No Stolen Election Campaign
EMERGENCY PROTEST TO DEFEND DEMOCRACY!
Dear Tallahassee area citizens,
We ask you to endorse and participate
in a protest in Tallahassee on Nov. 3 in the case of a stolen election.
While we are all working hard for a positive outcome on November 2nd, we
also have to be prepared for a repeat of 2000.
As part of a No
Stolen Election Campaign, tens of thousands of people across the country
are pledging that we will take to the streets starting on November 3rd
in the case of a fraudulent vote count, including Rev. Jesse Jackson, Michael
Moore, Dolores Huerta, Eleanor Smeal, Howard Zinn, and many others. Groups
of activists in dozens of cities in at least 18 states - California, Colorado,
DC, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada,
New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Washington
state, and Wisconsin - have
already planned actions (select "No Stolen Election" under "Event Type")
and are organizing protests outside local federal buildings and election
offices that will only take place if there is significant voter disenfranchisement
or fraud.
In Tallahassee, we have applied for
a permit to protest on the Old Capitol Lawn beginning at 9 AM on November
3. We need to have a broad diversity of local citizens and organizations
represented as part of this protest, because if we are really going to
try to stop a stolen election, it will take all of us working together
to do it.
Please respond as soon as possible
- contact Donna Cay Tharpe, 850-222-2762, or Sandi Lodge, 850-273-1608,
of CODEPINK: Women for Peace
for more information.
In Solidarity,
Sandi Lodge
Tallahassee
CODEPINK
Local Organizations Endorsing :
CODEPINK, TALLAHASSEE NOW, FLORIDA NOW, CENTER FOR PARTICIPANT EDUCATION,
STUDENTS UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE, TALLAHASSEE GREEN PARTY, VETERANS
FOR PEACE, TALLAHASSEE VIETNAM VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR, TALLAHASSEE NETWORK
FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
For more information, see No Stolen Election
Campaign and Sign
the Pledge
local info: call Donna Cay Tharpe 222-2763 or Sandi Lodge 877-9780 of
CODEPINK: Women for Peace
Pledge of Action to Stop A Stolen Election
"I remember the stolen presidential election of 2000 and I am willing
to take action in 2004 if the election is stolen again. I support efforts
to protect the right to vote leading up to and on Election Day, November
2nd. If that right is systematically violated, I pledge to join nationwide
protests starting on November 3rd, either in my community, in the states
where the fraud occurred, or in Washington DC."
Sign the
Pledge
Also check out TNJP's 2004
Election and Voting Resources
Stolen Election? This Time Around, Let’s Be Prepared
by Medea Benjamin
published by Code Pink
After months of traveling from swing state to swing state, I have been
astounded by the number of people who are furious with the “war president”
George Bush, and have dedicated enormous energy to registering, educating,
cajoling, and exhorting people to vote. Californians have invaded Nevada,
New Yorkers have flooded into Pennsylvania, folks from Massachusetts have
adopted New Hampshire, and here in Florida, there is a deluge of activists
from all over the country. These anti-Bush organizers, many of whom have
no formal connection with the Democratic Party, will be out in full force
on November 2, knocking on doors, chauffeuring voters to the polls and
guarding polling places. It is likely that a massive turnout among young
people, single women, African Americans, and newly registered and infrequent
voters will make Kerry the winner.
The real question is: Will the election be free and fair or will we
see a replay of 2000, with voting in key swing states like Florida and
Ohio marred by significant fraud? Unfortunately, too many signs are pointing
towards a replay of 2000. But this time, there’s a big difference: We’ll
be ready!
In November 2000, disenfranchised voters, victims of butterfly ballots
and hanging chads, and others angry at the state’s refusal to count every
vote spontaneously started to protest. Black ministers were preparing parishioners
to engage in non-violent civil disobedience to affirm their voting rights.
Unwitting “Jews for Buchanan” were marching on the streets of West Palm
Beach demanding a recount. Union reps, civil rights leaders and even Green
Party members like myself converged on Florida to join the movement that
proclaimed: “Every Vote Counts, Count Every Vote.”
But the leadership of the Democratic Party put the kabosh on our organizing
efforts. “This matter will not be determined by rabblerousers in the streets,”
they said, “but by professional lawyers in the courts.” We saw the outcome
of that strategy: four disastrous years of an unelected president.
Our right to vote is too precious—and precarious--to be left in the
hands of lawyers, judges and Democratic Party chiefs. This time around,
it’s up to us, the people, to defend our democracy.
A new coalition, made up of peace, women, labor, civil rights, religious
and environmental groups, has set up an Urgent Response Network to be activated
in event of a stolen election. On the group’s website, www.nov3.us, tens
of thousands of people have already signed a pledge saying that they remember
the fraud-ridden presidential election of 2000 and that if the election
is stolen again, they will join nationwide protests starting on November
3rd--either in their local communities, in the states where the fraud occurred,
or in Washington DC. The pledge signers include personalities such as Michael
Moore, Jesse Jackson, and Dolores Huerta, as well as representatives from
groups such as the AFL-CIO, Sierra Club, United for Peace and Justice,
Global Exchange, CodePink, and the Feminist Majority.
On election night, after getting feedback from electoral experts throughout
the country, the coalition will decide whether to activate the network.
If so, protests, including non-violent civil disobedience, will be organized
at local election offices, polling places, government buildings, or political
party headquarters. And the protests will not last for one day or two days,
but until every vote is counted. If it takes camping out at government
offices for several weeks, so be it. It’s a small price to pay compared
to those who fought and died to bequeath us the right to vote.
So while we hope, pray and work for a clean election with a clear winner,
let’s not let down our guard. In 2000 we were tricked into thinking that
our government institutions would uphold electoral justice. This time,
let’s be clear that the only ones who can effectively demand that our votes
be counted are we, the people.
Medea Benjamin is co-founder of the peace group CodePink
and the human rights group Global Exchange.
She can be reached at medea@globalexchange.org.
http://www.progressivetrail.org/articles/041026Benjamin.shtml
