November 10, 2004


Dear CODEPINK Activist,

The smoke has cleared and the dust of the dirty Bush administration is starting to settle. Now it's time to let the truth stand on its’ own. Below is an abbreviated version of the latest call to action from No Stolen Elections! We are asking CODEPINK women to get behind this and, as always, add our pinkness to the message. Check out www.nov3.us for more actions you can take.

* In Franklin County, Ohio, where 658 people voted, touch screen machines gave Bush 4,258 votes. In one North Carolina County, the machines destroyed the votes of over 4500 people. These isolated revelations are joined daily by new reports casting light on suspect vote totals in New Hampshire, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Florida, and on the suppression of African American and youth votes in Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa, and many other states across the nation.

The truth is breaking through.

This campaign is only one stage in the long struggle for democratic elections and the right to vote, yet this campaign is in one respect unique: The legitimacy of our electoral system itself is at question.  Either a groundswell of public protest will force a full investigation of the 2004 elections, the counting of every vote, and the establishment of an independent election authority and verified voting, or the American people will correctly conclude that they have no basis for faith in the fairness or integrity of our elections.

We must ACT NOW:

KEEP THE SPOTLIGHT ON OHIO
Support and Attend the Hearings in Columbus - Organized by the Ohio Citizens Alliance for Secure Elections with support from the League of Pissed of Voters and many other national organizations. Ohio voters, voting experts, and investigative journalists will be invited to present testimony for the public record documenting instances of voting irregularities and systematic voter suppression. The purpose of the hearings is to document the systemic undermining of our democratic process that occurred leading up to and on Nov 2, and assess how to respond to racial disenfranchisement and suppression of democratic rights.  See: www.indyvoter.org  for specifics on time and place.

Call Ohio Secretary of State Blackwell's office – 614-466-2585 -- to demand that he do the following:

1. Count every single provisional ballot.
2. Release information about the number of "spoiled" ballots in Ohio.
3. Hand count the "spoiled" punch card ballots to make as many of these ballots count as possible.

Don't stop with Badger Blackwell, pressure your Elected Officials – Call your U.S. senators and representatives today.  Insist that they join Rep. Conyers, Holt, Nadler, Scott, Watt, and Wexler in demanding a General Accounting Office (GAO) investigation of the tens of thousands of reported complaints regarding the 2004 election. Call 202-224-3121.

ORGANIZE PUBLIC HEARINGS IN YOUR OWN COMMUNITY
We must document what happened in this election so that we can use this information to push for needed reforms in our electoral system. In addition to documenting what happened before, during and after November 2, use these hearings as an opportunity to plan how to respond to these problems.

WAKE THE MEDIA
Despite growing evidence of disenfranchisement, suppression and fraud from lost votes to missing ballots to black-box machines with no paper trail, to a clear pattern of intimidation of voter’s the establishment media has whitewashed the election.

Watch for further news regarding No Stolen Elections! in the coming week and be sure to check out the CODEPINK website for sources to the most up to date information.

In solidarity,
Andrea, Bonnie, Claire, Dana, Gael, Jodie, Medea, Nancy, Sue, Tiffany

P.S. Don't forget that tomorrow is Veterans Day. This is a perfect opportunity to remind your community that the best way we can support our troops is to. Stop the war in Iraq, bring the troops home now, and take care of them when they get here! Check out www.unitedforpeace.org to find events in your area.