ACT Commemorates Dr. King by Shining Spotlight on Vote Fraud Aimed at African Americans

So, as
we commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King today, I'd like to share some
equally powerful images of Election Day, 2004 — from places like Ohio,
Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.



In
honor of Dr. King and the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act,
please sign your name to our demand for electoral reform nationwide.



Join the fight. Send these images to everyone you know.



We're
just beginning to understand the impact of the aggressive campaign of
misinformation, repression and intimidation that was unleashed by
corrupt Republican officials and partisans in 2004.  Here are just
a few examples (View the orginials by clicking here):


*In Lake County, Ohio,
a fake letter appearing to come from the Lake County Board of Elections
was sent to newly registered voters saying that registrations gathered
by progressive organizations (including ACT) are illegal and those
voters would not be able to vote.



*The week before the election,
flyers were circulated in Milwaukee under the heading “Milwaukee Black
Voters League” with some “warnings for election time” including that
anyone convicted of any offense, however minor, is ineligible to vote;
that any family member having been convicted of anything would
disqualify a voter; and that any violation of these warnings would
result in ten years in prison and a voter's children being taken away.



*A flyer designed to look like an official announcement
from McCandless Township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, was
designed to misinform voters on a partisan basis.  The flyer
claimed that “Due to the immense voter turnout that is expected on
Tuesday, November 2 the state of Pennsylvania has requested an extended
voting period” encouraging people to vote on November 3rd.


So,
with the dust settling on the 2004 elections, a much longer fight must
continue on the streets and in the precincts where too many voices went
unheard.



This
petition and the strength of ACT's ongoing field campaign will oppose
and defeat any corrupt federal, state, and local official who blocks
common sense efforts to ensure fairer voting in future elections.  



Demand change today. Learn more here.



We will
not win by sending emails and airing television commercials.  We
will only win by building strong organizations on the ground from
coast to coast.  This is what ACT is doing in 2005.

 

ACT TOWN HALL MEETINGS PLANNED



Over the
coming weeks, ACT staff and volunteers will be organizing town hall
meetings to review the elections of 2004 and discuss our plans for the
future.  This is your chance to help shape ACT's future and build
the volunteer organization needed to win in 2005 and beyond.



Currently, we are making plans for meetings in the following cities.



Columbus, OH – TBD

Los Angeles, CA – January 22

Milwaukee, WI – TBD

New York, NY – January 18 (*Capacity reached.  More events soon.)

Philadelphia, PA – TBD

Phoenix, AZ – TBD

St. Louis, MO – TBD



More cities to be announced soon!



If you
are involved with a volunteer organization in another city that worked
with ACT in 2004 or looking to work with us in the future, please let
us know how we can support your continued efforts in 2005.  Email volunteer@act4victory.org.



Sincerely,



Steve Rosenthal

CEO

America Coming Together



P.S.   From National Journal's Charlie Cook, printed on January 11, 2005, on what went right in 2004:



“Democrats,
chiefly through America Coming Together, mounted what was not only the
most sophisticated get-out-the-vote operation in the party's history,
but it was probably the best field work by a factor of at least 10.
Merging the latest in technology with old-fashioned shoe leather,
Democrats not only met, but surpassed, their vote total targets in key
states such as Ohio and Florida. With voter turnout unexpectedly
climbing from 105 million in 2000 to 119 million in 2004 and a parallel
effort by the GOP that took them to startling heights of organization
as well, the Democratic GOTV operation was not quite good enough to
win, but it was awfully close.”