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Newsletter of the Green Party of Ohio
October 10, 2005
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Green Beat Update 10/10/05
Newsletter of the Ohio Green Party
10/10/05
Contents:
GLOBAL NEWS
1. Siberian Permafrost Melts
2. Water Crisis Looms as Himalayan Glaciers Melt
NATIONAL NEWS
3. National Meeting 2005, Power Sharing Becomes an Important Issue -
Proposition 153, 154, 155
4. Ohio Greens Join National Peace Rally
OHIO NEWS
5. Conference Call Scheduled with Bob Fitrakis to Discuss His Candidacy
for Governor.
6. Central Ohio Greens/Campus Greens - Scott Wessler Runs for Congress
7. East Central Ohio Greens - Shane Tilton Runs for School Board
8. Integrity and Principle Trump the Back Room Deal
9. GDI Organizer Attempts to Bypass Green Party of Ohio Local to Push
GDI Agenda
10. Recount Lawsuit on Track in Federal Court
11. League of Women Voters Files Suit Seeking Election Reform in Ohio
12. Ohio Green Party Central Committee Cannot Endorse Election Reform
Ballot Initiatives At This Time
13. ECO Greens Make 4th Annual Appearance at Coshocton County Fair
GLOBAL NEWS
1. SIBERIAN PERMAFROST MELTS - Rate of Climate Change May Accelerate Dramatically
It's a frozen peat bog the size of France and Germany combined, contains
billions of tonnes of greenhouse gas and - for the first time since the
ice age - it is melting.
A vast expanse of western Sibera is undergoing an unprecedented thaw that
could dramatically increase the rate of global warming, climate scientists
warn today.
Researchers who have recently returned from the region found that an
area of
permafrost spanning a million square kilometres - the size of France and
Germany combined - has started to melt for the first time since it formed
11,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. The area, which covers
the entire sub-Arctic region of western Siberia, is the world's largest
frozen peat bog and scientists fear that as it thaws, it will release
billions of tonnes of methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than
carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere. It is a scenario climate scientists
have feared since first identifying "tipping points" - delicate
thresholds where a slight rise in the Earth's temperature can cause a
dramatic change in the environment that itself triggers a far greater
increase in global temperatures.
The discovery was made by Sergei Kirpotin at Tomsk State University in
western Siberia and Judith Marquand at Oxford University and is reported
in New Scientist today. The researchers found that what was until recently
a barren expanse of frozen peat is turning into a broken landscape of
mud and lakes, some more than a kilometre across. Dr Kirpotin told the
magazine the situation was an "ecological landslide that is probably
irreversible and is undoubtedly connected to climatic warming". He
added that the thaw had probably begun in the past three or four years.
Climate scientists yesterday reacted with alarm to the finding, and warned
that "When you start messing around with these natural systems, you
can end up in situations where it's unstoppable. There are no brakes you
can apply," said David Viner, a senior scientist at the Climatic
Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.
"This is a big deal because you can't put the permafrost back once
it's gone.
The causal effect is human activity and it will ramp up temperatures even
more than our emissions are doing."
In its last major report in 2001, the intergovernmental panel on climate
change predicted a rise in global temperatures of 1.4C-5.8C between 1990
and 2100, but the estimate only takes account of global warming driven
by known greenhouse gas emissions.
"These positive feedbacks with landmasses weren't known about then.
They had no idea how much they would add to global warming," said
Dr Viner.
Western Siberia is heating up faster than anywhere else in the world,
having
experienced a rise of some 3C in the past 40 years. Scientists are particularly
concerned about the permafrost, because as it thaws, it reveals bare ground
which warms up more quickly than ice and snow, and so accelerates the
rate at which the permafrost thaws. Siberia 's peat bogs have been producing
methane since they formed at the end of the last ice age, but most of
the gas had been trapped in the permafrost. According to Larry Smith,
a hydrologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, the west Siberian
peat bog could hold some 70bn tonnes of methane, a quarter of all of the
methane stored in the ground around the world. The permafrost is likely
to take many decades at least to thaw, so the methane locked within it
will not be released into the atmosphere in one burst, said Stephen Sitch,
a climate scientist at the Met Office's Hadley Centre in Exeter. But calculations
by Dr Sitch and his colleagues show that even if methane seeped from the
permafrost over the next 100 years, it would add around 700m tonnes of
carbon into the atmosphere each year, roughly the same amount that is
released annually from the world's wetlands and agriculture. It would
effectively double atmospheric levels of the gas, leading to a 10% to
25% increase in global warming, he said. Tony Juniper, director of Friends
of the Earth, said the finding was a stark message to politicians to take
concerted action on climate change. "We knew at some point we'd get
these feedbacks happening that exacerbate global warming, but this could
lead to a massive injection of greenhouse gases.
"If we don't take action very soon, we could unleash runaway global
warming that will be beyond our control and it will lead to social, economic
and
environmental devastation worldwide," he said. "There's still
time to take
action, but not much. "The assumption has been that we wouldn't see
these kinds of changes until the world is a little warmer, but this suggests
we're running out of time."
In May this year, another group of researchers reported signs that global
warming was damaging the permafrost. Katey Walter of the University of
Alaska, Fairbanks, told a meeting of the Arctic Research Consortium of
the US that her team had found methane hotspots in eastern Siberia. At
the hotspots, methane was bubbling to the surface of the permafrost so
quickly that it was preventing the surface from freezing over.
Last month, some of the world's worst air polluters, including the US
and
Australia, announced a partnership to cut greenhouse gas emissions through
the use of new technologies. The deal came after Tony Blair struggled
at the G8 summit to get the US president, George Bush, to commit to any
concerted action on climate change and has been heavily criticised for
setting no targets for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
2. WATER CRISIS LOOMS AS HIMALAYAN GLACIERS MELT
New Delhi, India (Reuters)
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/09/09/himalayan.glaciers.reut/index.html
It's a scary thought, but scientists say the 40 percent of humanity living
in South Asia and China could well be living with little drinking water
within 50 years as global warming melts Himalayan glaciers, the region's
main water source.
The glaciers supply 303.6 million cubic feet every year to Asian rivers,
including the Yangtze and Yellow rivers in China, the Ganga in India,
the Indus in Pakistan, the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh and Burma's Irrawaddy.
But as global warming increases, the glaciers have been rapidly retreating,
with average temperatures in the Himalayas up 1 degree Celsius since the
1970s.
A World Wide Fund report published in March said a quarter of the world's
glaciers could disappear by 2050 and half by 2100.
"If the current scenario continues, there will be very little water
left in the Ganga and its tributaries," Prakash Rao, climate change
and energy program coordinator with the fund in India told Reuters.
"The situation here is more critical because here they depend on
glaciers for drinking water while in other areas there are other sources
of drinking water, not just glacial." Experts are alarmed.
About 67 percent of the nearly 12,124 square miles of Himalayan glaciers
are receding and in the long run as the ice diminishes, glacial runoffs
in summer and river flows will also go down, leading to severe water shortages
in the region. The Gangotri glacier, the source of the Ganga, India's
holiest river, is retreating 75 feet a year. And the Khumbu Glacier in
Nepal, where Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay began their ascent of Everest,
has lost more than 3 miles since they climbed the mountain in 1953. "The
cry in the mountains is that water has gone down and springs have dried
up," Jagdish Bahadur, an expert on Himalayan glaciers. "Global
climate change has had an effect, but water has also dried up because
agriculture in the mountains has increased," he said.
In Nepal, there are more than 3,000 glaciers that work as reservoirs for
fresh water and another 2,000 glacial lakes. Experts estimate numerous
rivers originating in Nepal's mountains contribute about 70 percent to
the pre-monsoon flow of the Ganges that snakes through neighboring India
and Bangladesh.
"The glaciers are shrinking due to global warming posing a risk to
water availability not only in Nepal but also in parts of South Asia,"
said Arun Bhakta Shrestha, an expert on Himalayan glaciers at the government
Hydrology and Meteorology Department.
"But how soon or to what extent this problem will arise is difficult
to say now." Tulsi Maya, a farmer on the outskirts of Kathmandu,
has never heard of global warming or its impact on the rivers in the Himalayan
kingdom, but she does know that the flow of water has gone down.
"It used to overflow its banks and spill into the fields," the
85-year-old farmer said standing in her emerald green rice field as she
looked at the Bishnumati river, which has ceased to be a reliable source
of drinking water and irrigation.
"Maybe God is unkind and sends less water in the river. The flow
of water is decreasing every year," she said standing by her grandson,
Milan Dangol, who weeds the crop.
In the Indian Himalayas, there are already signs of water shortages in
the summer: Tourists in the rugged mountains of Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh
have to carry buckets of water while trekkers say temperatures are much
warmer than a decade ago.
The effect can also be seen in the rest of the country.
During the summer, thousands of people in India's villages trek for miles
in search of water and even in cities water is a precious commodity, sometimes
leading to street fights.
Indian scientists studying Himalayan glaciers fear an acute shortage of
natural drinking water in Himachal Pradesh state based on studies of the
Beas and Baspa basins from 1962 to 2001.
Two scientists from India's Space and Research Organization using remote
sensing satellites found a 23 percent drop in glacial water in 19 of 30
glaciers mapped in the region.
Already, the impact of climate change is evident in the soaring summer
temperatures in South Asia, which go up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, and
the erratic nature of the monsoon, one of the world's most widely watched
phenomena.
"Our research indicates the economy of the region may be affected
due to these conditions and investigations suggest that all glaciers are
reducing which could create an acute scarcity of water," said Anil
Kulkarni, who headed the team studying the Himachal Pradesh glaciers.
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving
the included information for research and educational purposes.
NATIONAL NEWS
3. GREEN PARTY NATIONAL MEETING
Power Sharing Becomes an Important Issue - Proposition 153,154, and 155
Delegates to the National Green Party meeting in Tulsa, OK voted down
the "one man one vote" Proposal 153 sponsored by the New York
and Vermont Greens. The proposal was being advocated by a coalition that
calls themselves the Greens for Democracy and Independence, (GDI), and
would have concentrated political power with those few states that have
large progressive bases and marginalized the concerns of smaller parties
emerging from the majority of states where Greens are struggling to grow
against pervasive, well entrenched corporate and right-wing religious
power bases and institutions. Proponents of the reapportionment argued
for a representation of the Green Party at the National level which would
have allowed them to dominate the national agenda. Those opposed cited
the need for apportioned inclusion of all regions of the country in the
decision making process in order to reflect a truly national consensus.
The GDI Greens feel aggrieved because their candidates, Ralph Nader and
Peter Cameo, were not selected by a majority of the Convention Delegates
as the Green Party Presidential Candidates after Nader again refused to
run as a Green. Pro-GDI states have a majority of nationally registered
Green Party Members but do not control a majority of delegates. Their
aim of their leadership is to get control of the delegate count by reapportioning
representation at the national level or by converting or where necessary,
bypassing and subverting existing state level Green Parties.
Proposition 154 laid out rules and procedures that delegates would have
to
follow when voting for Presidential candidates at the conventions.
Proposition 155 would have prohibited State Green Parties from endorsing
or
working for a Democratic or Republican candidate.
Background on the internal conflict in the Green Party and some perspectives
on the proposals.
Exerpts from a blog posting by Ken Swain
Basically, this isn't a new fight. It is something that a faction of
the Greens have been fighting, and losing, for years. It's the old
GPUSA vs. ASGP argument taking place under a new name, GDI vs. USGP.
It's the same players on both sides, and it's having the same outcome.
Longtime activists have seen this all before and just roll their eyes
when it comes up again.
But, let's deal with the specifics of the latest dust-up. A group
of Greens were unhappy with the results of the 2004 Green Party
national nominating convention. They believed that the party should
have declined to nominate a presidential candidate and instead should
have endorsed Ralph Nader's campaign. They have accused the David Cobb
campaign of staging a "cabal" to overthrow the true will of
Green
voters. They will point to vote stats from the five states that
conducted state-operated primaries and claim that more than 80 percent
of Greens wanted Nader to be the choice. This is all fiction, but that
is their claim.
All of those votes come from California, the nation's largest state
and those votes were recorded for Peter Camejo, who has twice run for
governor there. He is well known among Greens and respected. He was the
biggest name on the California ballot, and many Greens who did not
favor a Nader campaign in 2004 said they voted for Peter in that race.
Camejo and his supporters claim that every Green in California knew
that he was only running as a stand-in for Nader, who refused to be on
the California ballot. Therefore, all those votes were intended for
Nader. I consider that flawed logic.
After the Greens rejected endorsing Nader and decided to nominate
Cobb, Camejo spent the next few months attacking Greens and not the
Democrats or Republicans. Cobb, however, was busy traveling the country
-- including Ohio and other swing states -- trying to raise awareness
of Green Party issues and help local campaigns.
After the election was over, a group called Greens for Democracy &
Independence formed because they were unhappy with the result of
the 2004 Green nomination battle. Their stated goals were to bring
democracy and independence to the Green Party, which is quite ironic
because GDI is neither democratic nor independent itself.
There have been no elections among the GDI group. Peter Camejo and
Forrest Hill of California and Steve Greenfield of New York are their
de facto leaders. They do not tolerate dissent. To join the listserve,
you must agree to their principles. The principles of non-elected
leaders. If you suggest any doubts about the principles, you will be
removed from their listserve. So much for democracy.
As for independence, they accuse Cobb Greens of being nothing more
than Democratic Party pawns. Still, the neglect to mention how much
help Republicans were to the Nader campaign. But that is not what
troubles most non-GDI Greens. It is the very close relationship between
some GDI members and the International Socialism
Organization. Many of the GDI leaders attended their Chicago
convention in July. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because
outreach to groups who share many of our goals should be encouraged.
But what was surprising is that one of the planned workshops at the ISO
meeting was the GDI debate within the Green Party. Then, after the
convention ended, reports began to circulate from GDI Greens
there that "some people understood that we have to reach out to the
broader population through vehicles like the Green Party" and "it's
imperative that revolutionaries build the Green Party." So, not really
independent either.
That brings us to the three GDI proposals that were debated at the
annual national meeting in Tulsa and are scheduled to be debated at
your meeting on Sunday. On the surface, they sound friendly enough. No.
1, one Green, one vote. No. 2, delegates to the national nominating
convention should be tied to how the Greens in each state voted to
represent their will; No. 3, the Green Party should be independent of
the Democratic and Republican parties.
Who could be against those ideas? Well, the devil is always in the
details, and when the elected members of the Green National Committee
looked at the proposals by the unelected GDI, they rejected them by a
2-to-1 margin. That's pretty much the vote every time this fight comes
up. It's close to the vote when the old ASGP vs. GPUSA battle was being
waged; and it was close to the vote between the Cobb and Nader factions
at the Milwaukee meeting in 2004.
The problem with the first proposal is that there are 51 different
ways of counting Greens in the 51 states. Trying to come up with a plan
to count them all fairly, is nearly impossible. So instead of coming up
with a plan, GDI decided to have no plan. They would let every state
make up their own number. Then, there would be a committee that would
review that number. But, if the committee and the state disagreed over
the number, what would happen? No one knows. They were urged to work it
out, but the GDI proposal did not give either body final authority over
the number. There is also the small matter of unelected GDI leaders
claiming as a goal that they thought California and New York combined
deserved to have 49 percent of the delegates to a national meeting. Oh,
and you should know that in Tulsa they claimed that Ohio was a paper
party with no more than 10 real Greens, and they you don't deserve the
four delegates you have on the Green National Committee.
The problem with the second proposal, from my point of view, was
the favorite son/daughter campaigns. How does it help one Green, one
vote if all delegates are forced to vote the way the favorite son and
daughter candidates tell them to vote? Why should Peter Camejo and
Carol Miller get to pick who our nominee is, instead of the delegates?
GDI amended this during the Tulsa meeting to account for this, and in
the end I supported the rewritten version.
The final proposal takes power away from the party. Not all
Republicans or Democrats are created equally. When I lived in El Paso,
they had a candidate for mayor there that was very progressive and the
El Paso Green Party decided to endorse Ray Caballero, and work on his
campaign. He got elected and lived up to their very high expectations.
This proposal urges all Greens to reject working with any candidate
from the two corporate parties. I also believe that one of the best
weapons Greens have for effecting change is the spoiler factor. If
there's a candidate doing great harm and the Greens can cost him/her
their race, go for it. The state of Washington has shown that this is
a
worthy tactic. Then, Greens can negotiate with the two parties to skip
races in exchange for elector reforms we need if we're to become
political players. This proposal takes that weapon our of our hands
because we would not be allowed to negotiate with them.
4. OHIO GREENS JOIN NATIONAL PEACE RALLY
Campus Greens from Central Ohio organized a bus to the United for Peace
and Justice sponsored rally in Washington, D.C. on September 24th. The
Central Committee purchased table space on the Washington Monument grounds
where ECO Green volunteers distributed literature about the Ohio Green
Party.
OHIO NEWS
5. CONFERENCE CALL SCHEDULED WITH BOB FITRAKIS TO DISCUSS HIS CANDIDACY
FOR GOVERNOR
On Monday, Oct. 10, the Chairman of the Candidate Committee, Logan Martinez,
organized a phone conference with Bob Fitrakis, author of "Did George
W. Bush Steal America's 2004 Election?", in order to discuss his
plans to run as the Green Party candidate for Governor. Paul Domouchelle
opened a PAC for Bob. Tim Kettler has offered his name as a candidate
for Lt. Governor. The Central Committee will begin organizing the nominating
process for state office at the next face to face meeting on November19.
Logan is making arrangements if you want to work on the Campaign to get
Bob Fitrakis elected as the first Green Governor in the US.
6. SCOTT WESSLER TAKES ON REPUBLICAN INCUMBENT
The Central Ohio Green Party has endorsed Scott in his contest for the
Ohio 15th seat in the US House of Representatives currently held by Debra
Pryce. Paul Dumouchelle is serving as Treasurer for the Federal PAC in
Scott's campaign and has written a proposal to the Central Committee of
the Green Party of Ohio requesting that we formally endorse his candidacy
at the next meeting.
Those wishing to contribute to Scott's campaign can contact:
Paul Dumouchelle
Treasurer, Scott Wesseler for Congress
8832 Nairn Ct.
Dublin, OH 43017
Phone: 614-563-9449
7. EAST CENTRAL OHIO GREEN RUNS FOR SCHOOL BOARD
Green Party member Shane Tilton of Coshocton has begun to campaign for
a seat on the Coshocton City Board of Education. Shane showed up at the
ECO Green's annual fair booth and announced that he was running a low-key
campaign in a non-partisan race. He gave the booth workers of his campaign
a sign to display in our fair booth and we offered him our full support.
Shane's candidacy is a welcome surprise. He is a longtime local member
whose obligations attending school in another county have, until now,
kept him from a more active role in Green Party politics. ECO Greens will
keep in contact with Shane and give him any help that he requests.
8. INTEGRITY AND PRINCIPLE TRUMP THE BACK ROOM DEAL- David Ball Spurns
Power Brokers
David Ball is a capable Green leader who was being considered for a temporary
appointment to the Toledo City Council. Mitch Balonek, his campaign manager,
offers the following report-
I am happy to report that David Ball did not get selected as the appointee
to city council district six seat. I know, yesterday, we were hopeful
that David would get the appointment, but the appointment came at a price
that David was not willing to pay: that is, selling his soul to the Democratic
party.
Apparently, Wade and Frank thought David would be easily drawn back into
the Democratic Party from whence he came when they dangled an appointment
in front of his face. Wade and Frank saw the Green Party endorsement
of David's campaign as an endorsement equal to some social or environmental
issue group like the Sierra Club or NW Oh Peace Coalition. In other
words, the reduced the Green Party to a social activist special interest
group, not a viable political party. David maintained his principles
throughout the negotiations. David made a promise to me and a commitment
to himself, that the Green Party is his Party of choice. David and
I have witnessed first hand the political maneuverings of big party politics.
They (Dems and Reps) cannot endorse any candidate unless they are carrying
the appropriate label. Never mind a persons integrity, honesty,
devotion to principles and values that reflect the people's wishes.
"No, we can only support you if you take our name!"
Now, more than ever, the Greens need a win for progressives everywhere
in Ohio. We need to win to show that big party politics doesn't
have all the answers; big party politics needs a reality check: third
party candidates can win with a little money and BIG Hearts!
David was happy to spend this evening going door to door instead of wasting
his time playing politics with expert politicians. After all, good
politicians make the world go wrong!
Peace,
Mitch Balonek
Campaign Manager
David Ball for City Council
9. GDI ORGANIZER ATTEMPTS TO BYPASS GREEN PARTY LOCAL IN ORDER TO PUSH
GDI AGENDA
Divisions arising from the National Meeting in Tulsa have surfaced in
Ohio as a GDI advocate held a meeting in Cincinnati on short notice which
he advertised as a convention representing the Green Party. Mark Lause,
a teacher at a local college and recently active member of the Green Party,
gathered a number of his students and others sympathetic to Green Party
values and endorsed a candidate for mayor. The same candidate was not
endorsed by the Southwest Ohio Greens because he would not run as a member
of the Green Party. The Southwest Ohio Green Party, (SWOHGP), demanded
that Lause not present himself as an official representative of The Green
Party in the Cincinnati area and offered one of their apportioned seats
on the State Central Committee so that the GDI led group could have input
into Green Party policy. Lause declined to attend the Central Committee
meeting.
New York GDI spokesman Steve Greenfield sent an opinion back to Mark
Lause advising him to ignore the SWOHGP stating that the Cincinnati GDI
faction was the legitimate Green Party representative and that the Ohio
Green Party does not exist, (the Ohio Green Party is recognized by the
FEC as the Ohio branch of the federally registered national Green Party).
The Central Committee of the Ohio Green Party remains open to the establishment
of new Green Party locals. They endorsed the following statement of support
for the SWOHGP:
The Southwest Ohio Green Party (SWOHGP) is a founding member of the Green
Party of Ohio (GPO) and has been active as a local since the year 2000,
(meeting monthly, establishing its own Political Action Committee and
maintaining its own web page and list serve.) The SWOHGP advertised on
its web page (WWW.SWOHGP.ORG) its interest in helping to establish groups
within its local jurisdiction, such as campus Greens. The GPO-CC supports
the SWOHGP in its efforts to resolve the issues involved with the creation
of a single-city Green Party in a location already being served by the
SWOHGP. The GPO has defined the geographical jurisdiction of the SWOHGP
which is displayed on the SWOHGP web site in the "About Us"
section and therefore considers the SWOHGP as the recognized local covering
the Cincinnati area.
10. RECOUNT LAWSUIT ON TRACK IN FEDERAL COURT
Rios, et.al. v Blackwell, a federal lawsuit currently before the US District
Court in Toledo, Ohio, is progressing towards a ruling. The lawsuit asks
for a determination in the contention that the Presidential Vote Recount
was neither full nor fair, resulting in the violation of federal voting
rights The plaintiffs in this case include Green Party Presidential
candidate David Cobb, four members of the Green Party of Ohio coordinating
committee, and other Ohio voters and candidates. Witnesses are being
contacted to provide documents and testimony on behalf of the plaintiffs.
The platform of the Green Party of the United States, as adopted in June,
2004, reaffirms the Key Value of Democracy through political reform and
participation. Those involved in the recount witnessed events that ran
from the subversive and egregiously illegal to the comically incompetent
and absurd. All these events only served to focus on the increasing and
undeniable need for electoral reform. The Green Party has offered a plan
for viable true democratic reform through the institution of federally
funded elections, non-partisan election officials, proportional representattion,
equal and universal access, instant runoff voting and a number of
other actions. The Green Party approach to grassroots, participatory Democracy,
demands as the first step, accountability from those who would seek to
deny voting rights through illegal and immoral actions. Our thanks go
to the National Voting Rights Institute, co-counsel John Bonifaz and Rick
Kerger and the witnesses and supporters who stand with us.
Tim Kettler
11. LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS FILES SUIT IN OHIO SEEKING ELECTION REFORM
Dismissing the provisions of HB 3 as inadequate, the League of Women Voters
filed suit in Toledo against the offices of the governor and secretary
of state for "30 years of dysfunctional election administration."
“The suit does not allege fraud,” Co-President Linda D. Lalley
said. “Rather, the suit alleges that Ohio has a long history of
serious problems with the way elections are conducted, spanning many administrations
and violating fundamental Constitutional rights of Ohioans who are eligible
to vote.”
Fact Sheet on Complaint Filed Against State of Ohio Charging UnconstitutionalAdministration
of Elections.
Following is a summary of key points outlined in a complaint filed July
28, 2005 against the State of Ohio seeking to redress decades-old Constitutional
defects in the way the state conductsfederal elections.
The League of Women Voters of Ohio, the League of Women Voters of Toledo-Lucas
County,and more than a dozen Ohio citizens filed the historic, non-partisan
lawsuit in federal court inToledo.
Voting deficiencies outlined in the complaint, which begin in 1971 and
continue through 2004,include:
• Thousands of Ohioans unable to vote in November 2004 because lines
in many precincts were more than two hours – and up to nine hours
– long
• Thousands of voters casting provisional ballots in 2004, only
to have them thrown out when poll workers failed to advise that the voter
was standing in the wrong precinct line
• More than one third of precincts in Miami County running out of
ballots in the November 2001 election
• 3,556 Cuyahoga County votes in the November 2000 election that
were processed twice, causing a computer to throw them out
• Thousands of Cincinnati and Franklin County voters arriving at
their regular polling places during the 2000 election, only to find they
were no longer polling places or no longer their polling places
• Registered voters in Franklin County in 2000 who were not able
to vote because their names had been purged from voting lists or because
the Bureau of Motor Vehicles had failed to process their registration
cards
• Dozens of precincts in Cuyahoga County running out of Republican
ballots during the March 2000 primary, forcing them to turn registered
voters away
• In 1999, Franklin County’s registration rolls contained
tens of thousands of erroneous entries
• In 1998 and 1996, the registration rolls in Cuyahoga County contained
tens of thousands of duplicate and inaccurate entries
• Thousands of legitimate votes in Franklin County in 1998 that
were counted for the wrong candidate due to wrongly programmed electronic
voting machines
• The fundamental failure to adequately hire and train election
workers since at least 1994, resulting in unfilled positions and untrained,
first-time workers at polling places
• Identical breakdowns in elections in 1971 and 1972 in Hamilton
and Cuyahoga counties that included disenfranchisement of thousands of
voters because dozens of precincts never opened or opened late; failure
to deliver an adequate number of voting machines to precincts; misprogramming
of voting machines; distribution of incorrect ballots; lack of adequate
staffing; failure to train poll workers
Related links: http://www.lwvohio.org/advocacy/suit/League%20of%20Women%20Voters-Ohio%20Lawsuit.pdf
12. OHIO GREEN PARTY CENTRAL COMMITTEE CANNOT ENDORSE ELECTION REFORM
BALLOT INITIATIVES AT THIS TIME
The Reform Ohio Now ballot initiatives, issues 2, 3, 4, and 5, offer reform
only within the confines of the 2-party paradigm that has been the wellspring
of the unrepresentative, unresponsive, corrupt policies that pander to
special interests in our state. The initiatives keep the Democrats and
Republicans firmly in control of all processes. While addressing some
of the most egregious practices, the reforms do not go far enough to open
the process to millions of independents and third party voters. Below
is a correspondence between two members of the Ohio Green Party Central
Committee, Tim Kettler, our prospective candidate for Lt. Governor, and
Evan Davis, longtime Green Party activist. The exchange helps to deconstruct
the strengths and weaknesses of the ballot initiatives.
>From Tim Kettler-
I first became acquainted with RON and constitutional amendments 2-5 when
Kate (Curry) invited Dr.Richard Guenther to speak at the Campus Greens
electoral reform forum in May. As I learned more of the reforms and the
problems they sought to correct I grew increasingly supportive of the
amendments. Here was alleged "campaign finance reform", passed
by a handful of Republican legislators on New Years Eve, that allowed
a 7 year old child to give not once, but twice in an election cycle, up
to $10,000. Election reform? you bet! I was ready to hitch my wagon to
that star!. I was also VERY impressed that an initiative petition effort
could so quickly raise a MILLION dollars to fund their effort! I later
heard Anita mention that George Soros funded the effort. I now sadly realize
that these reforms are Democrat reforms, not democratic reforms.
When the matter of these reforms came before the cc it quickly became
apparent that there were deep problems with them that would prohibit unilateral
endorsement. There is support however for Issue 3. Issue 3 seeks to correct,
rightly so, the egregious, outrageous and odiferous spending limits enacted
by the Ohio Legislature in the dead of night. I believe there is general
support for Issue 3. (You may recall Greg Coleridge's message I forwarded
to this list on this amendment). Issues 2, 4 and 5 are inherently flawed
and I cannot support them. Issue 2 deals with increased absentee voting
and easier access to the process. Sounds reasonble, right? Ohio Vigilance,
a Cleveland based voter reform advocacy group founded by Dr. Victoria
Lovegren conducted a weekend rally and voter reform workshop this past
June. (Dr. Lovegren is a plaintiff in Rios v Blackwell along with Evan,
Anita, Daryl, myself and others). We had an opportunity to hear and work
with election reform activists and experts, among them Dr. Lovegren, Dr.
Robert Fitrakis, Harvey Wasserman, Jonathan Simon of Verified Vote, and
Kathleen Wynne and Bev Harris of Black Box Voting. One of the speakers
presenting at the workshop was Dr. Richard Guenther of Reform Ohio Now.
When discussing Issue 2 and increased use of absentee and mail in voting,
there was intense rejection of this proposal, mainly from Black Box Voting's
Bev Harris.
What we learned was absentee and mail in voting has contributed to a marked
increase in the incidence and likeleyhood of vote manipulation and fraud.
In examining this Issue, particularly in Oregon, it was found that allowing
ballots to be submitted earlier and lying around longer was a dangerous
and flawed idea. I agree. Recognizing that provisions governing absentee
balloting must be refined and improved. Attempting to encourage access
and participation through mail-in and absentee voting is misguided. I
propose that access and participation can be most greatly improved by
declaring voting day a National Holiday. Issues 4 and 5 addresses the
establishment of an independant election commission, and a competitive
redistricting process. No complaint there! However the mechanism proposed
to accomplish this is antithetical to democratic principals and disasterous
for the Green Party and all minor parties. Masquerading as righteous reforms,
are proposals to further entrench the major parties is an undemocratic
system, heavily weighted to disenfranchise all other parties and political
views. Of the Ten Key Values of the Green Party, the first is Democracy.
Immediately following the Presidential Vote recount, an electoral reform
proposal was passed by the cc that clearly stated our intent to reform
the process in Ohio in a manner that would foster democratic principles
and strengthen the Green Party's (and all minor parties') role in the
process.
On a level playing field, perhaps some of these mechanisms would work.
But we are a long way from a level playing field, and if we allow these
amendments to be enacted, we will take a huge step backwards. The creation
of a State Board of Election Supervisors to serve as the state's chief
election authority is proposed as follows, " ...will be composed
of nine members to be appointed as follows: four by the governor, four
by the members of the general assembly who comprise the largest group
of s uch members affiliated with a political party that is not the same
party with which the governor is affiliated; and one member by a unanimous
vote of the chief justice and justices of the Supreme Court. IF THE GOVERNOR
IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH A POLITCAL PARTY, THEN FOUR MEMBERS EACH WOULD
BE APPOINTED BY THE TWO LARGEST GROUPS OF MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
AFFILIATED WITH POLITICAL PARTIES". Quite a coincidence given that
we are preparing to launch a campaign for governor, a governor who because
of his INDEPENDENCE from the two major parties will be stripped of his
duties and rights under these "reforms". So let's see, the Supreme
Court, (Republicans and Democrats), and the legislature, (Republicans
and Democrats) will strip a potential Green Governor of his rights and
appoint an independent" Board of Election Supervisors to serve a
term of NINE YEARS! That shouldn't have any effect on the fairness and
independance of the system at all!
Likewise, the creation of the Ohio Independent Redistricting Commission
is very similar. Consisting of five members to be chosen as follows: "...two
judges from the state district court of appeals...who were the nominees
of different political party for such offices, shall each appoint one
member ...who shall be affiliated with the same political party as the
appointing judge. The two judicially appointed members...shall meet and
select three additional members, ... one or all three of whom shall not
be affiliated with any political party, and no two of whom shall be affiliated
with the same political party." The Redistricting Commission will
meet every TEN YEARS to redraw districts, and the terms of the commissioners
shall last until the last redistricting plan is drawn, approved and settled,
including all legal challenges. Possibly this term could run ten years.
To review; our judges, Republicans and Democrats, will choose two members
of their party to appoint three more members, only one of which is required
to be of neither party to redraw districts in an INDEPENDENT manner. RIIIIGHT!!!
We can all agree that the campaign finance reforms enacted on December
31, have to go. We can all agree that absentee voting must be facilitated
in an improved manner. We can all also agree that gerrymandering of Ohio's
Districts has entrenched incumbents so deeply that they are guaranteed
reelection. Do we all also agree that these constitutional amendments
are antithetical to Democracy, proportional representation, and the Green
Party's commitment to reform the system to guarantee access, encourage
participation and protect our voting rights? That these proposals only
further and effectively entrench the two major parties in their control
of the election process? All in favor say "Aye."
As for "missed opportunities," I can only speak for myself.
Through the forum that a statewide campaign provides, we can direct a
great deal of focus on the true nature of these so-called reforms, their
ultimate effect on democratic principles, and the Green Party's efforts
to make the system work for all. Now brothers and sisters, THAT'S OPPORTUNITY!
From Evan Davis-
A few points;
1) I saw the early voting and "no excuse" absentee voting as
pro-worker provisions. One of the most frequent complaints I ran in to
while doing precinct surveys was the hardship of getting to the polls
if a person worked two jobs, had kids, etc. My (albeit waning) support
for that proposal is based on what the people I surveyed told me they
wanted. I agree, however that , as Joyce McLoy from North Carolina asserts;
the longer un-counted ballots remain in the custody of the election boards
the greater the opportunity for tampering and fraud. That's a logical
assessment that can't be argued with. The question is one of whether it
is better to enfranchise low-wage single parent workers or to prevent
increased security risk. That, for me, is a very tough question and one
I might be stewing over all the way to the voting booth.
2) I agree that the "bi-partisan" election panel, as worded
is not something we Greens can support without significant contradiction.
I also don't liker the fact that one of the seats is to be filled by an
appointment from the Ohio Supreme Court justices. That, historically has
been a partisan bulwark in Ohio. As worded; this proposal would practically
guarantee a Republican majority on that panel. I plan to vote against
this proposal. The state election board should be an elected body with
a guarantee that no single party shall hold a majority of seats. Hmmm;
how do you accomplish THAT? Really not sure.
3) As for the redistricting proposal I don't have any major objections
there. If a panel is to be drawn up to redistrict according to the criteria
specified in the proposal what should matter is that the redistricters
simply do their jobs, not what party they belong to.
4) RON gathered all that financial support because it has the backing
of organized labor, primarily. If Soros' Open Society foundation granted
money I think the bulk of the funding is still coming through the unions
and the campaign finance issue is their top priority, understandably.
5) A local Democratic state legislator, Dan Stewart, a solid progressive
is on the committee that hammered out the wording of the campaign finance
bill that RON seeks to overturn. Dan fought it tooth and nail but the
provision that sets the age threshold at 7 years old is Dan's contribution.
It is, in fact a compromise. The Republicans wanted NO age threshold at
all. Dan suggested 16 and that was bargained down to 7 with Dan protesting
all the way. Next thing ya know the Republicans will be pushing to raise
the donations ceiling for pregnant mothers.
6) We don't have a lot of time before this election. We need to support
the RON campaign finance reform bill but even more important is the acquisition
of DRE voting machines. As I say to folks who engage me on that topic;
there will be no more long lines at the polls once those machines are
installed and people get used to the idea that the votes those machines
report are pre-cast.
7) Lastly; we really need to take a strong stand against the new voter
ID requirements proposed under SB 36 that are likely to become part of
the new steroidally retaliatory HB3 which is due to come before the legislature
in November.
Evan
Link: http://www.reformohionow.org/
13. ECO GREENS RUN INFORMATION BOOTH AT COSHOCTON COUNTY FAIR
The East Central Ohio Green Party ran a fair booth from Sept. 29th through
Oct. 6th at the Coshocton County Fair. Members spent the time interacting
with local citizens by distributing Green Party literature, discussing
issues and candidates, gathering signatures for the SpanOhio ballot initiative,
recruiting new members, accepting donations for mardi gras beads and t-shirts
to raise money for the Common Green Hurricane Relief Effort, and annoying
the Republicans situated in the booth across from them.
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