Hot Items Archives

Velvet Revolution ("VR"), a non-profit dedicated to clean and honest elections, offers the following rewards...

Velvet Revolution is offering $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for break-ins at the ACORN offices in Dorchester, MA and Burien, WA. If you have any information about these crimes, please contact Chris Leonard or Mimi Ramos of ACORN at (617) 436-7100. Details and more information here.

Also, VR offers rewards of $100,000 for the following:

A $100,000 reward for information from whistleblowers who have knowledge of election related criminal activity by Michael Connell, Randy Cole, Karl Rove and others. The information must result in a conviction. See below for details

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A $100,000 reward for hard information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons who may have committed election fraud affecting the passage of California's Proposition 8. See below for details

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A $100,000 reward for hard information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons who rigged the 2002 Senate race in Georgia in favor of Saxby Chambliss. See below for details

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Velvet Revolution Offers $100,000 Reward For Information About Michael Connell's Election Manipulations

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Velvet Revolution (VR), a non-profit dedicated to clean and accountable government, offered a $100,000 reward to whistleblowers for information tying Karl Rove and Michael Connell to illegal election manipulations. Other Republican whistleblowers, most notably world renowned computer expert Stephen Spoonamore, have stated recently that the Republican Party has been rigging elections for years through electronic computer manipulations. Mr. Spoonamore, a colleague of Mike Connell, gave a recent interview in which he stated that the upcoming election will be stolen and rigged by the GOP unless otherwise exposed. That interview is posted in full at www.rovecybergate.com.

Mr. Connell is the CEO of GovTech Solutions, a company that works with a "Who's Who" of Republican politicians. Mr. Connell refuses to work for Democrats and is loyal to the Bush family. And it was Mr. Connell who ran the Florida Government computer network during the presidential election of 2000 and the Ohio Secretary of State election computers during the presidential election of 2004. He has been at the scene of every major national electoral scandal of the past decade and has been fingered as being involved in the destruction of White House emails.

Velvet Revolution wants other whistleblowers to come forward to provide additional information about Mr. Connell's involvement in election manipulations and his relationship to Karl Rove. Specifically, VR is looking for evidence of criminal activity and corroboration that Mr. Connell set up computer networks to change the vote tabulations in key states and helped destroy White House computer data. VR is also seeking evidence about GovTech's former president, Randy Cole, who left his post a month ago to run for the Ohio state congress in the 41st District.

Information provided to VR will be kept confidential, and VR has set up a tip line to field the calls. 1-888-VOTETIP (1-888-868-3847). Tips are also being accepted here at tips@velvetrevolution.us

Velvet Revolution Offers $100,000 Reward For Information Regarding Election Fraud in California's Proposition 8

Velvet Revolution ("VR"), a non-profit dedicated to clean and honest elections, offers a $100,000 reward for hard information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons who may have committed election fraud affecting the passage of Proposition 8.

California's Prop 8, an amendment to the state Constitution eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry, was declared on election night to have passed, even though approximately four million ballots remained uncounted, approximately eight times more than the margin of victory.

Citing the unreliability of the state's electronic voting systems as well as complaints by voters, election monitors and election integrity advocates alleging election irregularities, VR yesterday called on the Secretary of State to launch an investigation into the Proposition 8 election. We now ask whistleblowers to come forward.

"If there was foul play in the Proposition 8 race, somebody knows it, and we're asking them to speak out," says Velvet Revolution spokesperson Emily Levy. "The possibility that millions of Californians could have the right to marriage equality revoked based on incorrect election results is deeply disturbing," says Levy. "In this age when California counts its votes with computers that repeatedly fail, produce incorrect results, and can be manipulated, the public and our election officials must go the extra mile to ensure that the election results are accurate." Velvet Revolution has also asked the public to monitor the post-election processes currently underway in California counties.

Tips can be left by phone at 1-888-VOTETIP or by email: tips@velvetrevolution.us. All tips will remain confidential.

Velvet Revolution Offers $100,000 Reward For Information About Rigging Of 2002 Saxby Chambliss Senate Race In Georgia

Velvet Revolution ("VR") offers a $100,000 reward for hard information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons who rigged the 2002 Senate race in Georgia in favor of Saxby Chambliss. That election pitted popular incumbent Max Cleland, a war hero, against conservative novice Saxby Chambliss. The pre-election polls showed Cleland with a comfortable lead but the end results had Chambliss winning by a wide margin.

Diebold whistleblower Chris Hood has stated publicly that, in the days leading up to that election, he was ordered by Diebold President Bob Urosevich (a GOP partisan) to place uncertified patches on hundreds of voting machines in the Democratic leaning counties of Fulton and DeKalb. Hood was told not to discuss these patches with Georgia elections officials. Documents provided by Hood show that Cathy Cox, the former top Georgia elections official, was unaware at the time that these patches had been placed on the machines.

Cyber security expert Stephen Spoonamore has stated that Mr. Hood gave him a copy of the Georgia patch and that he analyzed it and turned it over to the FBI Cyber Team in Washington for investigation. Spoonamore stated that the patch was a comparative patch and could have been used to flip the votes in the Diebold machines. He stated that in his expert opinion, Max Cleland was the real winner of that election and that Saxby Chambliss stole it with the Diebold machines.

Georgia uses paperless Diebold touchscreen machines for its elections. The machines it uses have been shown by computer scientists to be very vulnerable to manipulation and rigging with a computer patch or virus that can be installed in seconds.

VR wants to ensure that the December 2nd runoff election in Georgia between Saxby Chambliss and Jim Martin is not manipulated by an uncertified patch placed on voting machines by persons who have a partisan interest in the results. In order to ensure a clean election without vote machine rigging, the person or persons who may have rigged the 2002 Chambliss race must be exposed and prosecuted. All tips will remain confidential and can be left by phone: 1-888-VOTETIP or by email: tips@velvetrevolution.us.

Paid for by VelvetRevolution.us, Washington, DC

ACORN Workers Receive Death Threats, Racist Emails, and Phone Calls

Velvet Revolution Offers $5,000 For information On Break-Ins

Two ACORN offices, one in Boston and the other in Burien, Washington (south of Seattle) have been attacked and ransacked. In Burien, the office was vandalized and computers were stolen. In Boston, the burglar alarm was torn from the wall, along with internet and phone lines. Computers and coins from a vending machine were stolen.

Police have taken photos and fingerprints and are investigating.

Velvet Revolution is offering $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for break-ins at the ACORN offices in Dorchester, MA and Burien, WA. If you have any information about these crimes, please contact Chris Leonard or Mimi Ramos of ACORN at (617) 436-7100.

In an ACORN press release, Mimi Ramos, Head Organizer of ACORN's Massachusetts office, said "Voter suppression is their goal, but we will not allow the actions of political hacks and zealots to intimidate us or keep us from exercising our most fundamental right -- the right to vote."

According to CBS News, "a representative from the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now said he did not know if the break-in was politically motivated, but called the timing 'suspicious.'"

As reported by McClatchy:

Attorneys for the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now were notifying the FBI and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division of the incidents, said Brian Kettenring, a Florida-based spokesman for the group.

Kettenring said that a senior ACORN staffer in Cleveland, after appearing on television this week, got an e-mail that said she "is going to have her life ended."

A female staffer in Providence, R.I., got a threatening call from someone who said words to the effect of "We know you get off work at 9," then uttered racial epithets, he said.
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Kettenring said that ACORN had received growing amounts of hate mail in recent weeks, but "the campaign debate sort of tipped it over to a scary point, where raising allegations of voter fraud went from a cynical campaign ploy to really inciting racial violence."

Since McCain's remarks, ACORN's 87 offices across the country have received hundreds of hostile e-mails, many of them containing racial slurs, Kettenring said. "We believe that these are specifically McCain supporters" sending the messages, he said.

The e-mail to the Cleveland employee was traced to a Facebook Web page in the name of a Baltimore man. It featured a photo of a McCain-Palin sign.

We fear that the attacks and death threats against ACORN are not over yet. We believe that the "red meat" the GOP ticket is throwing to their supports, including lies and distortions about ACORN and the work they do, will incite further criminal acts and possibly violence.

McCain, during the October 15, 2008 presidential debate, said that ACORN is "on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, and maybe destroying the fabric of democracy."

Palin has said ACORN engages in "voter fraud" (which is a lie) and that "we can't allow leftist groups like ACORN to steal this election." She told a right wing radio host that ACORN is responsible for the "unconscionable situation we are facing now with voter fraud."

Velvet Revolution believes John McCain, Sarah Palin, the GOP, and certain individuals in the media share partial responsibility for the criminal acts, death threats, and racist comments leveled at ACORN. The lies, distortions, and attacks on ACORN by the McCain/Palin campaign and the GOP are reprehensible.

We join Mr. Kettenring of ACORN in calling for McCain and Palin "to tamp down the fringe elements in [their] party."

Candidates: Take the Standing for Voters Pledge!

Voters: Urge All Candidates to Sign the Standing for Voters Pledge!

You're asking voters to stand up for you -- by donating to your campaign, volunteering their time, and casting their votes. Now it's time for you to Stand For Voters!

The Velvet Revolution Election Protection Strike Force has launched an ongoing campaign at StandingforVoters.org to get candidates for elected office to pledge to challenge suspicious election results. From the StandingForVoters.org website:

As a candidate, you have Standing to challenge suspicious election results on behalf of all of us! In many situations, ONLY candidates can initiate election challenges. Be prepared to take this action if necessary, because your election isn't just about you. Every election is about We the People. And We the People Need your help.

We also call upon voters to ask candidates to sign the Standing For Voters Pledge -- or the stronger Super Pledge. Visit the site for tips on how to get the message to candidates.

Visit StandingForVoters.org today.

Velvet Revolution and other non-profits have launched a campaign to achieve a refund of all the money -- over $100 million -- that California has spent on Diebold/Premier's failed and faulty electronic voting systems.

We're also calling on the State to hold Diebold accountable.

Go to the Diebold: Return Our Money site to send an email calling for the following:

• Diebold/Premier: 'Return Our Money!'


• Secretary of State Bowen: Throw Diebold Out of Our State, Once and For All!


• Attorney General Brown: Investigate! Prosecute! Obtain a Refund!

Your email will go directly to Diebold/Premier, and to the offices of Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Attorney General Jerry Brown.

Become a fan of this campaign on Facebook!

With enough support, we'll expand this program to other vendors and other states. Why are we starting with Diebold and with California?

California officials recently revealed that ALL of Diebold/Premier's voting systems violate federal certifications guidelines!* These systems illegally do some or all of the following::*

• delete ballots without notice
• allow the "permanent" audit log records to be deleted
• fail to properly record deletion of ballots
• insert incorrect time stamps on audit log items.

Yet Diebold falsely claimed to meet all federal voting system standards!

We will not stand by and tolerate fraudulent use of our tax dollars!

Velvet Revolution thanks the following organizations for joining the Diebold: Return Our Money campaign:

After Downing Street
Black Box Voting.org
Citizens for Legitimate Government
Democrats.com
Election Defense Alliance
The Free Press
Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution
Progressive Democrats of America
Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles
Progressive Democrats of the Santa Monica Mountains
Protect California Ballots
Ruckus Society
SavElections Monterey County
SAVE R VOTE
True Vote

Organizations can sign up here.

An internationally recognized method of detecting fraudulent elections. But with a corporate-controlled mainstream media, can the exit polls be trusted? We're conducting our own!

More info is available here.

How Can You Turn The Right Wing's Lies About 'Voter Fraud' Back On Them?

Hit 'Em Where They Live: When You Hear Lies About 'Voter Fraud,' Donate To Groups Fighting FOR Democracy!

Lately, right on schedule and as predicted, the GOP has been getting very aggressive in promoting their lies about "voter fraud." To hear Republicans tell it, there are hordes of illegal immigrants and unregistered voters who are getting ready to cast illegal ballots, and this will cause the election to be ruined and the United States to crumble. The wingers claim these evil un-American monsters are being led by the even more evil ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now).

Yeah, right.

First, some facts: please watch this video (5.5 mins) from Brave New Films...

The fact is that while a few people hired by ACORN have been charged with registration fraud, there is so little actual voter fraud that it's almost completely fictional. Just one example: A recent study [pdf 6 pages] of the 2002 and 2004 elections in Ohio (sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Ohio and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing) found that in those two elections about nine million votes were cast. And after interviewing all 88 Ohio County Boards of Election, the study found the following number of attempts at fraudulent voting:

Four.

Yup, that's it. Four. Four attempts at fraudulent voting out of nine million ballots cast.

We won't go into too many details about the false charges the right wing is making against ACORN and about the exceptionally rare incidences of voter fraud, but you can read more details here and here. And you can read ACORN's view on the situation here.

But in the meantime, we're asking you to push back on these lies and false accusations by hitting the right wing noise machine where it lives. We're asking you to donate to progressive election reform organizations every time you hear these lies about "voter fraud." Result: the louder their noise, the greater our pushback.

Donate to ACORN. Or to VotersUnite.org, or VoterAction.org, or BlackBoxVoting.org, or the Palast Investigative Fund, or VelvetRevolution.us (the parent organization of this blog), or to our colleagues at The BRAD BLOG, or to the Election Defense Alliance. Or to another pro-democracy group.

Or what the hell, send a few bucks to each!

And you can push back in other ways. One of the most effective things you can do to battle these lies and smears is to write a letter to the editor of your newspaper. You can find all the information you need to debunk the lies at these two links.

Your donations and your letters will send the message of "Your lies won't help you!" to the right wingers who are desperately trying to suppress voters because they know they can't win the election on the issues.

And of course, this November you can really hit the wingers hard. Get out and VOTE!

Click here to find out how else you can work for election integrity.

Thanks for all you do.

Hotlines: Report Problems by Phone

Problems Voting? Call 866-OUR VOTE

Reporting your voting problems to the election protection hotline means your experience will be entered into the national database, a very important tool that helps track patterns of election irregularities around the country. Please report your voting problem!

Fraud Reports? Call 888-VOTE TIP

This whistleblower hotline is a project of Velvet Revolution.

Report Problems Online

In addition to reporting your voting problems to the election protection hotline above, please consider also reporting using one or more of these systems:

Twitter Vote Report

Get ready to Twitter your Vote Report! Voters can share their experiences with other people in real-time using Twitter.com. This will help other voters not to show up when the lines are too long, and let the media and watchdog groups know that there are machinery problems or that voters are being asked for identification unnecessarily (or necessarily if they are first-time voters) in certain precincts. More info.

Voter Suppression Wiki

The new Voter Suppression Wiki is designed to be a hub of information and action around efforts to suppress votes in the 2008 U.S. elections.

VoterStory

Use this form to report your voting problem.

Read and Submit News Reports About Election Problems

Read about problems or report problems you encounter: Voters Unite Election Problem Log

Thirteen election integrity experts and activists discuss the e-voting challenges and solutions for 2008.

Blogged By Jim Cirile, Velvet Revolution
Cross-posted at AlterNet

"Where nothing can go wrong... go wrong... go wrong..."

So went the tagline for "Westworld," the chilling 1973 thriller about a resort where the androids go off the rails. Fiction? Hardly. In 2008, we have our own version of an electronic frontier fraught with machine failure.

It's called the U.S. electoral system, a decentralized mess where often partisan local officials manage the voter registration rolls and have the power to purchase any voting system they please, often with no real oversight or meaningful security testing procedures.

We assembled a panel of leading election integrity (EI) experts and asked their advice on myriad aspects of the e-voting problem. Their recommendations are wide-ranging and should hopefully serve as a wake-up call, since candidates' political futures, not to mention the future of the U.S. and the entire planet, could be decided on error-prone and worse, easily tamperable electronic voting systems.

The question put to each of the experts was, "How can candidates best protect themselves from potential electronic voting problems and manipulation?"