Automated vote flipping for Romney: Crony capitalism at the ballot box? (video)
by Pamela Powers Hannley
Maybe I'm stating the obvious, but the US needs serious election reform.
It should have happened after President George Bush and Florida's hanging chads stole the 2000 election. Remember, that was the year that Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College vote by 271 vs 266, with one abstention.
For decades, people have grumbled about the Electoral College and how out of date it is. In more recent elections, layers of complaints have been heaped on the pile– complaints about the long, drawn out campaign season; the stupid primary/caucus system; the over-reliance on the opinions of voters in two tiny white states (New Hampshire and Iowa); the unending and increasingly nasty commercials; the evil robocalls and push-polls; the lies and spin (which the current Republican presidential ticket has taken to new heights); hackable electronic voting machines; and– this year in particular– the obscene amount of secret, dirty money that is being poured into the elections.
Is anyone ready for real reform yet? Do you need more evidence that our "democracy" has been stolen by crony capitalists and big money?
Well… here you go, then…
Rigged Elections for Romney? from The Agonist…
A group of independent researchers caught a pattern of apparent vote flipping during the 2012 Republican primaries that consistently favored Mitt Romney. A form of election fraud, vote flipping occurs when votes are changed from one candidate to another or several others during electronic voting and vote tabulation… [more]
More examples of our broken system, some reform ideas, and a video after the jump.
Obama campaign ad: Jay-Z: The Power of Our Voice
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Jay-Z does a campaign web ad for the Obama campaign entitled "The power of our voice." Description:
Jay-Z shares why it is important to exercise your right to vote and how President Obama represents the power of our voice.
As Jay-Z shares:
"For
so long, there was this voice that was silenced out there as far as
exercising your right to vote. I think it was a voice that was silent
because people had lost hope. They didn't believe that their voice
mattered or counted."
"Now people are exercising their right, and
you are starting to see the power of our vote. He made it mean
something for the first time for a lot of people. "
Video below the fold.
Comercial en Español de Barack Obama
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The Obama campaign released this Spanish-language ad recently in which President Obama speaks directly to Latino voters in Spanish.
Video below the fold.
The Nine Lies of Jonathan ‘Payday’ Paton
Arizona Illustrated (PBS) CD 2 Congressional Debate
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Democratic Congressman Ron Barber and his Republican challenger Martha McSally squared off in a CD 2 congressional debate hosted by Arizona Illustrated (PBS) at the University of Arizona on Tuesday night.
Here is today’s coverage in the Arizona Daily Star. In CD2, Barber, McSally clash on federal role in education.
Video replay below the fold.
Maricopa County election fraud: Two official documents give Spanish speakers wrong election date (video)
by Pamela Powers Hannley
Those pesky typos! (Yeah, right.)
The Maricopa County Elections Department has admitted to a second instance of voter suppression… er… poor proofreading. You'll remember that last week ABC 15 and Blog for Arizona reported that Spanish speaking voters were given the wrong date for the election on a document that was included with new voter registration cards.
This week, the elections department says that a bookmark with election details gives English speakers the correct date for the election (Nov. 6) but gives Spanish speakers Nov. 8 as election day.
Giving groups that you don't want to vote the wrong date is a tried and true voter suppression tactic. I didn't believe the first instance was a mistake; giving Latinos the wrong date twice is definitely not a typo oopsy. Seriously, how dumb could they be? Or how dumb do they think the rest of us are?
The Maricopa County Elections Department should be investigated by the feds– now.
Here's the story from ABC Channel 15…
PHOENIX – A spokesperson for the Maricopa County Elections Department admits they once again gave voters the wrong date of next month's election.
Yvonne Reed confirms to ABC15 that bookmarks distributed by the elections department incorrectly listed the date of the general election in Spanish as November 8.
The flip side of the bookmark correctly lists the date in English as November 6.
Reed tells ABC15 the bookmarks were distributed at the three election counters throughout Maricopa County and that the department has no way of knowing exactly how many people received the bookmarks.
Randy Parraz, President of Citizens For A Better Arizona, says the blame lies squarely with Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell.
"It shows she's incompetent and not qualified," said Parraz.
For the rest of the story, go to ABC 15 here.
What's really tragic about this suppression of Spanish speaking voters is that there have been gargantuan efforts to get out the Latino vote. This is an important election for all of us, but for Latinos in Maricopa County, it is there best chance in years to oust renegade Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Check out the Adios Arpaio video by Phoenix videographer Dennis Gilman after the jump.
GOTV BBQ & Concert this Sunday
