Voters' Declaration of Rights[Realize that Caucus States do not allow Absentee Ballots!] The DNC (Democratic National Committee) should and must stand for the Absolute Right of Every American to Vote.
Our Fellow Citizens who are disabled, have difficult mobility, are shift workers, have child care issues, or any impediment whatever to poll or caucus voting must be provided uncomplicated access to a Vote-By-Mail Absentee Ballot.
The Conscience of Democracy cannot endure the silencing of any citizen’s voice. We are all made mute, wronged, indeed shamed if we stand aside and allow a fellow citizen’s vote, their only voice, to be robbed of them by our Party’s action or inaction.
Our Democratic Party is a lie, is stained until we insist on simple, unambiguous, absolute access to Vote-By-Mail Absentee Ballots in all elections.
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Sample Testimonies of Voter Suppression Shame
Voters in Caucus States are forbidden Vote By Mail Absentee Ballots
Iowa 2008.. 87-yr-old Vera “I can’t caucus, honey, I’m a cripple. If I can’t get there in my body, I don’t count.” ..82-yr-old Lorna, “Oh no dear, I don’t dare caucus, I’m off-balance.” .. 82-yr-old Ruth bed-bound by lingering pneumonia, “Just because I’m sick doesn’t mean I can’t think!” (Every 8th phone call in a Caucus State got me a similar anguished response.)
Nevada 2008.. Mary whose sister lives in a tiny town in Nevada, “My sister called me yesterday and said, ‘Mary, I can’t caucus. If my boss found out that I'm a Democrat and for Hillary, I wouldn’t have a job on Monday.’” (Caucuses don’t allow a secret ballot.)
Texas 2008.. In Texas Hillary's voters were plus 4% in the Primary & minus 12% in the Caucus on the same day! Suppose we had only seen the Caucus Results -- as we did in all the other Caucus States? This is appalling evidence of the Caucus Skew & Voter Suppression. This isn't about any candidate -- it's about the voters who couldn't vote.//
Six Years of Permanent Vote-By-Mail in California
I have Voted-By-Mail for 20 years -- since 1988 when I worked on a non-partisan SF Giants ballpark campaign & was poll watching far from my own polling place. The 2002 advent of Permanent Vote-By-Mail clearly saves paper & postage & aggro. Anyone who has used Permanent Vote-By-Mail loves it. Only those who haven’t used it have any concerns about it. Once you have spread your voting materials out in the unhurried quiet of your own home and voted in deep peace and profound responsibility, you will never go back to finding a parking place and having impatient voters behind you in line.
For 10 years Oregon has essentially voted totally Vote By Mail.
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actions: write letters to editor; email DNC; email Howard Dean; email Senators & Congressfolk;
in Caucus States especially email State Senators & Legislators to demand Vote By Mail option for your state's citizens -- not just in the General Election, but at the time of caucuses!! Act now for 2012.
Write, call, email co-sponsors of HR 281, the Vote By Mail Absentee Ballots National Standards bill. Especially legislators from Iowa. I'd be grateful if you'd let me know when you get any positive or negative response for that matter. Knowledge will make our actions smarter.
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contact caucusdebacle@gmail.com
