Yesterday, I wrote a diary about how Republicans in the Florida Legislature blocked funding at the moment for Governor Charlie Crist's proposal to purchase optical-scanning voting equipment to replace the touch-screens used in 15 of the state's counties. Some of the remarks in the comments were rather harsh on the citizens of Florida. We are fighting to change the system. On March 21, the citizens of Florida held a "Rally for Democracy" to demand a verifiable audit trail to protect our vote and preserve our Democracy.
The rally focused on three key points:
- Voter Verified Paper Ballots
- Mandatory Audits before Certification
- Ballot Markers Not Printers
The event took place in front of the Old Capitol, which is next to the Florida Legislature.
Master of Ceremonies
Bill Faulkner, Verified Voting of Florida
Speakers:
Ion Sancho, Leon County Supervisor of Elections
Ben Wilcox, Ex. Director Common Cause, Florida
Reggie Mitchell, People for the American Way
and
Congressional Candidates Contesting their Elections:
Clint Curtis, District 24
John Russell, District 5
Mark A. Adams, Esq., Attorney for Curtis & Russell
Below is a sampling of speeches given at the event from Ion Sancho and John Russell. The videos and the quoted text are courtesy of the John Russell You Tube Site.
We'll start off with Ion Sancho:
Part One: Principles of Fair Elections
Supervisor Sancho lays out specific priciples needed to ensure fair elections in Florida and nationally. The "chief obstructionists" to election reform are the Republican members of the Florida Legislature.
Part Two: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Talks about the 2001 bipartisan task force on elections which recommended optical scanning voting machines. He also talks about Charlie Crist's proposal - the GOOD and the BAD. The good is that it replaces touchscreens with optical scanners. The bad is that the auditing would take place after the results are certified.
Next we have John Russell:
Part One: Eliminate Touchscreens
Russell advocates in no uncertain terms the necessity of eliminating Touchscreen voting machines before the Presidential Primary in Florida next February.
Russell also reiterates his prior endorsement of Presidential Candidate John Edwards noting Edwards advocacy for eliminating the notorious Touchscreen voting system.
Part Two: Criticism of Florida Democratic Party
5th Florida Congressional District Nominee John Russell addresses the poor performance year after year by the Florida Democratic Party when one considers their completely contrary and disorganized effort.
Despite claims of resounding success in the 2006 general election by FDP chair Karen Thurman, reality paints a more sobering picture.
A 2% aggregate gain in democratically held seats should be no cause for joy among Florida Democrats... or FDP leaders!
There was no organized GOTV/ABSENTEE BALLOT initiative by the Florida Democratic Party in 2006 or any year previously.
Continuing the Fight
The Florida Legislature is in session through May 4th. While Republicans in the Legislature have failed so far to respond to the demands of the citizens of the state of Florida. It's far from over.
If you live in Florida, contact your State Senator and State Representative and let them know you want a paper trail and audits of the results prior to certification.
Also, contact Governor Charlie Crist to thank him for his proposal and ask him to do more to bring his party in line on this issue.
EVERYONE - whether you live in Florida or not - Please contact your Congressmen and encourage them to support Representative Rush Holt's "Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act." This is an issue that impacts all of us.