http://www.ballotintegrity.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=printer_format&forum=DCForumID1&om=381&omm=0

RESOLUTION TO RESTORE HONORABLE ELECTIONS IN AMERICA

WHEREAS, the state of the American Republic and its democratic elections is dire and in urgent need of preservation and repair; and

WHEREAS, we have reached a pivotal juncture in the national elections integrity timeline, at which ineffective tactics and the error of omission will have fateful consequences; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Federal Elections of 2000, 2002, and 2004 were fraught with disreputable conduct and evidence of steadily increasing malfeasance; and

WHEREAS, the impact of such dishonorable elections has been the progressive undermining of the health, well-being and liberties of Americans, as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights; and

WHEREAS, grave concerns for the security and sanctity of America’s elections have been precipitated, in part, by the passage of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of October of 2002; and

WHEREAS, HAVA and invisible electronic voting technologies are unlawful, as they violate the Voting Rights Act, which requires that vote counts be observable; and

WHEREAS, legislation, which enables HAVA and electronic voting, is undesirable, and serves to further entrench such undesirable elements into our voting systems; and

WHEREAS, partisan e-voting vendor and defense industry interest and involvement in the creation, pursuit and passage of the Help America Vote Act casts doubt upon the Act, itself, and, as such, upon the validity of America’s post-HAVA elections; and

WHEREAS, the enactment of HAVA has created needless chaos, by imposing alleged mandates and deadlines compelling the deployment of objectionable voting systems and services into America’s elections, at citizens' expense and absent our consent; and

WHEREAS, the introduction of secretive nontransparent technology that employs such elements as proprietary complex code, networking, flash memory, remote access, cryptography, and all other technologies that breach the security of our election processes while votes are cast, counted, compiled, conveyed and communicated as the official vote tallies, is inherently undemocratic; and

WHEREAS, mounting lack of confidence in our democratic election systems is seriously undermining America, both domestically and internationally; and

WHEREAS, by such despoiling of our elections, the will of the American people has been violated, our essential voice diminished, and the sacred trust of the citizens breached; and

WHEREAS, our great and cherished nation, “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” by such means, is being unlawfully usurped and unduly sequestered; and

WHEREAS, such conditions have carried our nation off course from the inspired vision of our forebears for a system of wise and just governance in which, by way of honorable elections, citizens are respected and protected; and

WHEREAS, as concerned patriots and advocates of election justice, it is our sacred charge and mission to uphold, at all times, the principles of optimal transparency, accountability, and integrity in America’s elections; and

WHEREAS, there is pressing need to correct our country’s course, as the ensurance of honorable elections is the bedrock upon which all aspects of just governance depend;

THEREFORE, we, acting in the spirit and history of the American Republic, with reverence for our forebears and concern for our country, do hereby resolve that:

1. We will stand together, as light bearers, in upholding our shared mission to facilitate America's return to just, open, transparent and honorable elections;

2. We will openly advocate for fully transparent elections, consisting of:

a. Paper ballots, hand counted in public view on site at the precincts, immediately upon close of polls;

b. Election results posted prominently at each precinct upon timely completion of vote counts;

c. Signed, witnessed tally sheets, prepared in triplicate, properly - communicated and safely secured;

d. Chain of custody of ballots at all times respected and protected;

e. Written tabulation charts, publicly setting forth vote tallies from precinct, to county, to state and to federal levels, as the sole basis for election results certification;

f. Ballots retained securely for safekeeping until the 22-month statute of limitation expires.

g. A reliable system of checks and balances, through an integrated auditing mechanism within the vote counting procedures, on and after Election Day.

h. Checks and balances for all aspects of the election system as a requisite, fundamental and indispensible element of our democracy.

3. We will act in support of these principles, and in accordance with this shared mission, by publicly promoting these policies; and

4. We will actively work for repeal of all or portions of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), and such conditions, that violate the

a) Fundamental rights and liberties of all Americans, as stated in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights; and the

b) Right of all American citizens to:

* Dignity, justice and integrity in America's elections

* Visible, tangible hand counted paper ballots

* Transparent, publicly observed vote counts

* Public and prominent election results posting at all precincts

* Transparent, visible vote tallying

* Decentralized, traceable, and transparent vote tabulation, and

* Simple, transparent, respectful and honorable elections.

Early Signers:

Sharona Merel, Co-Founder, National Ballot Integrity Project (NBIP), http://www.ballotintegrity.org; Co-Founder, New Hampshire Ballot Integrity Task Force; Member, Democracy for New Hampshire Fair Elections Committee; http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com; Founder, Concerned Humanity; NH

Dr. Larry J. Quick, Co-Founder, National Ballot Integrity Project; Co-Founder, Illinois Ballot Integrity Project, http://www.ballot-integrity.org ; Director, Quick ‘n Clean Foundation, http://www.qnc.us; IL

Victoria Collier, Editor, http://www.votescam.com, Votescam–The Stealing of America; S.A.V.E. Democracy, http://www.wesavedemocracy.org/; Member, Executive Steering Committee, National Ballot Integrity Project; NM

Bev Harris, Elections Investigator/Author, Black Box Voting – Vote Tampering in the 21st Century; http://www.blackboxvoting.org; WA

Kathleen Wynne, Media Spokesperson and Investigator, Black Box Voting; http://www.blackboxvoting.org; Member, Executive Steering Committee, National Ballot Integrity Project, http://www.ballot-integrity.org; WA

Vickie Karp, Co-Founder, Coalition for Visible Ballots, Texas; http://www.coalitionforvisibleballots.com/; Advisory Board Member, Black Box Voting; Member, Executive Steering Committee, National Ballot Integrity Project; TX

Dr. Jonathan Simon, Exit Polling Analyst; We Do Not Concede http://www.donotconcede.com; Advisory Board Member, National Ballot Integrity Project; Boston/Cambridge Alliance for Democracy, http://www.thealliancefordemocracy.com; MA

Sheila Parks, Ed.D, Founding Member, Coalition Against Election Fraud (CAEF), Boston, Massachusetts, http://www.caef.us; Member, Code Pink, http://www.codepinkalert.org; MA

Nancy White, Co-Founder, New Hampshire Ballot Integrity Task Force; Member, Democracy for New Hampshire Fair Elections Committee, http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com; Member, National Ballot Integrity Project; Co-Founder, Women Making a Difference (WMD); NH

Nancy Tobi, Co-Founder and Vice Chair, Democracy for New Hampshire, http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com; Chair, Democracy for New Hampshire Fair Elections Committee; NH

Kat L'Estrange; Editor, We Do Not Concede, http://www.donotconcede.com; OR

Gary Beckwith, Editor; Solarbus.org, http://www.election.solarbus.org; Election 2004 Video CD, http://www.solarbus.org/election/cd/ for cd's at $2 each for s&h, by mail, or to download free with fast connection: http://www.archive.org/details/election2004-video-CD; VT

Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D., Expert Witness, Moss v. Bush, http://www.northnet.org/minstrel; NY

Dave Berman, Author, GuvWurld blog, http://guvwurld.blogspot.com , Voter Confidence Resolution, http://tinyurl.com/amryg, and Blueprint For Peaceful Revolution, http://tinyurl.com/au2pj; Co-Founder, Voter Confidence Committee of Humboldt County, CA, www.voterconfidencecommittee.org; CA

Lt. Dennis Morrisseau, former military officer and declared Republican/Independent candidate for U.S. Congress from Vermont, calling for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney and recruiting able, independent, fed-up, ordinary citizens to run for every seat in the U.S. Congress in the upcoming '06 elections.  Contact him, please, if you can serve and will stand:  Phone: (802) 645-9727; Email: dmorso@netzero.net; Web: http://www.2LTmorrisseau.com; VT

Philip M. Lindsey, Director, Kansas City Minority Museum; Co-Chair, Diversity Coalition, Independence, Missouri; MO

Raymond Fox, Washington State; WA

Rady Ananda, J30 Coalition; Ohio; OH

Chuck Garner; California; CA

Paul Hagen; Minneapolis, MN

Bonnie Darwin, Pittsburgh, PA

Judith B. Alter, Ed.D. Recount New Mexico, California Election Protection Network, http://www. StudyCaliforniaBallots.org parallel elections, speaker, researcher, activist, organizer; CA

Additional signers are being added in various ways.  To sign on to the RESOLUTION TO RESTORE HONORABLE ELECTIONS IN AMERICA, send an email, with "SIGN ON" in the subject heading, to EarthAngelsNtwk@aol.com.   Please include your name, association (for identification purposes only), your website, if applicable, and state.

Thanks very much for your support of the RESOLUTION TO RESTORE HONORABLE ELECTIONS IN AMERICA.