Article: Action Alert! Urge Re-vote for FL-13

Electronic voting machines in Florida appear to have flat-out lost 18,000
votes for Congress--votes almost certain to change the outcome of a close
House race in Sarasota [1].

This election meltdown demonstrates the insanity of paperless voting
machines. There's no way to recount the votes short of holding a new
election. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi--along with Republican and
Democratic leaders--are deciding now if Congress will tolerate this broken
election or call for a new one.

The decision could come any day--and once it's made, it's hard to reverse.
Can you sign this petition urging Congress to call for a re-vote in
Sarasota, Florida and to repair our nation's elections? And then ask your
friends and family to do the same.

http://pol.moveon.org/floridaelection/?id=9601-4854481-wb7njZUCefXMn5WEsHjqVA&t=
2

Here's what the petition says: "In the wake of Florida's electronic voting
machine meltdown, Congress should call for a re-vote and repair our
nation's elections."

Our voices could make the critical difference. There's precedent for
calling a new election and Congress has the authority, but it's a bold
step. Pelosi and the Congress need to know that people are behind them.

No matter what party you're for, we can all agree we need to repair our
broken voting machines so a recount is possible in a close
election. Otherwise, no one will trust our elections. That's why it's so
important for us to speak up--and ask our friends, family, and co-workers
to join us--as soon as possible. We'll deliver your signature to the new
House leadership this week--and the total number of signatures will appear
in a full-page New York Times ad that Congress will see next week.

A re-vote in Sarasota will make sure every vote is counted in Florida--and
focus the nation's attention on the security weakness of paperless voting
machines. Shining a national spotlight on this voting crisis will
strengthen calls for repairs to our broken election system, including a
voter-verified paper record of every vote cast and manual audits of the
vote.

The electronic vote tally puts Democrat Christine Jennings just 369 votes
behind Republican Vern Buchanan--and the voting problems happened in a
Democratic county, so the 18,000 missing votes would almost certainly
change the outcome [2]. Of course, some people choose not to vote in
certain races. But there's no reason this would be six times more common
in Sarasota County than in neighboring counties in the same House
district--the only difference between the counties was the electronic
voting machines [3].

Howard Dean has just declared support for a re-vote [4]. But Congress is
reluctant to get involved, so we need to make sure they'll do the right
thing. The Constitution gives the House of Representatives the authority
to call for a re-vote. The House intervened in a similar case as recently
as 1985 [5]. The last re-vote in a congressional election was in 1975 [6].

Together, we can make sure Congress calls for a re-vote in Florida and
repairs our elections nationwide. Sign the petition today at:

http://pol.moveon.org/floridaelection/?id=9601-4854481-wb7njZUCefXMn5WEsHjqVA&t=
3

Thank you for all you do.

--Noah, Ilyse, Ben, Carrie, Eli, and the whole MoveOn.org Political Action
Team
Monday, December 11th, 2006

P.S. MoveOn members raised more than $60,000 to support a lawsuit by the
non-partisan election watchdogs at Voter Action seeking a re-vote in
Sarasota, Florida. The Democratic Party is also fighting for a re-vote in
court.

Sources:
1. "Did voting machines steal a Democratic victory?," Salon, November 22,
2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2231&id=9601-4854481-wb7njZUCefXMn5WEsHjqVA&t=4

2. "House May End Up in 13th District Feud," The Ledger, November 9, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2229&id=9601-4854481-wb7njZUCefXMn5WEsHjqVA&t=5

3. "FL-13: Nitty Gritty," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee,
November 14, 2006
http://www.dccc.org/stakeholder/archives/005572.html

4. "Dean calls for revote in Sarasota," Associated Press, December 8, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2260&id=9601-4854481-wb7njZUCefXMn5WEsHjqVA&t=6

5. C-SPAN's Capitol Questions, May 3, 2000
http://www.c-span.org/questions/weekly93.asp

6. "The CQPolitics Interview: Christine Jennings (Fla. 13)," New York
Times, December 6, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/cq/2006/12/06/cq_2012.html

Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is
entirely funded by our 3.2 million members. We have no corporate
contributors, no foundation grants, no money from unions. Our tiny staff
ensures that small contributions go a long way. If you'd like to support
our work, you can give now at:

http://political.moveon.org/donate/email.html?id=9601-4854481-wb7njZUCefXMn5WEsH
jqVA&t=7

PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.