As Sara Robinson posted recently at Orcinus, one of the best ways to widen the “cracks in the [wingnut] wall” is to “Stand on Common Ground [and] Keep the conversation focused on the things you agree on.”
A new Zogby poll highlights what is probably the biggest common ground that has yet been handed to Democrats, and we need to claim it for our own!
92% of Americans support transparent elections, where full information is available to citizens about the vote counting process and the vote results.
Why this matters and what we can do with it below the fold.
Graphics and more are posted on bradblog.
Following is the text of an email to activists sent out by Paul Lehto, the lawyer who commissioned the poll.
Folks, Please set your informational distribution systems like email forwards, listservs, press releases, phone calls, and networking to the setting equivalent in your system to “CodeRedWhiteBlue/CodePaul Revere/Spam the Universe” Distribution Setting! Thank you!
Here’s the key: The 92% support for public observation of vote counting and obtaining information about it is AMONG THE HIGHEST POLITICAL VALUES EVER MEASURED.
*It’s higher than people who wouldn’t mind a free tax cut.
*It’s higher than any Bush approval after 9-11.
*It’s higher than the approval ratings of any dead President.
*It’s higher than the approval rating of any senator, governor or President since WWII, at any time.
*It’s higher than the percentage of people who can get a basic math multiplication problem right.So let’s do the TRANSPARENCY MATH: We are on very solid ground, and we are WINNING whenever we frame things in terms of (1) anti-secret vote counting (2) public’s right to know and observe/supervise ITS elections (3) public right to obtain information about vote counting.
This data can and should give people the confidence to talk to ANY political group of any persuasion, in these nonpartisan terms. (Of course, once election results are announced, we all know which side to argue for, or many of us do, so the common agreement then breaks down in more partisan terms…). The winning side in the political equation is the group willing to GET OUT THERE and TALK IT UP with people outside the usual SAFE CIRCLES.
It’s up to you if you want to play to win in this great debate over transparent democracy. Consider what’s at stake, 92% is political invincibility and it’s not too much to ask to spread this data far and wide, because all Americans agree.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
1. What about the 8% that seemingly don’t agree with this?
ANSWER: There’s no such thing as an 8% opposition. The 8% figure is arrived at by subtracting the transparency total of 92% from 100% and assuming the difference is the opposition to transparency, but this is not so. A big chunk of the voters outside the 92% is undecided or unsure or didn’t understand the question. A few surely are just contrarians, others perhaps are highly trusting persons who perhaps know a reputable pollworker and simply “trust” them but don’t realize our system is based on checks and balances, not trust. By no means should we focus on the few percent in the negative when we have one of the strongest political values ever measured ON OUR SIDE.2. Are we sure that the polling question is worded fairly?
ANSWER: It simply doesn’t matter, though the question is worded by the professionals at Zogby to be nonmisleading and fair. That being said, the point is that if you word it in this “unfair” or “slanted” way, essentially EVERYONE AGREES WITH IT. So, we’re looking for a successful way to present what we believe, and this works and gets extremely high levels of acceptance: public witnessing of vote counting and public rights to get information about vote counting.3. Can politicians run on numbers like 92%?
ANSWER: This question should answer itself. Even a bad campaign could benefit.4. Won’t the other side be able to lower these numbers?
ANSWER: If they dare to attack transparency, they might make a dent in 92% but in democracy remember that 50.1% is all it takes to win, so there’s a huge margin. But they would also pay a high price for attacking public transparency and the public’s right to know, so they will hesitate to do so in the first place.5. Does it matter that in some or even many states these public rights on vote counting are not the law on the books or are being negatively impacted by invisible electronic voting?
ANSWER: This is the debate, but what we are measuring are NORMATIVE political values about what should be, or what the public prefers or agrees with. We can then use those normative values to show how particular situations or public “servants” are out of touch with the public’s views and mood.6. What is the key to handling other objections to this?
ANSWER: Don’t let anyone, even a friend, let you get your eyes off of this prize: the power of the 92%. The numbers are real, but even if they weren’t, the momentum and shot in the arm that the public will get from re-asserting its rights in our democracy is so valuable that it is ALWAYS a strategic mistake to focus on the negative when the positive is so much better to focus on AND propels us forward…. Anyone who, in effect, wants to focus on the negative is really saying that so long as there is ANYBODY in opposition to public transparency, we should all sit on our hands or otherwise feel bad, feel powerless, and feel impotent. That will be the most promising line of attack for folks like Ken Blackwell. Don’t let the b’tards get you, or democracy, down. It’s time to celebrate victory that occurs when everyone knows that we have this powerful commonality here with all political persuasions. It’s one of the things that it means to be a citizen in American democracy. Nontransparency therefore can not, and will not, stand.7. What can I/we do to reinforce this poll?
ANSWER: Talk it up, email to listservs, point out in your own words the tidal wave trend toward nontransparent and invisible and secret vote counting in contrast, call radio shows, suggest to columnists, bloggers and OpEd writers that they write on this or interview folks on this such as attorney Paul Lehto (lehtolawyer(at)gmail(dot)com; cell: 425-422-1387) who commissioned the poll with help from Democracy for New Hampshire and Michael Collins of electionfraudnews.com. Read the links that are in the bradblog article.
Contributions to help fund the poll may be sent to:
Paul Lehto, Attorney at Law
PO Box 254
Everett, WA 98206
(Any excess funds over costs will be donated to CA 50 –www.nosleepovers.org ) If you need to donate via Pay Pal rather than snailmail & check, please go straight to the CA 50 website and note “Zogby” (or if not possible to note, add .02)
Paul has just posted an updated version of the above FAQ at Black Box Voting.