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[3phemeral]

25-minute video was made available to the press and public today that exposes the widespread civil rights abuses and voter disenfranchisement suffered by the African American community in Ohio on Election Day. The footage was released by "We Do Not Concede" (www.donotconcede.com), a nonprofit grassroots organization created to unite and mobilize citizens whose voting right were suppressed, denied, or simply not counted.

"We hope this footage will serve as a wake up call to all Americans that the fundamental principles our country was founded upon like ‘democracy’ and ‘equal rights’ are being systematically dismantled by a small group of Republicans who are concerned with keeping power, not preserving liberty," said Zack Kaldveer, Communications Director, We Do Not Concede. "In America every vote must be accurately counted and equally valued, and that’s not what happened on November 2nd. We the people most definitely do not concede."

The video provides a first hand glimpse of an emerging civil rights scandal of historic proportions that will culminate in a "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" bus trip organized by We Do Not Concede, consisting of voters who are contesting the Ohio electorate, led by Rev. Bill Moss of Columbus Ohio. The buses will travel from Columbus to Washington DC on January 4th through the 6th. Rev. Jesse Jackson has pronounced Ohio's vote fraud fiasco "the biggest deal since Selma" and has called for a national rally at "the scene of the crime" in Columbus January 3rd.

"For the second Presidential election in a row African-American voters have been subjugated to the role of second class citizens through efforts by Republicans to suppress, intimidate, and disenfranchise our vote," said Rev. Bill Moss, original Contestant of Ohio Electors and founder of the Center for Freedom and Justice. "Whether its Katherine Harris or Kenneth Blackwell, the purpose is the same: do everything in their power to ensure George W. Bush becomes President. If they are willing and able to thwart democracy and abuse the civil rights of American voters right in the face of the press and public, what else are they capable of? I am contesting this election because tyranny, particularly in the guise of democracy, is our civic duty to fight."

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[ShadowRed]

Just like Florida nothing will come of this. The Democrats are either too scared, incompetent ofr just don't give a damn about blacks and their rights.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

but reality television is on...... i'll do the revolution this afternoon, jeez.

 

[Orin GA]

Ive already banned all the members who currently live in Ohio. We dont need there kind on this forum.

 

[XS+]

ofr just don't give a damn about blacks and their rights.

Exactly -- Democrats care no more about disenfranchised blacks than Republicans. I lay the blame not at the Democrats, though, but at the feet of the black community -- the very same community that proclaimed Bill Clinton, one of the worst presidents of our time, to be the "first black president of the United States of America."

 

[ShadowRed]

I lay the blame not at the Democrats, though, but at the feet of the black community

I agree with you on this part. Blacks, those that do vote, cast their ballots for the Democrats, and then do nothing else. They don't follow up and see if that elected official does anything for them or even demand that he/she does. If I were white I'd do the same thing. If I'm getting paid to cut some ladies yard and I never do it and she never complains and continues to pay me, then fuck her and her yard. Blacks need to get up off their sorry asses and not only demand that the Democratic party serve us, but run black people for seats that will effect the black communities and demand that the Democrats support them so instead of begging from "massa" we can be our own masters.

 

[goodcow]

These videos make me sick.

 

[Xenon]

Wow pretty fucked up. Who is responsible for making sure the wards have enough voting machines?

 

[XS+]

I agree with you on this part. Blacks, those that do vote, cast their ballots for the Democrats, and then do nothing else. They don't follow up and see if that elected official does anything for them or even demand that he/she does. If I were white I'd do the same thing. If I'm getting paid to cut some ladies yard and I never do it and she never complains and continues to pay me, then fuck her and her yard. Blacks need to get up off their sorry asses and not only demand that the Democratic party serve us, but run black people for seats that will effect the black communities and demand that the Democrats support them so instead of begging from "massa" we can be our own masters.

The Democratic party isn't here to serve the black community. They serve themselves -- that's it. The black community is a reliable constituency, one that has been steadfast in their overwhelming support of the Democrats, in spite of no tangible gains in their collective station. When the Democrats put a black at the head of the DNC, talk to me. When the Democrats stand behind a black candidate for the White House, talk to me. When the Democrats stop running away from black issues, for political expediency, talk to me. As of now, the Democrats are a pathetic lot that I want nothing to do with.

 

[MacGuffin]

This is frustrating to see. I doubt anyone will do anything about it, or even raise the questions that should be.

 

[ShadowRed]

The Democratic party isn't here to serve the black community. They serve themselves -- that's it. The black community is a reliable constituency, one that has been steadfast in their overwhelming support of the Democrats, in spite of no tangible gains in their collective station. When the Democrats put a black at the head of the DNC, talk to me. When the Democrats stand behind a black candidate for the White House, talk to me. When the Democrats stop running away from black issues, for political expediency, talk to me. As of now, the Democrats are a pathetic lot that I want nothing to do with.

The Democratic as well as Republican parties serve those that make them serve them. The Republican Party doesn't just help rich white people because they like them. They do it because the rich white people hold the purse strings of the Republican Party and if the party decided to support something the rich would care for they would find themselves without money. A different commodity keeps the Democratic Party in line and its votes. If blacks said fuck you we are not voting for another democrat unless you promise to do X,Y,and Z for the community. Without the black voter block the Democratic Party would be more useless than it already is. The reason this doesn't happen now is because blacks are still "paying the grounds keeper" even though the yard is overgrown. You are going to be waiting a long time for that phone call if you expect the Democrats, or any white, to put a black person in charge of anything other than appearances.

 

[Stele]

When the Democrats stand behind a black candidate for the White House, talk to me.

Standing behind a black candidate right now when 51% of the country is red and the black constituency is only 12% is called political suicide. It's like nominating a Kurd for the President of Iraq.

 

[Xenon]

Who is responsible for making sure the wards have enough voting machines?

The answer to my question

I guess they saw were warned this was coming but did nothing about it.

While Blackwell supervised the Ohio vote he also served as co-chair of the Ohio Bush-Cheney re-election campaign, a clear conflict of interest that casts further doubt on how the Ohio election and vote counts have been conducted.

WOW! it will be pretty sad if nothing happens to this guy

Read the rest here

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

the same thing happened in 2000 with the Florida witch who gave the election to Bush so I don't think it's that big a deal actually.

 

[shoplifter]

Ive already banned all the members who currently live in Ohio. We dont need there kind on this forum.

good thing you forgot about me!

oh shi

 

[Drozmight]

God. Things like this make me furious. Behold our great democratic system.

 

[Apharmd Battler]

That is pretty messed up. Another spectacle that'll be swept nicely under the rug.....

 

[Crow357]

I am unable to view the videos here at work. What specifically are they saying the Republicans did to keep the minority voters from voting?

 

[Firest0rm]

I am unable to view the videos here at work. What specifically are they saying the Republicans did to keep the minority voters from voting?

In summary, made the conditions harder for people to vote.

 

[Phoenix]

This is good documentary material. Clearly illustrates the point for all to see. Of course it will never see the light of day to the same extent as Moore's pieces.

Unfortunate.

 

[Crow357]

Hmmm, well what specifically did they do? Lock the polling place doors? Rig the machines? Keep the location of the polls secret? If they made it harder to vote, what was it that they did that made it harder? I'd really like to know. And, how did they single out a specific minority? I mean, how did they make it so that the machines knew what color skin the person had that was voting?

 

[goodcow]

Hmmm, well what specifically did they do? Lock the polling place doors? Rig the machines? Keep the location of the polls secret? If they made it harder to vote, what was it that they did that made it harder? I'd really like to know. And, how did they single out a specific minority? I mean, how did they make it so that the machines knew what color skin the person had that was voting?

In voting districts where the majority of residents were black there were either a gross lack of voting booths, causing waits upwards of four hours and more, lots of misinformation, threatening tactics when it came to provisional ballots, a lack of people signing off on provisional ballots actually making them legit and not void, and other such trickery.

 

[Fresh Prince]

God. Things like this make me furious. Behold our great democratic system.

Iraq will surely follow it!

 

[Phoenix]

In voting districts where the majority of residents were black there were either a gross lack of voting booths, causing waits upwards of four hours and more, lots of misinformation, threatening tactics when it came to provisional ballots, a lack of people signing off on provisional ballots actually making them legit and not void, and other such trickery.

And cases where they had people fill out provisional ballots without telling them to fill out the proper affadavits, thus making the ballot void and the vote uncounted.

Also violating Ohio law by preventing people from getting help at the polls because the help would come from the NAACP.

 

[Crow357]

And cases where they had people fill out provisional ballots without telling them to fill out the proper affadavits, thus making the ballot void and the vote uncounted.

Also violating Ohio law by preventing people from getting help at the polls because the help would come from the NAACP.

Ah, ok thanks guys. I hadn't heard these things. If there were polling officials purposefully getting voters to falsify or fill out incomplete ballots, then they should be prosecuted.

Here in Kentucky, we had four hour waits too. But that was just because we had so many people come out to vote. The people at the polling places we went to, all told us they knew there was going to be a lot of people out, but they weren't prepared for the sheer volume. And where I live, there are very few minorities at all.

 

[The Chosen One]

The media for the most part pretty much shrugged off the lack of voting machines in some areas as a minor annoyance.

But this video showed in some areas where there were 1100 registered voters for example, only 3 voting machines were operational. Of course they would have huge lines because they could only process ~36 voters per hour. Do the math yourself, for 1100 registered voters it would take over 30 hours for everyone to vote. Keep in mind the polls are usually only open for 12-15 hours. So the system was designed from the very start not to count every vote.

If you can't facilitate a proper and timely place for a registered voter to cast a ballot, then not every vote is being counted.

It's a shame this will just be swept under the rug.

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

Wow your democratic republic sucks ass.

 

[goodcow]

Wow your democratic republic sucks ass.

Where do you live?

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

 

[goodcow]

Hooray.

 

[Incognito]

Just like Florida nothing will come of this. The Democrats are either too scared, incompetent ofr just don't give a damn about blacks and their rights.

You are wrong. The Democrats have been secretly at work in Ohio for the past month and a half now and John Kerry himself will be filing a lawsuit on behalf of the libertarian/green party.

2004 Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry will file today, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, papers in support of the Green Party/Libertarian Party recount effort. Specifically, Kerry will be filing a request for expedited discovery regarding Triad Systems voting machines, as well as a motion for a preservation order to protect any and all discovery and preserve any evidence on this matter.

Triad Systems has come under scrutiny recently after Sherole Eaton, deputy director of elections for Hocking County, swore out an affidavit in which she described her witnessing the tampering of electronic voting equipment by a Triad representative. Rep. John Conyers, the ranking minority member of the House Judiciary Committee, has requested an investigation into this matter by the FBI and the Hocking County prosecutor.

anyway, here's the whole story...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/12/23/125016/64

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

Hooray.

 

[Incognito]

here's the text conyer's letter to the FBI:

December 15, 2004

As part of the Democratic staff's investigation into irregularities in the 2004 election and following up on a lead provided to me by Green Party Presidential Candidate, David Cobb, I have learned that Sherole Eaton, a Deputy Director of Board of Elections in Hocking County, Ohio, has first hand knowledge of inappropriate and likely illegal election tampering in the Ohio presidential election in violation of federal and state law.

I have information that similar actions of this nature may be occurring in other counties in Ohio. I am therefore asking that you immediately investigate this alleged misconduct and that, among other things, you consider the immediate impoundment of election machinery to prevent any further tampering.

On December 13, my staff met with Ms. Eaton who explained to them that last Friday, December 10, Michael Barbian, Jr., a representative of Triad GSI unilaterally sought and obtained access to the voting machinery and records in Hocking County, Ohio, modified the computer tabulator, learned which precinct was planned to be the subject of the initial test recount and made further alterations based on that information, and advised the election officials how to manipulate the machinery so that the preliminary hand recount matched the machine count. Ms. Eaton first relayed this information to Green Party representatives, and then completed, signed and notarized an affidavit describing this course of events, a copy of which is attached.

The Triad official sought access to the voting machinery based on the apparent pretext that he wanted to review some "legal questions" the officials might receive as part of the recount process. At several times during this visit, Mr. Barbian telephoned into Triad's offices to obtain programming information relating to the machinery and the precinct in question. I have subsequently learned that Triad officials have been, or are in the process of intervening in several other counties in Ohio - Greene and Monroe, and perhaps others (see attached).

There are several important considerations you should be aware of with respect to this matter. First, this course of conduct would appear to violate several provisions of federal law, in addition to the constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. 42 U.S.C. §1973 provides for criminal penalties against any person who, in any election for federal office, "knowingly and willfully deprives, defrauds, or attempts to defraud the residents of a State of a fair and impartially conducted election process, by . . . the procurement, casting, or tabulation of ballots that are known by the person to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent under the laws of the State in which the election is held." 42 U.S.C. § 1974 also requires the retention and preservation, for a period of twenty-two months from the date of a federal election, of all voting records and papers and makes it a felony for any person to "willfully steal, destroy, conceal, mutilate, or alter" any such record. Further, any tampering with ballots and/or election machinery would violate the constitutional rights of all citizens to vote and have their votes properly counted, as guaranteed by the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Second, the course of conduct would also appear to violate several provisions of Ohio law. No less than 4 provisions of the Ohio Revised Code make it a felony to tamper with or destroy election records or machines.1 Clearly, modifying election equipment in order to make sure that the hand count matches the machine count would appear to fall within these proscriptions.

Moreover, bringing in Triad officials into other Ohio Counties would also appear to violate Ohio Revised Code § 3505.32 which provides that during a period of official canvassing, all interaction with ballots must be "in the presence of all of the members of the board and any other persons who are entitled to witness the official canvass," given that last Friday, the Ohio Secretary of State has issued orders to the effect that election officials are to treat all election materials as if they were in a period of canvassing,2 and that "Teams of one Democrat and one Republican must be present with ballots at all times of processing."

Third, it is important to recognize that the companies implicated in the wrongdoing, Triad and its affiliates, are the leading suppliers of voting machines involving the counting of paper ballots and punch cards in the critical states of Ohio and Florida. Triad is controlled by the Rapp family, and its founder Tod A. Rapp has been a consistent contributor to Republican causes.4 A Triad affiliate, Psephos corporation, supplied the notorious butterfly ballot used in Palm Beach County, Florida, in the 2000 presidential election.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.

Enclosures

cc: The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.

conyers is the ranking democratic member of the house judiciary committee -- so yes, the democrats are at work in ohio, and have been.