[Peace-discuss] RE: [Prairiegreens] Fw: Election Commission

[Walling, Jennifer]

So this is the piece that Al Weiss and I wrote for the Prairie Greens
newsletter last night about the Election Commission.
The Prairie Green Party officially opposed the Election Commission at our
September meeting.
(I'm not on the Peace-Discuss and UCProgressives-discuss list, so please
e-mail the Greens list if you have comments)

Vote NO on the election commission

"Shall a Board of Election Commissioners be established for Champaign
County?"

The Prairie Green Party asks that you vote no on the referendum regarding
the election commission.
The election commission would establish a committee comprised of at three
members appointed by the County Board.  The public would have no direct
input on the selection of members.  Furthermore, the proposed commission
would be comprised of at least two people from the majority party on the
county board and one from the minority party.  Third party members and
independents would be excluded from the election commission by law.  

If the election commission passes, elections would be run in a smoky back
room.  Unelected partisan operatives would completely control who was able
to vote, which candidates obtained ballot access, and how the votes were
counted.  Committee members would not be accountable to the public for the
decisions they made.
  
Our most important right should not be held hostage by unelected partisan
operatives. 
 
While the County Clerk system is not perfect, it ensures that there is
direct accountability to the voters for the running of elections.  We would
much prefer that this position remain elected rather than appointed.