Baltimore, MD October 29, 2004 1:00PM EST

A national "No Stolen Elections" campaign has developed contingency plans in the event that their electoral experts determine the outcome to be illegitimate. Local citizens and organizations are preparing a Baltimore response in coordination with this national effort.

"We are urging people to converge at Center and N. Charles Streets at 5pm on November 3rd, regardless of the outcome of the voting process," said a spokesman for Rise Up Baltimore, a central group in this coordination effort. "Even if Kerry wins, it is important for people to begin holding him accountable for campaign promises immdediately after the election."

However, much of the current planning focuses on the potential event of an undecided outcome. The national "No Stolen Elections" campaign is identifying 200 sites around the country where people will be urged to converge at 12-Noon local time if the call goes out to their Urgen Response Network. "People can track the status of this campaign by logging on to www.nov3.us . We are also providing information through the Baltimore Independent Media Center (IMC) web page www.baltimore.indymedia.org," noted a spokesman.

Hosts of the press conference announcing the "No Stolen Elections" campaign included the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the American Friends Service Committee (*AFSC*), Rise Up Baltimore (*RUB*) among others.

A spokesperson for RUB noted, "We all remember the election of 2000 where many were disenfranchised, votes were not counted and the Supreme Court decided the election. Many, many organizations have worked intensely around this election to increase the voter registration roles and voter turnout. Yet there are efforts underway to suppress the vote in states across the country, especially swing states, and even Maryland. Daily it becomes clearer that there are plans in place to steal this election. These include intimidation, frivolous litigation and discrimination, which could be deciding factors in this crucial and historic election."

Spokes people cited press accounts of election irregularities. "Republican Party officials in Ohio took formal steps to place thousands of recruits inside polling places on Election Day to challenge the qualifications of voters they suspect are not eligible to cast ballots," reports the New York Times of October 23, 2004. The lead editorial for the New York Times titled "Election Day Misdeeds" (October 26, 2004) states: "Aggressive challengers have been known to bully poll workers... There is a long history of challengers targeting minority precincts and minority voters.” While in Florida there are reports of the disappearance of 58,000 absentee ballots and an investigation by the Postal Service.

The RUB spokesperson continued, "As the elections approach, Americans are understandably concerned that the outcome of the 2004 election will once again be determined by fraud. In 2000, we were caught unprepared. This time, the response will be different. Major efforts are now underway nationwide to protect the right to vote on November 2nd. A constructive response is also being prepared for Baltimore."

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