ABOUT WeThePatriots.org: This site was founded through the collaboration of several group leaders for organizations championing clean government, freedom of information, and real, meaningful election reform measures to clean up the U.S. voting system. WeThePatriots.org is designed to help citizens sign on to communicate formal, unified citizen requests to public officials. The original collaborators behind this effort are Nancy Tobi, Chair of Democracy for New Hampshire, Bev Harris, founder of Black Box Voting, who was featured in the recent HBO documentary "Hacking Democracy," Vickie Karp, a board member for Black Box Voting and the Coalition for Visible Ballots, and co-editor of the book "HACKED! High Tech Election Theft in America"; and Abbe Waldman DeLozier, the shaker and mover behind numerous public interest media events and co-editor of HACKED! The first project for WeThePatriots.org is sponsorship of the online petition to eliminate obstacles to real reform in elections by amending the Holt Bill. Many different group leaders and public officials assisted on development of this approach, which is practical, is fact-based, and CAN WORK. We'd like to thank voting rights attorney Paul Lehto and the Voting Integrity Editor for OpEd News, Joan Brunwasser, for their assistance in crafting this letter,and we are indebted to the brilliant public officials who helped behind the scenes to develop this workable approach to real reform. You can sign on to the first project petition to be hosted on WeThePatriots.org here: Sign on to REQUEST BY VOTERS here WHAT AM I SIGNING ON TO? WE VOTERS are requesting specific amendments to proposed election reform legislation to provide crucial checks and balances for TRANSPARENCY and ACCOUNTABILITY and CITIZEN OVERSIGHT in elections. THE REMEDIES: (1) Voter marked paper ballots and backup emergency hand-counted paper ballot plan for all computerized voting jurisdictions. (2) Freedom of access to election information to all citizens. (3) Restructuring the Election Assistance Commission to a 50-state representational body of election officials and citizens. THE RECOMMENDATIONS: (1) Comprehensive GAO Accountability Study and analysis of election administration and post-HAVA election equipment, appropriations, and results. (2) Congressional Committee to study the election crisis and hold public hearings. Here is an executive summary: Executive Summary - REQUEST BY VOTERS Here is the full text: Full text - REQUEST BY VOTERS AN OPEN LETTER TO VOTERS January 2007 Dear American Patriot, You have undoubtedly been solicited by several large organizations and others to sign petitions for election reform at the national level. There are many legislative proposals to amend the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA). We represent an affiliation of citizen election reformers working in a direction that we know can WORK and can restore democratic elections to our country. We are asking for your support of our Request by Voters, and for permission to add your name to our letter to Congress. Please respond with your affirmation of support TODAY. Sign your name to our letter to Congress here: http://www.wethepatriots.org/HAVA/requestbyvoters.php Then, pass on this request to everyone you know. Contact YOUR Congressional representatives and ask them to help amend the Holt Bill to include the remedies and recommendations found in the Request by Voters. Contact Congressman Rush Holt, and tell him you support the Request by Voters. Contact Congressman Holt here: mail@rusholt.com HAVA and currently proposed legislative amendments focus on technology-based elections, our remedies focus on democratic elections. We believe the question of if and how technology fits into elections must build off of this foundation, and not vice versa. H.R. 550 (the "Holt Bill") contains the framework to make this happen, if amended. We strongly oppose legislation, including S-450, which unrealistically proposes turning our elections into high-tech, high-cost, low-democracy events. The time for action is NOW, and it is urgent. Congress wants to act swiftly on election reform, but they are going down the wrong path. A dangerous path. It is up to us to help them out of the woods. We can provide them with the necessary cover to DO THE RIGHT THING by bringing public pressure to bear to follow the right path this time around. Many forces are united behind maintaining the techno-election industry whose lobbyists were behind the passage of HAVA. We need a greater force to support democratic elections. We need YOUR HELP. We need the true grassroots, the patriots of the Republic, to affirm your support, sign on, and help save our Republic. The Request by Voters Remedies and Recommendations are simple and straightforward. They are supported by some of the most experienced and intelligent election officials in the nation because they know IT WILL WORK. Your signature on this letter will be sent to members of the U.S. congress. Early sponsors of the Request by Voters include over one thousand organizations and individuals, representing true American grass roots citizenship. Among the early signers are the following organizations and individuals: - BlackBoxVoting.org - Democracy for New Hampshire - Coalition for Visible Ballots - Election Defense Alliance - Citizens to Stop Computerized Voting - Latinos for America - OpEdNews.com - Thom Hartmann, Journalist - Mark Crispin Miller, Author - Paul Lehto, Election law attorney - Steven F. Freeman, PhD., election poll analyst and author - Bruce Funk, the former elected County Clerk from Emery County, Utah who was locked out of his office and terminated for allowing an evaluation of Diebold touch-screens. - Steve Heller, Diebold Election Systems whistleblower, who was threatened with jail time after leaking documents to the press that exposed misrepresentations by Diebold to the Calif. Secretary of State. - Bruce O'Dell, Statistician and election forensics research - Election Integrity - CAMBER - YubaNet News - Show Me The Vote – Missouri - TrueVoteSan Diego - Vote Rescue, Austin, Texas - Protect California Ballots - Midwest Minutemen - San Diego Democracy For America - Memphis Operation Election Integrity - Protect California Ballots - National Ballot Integrity Project - New Hampshire Ballot Integrity Task Force - New Hampshire Citizens Alliance - Joan Brunwasser, Election News Editor, - New Hampshire Women Making a Difference - Progressive Democrats of America-- Metro San Diego chapter - Vicki Karp, board member for Black Box Voting, Chair of the Visible Ballots Coalition, co-editor of Hacked: High Tech Election Theft in America - Democracy for New Hampshire Fair Elections Committee - Abbe Waldman Delozier, Editor, Hacked: High Tech Election Theft in America - Jim March, board member, Black Box Voting and a consultant to the Arizona Democratic Party Election Integrity Task Force - Al Kolwicz, CAMBER - Bev Harris, founder and director of Black Box Voting - Nancy Tobi, Chair of Democracy for New Hampshire - Ben Elfert , FL Fireman, Pierce County - Harland Harrison, Candidate for Congress, CA District 12, Libertarian Party, 2004 & 2006 - Jackson Action - Larry L. Jackson , 2006 Chair 30th District Democrats - Rob Kall, Managing Editor, OpEdNews.com - Camille Khattar , Precinct Chair 14, Democratic Party of Collin County, North Texas - Mary Patee , H D # 27 Chair Jeffco Democrats, Jefferson Count - Arvada Peace & Justice - Josh Mitteldorf - Wanda Schwerer, Committeeperson, Pinellas County Democratic Party, Belleair Beach - Jeanie Williams-West , Local Democratic Party Executive Committee, State central committee, local parish executive committee And over one thousand other groups and individuals. Please help. Please affirm your support TODAY and that of your organization if applicable. We can no longer do this alone. We need you. Sincerely, Nancy Nancy Tobi, Chair Democracy for New Hampshire PO Box 717 Concord, NH 03301 Tel: 603.315.4500 As Bev Harris says, we can do this thing. But we need YOU to help us get it done. CONTACT WeThePatriots.org: patriotism@earthlink.net