Final Counter-Voter Suppression Meeting, 5:30 p.m. Stag's Head, 2128 Portsmouth (Sheperd Plaza), near the intersection of US 59 and Sheperd Dr. Having discovered that the Presidential debate is on while our meeting is scheduled tonight, WE WILL START AND HOUR EARLIER, AT 5:30. Then we have made arrangements to have the debate broadcast on TV in the Oak Room, our meeting place. So plan on dinner and watching the debate after we conclude our very important CVS meeting. Agenda- task group final reports. I have also invited Linda Wallace, recent transplant from the East, join us and share her horror story about a nearly impossible effort to move her voter registration to her new Bellaire address. You may have read her account in the Chronicle or on her web site. It will make you even madder than you already are. Stan Merriman-chair
Stan Merriman
713-569-4714
Reminder-CVS Meeting, Stags Head Pub 2128 Portsmouth, 6:30 pm.
Member Chandler Davidson will speak with us about national caging research he has done.
I will ask Norma Eiman to summarize some excellent research she has done for us on an analysis of 2004 and 2000 presidential undervotes in Houston.
John Behrman will update us on an important Austin meeting he attended with the SOS.
Stan will give a quick update on voter suppression used on Harriet Miller for the Texas Leg. in Dallas.
We will ask for updates/progress reports on each commmittee and new business you would like to bring up.
See you there. Stan Merriman Chair
COUNTER VOTER SUPPRESSION TASK FORCE
The 2008 State Convention is right around the corner! Join thousands of Democrats from across the state in Austin, Texas from June 5-7, 2008 for three days of inspiring campaign speeches from our candidates, training sessions for activists and just the opportunity to spend a weekend with fellow Democrats planning for the final months until the election. All Democrats are welcome to attend!
The Progressive Populist Caucus of the Texas Democratic Party (PPC) will hold it's annual meeting on February 23, 2008. Please mark the date!
We welcome our keynote speaker, James K. Galbraith, a progressive economist who writes frequently for mainstream and liberal publications on economic topics.
From The Progressive Populist Caucus Chair
Charlie Urbina Jones
Texans have grown weary of waiting for our federal government to meet the needs of the people of this state and country. Congressional gridlock seems to prevail, even with a new, though slim Democratic majority. While thumbs twiddle in Washington, the people are hurting for access to healthcare, improvements in the education in our youth, environmental answers for global warming, clean air and plentiful water, the return of our national guard from mission impossible in Iraq,
Based on historical Republican Party activity to suppress voting by Democrats, particularly in “minority” voter categories in Harris County and Texas, a comprehensive program for the lead up to and conduct of the 2008 election, both primary and general, is in order.
Aug. 19, 2006, 8:44PM | Link to article
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
In an electronic age haunted by computer viruses and hackers, many people cling to paper security blankets, whether they come in the form of ATM receipts, itemized credit card charges or monthly bank statements.
Yet in the essential civic exercise of choosing our representatives, Texans who use electronic machines are forced to trust a fallible computer program with no way to check the accuracy of the results. Such a system amounts to faith-based voting.
MACHINE POLITICS | Houston Chronicle | Link to article
Needed: A paper trail for county ballots
County clerk and mayor shouldn’t ignore troubling situation any longer
By STAN MERRIMANA year and a half-long study of the security vulnerabilities of electronic voting systems has just been published by the Brennan Center For Justice at New York University, deploying the expertise of a panel of computer security experts, including Dr. Dan Wallach of Rice University. This seminal study recommends a regime of tests and a voter-verifiable paper trail ( VVPAT). It is referring tofor the huge Hart InterCivic, Inc., electronic voting system right hereused in Harris County
So Who's Wearing the Tin Foil Hat NOW?
Harris County election judges have possession of Hart InterCivic eSlate System Judge's Booth Controllers (JBCs) for up to 72 hours before elections.
