[Peace-discuss] Fw: Election Commission

[Randall Cotton]

Does anyone care to comment on the overture below by Tony Fabri?

I wasn't specifically aware of any current-day voter suppression due to the
Champaign County Clerk's office. I've heard rumors, but nothing solid.
Perhaps I'm uninformed. Can anyone shed light on this?

Regardless, it seems to me that handing over election administration to an
unelected, party-controlled commission may not be the best idea (witness the
Federal Elections Commission, for example). I think I'm much more
comfortable with elections that are administered by an individual that is
immediately accountable to voters rather than a commission of unelected
political appointees.

All the arguments by Mr. Fabri below in favor of the commission seem
unconvincing and specious to me. I particularly point to the oxymoronic
phrase "independent, bipartisan commission".

Other opinions?...

R

PS: For what it's worth, I personally like many things Shelden has done -
the mailed voter guides, the electronic voter-registration kiosks, the
content-rich website champaigncountyclerk.com. These changes seem rather,
well, *progressive*. But the individualized performance of a single
officeholder shouldn't necessarily enter into consideration of a major
change in government like this.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tony Fabri" <tonyfabri at hotmail.com>
To: <recotton at earthlink.net>; <grosser at itg.uiuc.edu>; <wwmuelle at shout.net>;
<baanders at students.uiuc.edu>; <chyn at ojctech.com>; <cumpston at uiuc.edu>;
<danielle at onthejob.net>; <estherpatt at hotmail.com>; <grosales at uiuc.edu>;
<SMITHJL at ci.champaign.il.us>; <tjwright at cooketech.net>;
<jlaesch11 at hotmail.com>; <dpkovacic at sbcglobal.net>;
<mpatten at prairienet.org>; <ramowatt at yahoo.com>
Sent: Friday, October 22, 2004 11:03 AM
Subject: Election Commission


: As you may know, Champaign County has a long and shameful history of
: election day voter suppression, particularly in African-American
: neighborhoods and on the University campus.  The problem is that the
: election authority for the county is an elected politician, and in recent
: decades anyway, a Republican politician who sees these two groups as being
: pro-Democrat.
:
: The November ballot will have a referendum question on whether to create
an
: independent, bi-partisan Election Commission, which if passed would take
on
: all election-related responsibilities of both the County Clerk and the
: County Board.  All decisions of the Election Commission would be made in
: open meetings, unlike our present system, where they are made behind
closed
: doors by an official who has now admitted to misusing public property in
the
: Clerk's office to help run Republican campaigns.
:
: We are making a massive push this Sunday to get information out to voters
in
: support of the Election Commission.  Please help us by passing along the
: attached announcement to any progressive lists you may be aware of.  Also,
: please consider spending a few hours on Sunday to help bring fair & open
: elections to Champaign County!
:
: Thank you,
: Tony Fabri
:
: _________________________________________________________________
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:

WHAT:    "Lit Drop" to support "Yes" vote for Election Commission

WHEN:    This Sunday, Oct. 24, at 10 am and again at 2 pm

WHERE:  Meet at Democratic HQ, 14 E. Washington, downtown Champaign

WHY:       Every two years, Democrats have to fight our Republican County
Clerk to make sure voters are properly registered and able to vote.  Whether
you started working in campaigns in 1972, 1992, or even 2002, you've
probably witnessed examples where the Republican County Clerk has used his
office to suppress the vote of African-Americans and students in this
community.  Meanwhile, the County Clerk's Office is misused to run
Republican campaigns, instead of fair and unbiased elections.  It's a
shameful record for our community.

We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change that record on November
2nd.  A ballot referendum question will ask Champaign County voters if they
want to create a Board of Election Commissioners.  If passed, all election
responsibilities of the County Clerk and of the County Board will be
combined under an independent, bipartisan commission.  Never again will one
political party have complete control over the mechanics of our elections.
Never again will we wonder what goes on behind closed doors, because the
Election Commission will have to make all decisions in open meetings with
the public watching.

Most of us have been so focused on electing Democratic candidates that we've
not been able to mount much of a campaign in support of the Election
Commission.  (Despite having record voter registration and expecting record
turnout in the upcoming election, Mark Shelden, on the other hand, hasn't
been too busy to campaign against it.)  Now is the time to change that.

We have literature supporting the Election Commission, but we don't have
money available to mail out the thousands of flyers we need to get out.
Instead, we're organizing a massive "lit drop" this Sunday, Oct. 24.  We
need EVERYONE to help us get the word out effectively!

Whether you're a veteran campaigner or someone who's never worked in a
campaign before, now is the time to get involved!  In one day, you can help
make the difference between victory and defeat for the Election Commission.
Please take a few hours out of your Sunday to help bring fair and open
elections to Champaign County, and to end the political games once and for
all.

We're meeting at 10am and again at 2pm on Sunday, Oct. 24 at Democratic
Headquarters, 14 E. Washington, Champaign.  We'll have literature to
distribute, as well as maps and walklists for you to use.  Please respond to
this e-mail, or call Dem HQ at 359-3760 to let us know which time you are
available.

Thank you,
Tony Fabri