L.A. County Democratic Party

Important Action Alert - Please Act Now!

TELL CONGRESS: DON’T SURRENDER TO BUSH ON IRAQ

Today Congress will vote on a proposed Iraq War funding bill that fails to hold the President accountable for progress in Iraq, fails to set a withdrawal date, and fails to bring our troops home. This so-called “compromise” legislation is in fact a complete capitulation to the President’s demands to continue this war indefinitely, and must be opposed.

There is still time to call your Congressmember and ask that they vote “no.” Please take a minute THIS MORNING to let your Representative know you oppose continued war funding legislation without a *binding withdrawal timeline* attached.

TELL CONGRESS: DON’T SURRENDER TO BUSH ON IRAQ

Please call NOW toll free at 800-828-0498, 800-459-1887 or 800-614-2803 and ask for your own House member and Senators. And ALSO leave separate messages for both Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi at their leadership offices. They represent you too!

A MESSAGE FROM HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI

I had hoped that President Bush would accept my offer to work together on a New Direction in Iraq and sign crucial legislation holding the Iraqi government accountable. Instead, the President chose to continue to isolate himself from Congress, the international community, and the American people by vetoing the Democratic plan for change in Iraq.

The President isn’t listening to the American people’s call to end this disastrous war. What further proof do they need than the timing of his veto? The President vetoed our bill that would end this war and bring our troops home the week of the fourth anniversary of his infamous “Mission Accomplished” speech that declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq. Four years after that misguided speech, the President keeps making the same mistakes in Iraq.

Our bill achieved exactly what the American people elected us to do in November 2006. It would have fully funded troops on the ground, started to bring them home responsibly, held President Bush accountable, and ensured our veterans get the treatment they deserve back home.

Congress has responded to the will of the American people. President Bush has not. The President is clinging to his failed stay-the-course strategy in Iraq, while brave servicemen and women risk their lives for his mistakes.

House and Senate Democrats offered a plan for change in Iraq that gave the President every penny he requested for soldiers on the ground and more. But it also gave him something he’s tried to avoid: accountability.

President Bush may have the bully pulpit - but we have you. Close to 60,000 of you signed the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)’s petition to the President telling him not to veto our plan. The American people are with us and the fight for a New Direction in Iraq is not over - we hope you will continue to stand with us.

We are counting on you — and millions of Democrats across the country who are united and energized as never before — to help build an unstoppable Democratic Majority and put a Democrat in the White House in 2008.

Thank you for your continued dedication.

Sincerely,

Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House of Representatives

We are deeply saddened by the loss of Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald.  We lost a dear friend.  America lost a true fighter.

Congresswoman Millender-McDonald was a pacesetter on numerous fronts. She was the first African American woman in history to hold the chairmanship of the powerful Committee on House Administration; the first African American woman to serve on the Carson City Council; the first woman to hold the chairmanship of the powerful Insurance and Revenue & Taxation Committees of the California State Assembly in her first term; the first African American woman to give the national Democratic response to President Bush’s weekly radio address; the first Democratic chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s issues; and the first to be named Honorary Curator of the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach.

In her role on the Committee on House Administration, Congresswoman Millender-McDonald called the first election reform field hearing in history as she investigated widespread voter irregularities and disenfranchisement in Ohio.

In addition, she worked with former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and Ambassador John Miller on human trafficking and women’s rights issues around the world.  She had spoken out against genocide in Darfur, Cambodia, and other regions where human rights are violated.

Congresswoman Millender-McDonald was recently rated as one of the five most effective Members of Congress in a University of California study because of her ability to work across the aisle to pass legislation.

Congresswoman Millender-McDonald’s legacy in fighting for justice and equality at home and abroad will be remembered.

On behalf of all Democrats, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Congresswoman Millender-McDonald’s family and friends. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her.

Eric C. Bauman
Chair
Los Angeles County Democratic Party

Ensuring every vote counts in elections
By Dianne Feinstein - from The Sacramento Bee - April 22, 2007

The 2006 vote count in Sarasota County, Fla., exposed major weaknesses in our nation’s voting system. Nearly 240,000 voters cast ballots on Nov. 7. But when their votes were tallied, things didn’t square up: There were 18,000 fewer votes in the 13th Congressional District than were recorded in other contests on the same ballot.

So-called undervotes occur in every election. But the rate of undervotes on Sarasota County’s touch-screen machines was five times the rate seen on absentee ballots in the same contest.

Clearly, something went wrong. Was it a software glitch? Did poor ballot design lead voters mistakenly to overlook the congressional race? Was there tampering? We don’t know. After an investigation, Florida election officials say software was not to blame. But other experts say machine failure cannot be ruled out.

In the end, Republican Vern Buchanan was declared the winner over Democrat Christine Jennings, by only 369 votes. Thousands of votes were never recorded. And since the machines were not equipped to provide a paper trail that could be verified by the voters, we may never know what the true count was.

This sort of uncertainty is unacceptable. That’s why I am introducing legislation to reform our nation’s voting systems. The Ballot Integrity Act would:

• Require that all voting systems used in federal elections have a voter-verified paper trail, and ban the purchase of new voting systems that do not provide a paper trail.

• Establish a $600 million grant program to help states purchase voting systems equipped to produce a voter-verified paper trail.

• Create a $3 million competitive grant program to develop a voting system with a voter-verified paper trail, with full accessibility for the disabled.

• Require random public audits of electronic voting tallies, and open voting system software to inspection by independent computer analysts.

• Require that all voting places offer emergency paper ballots in case of system failures or delays.

These changes are critical to ensuring that every vote counts. To leave things as they stand today is to invite trouble.

The danger is real. In last year’s midterm elections, one-third of voters — 55 million Americans — cast ballots on electronic voting systems. Some jurisdictions have machines that leave a voter-verified paper trail; others do not.

In Sarasota County’s 13th Congressional District, recounts were conducted, but they were essentially pointless. That’s because the recount there simply entailed tallying the same electronic record again. And so the same flawed result was produced, with no way to find out why 18,000 votes went missing.

Inaccurate election tallies are an urgent problem, but so far they have not been addressed adequately. It has been more than four years since the Help America Vote Act, to reform federal elections, was passed by Congress and signed into law. But experts have identified several serious issues:

• The nonpartisan Election Reform Information Project found that new electronic voting machines may lack necessary security safeguards, and that statewide voter registration databases may not be accurate.

• In two studies in 2006, the Brennan Center for Justice, at the New York University School of Law, found more than 120 security threats to voting machines. The Brennan Center also found a notable lack of scientific study of voting system cost, security and accessibility — especially for disabled voters.

The problems in Sarasota County are a warning that must be heeded. If similar problems had occurred in the last election in Montana or Virginia — states with tight U.S. Senate contests — control of the Congress might have been unclear.

The good news is that some states are beginning to act. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has announced plans to replace touch-screen voting systems with paper ballots counted by scanning machines. Other states are considering similar plans.

These are moves in the right direction. But they are not enough. We must have uniform national voting standards.

The stakes are high. Inaccurate vote counts erode voter confidence. And if voters lose faith, they may give up on voting altogether.

Voting is fundamental to our democracy and is guaranteed by the Constitution. But the right to vote is diminished if we don’t count the vote accurately. It is imperative that Congress ensures that voter choices are recorded accurately, free from error or mischief.

Copyright © The Sacramento Bee

FROM HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI - April 20,2007

The American People Are Ready For a New Direction In Iraq

This week, the House appointed conferees on the Iraq Accountability Act for reconciliation with the Senate version of the emergency supplemental. The legislation that Congress will send to the President’s desk supports our troops, honors our commitments to our veterans, holds the Iraqi government accountable, and provides for a responsible redeployment from Iraq.

Democrats are ready to work with the President to change the direction in Iraq, but the President must accept the facts and put aside partisan attacks and heated rhetoric:

Fact 1: The Pentagon confirms Congressional Research Service report saying the White House claim that Congress is delaying the funding for the troops is false. “The Pentagon says it has enough money to pay for the Iraq war through June, despite warnings from the White House that troops are being harmed by Congress’ failure to quickly deliver more funds.” [AP, 4/19/07]

Fact 2: Today, the President’s own Defense Secretary. Robert Gates, once again said that we cannot have an open-ended commitment in Iraq: “I’m sympathetic with some of the challenges that they [the Iraqis] face…[But] the clock is ticking.” [AP, 4/19/07]

Fact 3: Fully 70 percent disapprove of the way the President Bush is handling the war, and six in 10 Americans trust Democrats in Congress over the President on the war. [ABC News/Washington Post, 4/16/07; CNN Poll, 4/18/07]

The President continues to push for a war without end, while the American people believe it is time for a new direction. Democrats want to work together with the President to responsibly wind down this war.

House Democratic Leaders call President’s attention to crucial facts in Iraq war debate>>