PR Party

Voter Bill of Rights

From unreliable electronic voting machines and millions of uncounted ballots, to partisan election officials and 10-hour waits at the polls, it is clear that our electoral system is in dire need of an overhaul. To build a more just, secure, and robust democracy, please support the following 10-point Voter Bill of Rights:

1. Pass a Constitutional Amendment Confirming the Right to Vote

Most Americans believe that the "legal right to vote" in our democracy ...

The following link takes you to a story about how the Independence Party of New York State has become almost completely dependent on the two major parties. Though they veer from one to the other in a haphazard way, more than 90% of the candidates on this party's ballot line are actually major party candidates.

More evidence, if you still needed it, that a proportional election system is the only way out of this two party impasse.

     It took them two months and they're only the 49th state in the nation to finalize their election results but hey, whaddaya 'spect?!!? This is New York!

Here is a link to the unhappy story about how only 7 million out of 11.5 million registered voters in New York even bothered to show up and be counted.

http://www.ballot-access.org/2012/12/31/new-york-state-posts-final-2012-election-returns-tally-presidential-vote-increases-by-400332-votes/

The following is an enlarged "tweet" from my local daily paper, the Kingston Freeman, introducing new legislation from the Speaker of the NY State Assembly. Two provisions, one for limited early voting, and the other for limited financial disclosure, are each poor substitutes for the election system reform and campaign finance reform that are sorely needed in "the most dysfunctional state government in the country". But whadja 'spect from a man who should have retired years ago?

The New York Times today published several letters in response to a call for new third parties that might, tongue in cheek, be useful in the U.S. today. Most of the responses were as silly as the originall call but this one caught our eye:

A democratic structure that allows for multiple parties could serve to introduce fresh ideas and marginalize ideologues. But we will not develop a multiparty system simply by wishing for it or by coming up with...

Is it true? Have the State Senate Democrats screwed up yet again? Have they won a majority of the seats but lost control because of defections? Who picked these candidates?

     We are still committed to the principle of proportional elections and have spent considerable time over the last five years of our existence in holding our tongues on partisan issues in favor of respect and tolerance for all views and ideologies. We're now done with that and while we'll do our best to continue our attitude of respect and tolerance for all points of view while expressing our own in a programmatic way.

     &#...

Until Election Day, please call us "Party of the 47%". Please don't call us "The Party fo the 47%" because of course that would invalidate everything I've said, and believed, for the last several years! So much has been spoken and written about the 47%'ers in the last few weeks that I don't have to repeat any of it and we all know everything we need to know about them anyway. I'l just add, as a reminder, that the Reps represent "top down" and the Dems new slogan " from the middle ou...

Copy and paste the link below for a New York Times article on the lousy design and implementation of primary ballots. For chrissakes, when will they ever get anything right?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/nyregion/new-york-city-voters-annoyed-by-hard-to-read-ballots.html?ref=politics&_r=1

Below is pasted a letter I wrote to the Kingston Daily Freeman of N.Y. about the race in my congressional district:

.LETTER: Both parties fail us

Published: Sunday, September 02, 2012

Dear Editor:

Now that the congressional race in the new 19th District is set, there are several conclusions that may be drawn from both the Democratic primary and from the selection process for both main parties:

•The national parties chose both congressional cand...