Green Party endorses Standing For Voters Pledge
The Green Party of the United States has become the first political party to
endorse the Election Integrity Pledge promoted by Standing For
Voters<http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?key=205369212&url_num=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.standingforvoters.org%2F>,
an internet-based group inviting candidates to pledge their commitment to
fair elections.
Along with the Green Party, several Green Party candidates have pledged ‘no
early concessions’ and actions challenging election outcomes if necessary:
presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney and vice presidential candidate Rosa
Clemente; US Congressional candidates Carol Brouillet (Calif.-14), Rebecca
Dewitt (Ariz.-4), Harold Burbank (Conn.-5), and Mike Beilstein (Or.-4); and
five candidates for state and local offices: Dan Kairis of Illinois, Richard
Boyle of California, Rick Lass of New Mexico, Allan Hancock of Minnesota,
and Charles A. Pillsbury of Connecticut.
“Led by David Cobb, our 2004 presidential candidate, Greens organized the
response to the 2004 vote theft. John Kerry and most of his fellow Democrats
did nothing after reports and evidence of GOP election manipulation and
obstruction of African American and young voters surfaced. Meanwhile, Greens filed for the recounts in Ohio and New Mexico and raised most of the money for legal expenses. It’s our special obligation and privilege to be the
first party to sign on to the Standing For Voters pledge,” said Holly Hart,
secretary of the Green Party of the United States.
For more on Green leadership in the Ohio and New Mexico recounts, visit IWantMyVote.com
In signing the pledge, Greens sharply condemned recent tactics that have
been used to obstruct and discourage voters, especially African Americans in
certain states, from voting. Such tactics include letters to voters falsely
claiming that they’ve been declared ineligible to vote, foreclosure lists
denying right to vote because a voter’s address is “no longer valid,” and
vicious attacks on voter registration efforts.
“The drastic efforts to disqualify legitimate voters suggests that we’ll see
a repeat of Republican conspiracies to steal the national election. Will
Democrats fight this time, or will they roll over again and leave it to the
Green Party?” asked Sanda Everette, co-chair of the Green Party.
The documentary ‘American Blackout’<http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?key=205369212&url_num=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanblackout.com%2F>covers Cynthia McKinney’s role in the struggle for election integrity. A recent essay by Ms. McKinney also addresses the breakdown in fair elections (OpEdNews.com, Oct. 7)
The Green Party advocates various systematic reforms to ensure fair,
accurate, and truly democratic elections, including public financing of
elections, free time on public airwaves for all candidates, repeal of ballot
access laws restricting alternative-party and independent candidates, paper
verification and open-source software for computer voting systems, instant
runoff voting, and proportional representation.
According to the Standing For Voters pledge, signers promise to challenge
election results “if the combination of election conditions, incident
reports, and announced election results calls into question the reliability
of the official vote count.” Should another candidate be declared the winner
in a race, signers vow to “wait until all valid votes are counted and all
serious challenges resolved before conceding defeat.”
“We’d like to see all of the nation’s political parties endorse Standing For
Voters, as the Green Party has done nationally,” said Emily Levy, Standing
For Voters Project Coordinator. “As participants in what’s commonly known as
‘our democratic process,’ all parties should commit to fair elections. We
welcome endorsements from local, state, and national party organizations, as
well as other groups that care about democracy.”
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