September 21, 2007

WTP Initiates National "Clean Elections" Lawsuit

Ten states are being sued to prevent the use of computerized voting systems during the 2008 primary and general elections and beyond. The lawsuit seeks to halt the use of machine-based voting systems and vote counting procedures that hide the ballots and the counting of votes from the People. The complaint challenges the constitutionality of current voting procedures in the states, claiming that they "heighten the possibility of confusion, deception, frustration, and fraud." It contends that the existing practices are constitutionally deficient and prevent open, verifiable, transparent voting, and that the use of discredited electronic voting machines and flawed vote counting procedures drastically increase the likelihood of error and election fraud. The lawsuit calls for a visible chain of ballot custody with paper ballots kept in full public view throughout the voting, counting, and tallying process. The lawsuit asks the Court to prohibit the states from conducting elections that are not open, verifiable, transparent and machine and computer free. The US Supreme Court has declared the meaning of the Right to vote, as guaranteed by the US Constitution. Individuals not only have the Right to cast a vote, they have the Right to cast an effective vote, meaning they have the Right to have their vote counted accurately. "We need to bring transparency and accountability to the voting process throughout the states," said Bob Schulz, who wrote the brief and is spearheading the nationwide effort. "We need to reclaim our vote and ensure that our voices are heard and that our votes are accurately counted. The only sure way to do that is to have the People, in the light of day, observe, verify, and secure the votes cast on paper ballots and to count those ballots before the public by hand." The ten states that have been sued thus far include New York, New Hampshire, Illinois, South Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Texas, California and Oregon. We are in the process of serving the Complaint on each state. Click here to read the Complaint. Coming soon: Surprising reaction by Illinois officials to the "Clean Elections" lawsuit and good news from developments this week at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Visit the WTP home page at www.GiveMeLiberty.org to access all the 6700 court pleadings and orders. Please remember that our on-line e-stores have been disabled pending resolution of the outstanding injunction issues. Your direct donations are currently the only source of funding for the WTP Foundation. Although WTP has shut down virtually all of its website content, our supporters can still join our e-Mail list, donate, join the WTP Congress, and make Profile changes such as address, email, etc. Thank You for your support. Our Home Page is www.GiveMeLiberty.org