Article: Help Sarasota Voters With Lawsuit for Revote in Congressional Race

All activists please go to www.VoterAction.org and look at the action this nonpartisan group is making to help us get rid of the DRE's nationwide. If you have a special expertise like computer science, statistics, public relations or can jump to Sarasota to help take notarized affadavits from voters please email SarasotaReports@yahoo.com. Put FOR PAM in the subject line and Pam will contact you. We can winn this one and save our democracy!

Breaking News

Sarasota Voters File Lawsuit for Revote in Congressional Race

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 21, 2006

Voters from Sarasota County announced today that they are filing suit in state court in Tallahassee asking for a revote in Florida's 13th congressional district. The suit alleges that thousands of citizens were disenfranchised when massive undervotes plagued the tight congressional race between Democrat Christine Jennings and Republican Vern Buchanan. In a high-profile battle over former Rep. Katherine Harris' seat, the result was decided by 363 votes, yet over 18,000 ballots cast on Sarasota County's e-voting machines registered no vote in the race, an exceptional anomaly in the State.

The lawsuit is being filed by a group of Sarasota County voters, both Republican and Democratic. The voters are represented by election advocacy groups, including Voter Action, People For the American Way Foundation, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida.

"Election officials have shown remarkable disregard for the ability of voters to actually cast a ballot," said Ralph Neas, President of People For the American Way Foundation. "Casting a vote is one of our most fundamental rights, and that right was violated for thousands of Sarasota County voters. At this point holding a new election is the only appropriate option." Neas also called for statewide election reform, saying, "Florida can no longer afford to certify election results that no one trusts."

Read Full Press Release

Sarasota Election Contest Complaint 21 November 2006 | pdf

THREE MORE GROUPS JOIN NATIONAL CALL FOR INVESTIGATION INTO "MISSING" SARASOTA VOTES

VOTING MACHINE PROBLEMS IN SARASOTA COUNTY NOT ADDRESSED BY RECOUNT, GROUPS SAY; NEW COALITION FORMS TO SAFEGUARD VOTERS' RIGHTS

16 November 2006

Sarasota, FL: The push for a formal, in-depth investigation into the 18,000 missing votes of Sarasota County, led by nonpartisan group Voter Action, gained momentum today as Voter Action announced that the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, People for the American Way Foundation, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are joining the effort. All four groups emphasize the need for an independent investigation in order to get to the bottom of the problem and safeguard elections for the future.

Voter Action has been working in Florida since the election, in response to calls to its national election hotline and news reports. The group, which has filed suits against electronic voting system insecurities across the country since 2004, joined forces with concerned Florida citizen activists and election reform groups to mount their own investigation into why an electronic voting system failed to record more than 18,000 votes in Florida's District 13 congressional election on November 7th. Full Release | FL news page

FLORIDA VOTERS & NON PARTISAN ELECTION WATCHDOG KICK OFF INVESTIGATION OF ELECTION DISTRICT 13, SARASOTA ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES FAILED TO RECORD OVER 18,000 VOTES IN CONGRESSIONAL RACE

Sarasota, FL: Voters in the Congressional District 13 election in Sarasota County, Florida and the national non-partisan election integrity organization, Voter Action, which has filed suits against electronic voting system insecurities across the country since 2004, have joined forces with concerned Florida citizen activists and election reform groups to mount an investigation into why an electronic voting system failed to record more than 18,000 votes Florida's District 13 congressional race. Full Release | FL news page

Revote of Florida's 13th Congressional District Election Called For by National Voting Rights Groups

Contact: Tim Rusch of Demos, 212-389-1407, or trusch@demos.org ; or John Bonifaz of National Voting Rights Institute, 617-624-3900 ext. 22, or jbonifaz@nvri.org

NEW YORK, Nov. 15 /U.S. Newswire/ -- More than 18,000 votes are estimated to have been lost in Florida's 13th Congressional District, the Sarasota County district with a closely contested House race where fewer that 400 votes currently separate the candidates. Today, the National Voting Rights Institute (NVRI) and Demos, affiliated national voting rights and election reform organizations, issued the following statement calling for a revote in that district: Full Release

Voting machine suit seeks answers
By Paul Muschick | The Morning Call | 16 November 2006
Several Commonwealth Court judges on Wednesday questioned whether the state has a fair process for citizens to challenge the use of controversial touch-screen electronic voting machines. The questions arose during a 40-minute hearing at Temple University on a lawsuit filed by 25 citizens who say the machines are unreliable. Full Article

Donate Online to support Voter Action's work in Pennsylvania