HOW OUR VOTES SHOULD
BE COUNTED EVERY ELECTION
in your precinct -- by your neighbors, and
maybe you!
Elections would be exciting -- and
REAL again!
(This is actually a reproduction Section 12 from the article found on this website "Understanding the REAL "2000 Election" Scam")
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Section 12: We could easily Fund an open, honest hand count BY CITIZENS -- and it should be the very first priority of the American People !!!
In that last e-wire link concerning Newt Gingrich, we reported that Gingrich said on "Meet the Press" that if they need to "attach money" to the new technology -- to induce the states and counties to start using it -- then so be it. Note that whenever the Ruling Elite wants to advance their agenda -- money is no object.
At Citizens for a Fair Vote Count, we have estimated that it would take no more than 400 million dollars per election to hand count every vote on every ballot in the United States. Because the Ruling Elite and their Big Media insist on easily riggable elections -- all you hear is how we "can't possibly" afford the expenses of the hand count.
Well, how deceived is anyone who falls for this line or malarkey!
For just as national defense is necessary to protect us from foreign enemies, honest, open, verifiable elections are necessary to protect us from domestic enemies. Whatever expense is needed to safeguard the nation from foreign and domestic enemies -- must be allocated. But ---
The truth is that $400 million per election day is QUITE inexpensive to safeguard our elections. Let me explain:
In July of 2003, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld confirmed that the US occupation of Iraq would cost $4 Billion dollars per month. PER MONTH! In numerous other official pronouncements, the American people are being told that we "must" expect to be in Iraq for 5 to 10 years. But let's just consider the cost of occupying Iraq for only one year: $48 BILLION dollars. (In fact -- by April, 2004 -- the cost had been ratcheted up to over $250 billion dollars!) When the Ruling Elite wants something -- the money is readily available!
Now, since we have two major election days each year -- the primary election (usually held in May or thereabouts in most states) and the general election (held in November) -- then it would cost 2 x $400 million to count every last ballot by hand in any given year. That's $800 million per year to insure honest elections.
Let's take a moment to explain why we say it will cost $400 million per election to count every last vote. The average precinct has between 200 and 300 ballots cast. 4 teams of two people would have to count between 50 and 75 ballots each, and that should take no more than 4 hours, at the very most. (These 8 people, or counters, or scrutineers, in each neighborhood precinct, ideally, have been chosen about 2 weeks in advance at a public gathering during which the names of all registered voters in that precinct were put in a hat, and then 8 of them were drawn out of the hat in public. These 8 would be the counters or scrutineers -- the official vote counters. 4 more registered voters from that precinct would then be picked to be "back ups" in case one of the primary scrutineers gets sick, and such "back-ups" would be observers at the counting even if all 8 of the designated scrutineers show up.)
So, at each precinct we would have 12 neighborhood voters chosen for a solemn duty to be executed right as the polls close in their precinct. But here's the good news: all 8 counters and all 4 back ups would be paid $100 for their efforts to count the votes in public. This would be a nice reward for helping to ensure the continuing freedom of your country, and would amount in most cases to more than $25 per hour, thus making these coveted positions.
Since there are about 300,000 neighborhood precincts in the USA, then we must multiply 300,000 precincts x 12 people, and we come up with 3,600,000 people. Then we multiply 3,600,000 people times $100 for their work counting the votes on election night -- and we come up with a total cost of $360,000,000 dollars. Factoring a few other costs that will be involved in supporting these people, let's throw in another $40 million nationwide, although it's difficult to imagine what this would be for, as everything else about the election would remain the same. So that brings us to a total of $400 million dollars for the primary election, $400 million for the November election, or $800 million per year.
So, what the US government is going to spend on occupying Iraq for one year ($48 billion) -- would pay for honest elections in the United States for 60 years. We could also simply deduct $800 million from the $5 billion plus in aid we give the "state of Israel" each year, and use that to ensure honest elections. Or deduct $800 million from numerous other over-bloated budgets and expenditures throughout the federal budget. (Ideally each county should fund the proper counting of the votes -- but we are merely demonstrating here how readily available the money is for this all important activity.)
Do you see how mendacious
and criminal it is for any of our public officials to cry "no money" when we ask
them to count our votes in the open -- with citizen checks and balances?
Another important reform that needs to be made:
in Europe, most nations isolate the decisive national and state elections from
the local elections.
This is a good idea -- and it would take away the major objection advanced by the Big TV Networks as to why we can't have citizens count their own paper ballots at the neighborhood precinct right as the polls close.
In other words, there would be two general election days in October/November OR all the other local races and issues and all the other state offices and issues would be moved to the odd numbered year following the national and (3 most important offices in your) state election day.
What is now election day in November would become national and (top 3) state election day in the USA. The only races on the ballot would be the races for President, US Senate, US Congress (national), and Governor, State Senate, and State Legislature (most important state offices).
From these six positions emanate 99% of the decisions and laws which determine the destiny of our country (yes, I know that Judges have usurped much of the key decision making power -- but, with a more honest executive and legislative branch, truly elected by the people, judicial tyrants could be impeached or defunded).
The rest of the races, -- from issues to state attorney general to local coroner -- would be held on a second election day a few weeks earlier, or a few weeks later -- or moved to the next odd numbered year. Simple. That would mean that when we elect a President or a US Senator or a US Congressman -- or a Governor, or State Senator, or State Legislator -- there would only be six decisions to make for the voters.
And -- there would be only six items on each ballot for the counters or scrutineers at each neighborhood precinct to tabulate. That would mean that 8 citizen-scrutineers in each neighborhood precinct would have only 250 ballots with six items on each ballot to count. Simple
Since the 8 scrutineers would be working in teams of two -- that means each of the four teams would have about 60 ballots to count, with only 6 items on each ballot. This would take only two or three hours at most. And election night would not be "just another computer game" anymore.
Elections would be exciting and REAL again. What are the Democratic and Republican Election officials -- and the 5 big TV networks -- and all the major Daily newspapers -- going to say to THAT? Let's find out.
AND one more important and logical reform: Election Day AND the day AFTER election day should also become a national holiday.
That way everybody who wants to -- can really concentrate on last minute study of the candidate and issues, last minute information gathering the night before and on election day, last minute lobbying of their neighbors, friends, and circles of influence -- if they so choose.
ALSO, the scutineers, if for some reason they had to stay up late on election night counting the ballots -- would be able to catch up on sleep the next morning.
To repeat -- in truth, NATIONAL ELECTIONS are more important than national defense. National Elections determine who will DIRECT our nation's military. And then, just as national defense should protect us from foreign enemies, HONEST and OPEN elections will protect us from DOMESTIC ENEMIES.
We will be in control of our national destiny again.
(End of excerpt from "Understanding the REAL "2000 Election" Scam")