Event
Calendar
Southern California Contact:
Marc Keenberg
Northern California Contact:
Sherry Healy
File: CEPN_Centralized_Voter_Reg SLTH052105
Schedule
Thursday, June 16, 2005*
9:00 a.m. Convene in front of the
Secretary State Bldg.
10:00 a.m. Hearing & upon adjournment
receive notices as to the location of
a citizen forum with presentations
Location
Office of the Secretary of State
1500 11th Street- 1st Floor (Auditorium)
Sacramento, California 95814
*
In the event that this VSPP hearing is postponed or
cancelled
, we will convene for an impromptu citizen
rally to lobby the Legislature.
The
California Election Protection
Network
(“CEPN”) invites all
citizens to join us in attending the
Voting Systems and Procedures Panel
(“VSPP”) hearing of
June 16, 2006,
in Sacramento.
This VSPP hearing will feature
Diebold and Election Systems & Software
(“ES&S”), voting equipment
manufacturers, seeking approval of
their wares. We will urge the panel
and the State of California to follow
the advice of the California Secre
tary
of State’s “Ad Hoc Touch Screen
Task Force Report,” when it stated:
“[We recommend that:] A system
designed to protect the most valuable
aspect of our democracy - our
voting systems, must be free from
any questions over inadequacy,
conflicts of interest, or collusion.
Transparency is the only method
that will ensure the public. . . .”
California Says NO to Vote Pirates
of 3
File: VotePirates SLTH060105
CEPN SAYS “NO”
The CEPN opposes the approval of any voting
system
vendors or voting equipment that lacks
common sense criteria for clean and open elections,
for example:
NO
to vendors who have software authored in part,
or whole, by anyone ever convicted of a felony
NO
to vendors who allow anyone ever convicted
of a felony access to computer source code or
voter identification information
NO
to software, hardware, and/or any components
that use proprietary and/or secretive software
NO
to modems or remote access of any kind,
including wireless or internet connectivity, i.e.,
no “open back door(s)” vulnerable to manipulation.
NO
to private maintenance of machines
NO
to paper trails or paper ballots which produce
paper that is NOT archival
NO
to paper trails or paper ballots which require a
private entity to read them
NO
to paper trails or paper ballots on a cash register-
type roll, because lack of voter privacy may
occur if one were to trace the sequence
NO
to vendors and/or voting equipment that have
been sued, under any name, who have installed
illegal voting equipment in the State of California
NO
to equipment that does not meet California
and/or federal certification standards on any or
all its components
NO
to overly complex voting equipment that
requires extra payment to poll workers and/or
technical training necessitating more than ten
minutes
NO
to modular data components vulnerable to
exchanges with malicious data
CEPN SAYS “YES”
The CEPN affirms the spirit of Help America Vote
Act (“HAVA”) to improve our voting systems and not
merely exchange one broken system for another on
the pretense of meeting HAVA’s arbitrary deadlines.
We recommend that the State of California not
squander our hundreds of millions of taxpayer dol
lars
that comprises our HAVA budget on any new
equipment that does not meet all of the common
sense clean & open election standards.
In the event there is no acceptable equipment to
purchase at this hearing, common sense dictates
that we save the majority of our money for the
near future when better options become available.
In this regard,
the day before the June 16 VSPP
hearing, on June 15 at 7:00 p.m.,
we will review
equipment featuring transparency and auditability,
and invite all to join us: For details about this
Open
Voting Consortium
(“OVC”) presentation, please
contact:
Lara Shaffer, Director of Development -
Telephone: 831-419-0758 <lara@openvoting.org>
In the meantime, CEPN recommends the following
protocol of checks and balances to assure that
our election integrity standards are worthy of the
lives lost in the name of democracy:
Accessible, voter-verifiable, paper ballots on
archival paper that are able to be shuffled to retain
secrecy of the sequence of voting, along with a
“Five Star Audit.” A “
Five Star Audit” has the following
five points as requirements:
1
mandatory audits of ALL elections
2
genuinely random sampling
3
at a minimum, a 5% percent sampling of the paper
ballots (or paper audit trails) and
ALL provisional
and absentee ballots,
4
hand-counted
5
non-partisan oversight in a public forum
Respectfully submitted
California Says NO to Vote Pirates
of 3
File: VotePirates SLTH060105
CALIFORNIA ELECTION PROTECTION NETWORK
Steering Committee:
Judy Bertelsen
Carolyn Fowler
Ferris Gluck
Anna Givens
Don Goldmacher
Jenny Hammond
Sherry Healy
Karen Indreland
Marc Keenberg
Mimi Kennedy
Cheryl Lilienstein
Sarah Rath
Sherry Reson
Eve Roberson
Maureen Smith
Marcy Winograd
About the California Election Protection Network:
Citizen groups across California working
together to achieve their common election integrity
goals, including representatives from the following
organizations:
51st AD Delegate LA CA DEM PARTY
51CapitalMarch
Blackboxvoting.org
CA 6th Assembly District, Executive Committee
CA 77 Assembly District Democratic Committee
CitizenAct
City of Alameda Democratic
CodePink
Democracy for America of Los Angeles
Democracy for America-Marin
Democracy for America, San Francisco
Dean Democrats of Silicon Valley
Election Board LA County Central Committee
GrassrootsWest.org
Left.org
New Frontier Democratic Club
Ojai Democrats
Progressive Democrats of America
Progressive Democrats Sonoma County
Progressive Democrats, Los Angeles
San Diego for Democracy/DfA
Sonoma County Democratic Central Committee
Southern California Grassroots
United for Secure Elections
Ventura County Progressives
VOTER
Voter Rights Task Force
Paul Wellstone Democratic Forum - L.A.
Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club - East Bay
Those interested in learning more about Clean Money and potentially joining our speaker's bureau are invited to one of our three next speaker's training and orientations.
You will learn enough details about Clean Money and how to talk about it to be able to thoroughly answer questions when tabling or anywhere else.
Attendees will receive a speaker's manual with detailed information about Clean Money and instructions for how to become an effective Clean Money speaker. Members of the California Clean Money Campaign attend free. We request a $20 donation to pay for the cost of the materials for non-members, which includes a copy of the Bill Moyer's videotape, "Road to Clean Elections" that speakers usually use as part of their presentations.
PLEASE RSVP by emailing to
or calling (800) 566-3780.
LOS
ANGELES:
WHERE: 11844 W. Pico Blvd., Suite 200, Los Angeles
WHEN: Saturday, June 11th, 1:00-4:00pm
DIRECTIONS:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/speakers-training.php
CUPERTINO:
WHERE: 19200 Stevens Creek Blvd, Suite 210, Cupertino
WHEN: Sunday, June 26th, 1:00-4:00pm
DIRECTIONS:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/speakers-training.php
SAN
FRANCISCO/EAST BAY AREA:
WHERE: To be determined.
WHEN: Tentatively Sat, June 25th, 1:00-4:00pm
DIRECTIONS: Provided upon RSVP.
**********************************************************************
Please join one of them to find out what other volunteers are doing and how you can get involved too.
Working groups will be held in the following areas. Some meetings start with a video presentation and introduction to Clean Money:
Thursday, May 19, 7:00pm-9:00pm in Cupertino
Introduction and video from 6:45pm-7:00pm
Details:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/southbayarea.php
Email:
mailto:southbayarea-info@CAclean.org
Sunday, May 22, 10:30am-12:30pm in San Francisco
Introduction and video from 10:10am-10:30am.
Details:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/sf.php
Email:
mailto:norcal-info@CAclean.org
DATE TO BE DETERMINED (Either May 14th, 21st, or 22nd)
EMAIL:
mailto:norcal-info@caclean.org
for details.
Details:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/bayarea.php
Thursday, May 26, 7:30pm-9:00pm
Introduction and video from 7:15pm-7:30pm
LOCATION TO BE DETERMINED
Details:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/northbayarea.php
Email:
mailto:northbayarea-info@CAclean.org
Saturday, June 4, 10:00am-12:30pm in North Hills
Details:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/sfv.php
Email:
PLEASE indicate your interest or ask for more info by sending email to the listed email address.
If you are interested in working groups in other areas of the state,
send email to
Below
is the latest newsletter from CCMC.
California Clean Money Campaign Newsletter
Clean Money: The one reform that makes all other reforms possible.
www.CAclean.org
May 2005
"People who have more money should be free to buy more cars, more homes, more vacations, and more gizmos than the rest of us. They should not be able to buy more democracy." - Bill Moyers
In this issue:
1) Clean Money Campaign sweeps up Sacramento with the Broom of Reform
2) AB 583 becomes two-year bill; Public hearings planned for fall
3) California Democratic Party makes Clean Money a priority resolution
4) The Next 6 Months: A Game Plan and a Goal
5) L.A. Mayor Race highlights need for Clean Money.
6) Staff Updates and Job Opportunities
7) Speaker's training in Los Angeles, Cupertino, and San Francisco
8) Working Group Meetings - WE NEED YOU!
-- South Bay Area ------- Thursday, 5/19 in Cupertino
-- San Francisco Area --- Sunday, 5/22 in San Francisco
-- East Bay Area ----- Date and location TBD
-- North Bay Area ------- Thursday, 5/26 (location TBD)
-- San Fernando Valley -- Saturday, 6/4 in North Hills
**********************************************************************
1) Clean Money Campaign sweeps up Sacramento with the Broom of Reform
The rhetoric of reform that Governor Schwarzenegger employed to catapult himself to California's highest office has unfortunately not seemed to have influenced his actions. After doubling former Governor Gray Davis' fundraising numbers in his first year and vetoing numerous very popular pieces of legislation opposed by major campaign donors, it is clear that Arnold has dropped the broom of reform which he promised to use to "clean up Sacramento."
The California Clean Money Campaign has picked up that broom and promises "Sweeping Reform" through full public financing of election campaigns. Carrying brooms as they walked the halls of the capital building in Sacramento, our activists met with critical legislators this past month urging them to support AB 583 - the California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act. Our brooms and "Sweeping Reform" stickers caught the curious eyes of everybody in the Capitol and created numerous opportunities to educate people in the halls on Clean Money.
The turnout at the hearing for Assembly Elections Committee hearing itself was phenomenal: Taking a day off from work, sacrificing a part of their spring break, and, in one case, interrupting a honeymoon, our activists packed the hearing room and the halls outside. Three times as many people as we had at last year's hearing made committee members literally thread there way through a sea of Clean Money supporters. We thank and applaud those who came for their inspiring dedication to the cause.
Additionally, Elections Committee members received hundreds of letters and phone calls from supporters like you. We once again thank you for your zeal and dedication.
For pictures and more of the story, go to:
http://www.caclean.org/progress/news.php?to=News041905
**********************************************************************
2) AB 583 becomes two-year bill; Public hearings planned for fall
AB 583's author, Assemblymember Loni Hancock, made a strategic decision to turn the bill into a two-year bill instead of forcing a vote, a decision we fully support. As a result of the public's extraordinary interest in the Clean Money bill, the Elections
Committee has agreed to hold two special hearings in the state on AB 583 this fall.
As a two-year bill, AB 583 will have another chance in the Elections Committee early next year. This gives us time to build more support with the public and other organizations in a way that will put even more pressure on the legislature and, just as importantly, help build the even larger groundswell of support we'll need when Clean Money goes on the ballot - which is what needs to happen whether the
Legislature agrees to put it on the ballot or we have to do it with an initiative ourselves.
For more information on what is happening with AB 583 visit:
http://www.caclean.org/progress/news.php?to=News041705
**********************************************************************
3) California Democratic Party makes Clean Money a priority resolution
On April 17, the California State Democratic Party passed a resolution calling for a Clean Money system for statewide and legislative races, based on those in place in Arizona and Maine.
The resolution was one of three supporting Clean Money considered at the party's convention that were sponsored by Democratic clubs and committees from across the state. Assemblymembers Loni Hancock, Sally Lieber, and State Senator Richard Alarcon all spoke passionately about why Clean Money should be a priority.
The 2,000-plus delegates gathered for the convention adopted the Clean Money resolution unanimously as one of the party's priority resolutions to roaring applause throughout the convention hall.
In a press release afterwards, CCMC Executive Director Susan Lerner said, "CCMC commends the California Democratic Party and looks forward to working with other political parties to educate voters on the benefits of a Clean Money/Fair Elections system. We hope all of the state's political parties will incorporate Clean Money statements into their platforms."
To see the resolution itself, go to:
http://www.caclean.org/progress/news.php?to=News041705
**********************************************************************
4) The Next 6 Months: A Game Plan and a Goal
Now that AB 583 has become a two-year bill, we need to plan a course to ensure that the bill passes through the Election Committee when it is brought up again early next year. The two hearings for the bill scheduled for the fall are perfect focus points for getting extensive press coverage and generating broader public support for Clean Money.
We need to focus on getting our message out to more local press, gaining more organizational endorsers and more endorsements from elected officials, as well as educating people at the community level with house parties, speaking engagements, and tabling events. Our volunteer support is critical for the movement of the bill.
Now more than ever we need to channel the dedication and enthusiasm of our supporters into meaningful progress towards our goal of full- public financing of election campaigns in California. The best way to get "plugged-in" is by joining our other volunteer Working Groups up and down the state.
**********************************************************************
5) L.A. Mayor Race shows need for Clean Money
Both of the remaining mayoral candidates have recently seen their public standing sullied by campaign contribution scandals. While Mayor Jim Hahn has been consistently dogged by his opponents for alleged corruption in his administration and fostering a "pay-to-play" atmosphere in City Hall, his challenger, City Council member Antonio Villaragoisa, has recently been questioned about $31,000 in campaign contributions from employees of two affiliated Florida-based companies that have possible business interests at the Los Angeles International Airport.
Such scandals disillusion voters and are a major reason voter turnout has been so low in recent L.A. city elections. Clean Money can eliminate the corrupting influence of big money donors and restore the public's faith in the political process. CCMC and its members are closely monitoring the media and debates, writing letters to the editor and calling upon the candidates to end the corrupting influence of special interest contributions and support Clean Money public financing.
For a number of news articles detailing the problem, go to:
http://www.caclean.org/news/city.php
**********************************************************************
6) Staff Updates and Job Opportunities
Here at the Clean Money office it is a time of happy hellos and heartfelt goodbyes.
The Latino Outreach program is starting to pick up steam with the additional support of consultant Mario Velasquez providing guidance for our new Latino Outreach Manager - Aaron Cervantes. We'll let Aaron get his bearings before we ask him to bring you all up to date on our Latino Outreach Program next month.
On a sadder note, Development Director Lori Fernand and Media Awareness Project Director Ashley Wax will soon be moving on to the greener pastures of rural Connecticut and the urban jungle of New York, respectively. Before heading out to New York to attend graduate school at Columbia University, Ashley will be working with refugees in Africa for the summer.
With the departure of these invaluable Clean Money team members, we will soon be advertising to fill their spots. Additionally, we are currently offering paid internships for those interested in Clean Money seeking experience.
For more information on these job opportunities, please contact
**********************************************************************
7) Speaker's training in Los Angeles, Cupertino, and San Francisco
Those interested in learning more about Clean Money and potentially joining our speaker's bureau are invited to one of our three next speaker's training and orientations.
You will learn enough details about Clean Money and how to talk about it to be able to thoroughly answer questions when tabling or anywhere else.
Attendees will receive a speaker's manual with detailed information about Clean Money and instructions for how to become an effective Clean Money speaker. Members of the California Clean Money Campaign attend free. We request a $20 donation to pay for the cost of the materials for non-members, which includes a copy of the Bill Moyer's videotape, "Road to Clean Elections" that speakers usually use as part of their presentations.
PLEASE RSVP by emailing to
or calling (800) 566-3780.
LOS ANGELES:
WHERE: 11844 W. Pico Blvd., Suite 200, Los Angeles
WHEN: Saturday, June 11th, 1:00-4:00pm
DIRECTIONS:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/speakers-training.php
CUPERTINO:
WHERE: 19200 Stevens Creek Blvd, Suite 210, Cupertino
WHEN: Sunday, June 26th, 1:00-4:00pm
DIRECTIONS:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/speakers-training.php
SAN FRANCISCO/EAST BAY AREA:
WHERE: To be determined.
WHEN: Tentatively Sat, June 25th, 1:00-4:00pm
DIRECTIONS: Provided upon RSVP.
**********************************************************************
8) Working Group Meetings - WE NEED YOU!
Please join one of them to find out what other volunteers are doing and how you can get involved too.
Working groups will be held in the following areas. Some meetings start with a video presentation and introduction to Clean Money:
Southern California Contact:
Marc Keenberg
Northern California Contact:
Sherry Healy
File: CEPN_Centralized_Voter_Reg SLTH052105
Schedule
Thursday, June 16, 2005*
9:00 a.m. Convene in front of the
Secretary State Bldg.
10:00 a.m. Hearing & upon adjournment
receive notices as to the location of
a citizen forum with presentations
Location
Office of the Secretary of State
1500 11th Street- 1st Floor (Auditorium)
Sacramento, California 95814
*
In the event that this VSPP hearing is postponed or
cancelled
, we will convene for an impromptu citizen
rally to lobby the Legislature.
The
California Election Protection
Network
(“CEPN”) invites all
citizens to join us in attending the
Voting Systems and Procedures Panel
(“VSPP”) hearing of
June 16, 2006,
in Sacramento.
This VSPP hearing will feature
Diebold and Election Systems & Software
(“ES&S”), voting equipment
manufacturers, seeking approval of
their wares. We will urge the panel
and the State of California to follow
the advice of the California Secre
tary
of State’s “Ad Hoc Touch Screen
Task Force Report,” when it stated:
“[We recommend that:] A system
designed to protect the most valuable
aspect of our democracy - our
voting systems, must be free from
any questions over inadequacy,
conflicts of interest, or collusion.
Transparency is the only method
that will ensure the public. . . .”
California Says NO to Vote Pirates
of 3
File: VotePirates SLTH060105
CEPN SAYS “NO”
The CEPN opposes the approval of any voting
system
vendors or voting equipment that lacks
common sense criteria for clean and open elections,
for example:
NO
to vendors who have software authored in part,
or whole, by anyone ever convicted of a felony
NO
to vendors who allow anyone ever convicted
of a felony access to computer source code or
voter identification information
NO
to software, hardware, and/or any components
that use proprietary and/or secretive software
NO
to modems or remote access of any kind,
including wireless or internet connectivity, i.e.,
no “open back door(s)” vulnerable to manipulation.
NO
to private maintenance of machines
NO
to paper trails or paper ballots which produce
paper that is NOT archival
NO
to paper trails or paper ballots which require a
private entity to read them
NO
to paper trails or paper ballots on a cash register-
type roll, because lack of voter privacy may
occur if one were to trace the sequence
NO
to vendors and/or voting equipment that have
been sued, under any name, who have installed
illegal voting equipment in the State of California
NO
to equipment that does not meet California
and/or federal certification standards on any or
all its components
NO
to overly complex voting equipment that
requires extra payment to poll workers and/or
technical training necessitating more than ten
minutes
NO
to modular data components vulnerable to
exchanges with malicious data
CEPN SAYS “YES”
The CEPN affirms the spirit of Help America Vote
Act (“HAVA”) to improve our voting systems and not
merely exchange one broken system for another on
the pretense of meeting HAVA’s arbitrary deadlines.
We recommend that the State of California not
squander our hundreds of millions of taxpayer dol
lars
that comprises our HAVA budget on any new
equipment that does not meet all of the common
sense clean & open election standards.
In the event there is no acceptable equipment to
purchase at this hearing, common sense dictates
that we save the majority of our money for the
near future when better options become available.
In this regard,
the day before the June 16 VSPP
hearing, on June 15 at 7:00 p.m.,
we will review
equipment featuring transparency and auditability,
and invite all to join us: For details about this
Open
Voting Consortium
(“OVC”) presentation, please
contact:
Lara Shaffer, Director of Development -
Telephone: 831-419-0758 <lara@openvoting.org>
In the meantime, CEPN recommends the following
protocol of checks and balances to assure that
our election integrity standards are worthy of the
lives lost in the name of democracy:
Accessible, voter-verifiable, paper ballots on
archival paper that are able to be shuffled to retain
secrecy of the sequence of voting, along with a
“Five Star Audit.” A “
Five Star Audit” has the following
five points as requirements:
1
mandatory audits of ALL elections
2
genuinely random sampling
3
at a minimum, a 5% percent sampling of the paper
ballots (or paper audit trails) and
ALL provisional
and absentee ballots,
4
hand-counted
5
non-partisan oversight in a public forum
Respectfully submitted
California Says NO to Vote Pirates
of 3
File: VotePirates SLTH060105
CALIFORNIA ELECTION PROTECTION NETWORK
Steering Committee:
Judy Bertelsen
Carolyn Fowler
Ferris Gluck
Anna Givens
Don Goldmacher
Jenny Hammond
Sherry Healy
Karen Indreland
Marc Keenberg
Mimi Kennedy
Cheryl Lilienstein
Sarah Rath
Sherry Reson
Eve Roberson
Maureen Smith
Marcy Winograd
About the California Election Protection Network:
Citizen groups across California working
together to achieve their common election integrity
goals, including representatives from the following
organizations:
51st AD Delegate LA CA DEM PARTY
51CapitalMarch
Blackboxvoting.org
CA 6th Assembly District, Executive Committee
CA 77 Assembly District Democratic Committee
CitizenAct
City of Alameda Democratic
CodePink
Democracy for America of Los Angeles
Democracy for America-Marin
Democracy for America, San Francisco
Dean Democrats of Silicon Valley
Election Board LA County Central Committee
GrassrootsWest.org
Left.org
New Frontier Democratic Club
Ojai Democrats
Progressive Democrats of America
Progressive Democrats Sonoma County
Progressive Democrats, Los Angeles
San Diego for Democracy/DfA
Sonoma County Democratic Central Committee
Southern California Grassroots
United for Secure Elections
Ventura County Progressives
VOTER
Voter Rights Task Force
Paul Wellstone Democratic Forum - L.A.
Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club - East Bay
Those interested in learning more about Clean Money and potentially joining our speaker's bureau are invited to one of our three next speaker's training and orientations.
You will learn enough details about Clean Money and how to talk about it to be able to thoroughly answer questions when tabling or anywhere else.
Attendees will receive a speaker's manual with detailed information about Clean Money and instructions for how to become an effective Clean Money speaker. Members of the California Clean Money Campaign attend free. We request a $20 donation to pay for the cost of the materials for non-members, which includes a copy of the Bill Moyer's videotape, "Road to Clean Elections" that speakers usually use as part of their presentations.
PLEASE RSVP by emailing to
or calling (800) 566-3780.
CUPERTINO:
WHERE: 19200 Stevens Creek Blvd, Suite 210, Cupertino
WHEN: Sunday, June 26th, 1:00-4:00pm
DIRECTIONS:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/speakers-training.php
SAN
FRANCISCO/EAST BAY AREA:
WHERE: To be determined.
WHEN: Tentatively Sat, June 25th, 1:00-4:00pm
DIRECTIONS: Provided upon RSVP.
**********************************************************************
Please join one of them to find out what other volunteers are doing and how you can get involved too.
Working groups will be held in the following areas. Some meetings start with a video presentation and introduction to Clean Money:
Southern California Contact:
Marc Keenberg
Northern California Contact:
Sherry Healy
File: CEPN_Centralized_Voter_Reg SLTH052105
Schedule
Thursday, June 16, 2005*
9:00 a.m. Convene in front of the
Secretary State Bldg.
10:00 a.m. Hearing & upon adjournment
receive notices as to the location of
a citizen forum with presentations
Location
Office of the Secretary of State
1500 11th Street- 1st Floor (Auditorium)
Sacramento, California 95814
*
In the event that this VSPP hearing is postponed or
cancelled
, we will convene for an impromptu citizen
rally to lobby the Legislature.
The
California Election Protection
Network
(“CEPN”) invites all
citizens to join us in attending the
Voting Systems and Procedures Panel
(“VSPP”) hearing of
June 16, 2006,
in Sacramento.
This VSPP hearing will feature
Diebold and Election Systems & Software
(“ES&S”), voting equipment
manufacturers, seeking approval of
their wares. We will urge the panel
and the State of California to follow
the advice of the California Secre
tary
of State’s “Ad Hoc Touch Screen
Task Force Report,” when it stated:
“[We recommend that:] A system
designed to protect the most valuable
aspect of our democracy - our
voting systems, must be free from
any questions over inadequacy,
conflicts of interest, or collusion.
Transparency is the only method
that will ensure the public. . . .”
California Says NO to Vote Pirates
of 3
File: VotePirates SLTH060105
CEPN SAYS “NO”
The CEPN opposes the approval of any voting
system
vendors or voting equipment that lacks
common sense criteria for clean and open elections,
for example:
NO
to vendors who have software authored in part,
or whole, by anyone ever convicted of a felony
NO
to vendors who allow anyone ever convicted
of a felony access to computer source code or
voter identification information
NO
to software, hardware, and/or any components
that use proprietary and/or secretive software
NO
to modems or remote access of any kind,
including wireless or internet connectivity, i.e.,
no “open back door(s)” vulnerable to manipulation.
NO
to private maintenance of machines
NO
to paper trails or paper ballots which produce
paper that is NOT archival
NO
to paper trails or paper ballots which require a
private entity to read them
NO
to paper trails or paper ballots on a cash register-
type roll, because lack of voter privacy may
occur if one were to trace the sequence
NO
to vendors and/or voting equipment that have
been sued, under any name, who have installed
illegal voting equipment in the State of California
NO
to equipment that does not meet California
and/or federal certification standards on any or
all its components
NO
to overly complex voting equipment that
requires extra payment to poll workers and/or
technical training necessitating more than ten
minutes
NO
to modular data components vulnerable to
exchanges with malicious data
CEPN SAYS “YES”
The CEPN affirms the spirit of Help America Vote
Act (“HAVA”) to improve our voting systems and not
merely exchange one broken system for another on
the pretense of meeting HAVA’s arbitrary deadlines.
We recommend that the State of California not
squander our hundreds of millions of taxpayer dol
lars
that comprises our HAVA budget on any new
equipment that does not meet all of the common
sense clean & open election standards.
In the event there is no acceptable equipment to
purchase at this hearing, common sense dictates
that we save the majority of our money for the
near future when better options become available.
In this regard,
the day before the June 16 VSPP
hearing, on June 15 at 7:00 p.m.,
we will review
equipment featuring transparency and auditability,
and invite all to join us: For details about this
Open
Voting Consortium
(“OVC”) presentation, please
contact:
Lara Shaffer, Director of Development -
Telephone: 831-419-0758 <lara@openvoting.org>
In the meantime, CEPN recommends the following
protocol of checks and balances to assure that
our election integrity standards are worthy of the
lives lost in the name of democracy:
Accessible, voter-verifiable, paper ballots on
archival paper that are able to be shuffled to retain
secrecy of the sequence of voting, along with a
“Five Star Audit.” A “
Five Star Audit” has the following
five points as requirements:
1
mandatory audits of ALL elections
2
genuinely random sampling
3
at a minimum, a 5% percent sampling of the paper
ballots (or paper audit trails) and
ALL provisional
and absentee ballots,
4
hand-counted
5
non-partisan oversight in a public forum
Respectfully submitted
California Says NO to Vote Pirates
of 3
File: VotePirates SLTH060105
CALIFORNIA ELECTION PROTECTION NETWORK
Steering Committee:
Judy Bertelsen
Carolyn Fowler
Ferris Gluck
Anna Givens
Don Goldmacher
Jenny Hammond
Sherry Healy
Karen Indreland
Marc Keenberg
Mimi Kennedy
Cheryl Lilienstein
Sarah Rath
Sherry Reson
Eve Roberson
Maureen Smith
Marcy Winograd
About the California Election Protection Network:
Citizen groups across California working
together to achieve their common election integrity
goals, including representatives from the following
organizations:
51st AD Delegate LA CA DEM PARTY
51CapitalMarch
Blackboxvoting.org
CA 6th Assembly District, Executive Committee
CA 77 Assembly District Democratic Committee
CitizenAct
City of Alameda Democratic
CodePink
Democracy for America of Los Angeles
Democracy for America-Marin
Democracy for America, San Francisco
Dean Democrats of Silicon Valley
Election Board LA County Central Committee
GrassrootsWest.org
Left.org
New Frontier Democratic Club
Ojai Democrats
Progressive Democrats of America
Progressive Democrats Sonoma County
Progressive Democrats, Los Angeles
San Diego for Democracy/DfA
Sonoma County Democratic Central Committee
Southern California Grassroots
United for Secure Elections
Ventura County Progressives
VOTER
Voter Rights Task Force
Paul Wellstone Democratic Forum - L.A.
Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club - East Bay
Those interested in learning more about Clean Money and potentially joining our speaker's bureau are invited to one of our three next speaker's training and orientations.
You will learn enough details about Clean Money and how to talk about it to be able to thoroughly answer questions when tabling or anywhere else.
Attendees will receive a speaker's manual with detailed information about Clean Money and instructions for how to become an effective Clean Money speaker. Members of the California Clean Money Campaign attend free. We request a $20 donation to pay for the cost of the materials for non-members, which includes a copy of the Bill Moyer's videotape, "Road to Clean Elections" that speakers usually use as part of their presentations.
PLEASE RSVP by emailing to
or calling (800) 566-3780.
LOS
ANGELES:
WHERE: 11844 W. Pico Blvd., Suite 200, Los Angeles
WHEN: Saturday, June 11th, 1:00-4:00pm
DIRECTIONS:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/speakers-training.php
CUPERTINO:
WHERE: 19200 Stevens Creek Blvd, Suite 210, Cupertino
WHEN: Sunday, June 26th, 1:00-4:00pm
DIRECTIONS:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/speakers-training.php
SAN
FRANCISCO/EAST BAY AREA:
WHERE: To be determined.
WHEN: Tentatively Sat, June 25th, 1:00-4:00pm
DIRECTIONS: Provided upon RSVP.
**********************************************************************
Please join one of them to find out what other volunteers are doing and how you can get involved too.
Working groups will be held in the following areas. Some meetings start with a video presentation and introduction to Clean Money:
Thursday, May 19, 7:00pm-9:00pm in Cupertino
Introduction and video from 6:45pm-7:00pm
Details:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/southbayarea.php
Email:
mailto:southbayarea-info@CAclean.org
Sunday, May 22, 10:30am-12:30pm in San Francisco
Introduction and video from 10:10am-10:30am.
Details:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/sf.php
Email:
mailto:norcal-info@CAclean.org
DATE TO BE DETERMINED (Either May 14th, 21st, or 22nd)
EMAIL:
mailto:norcal-info@caclean.org
for details.
Details:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/bayarea.php
Thursday, May 26, 7:30pm-9:00pm
Introduction and video from 7:15pm-7:30pm
LOCATION TO BE DETERMINED
Details:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/northbayarea.php
Email:
mailto:northbayarea-info@CAclean.org
Saturday, June 4, 10:00am-12:30pm in North Hills
Details:
http://www.caclean.org/calendar/sfv.php
Email:
PLEASE indicate your interest or ask for more info by sending email to the listed email address.
If you are interested in working groups in other areas of the state,
send email to
Below
is the latest newsletter from CCMC.
California Clean Money Campaign Newsletter
Clean Money: The one reform that makes all other reforms possible.
www.CAclean.org
May 2005
"People who have more money should be free to buy more cars, more homes, more vacations, and more gizmos than the rest of us. They should not be able to buy more democracy." - Bill Moyers
In this issue:
1) Clean Money Campaign sweeps up Sacramento with the Broom of Reform
2) AB 583 becomes two-year bill; Public hearings planned for fall
3) California Democratic Party makes Clean Money a priority resolution
4) The Next 6 Months: A Game Plan and a Goal
5) L.A. Mayor Race highlights need for Clean Money.
6) Staff Updates and Job Opportunities
7) Speaker's training in Los Angeles, Cupertino, and San Francisco
8) Working Group Meetings - WE NEED YOU!
-- South Bay Area ------- Thursday, 5/19 in Cupertino
-- San Francisco Area --- Sunday, 5/22 in San Francisco
-- East Bay Area ----- Date and location TBD
-- North Bay Area ------- Thursday, 5/26 (location TBD)
-- San Fernando Valley -- Saturday, 6/4 in North Hills
**********************************************************************
1) Clean Money Campaign sweeps up Sacramento with the Broom of Reform
The rhetoric of reform that Governor Schwarzenegger employed to catapult himself to California's highest office has unfortunately not seemed to have influenced his actions. After doubling former Governor Gray Davis' fundraising numbers in his first year and vetoing numerous very popular pieces of legislation opposed by major campaign donors, it is clear that Arnold has dropped the broom of reform which he promised to use to "clean up Sacramento."
The California Clean Money Campaign has picked up that broom and promises "Sweeping Reform" through full public financing of election campaigns. Carrying brooms as they walked the halls of the capital building in Sacramento, our activists met with critical legislators this past month urging them to support AB 583 - the California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act. Our brooms and "Sweeping Reform" stickers caught the curious eyes of everybody in the Capitol and created numerous opportunities to educate people in the halls on Clean Money.
The turnout at the hearing for Assembly Elections Committee hearing itself was phenomenal: Taking a day off from work, sacrificing a part of their spring break, and, in one case, interrupting a honeymoon, our activists packed the hearing room and the halls outside. Three times as many people as we had at last year's hearing made committee members literally thread there way through a sea of Clean Money supporters. We thank and applaud those who came for their inspiring dedication to the cause.
Additionally, Elections Committee members received hundreds of letters and phone calls from supporters like you. We once again thank you for your zeal and dedication.
For pictures and more of the story, go to:
http://www.caclean.org/progress/news.php?to=News041905
**********************************************************************
2) AB 583 becomes two-year bill; Public hearings planned for fall
AB 583's author, Assemblymember Loni Hancock, made a strategic decision to turn the bill into a two-year bill instead of forcing a vote, a decision we fully support. As a result of the public's extraordinary interest in the Clean Money bill, the Elections
Committee has agreed to hold two special hearings in the state on AB 583 this fall.
As a two-year bill, AB 583 will have another chance in the Elections Committee early next year. This gives us time to build more support with the public and other organizations in a way that will put even more pressure on the legislature and, just as importantly, help build the even larger groundswell of support we'll need when Clean Money goes on the ballot - which is what needs to happen whether the
Legislature agrees to put it on the ballot or we have to do it with an initiative ourselves.
For more information on what is happening with AB 583 visit:
http://www.caclean.org/progress/news.php?to=News041705
**********************************************************************
3) California Democratic Party makes Clean Money a priority resolution
On April 17, the California State Democratic Party passed a resolution calling for a Clean Money system for statewide and legislative races, based on those in place in Arizona and Maine.
The resolution was one of three supporting Clean Money considered at the party's convention that were sponsored by Democratic clubs and committees from across the state. Assemblymembers Loni Hancock, Sally Lieber, and State Senator Richard Alarcon all spoke passionately about why Clean Money should be a priority.
The 2,000-plus delegates gathered for the convention adopted the Clean Money resolution unanimously as one of the party's priority resolutions to roaring applause throughout the convention hall.
In a press release afterwards, CCMC Executive Director Susan Lerner said, "CCMC commends the California Democratic Party and looks forward to working with other political parties to educate voters on the benefits of a Clean Money/Fair Elections system. We hope all of the state's political parties will incorporate Clean Money statements into their platforms."
To see the resolution itself, go to:
http://www.caclean.org/progress/news.php?to=News041705
**********************************************************************
4) The Next 6 Months: A Game Plan and a Goal
Now that AB 583 has become a two-year bill, we need to plan a course to ensure that the bill passes through the Election Committee when it is brought up again early next year. The two hearings for the bill scheduled