Call to Action: HELP US STOP CERTIFICATION OF THE ELECTION ON JANUARY 6

Dear Friends and Concerned Citizens:

We can still have an impact on the course of this election.

We are a group of citizens concerned about the 2004 Presidential election. There were 57,000 complaints of voting violations delivered to the House Judiciary Democrats (http://tinyurl.com/4ykbt). When hundreds of thousands of voters are affected by machine problems and acts of voter suppression, it calls our American Democracy into question.

On January 6th, Congress meets to certify the Presidential election. If even one House member and one Senator object to the electoral votes of any state, this objection will be recorded: the vote will not be automatically approved. This has happened only once before -- in 1877. Its occurrence once again would draw historic attention to our shattered democracy and lead to an outcome that none of us can know.

In 2000 no Senator would join the Representatives from the Congressional Black Caucus to challenge the electoral vote. Therefore in 2004, we are asking you to contact as many as you can of the key Senators, listed below, as well as your own Senators, if you think you can reach them on this issue. Tell them not to certify the election on January 6, 2005.

Sign our petition to the Senators:
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/senatorsnocertify

Contact these Senators at 1-800-839-5276 or 1-877-762-8762 connecting all offices.

Barbara Boxer CA-D
Robert Byrd WV-D
Mark Dayton MN-D
Thomas Harkin IA-D
Jim Jeffords VT-I
Edward Kennedy MA-D
Patrick Leahy VT-D
Carl Levin MI-D
Joseph Lieberman CT-D
Barbara Mikulski MD-D
Barack Obama IL-D
Olympia Snow ME-R
Charles Schumer NY-D

If you live in the same state as any of the Senators on our list, email us at caef@caef.us to share information about activist efforts in your area or to get involved in organizing. If you want to start something yourself, we have experienced organizers who can give you guidance. We want to know any information you gather on the potential of a specific Senator to object to certification of the vote.

See our site for a more detailed summary of violations, citations and other information about the 2004 election and what you can do.

Please get involved. Pass this on to others.

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ELECTION FRAUD 2004

There were 57,000 complaints of voting violations delivered to the House Judiciary Committee. Machine problems and acts of voter suppression affected hundreds of thousands of voters.

Machine problems include electronic touch screen machines in Florida that began counting votes backwards and others that reported the wrong candidate as people voted. Touch screen machines are inherently dangerous because most leave no paper trail, because they are relatively easy to tamper with -- and above all because they hide the voting process from the voter and prevent traditional citizen oversight.

Hanging chads were once again a problem, this time in Ohio. Just as in Florida in 2000, the greatest ballot spoilage -- ballots cast but not countable -- occurred in predominately African American precincts.

Some voters were turned away illegally. Others were given provisional ballots that were later discarded. Inexcusable waits of up to ten hours caused an unknown but easily guessed number of voters to give up without voting. Many were sent to the wrong polling place. Many experienced intimidation. Tens of thousands were purged from voting lists. Absentee ballots did not arrive or went uncounted. African American, low-income and younger voters were disproportionately disenfranchised.

Significant discrepancies between the exit polls and the official results occurred -- but only in swing states. Exit polling, which has been reliable for decades, was suddenly inaccurate. Jonathan Simon points out that the disparity between the exit polls and the official tallies almost always favored George Bush -- statistically improbable.

These are the kinds of problems that led the Ukrainian people to take to the streets and the international community to stand up and cry foul. The Voting Rights Act makes voter suppression illegal. The 14th amendment of our Constitution says that if voters are disenfranchised, the vote of the Electoral College should be adjusted proportionately.

Currently the votes are being recounted in Ohio and The Supreme Court of Ohio has before it a lawsuit claiming election tampering on the part of the Bush campaign.

We must be able to trust that our electoral processes are fair and just. This is a non-partisan issue. Join us in opposing the certification of this election.

We're targeting Senators because on January 6th, Congress will meet to certify the election. If even one House member and one Senator object to the electoral votes of any state, that objection will be recorded and the vote will not be automatically certified.

After the 2000 election Representatives from the Congressional Black Caucus were willing not to certify, but they couldn't find one Senator to support them. Don't let that happen again.

Our list of Senators consists of those we think are most likely to respond to our request. Contact them, as well as those of your own state. Tell them not to certify this election and that this election cannot stand unquestioned. If you have any first hand stories, the Senators need to know.

Coalition Against Election Fraud
web: http://www.caef.us
email: caef@caef.us