowledge of how our elections are conducted."

Tonight's special guests on Voice of the Voters will address the legislative questions that are swirling around voting reform. Ellen Theisen, founder of Voters Unite and author of the recently released Theisen Report, will discuss in depth the dangers of Sen. Dianne Feinstein's Senate Bill 1487, "The Ballot Integrity Act of 2007." The Theisen Report is available here.

Brad Friedman, editor of the BradBlog.com, will be on hand to discuss S. 1487 as well as the controversy surrounding H.R. 811. Brad will also report on breaking election integrity news from around the country as only he can.

Listen tonight to find out how S. 1487 threatens the integrity of American elections by:

Establishing a Class System within Our Electorate: The bill systematically dismantles go of the people, by the people and for the people and sanctions the creation of a class structure with different rules for distinct communities such as racial minorities and the elderly. Who's next?

Elevating the Elections Assistance Commission to Dangerous and Unconstitutional Levels of Power:(from the Theisen Report) In an astonishing undercutting of the governmental structure established by the Constitution, this bill would combine Executive and Legislative powers into one agency, under the President and unaccountable to the people or any government structure.

This bill not only does the bill give the EAC authority to execute laws, but by making the EAC guidelines and certification process mandatory, this bill would also give EAC lawmaking powers. The guidelines and certification process - established by these four Presidential appointees unaccountable to the public - would become federal law.

Corporatizing our Elections: (from the Theisen Report) The "disclosure" provisions declare unequivocally that corporations, in league with the EAC, rightfully own and operate the secret counting of the votes in all states.

S. 1487 places control of elections in the hands of four Presidential appointees, who have no direct accountability to the citizens and no oversight. Under this bill, the EAC, in collaboration with corporations, would decide which voting systems would be allowed to count votes. The EAC would establish how many such systems should be available at each poll site and where early voting poll sites should be located. Corporations approved by the EAC would own and operate the proprietary (secret) software that counts the votes. The EAC, in collaboration with those corporations, would determine how to enforce that proprietary ownership. The EAC would determine who is accredited to observe elections.

As always, John Gideon, Executive Director of Voters Unite will give Voice of the Voters listeners a round-up of all the week's voting news.

****************************************************
Voice of the Voters is an hour devoted to voting rights, election reform and voter-verified paper ballots. Ultimately it is an exploration of Representative Democracy itself and the responsibilities of citizens and their elected representatives. It airs every Wednesday night at 8:00 PM ET on 1360 AM and on the Internet at https://wnjc.duxpond.com/.

Note: If you use dial up Internet, it is best to turn off all other programs in order to receive clearest broadcast.

Listeners can call in questions live at 856-227-1360 and submit questions in advance at the SaveOurVote.com website.

Voice of the Voters now also available as a podcast at iTunes.com under "Voice of the Voters" in the News & Politics category.

Archived shows are available at here.

Guest Bios:

Ellen Theisen is founder of VotersUnite.Org and the Co-Director and Managing Editor of VotersUnite! In her 22-year career as a software technical writer, she has written hundreds of user manuals, functional and design specifications, online help systems, and programmer guides. Ellen created and maintains the VotersUnite! website, developing most of the informational resources available on the site.

Early in 2004, Ellen wrote "Myth Breakers for Election Officials" to dispel myths about HAVA and inform decision-makers of important, under-publicized facts about electronic voting issues. The document has been distributed to thousands of federal, state, and local decision-makers, and volunteers are now distributing the second edition. The document has also been included as testimony in three court cases regarding electronic voting issues.

Ellen's work in the voting integrity movement led directly to the development of the Vote-PAD as an accessible alternative to computerized voting devices. During much of 2006, she focused her attention on providing that alternative, and has now resumed developing the resources available at VotersUnite!

Brad Friedman: Aside from being named Time Magazine's 2006 "Person of the Year", Brad is an investigative citizen journalist/blogger, political commentator and broadcaster. He is the Creator and Managing Editor of The BRAD BLOG (https://www.Bradblog.com).

Reports and breaking news from his popular website, The BRAD BLOG, are frequently cited by the national media, and can be read at www.BradBlog.com. He has appeared in numerous documentary films, as well as on ABC News, CNN, CourtTV and elsewhere to discuss his reporting and expertise on a variety of issues.

He's a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post and has written articles and editorials for Mother Jones, Editor & Publisher, ComputerWorld, Columbus Free Press, Salon.com, TruthOut.org, Harvard's Nieman Foundation of Journalism, Hustler and other non-pornographic publications and websites.

In addition to live speaking engagements around the country, Brad has Guest Hosted on a number of radio programs for Peter B. Collins, Mike Malloy, The Young Turks and others. He's also the host of The BRAD SHOW, a radio program co-produced with Internet news site RAW STORY and a frequent Guest on radio shows across the country. More information, online listening links, and archives to previous BRAD SHOW's can be found at www.BradShow.com.

Mary Ann Gould
Coalition for Voting Integrity
votingintegrity@aol.com

Editor's Note: Also see our previous post on the proposed election reform bills currently in Congress.

Next 'We The People': Dynamic Advocacy

WE THE PEOPLE

June 14,  2007 - 6 p.m.

Lively Discussion with Santiago Juarez

Mr. Juarez holds a B.S. from Eastern New Mexico University and a J.D. from the University of Washington. He is an outspoken advocate in the tradition of working-class, community-based political activism.

Live - Channel 27!

Worldwide On The Net!

Click for Streaming Media

https://quote-unquote.org/

Second and Fourth Thursday, 6-7 p.m. Mountain Time

Community Cable Channel 27

Albuquerque, NM

Call-in:  (505) 346-1633

Kindly forward this message to your friends.

TAPE the program if you cannot be present.

WE THE PEOPLE is an innovative call-in television show looking for TRUTH and TRANSPARENCY in local, state and federal governments.

THANKS FOR WATCHING

Mickey Bock/Judith Binder - Hosts