Posted by Robert Blackmon 45pc on January 13, 2017
The counting may be over. But thanks to your support, the fight continues for real democracy and elections we can trust! With 80% of voters disgusted by the election and 90% having lost faith in our political system, this fight is more important than ever.
In the wake of a divisive and bitter election, over 10,000 volunteers and 161,000 donors came forward to make this historic multi-state Recount possible. On Thanksgiving weekend, you launched this Recount as a key step we the people could take to help build the democracy we deserve. This remarkable citizen initiative is still going strong.
In Wisconsin, activists are still fighting for our right to examine the privately-managed electronic machines, so we can investigate potential malfeasance, error or hacking by any bad actor – domestic or foreign. Nearly half of Wisconsin voters were denied a reliable hand recount, largely in under-resourced communities of color, the very places voting machines are most likely to fail. To push for urgently needed legislative fixes, activists have launched a broad based “Count My Vote” coalition.
In Michigan, concerns were raised by an unprecedented 75,000 blank votes, many in communities of color. This exceeded the margin of victory by seven-fold. The recount found widespread failure of vote counting machines in Detroit’s communities of color, sounding the alarm about yet another instance of electoral Jim Crow. Thanks to Recount pressure, Michigan has agreed to replace these outdated, unreliable machines in Detroit.
In Pennsylvania, a bureaucratic nightmare of vague and contradictory rules prevented the recount from even getting started. These rules required over 27,000 voters to file notarized papers by unspecified dates at unclear locations. Paperless touchscreen voting machines used by 80% of Pennsylvania voters make it all the more important to examine the software of these fallible, unaccountable machines. Recount activists are pushing for overdue legislation to fix these problems.
The American people deserve a voting system we can trust – that is accurate, secure and just. The Recount showed we do not have such a system. But this movement is not over yet. Which is why we were excited to learn this week of the possibility to redouble the fight in court, among other possible initiatives for voting integrity and justice. As you may recall, you, and all our Recount donors, will have an essential role to play in determining the use of any surplus recount money to continue this movement.
Stay tuned for more details next week. Thank you for making possible this fight for real democracy and elections we can trust!
With deep gratitude,
Jill Stein