[Peace-discuss] Referenda results sent to elected officials

[Jan & Durl Kruse]

The following "elected" Officials have been informed of the local  
referenda results: President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Senator  
Obama, Senator Durbin and Representivie Johnson.

The following message was sent by email:

AWARE, Anti War Anti Racism Effort of Urbana/Champaign, placed three  
advisory referenda on the February 5th primary ballot.  Below is an  
article printed in the News-Gazette regarding the results.  We hope you  
take the time to ponder these results and make every effort to  
represent the views of your constituents on these vital matters of  
public concern.  It is time to restore the United States' stature in  
the world, stop the erosion of civil liberties at home, renew our  
commitment to international law and the Geneva Conventions, and change  
our failed policy on the war on terrorism from a military to a more  
diplomatic approach,  (end of the occupation of Iraq, bring the troops  
home).


AWARE happy with advisory results
By Mike Monson 

Friday February 8, 2008

URBANA – A member of a local activist group said the group will  
probably seek to place more advisory referendums on the Nov. 4 ballot  
after voters in Cunningham and City of Champaign townships gave  
overwhelming approval to six questions on last Tuesday's ballot.

"I think we probably will" propose new ballot questions, said Durl  
Kruse of Urbana, a member of AWARE, which stands for "anti-war  
anti-racism effort." "We're looking at what issues, both locally and  
nationally, might warrant a referendum."

Residents can get advisory questions on the ballot by attending the  
annual town meetings, proposing language and then voting the questions  
onto the ballot. The town meetings will be held on April 1.

Last spring, AWARE and its supporters were able to get three advisory  
referendums each on Tuesday's primary ballot in Cunningham and City of  
Champaign townships.

In both townships on Tuesday, a proposition calling on Congress to  
repeal or amend the Military Commissions Act passed handily.

The act authorized the president to establish military commissions to  
try unlawful enemy combatants. The commissions are authorized to  
sentence defendants to death and defendants are prevented from invoking  
the Geneva Conventions as a source of rights during commission  
proceedings.

In City of Champaign Township, nearly 68 percent of the voters  
supported repealing or amending the Military Commissions Act. In  
Cunningham Township, the same question was backed by 79.3 percent.

A second question in both townships asked whether to limit funding for  
the war in Iraq to what is needed to bring the troops home. It passed  
with 60.5 percent in City of Champaign Township and with 69.2 percent  
in Cunningham Township.

Cunningham Township voters also supported, by an 4-1 margin, having  
voters call on members of Congress to pursue all available means to  
prevent war with Iran.
 Find this article at: 

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/2008/02/08/ 
awarehappy_with_advisory_results


All advisory referenda passed by large, mostly overwhelming, margins.

In Champaign:

  Poverty referendum:        71% Yes, 29% No   !!!
  Military Commissions Act:  68% Yes, 32% No
  De-fund Iraq War:          61% Yes, 39% No

   (Even in the most conservative Champaign district
    I could find, the Iraq War referendum, the least
    popular of these, came out about 50-50.)

In Urbana/Cunningham:

  No Unauthorized Iran War:  81% Yes, 19% No
  Detainees' Rights/M.C.A.:  79% Yes, 21% No
  De-fund Iraq War:          69% Yes, 31% No

And, about 90% of those who voted at all, in either city,
also voted on the referenda.  So people noticed the
issues and cared about them.


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