May 15, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. ELECTION REPORTS and CITIZEN ACTIVISM
The recent Grand Jury indictment of Florida Speaker of the House Ray Sansom on charges of fraud also includes a blistering “presentment” on corrupt practices in the Florida Legislature. The Grand Jury “presentment” (copies of which will be given to attendees) offers a timely introduction to this portion of the conference, which includes a series of exposés on corruption and questionable election results uncovered by activists around the state. This segment also highlights the importance of individual and local activism.
1. Susan Pynchon, Executive Director of Florida Fair Elections Coalition, will present information on the legalized money laundering that occurs through Committees of Continuing Existence (CCEs) in Florida and the web of power brokers who set up and benefit from these committees.
2. Barbara Herrin, Deputy Treasurer for Hometown Democracy, will explain the heavy-handed and unlawful tactics that have been used to try to shut down Hometown Democracy’s petition drive. Regardless of whether you are for or against the Hometown Democracy initiative, the right of citizens to petition their government is guaranteed in the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which reads:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Attempts to prevent Florida petition drives that are not in line with the goals of the state’s power brokers are yet another indication of deeply entrenched corruption in this state.
3. Representatives of the Sarsota-based Caltrop Watchdog Group will show specific evidence of falsified campaign contributions, and explain how they are using their new website to give Sarasota citizens news about corruption that area newspapers have not covered.
4. Susan Pynchon will present data—supplied but completely ignored by the Florida Division of Elections--showing thousands more voters than votes (and more votes than voters) in some counties in the November 2008 election.
5. Skip Parish of Sarasota County has done remarkable research into problems with the new “OXS” optical scan voting systems used in Sarasota and Hillsborough counties, supplied by Premier Election Systems (formerly Diebold). Parish, who was asked to serve on a citizens’ advisory committee in Hillsborough County to follow up on 2008 election problems there, has compiled data showing over 15 “bugs” in these systems, which were used to count votes in the November 2008 election. The severity of some of the bugs leads to important questions about the reliability of election results in those counties and equally important questions about the state’s certification of faulty voting equipment.
6. Representatives of the grassroots nonpartisan organization, One Nation Volusia, will talk about their efforts to inspire citizen participation and action. Local groups such as One Nation Volusia are an important link in accomplishing reform, since their members gain knowledge about many different issues and can mobilize to assist statewide and national organizations when needed.
