--------------------

The 2004 Presidential election is NOT over. There's mounting evidence that the election may have been "hijacked" by electoral fraud and that Bush has NOT won. Ohio is still counting votes and still receiving absentee ballots. But the issues go beyond the tens of thousands of ballots not yet counted, they concern more than just touchscreen voting machines, and they're NOT limited to Ohio or Florida.

To unearth the facts, the non-profit organization Black Box Voting is waging a massive Freedom of Information Act request campaign. Americans are calling their Representatives and Senators. Congressmen Conyers, Nadler, and Wexler--and now Congressmen Holt, Scott and Watt--have formally called for an investigation by the U.S. Comptroller General (see Reference 2 listed below).

Remember, the Presidency is not decided until:
1) the election has been certified, state-by-state and nationally, and then
2) the Electoral College meets on December 12.

THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW, BEFORE THE ELECTION RESULTS ARE CERTIFIED.

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED AS A GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT WORKS TO GATHER DATA ONLINE, COLLECT EVIDENCE OF ELECTORAL FRAUD, COUNT EVERY VOTE, CALL FOR RECOUNTS WHERE NEEDED, AND FILE VOTING RIGHTS ACT LAWSUITS.

IF YOU'RE PRESSED FOR TIME, GO HERE NOW FOR AN INTRO:
portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/11/302643.shtml
www.BlackBoxVoting.org (where you can sign up to volunteer and/or donate via PayPal)
www.votergate.tv

Otherwise, please read on for a quick rundown on the issues, the reference information you need, and the work you can do (or help pay for) now.

PLEASE DO (AND DONATE) ALL THAT YOU CAN, AND PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD.

Note: most of "Big Media" is ignoring this story, with the recent exception of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann. But several hosts on Air America talk radio--including Mike Malloy, Randi Rhodes, and Laura Flanders--are covering it in depth. Catch their shows live at www.AirAmericaRadio.com.


-------------------- A FEW OF THE ISSUES --------------------

>>> Voting machines awarding extra votes by the thousands, counting backward, double counting, and "losing" or ignoring thousands of votes--with the benefit virtually always falling to the Bush camp. (And many of the machines were UNTESTED FOR SECURITY before being used.)

>>> Ohio being "called" for Bush by a narrow margin--by FOX and other pro-Bush media entities--before HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of provisional ballots, military ballots, and absentee ballots have been counted (Ohio's absentee ballots are STILL ARRIVING in the mail, and will do so through this coming Friday!).

>>> Numerous reports of voter disenfranchisement, vote spoilage (remember chads?) in minority communities, voter trends that stray from expected results, mishandled or suspiciously handled ballots, polling places inadequately equipped to handle the voter turnout, exit polls being accurate only in paper ballot counties (not in electronic-voting counties), etc., etc., etc.


A few specific examples of voting machine "issues" (adapted from Reference 2 listed below):

* In Broward County, Florida, voting machines counted BACKWARD; the software could handle only 32,000 votes per precinct. After that, it started counting backward.

* In Franklin County, Ohio, electronic voting machines gave Bush 3,893 EXTRA VOTES in one precinct alone; unofficial results gave Bush 4,258 votes to Democratic challenger John Kerry's 260 votes IN A PRECINCT WHERE ONLY 638 VOTERS CAST BALLOTS.

* In Craven County, North Carolina, a software "error" awarded Bush 11,283 extra votes, due to DOUBLE COUNTING of votes by the software.

* In LaPorte County, Indiana, a Democratic stronghold, electronic voting machines decided that each precinct only had 300 voters. That meant the total number of voters for the county would be 22,200, although there are actually more than 79,000 registered voters.

* In Sarpy County, Nebraska, the electronic touch screen machines got generous, awarding as many as 10,000 extra votes.


And, as reported by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann on 11/8/04, "COUNTING ERRORS" IN ONE OHIO COUNTY ALONE GENERATED MORE THAN 90,000 "EXTRA" VOTES.


-------------------- REFERENCE INFO --------------------

The most important take-action website right now is www.BlackBoxVoting.org ! Sign up there for the "Help America Audit" project. (Also, you can download the book "Black Box Voting" for free at that website.)

Beyond that, check out the following:

1. "Kerry Won" by Greg Palast, 11/4/04
www.gregpalast.com/ or www.tompaine.com/articles/kerry_won.php

2. "Worse Than 2000: Tuesday's Electoral Disaster" by William Rivers Pitt, 11/8/04
www.truthout.org/docs_04/110804A.shtml or www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_15078.shtml

3. "Evidence Mounts That The Vote May Have Been Hacked" by Thom Hartmann, 11/6/04
www.commondreams.org/views04/1106-30.htm

4. "The Ultimate Felony Against Democracy" by Thom Hartmann, 11/4/04
www.commondreams.org/views04/1104-38.htm

5. "Resist the Unacceptable" by Obbie Z, 11/7/04
madison.indymedia.org/feature/display/19993/index.php

6. "Bush Regime Maintains Power Through Electoral Fraud" by Steven Argue, 11/7/04
sf.indymedia.org/news/2004/11/1705631.php

7. "Purposely Corrupted Voting Terminals - Vote on PAPER in ALAMEDA COUNTY!!" by repost, 11/1/04
sf.indymedia.org/news/2004/11/1705165.php

8. "Election stolen, group suspects: 60 meet at UW, plan next steps" by Bill Dunn, 11/8/04
www.madison.com/tct/home/topstories/index.php

9. "Electronic Voting: The Stolen Election of 2004" by Larry Chin, 11/5/04
www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHI411B.html

10. "Get the Word Out Now!" from Portland Indymedia, 11/7/04
portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/11/302643.shtml

11. Download and watch the "Votergate" video at www.Votergate.tv

12. Download and listen to Mike Malloy's 11/3/04 radio show at homepage.mac.com/katyk128/MalloyShow-(03-11-2004).mp3

(For more resources, also see www.WhatReallyHappened.com and www.OldAmericanCentury.org )


-------------------- WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW! --------------------

Here's a five-step action plan from Reference 10 listed above (and from www.BlackBoxVoting.org):


HELP AMERICA AUDIT: 5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Reclaim Democracy

You're our greatest hope. If you choose to accept it, your job is to spread the word in order to build a fast-growing grass roots movement -- a voting integrity project so powerful that it cannot be mowed down.

1. BE THE MEDIA -- See below.

2. CRUNCH THE NUMBERS: Discrepancies please, and hurry. E-mail them to tips-AT-blackboxvoting.org . Pass the word. Need source documents, too. ASAP. Follow your nose, or join the Black Box Scavenger Hunt: Pick a county. Look at small counties, as we are seeing many discrepancies in those. Look in any state. Get the official number of registered voters, Dem and Republican. Get the number of votes cast on Nov. 2, Republican and Dem.

Make a grid like this, filling in the right numbers:

# reg. voters % # votes cast %
Rep 100 33% 150 50%
Dem 200 67% 150 50%
Totl 300 100% 300 100%

We can find out a lot from this procedure, very hard data, that will make a real difference. As soon as you have finished a county, e-mail it to us (at tips-AT-blackboxvoting.org). Do as many counties as you can.

3. HAVE A HOUSE PARTY: Show the film "Votergate" (the real one, which you can download for free at www.Votergate.tv .) Organize "Be the media" actions and set up investigative teams to help dig up information like you have in #2. Timeline is NOW, to get action before seating the electoral college.

4. HELP CONNECT THE WIRES: Hook Black Box Voting (.ORG) up with powerhitters you know, people who can make things happen.

5. DONATE to any of 3 organizations: Black Box Voting (.ORG), the consumer protection group for elections; or the new recount fund (information upcoming, contact DU's Hedda_Foil), or send contribution to Votergate.tv (The REAL Votergate film, by Russell Michaels, Robert Carrillo Cohen, and Simon Ardizzone. There is another by someone else, make sure you get the right one.) The real VOTERGATE is the most powerful investigative film on this topic, and consequently it has been attacked and blocked repeatedly. They deserve your support.

"HOW TO BE THE MEDIA"

Don't expect to see vote burglary on TV. To get the message out fast, you're going to have to become the underground railroad. Do it now. Take pictures of each other doing it. Have house parties to show others how to do it. Here's how to "be the media."

BE YOUR OWN REPORTER: We will send you new information as we get it. We need your e-mail to get you on the list, so if a friend sent this to you, please shoot an email to crew-AT-blackboxvoting.org to sign up.

Spread the information we send you to every blog, listserv, forum you know and throughout your personal network. Talk about it at work and to people you meet everywhere, lots, quickly, all the time.

SELF SERVE SOUND BITES: Frequent, very short messages to immediately increase public awareness. Assume you won't see it on TV.
Put vote fraud related messages on:
- Yard signs
- Car windows
- Write them on duct tape and wear them
- Print REMOVABLE stickers and stick them on things:
- Bathroom door at the gas station.
- On telephone poles in the dead of night
- At bus stops
- On the back of bus seats
- Stick them into your junk mail and send it back via return mail
- Slip them into menus at restaurants
- Leave them in books at the bookstore
- Share new self serve sound bite ideas with us and we'll send them out with new messages.

ELECTION "TRUTH TOURETTES". Please excuse the political incorrectness, as it is not meant to be hurtful. It is for a good purpose. This the antidote to "watch what you say." It is a good icebreaker at a party. Have your guests make up truths, like those below, and mix them into the conversation at surprise times throughout the party. Unexpectedly and urgently blurt them out:

Recount!
Electile Dysfunction!
Gotta audit-Gotta audit-Gotta audit
Florida!
--mathmatically impossible!--
Count all the votes! Count all the votes! Count all the votes!
Votefraud.
Paperballots! Handcounts!
--where's my vote?--
Where's the paper?
Feel free to interchange and mix it up, or even try a game where different people have to interject with different truths.
- WHO REALLY WON -- I DUNNO -- GOTTA AUDIT!

Also, here are more ideas.
- Magnetic signs for your car
- If you know a trucker, have them put a message in the window as they drive across the county.
- Make a patch and put it on the front of your baseball cap
- Carry a sign and stand in the window outside the Today Show

If we have to be our own media, so be it. We will not sacrifice democracy just because TV executive producers have a problem with this issue.


-------------------- ADDITIONAL ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE --------------------

>>> Call your Democratic Senators, Representatives, and the following members of Congress, and urge them to step up to the plate and show leadership. Urge them NOT to certify the election--and, if possible, to BLOCK state-level certifications of the election--until ALL votes have been counted and ALL legal avenues have been pursued. (For more member-contact info, see www.Congress.org).

Hon. Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader (and Member, Progressive Caucus)
(415) 556-4862 or (202) 225-4965

Hon. Elijah Cummings, Chair, Black Caucus
(410) 685-9199 or (202) 225-4741

Hon. Barbara Lee, Co-Chair, Progressive Caucus (and Whip, Black Caucus)
(510) 763-0370 or (202) 225-2661

Hon. Dennis Kucinich, Co-Chair, Progressive Caucus
(216) 228-8850 or (202) 225-5871

>>> Call the Kerry/Edwards campaign HQ in Boston and urge them to support this effort. The phone number is (617) 367-1551. If your call is answered by the automated system, dial extension 140 to get to the comment line.


-------------------- MORE FOOD FOR THOUGHT --------------------

From Reference 2 listed above...

"A poster named 'TruthIsAll' on the DemocraticUnderground.com forums laid out the questionable results of Tuesday's election in succinct fashion: "To believe that Bush won the election, you must also believe: That the exit polls were wrong; that Zogby's 5pm election day calls for Kerry winning Ohio and Florida were wrong (he was exactly right in his 2000 final poll); that Harris' last-minute polling for Kerry was wrong (he was exactly right in his 2000 final poll); that incumbent rule #1 - undecideds break for the challenger - was wrong; That the 50% rule - an incumbent doesn't do better than his final polling - was wrong; That the approval rating rule - an incumbent with less than 50% approval will most likely lose the election - was wrong; that it was just a coincidence that the exit polls were correct where there was a paper trail and incorrect (+5% for Bush) where there was no paper trail; that the surge in new young voters had no positive effect for Kerry; that Kerry did worse than Gore against an opponent who lost the support of scores of Republican newspapers who were for Bush in 2000; that voting machines made by Republicans with no paper trail and with no software publication, which have been proven by thousands of computer scientists to be vulnerable in scores of ways, were not tampered with in this election." "

-------------------- A FINAL THOUGHT --------------------

It's been reported that John Kerry's "concession" (delivered in his speech last Wednesday) is NOT legally binding in any way if the final vote count shows that Kerry has, in fact, won.

If Kerry had chosen not to "concede," would the pro-Bush media have crucified him, and the Democrats, and the "liberals"? Would pro-Bush mobs have protested in the streets? If so, is it possible that Kerry was wise to concede--knowing full well that many election-fraud issues would be raised in the days ahead, and that more than enough time remained to resolve those issues before December 12? Is it possible that this is what Kerry meant when he told his supporters that a time was coming when their efforts would make a difference, and that time might come "sooner" than they think?