Voice of the Voters: The Bonifaz Blog
Submitted by Ofer Inbar on Sat, 09/09/2006 - 1:15am.
In the excitement of the past few weeks, we've fallen behind on bringing you news of the state of election integrity and voting rights around the country. Let's catch up on the developments in California's 50th district. You may recall I last posted about it here on July 15th, when the Democratic National Committee called for a hand count of all the votes in that questionable election - echoing John Bonifaz's earlier call to count every vote.
Three days earlier, on July 13th, Brian Bilbray had been sworn in as a new member of the US House of Representatives. He was the Republican candidate who, according to initial results, had won by a small margin - even though the election results had not yet been officially certified. The Kafkaesque result: According to a court, the actual results of the election no longer mattered.
Submitted by Ofer Inbar on Thu, 09/07/2006 - 1:29pm.
Blogger Ryan Adams recently watched some videos of John Bonifaz. His reaction? Impressed!
I decided that if I'm going to "strongly support" John Bonifaz, I should actually go watch a few of his speeches. [...] While I was scared that I was about to confirm my worst nightmares (that Bonifaz was boring), I was actually surprised. Not only is he right on the issues, but he's personable, fiery and - dare I say it? - charismatic!
How about you? Have you seen Bonifaz speak? Click on the videos link on our front page, or check out our YouTube playlist of Bonifaz videos
Submitted by Juan Martinez on Wed, 09/06/2006 - 12:07am.
(Juan Martinez was formerly the executive director of MassVOTE, a nonpartisan voter outreach and education organization seeking to improve voter turnout. He joined us as campaign manager for John Bonifaz this summer. -- Ofer Inbar)
When I was running MassVOTE, we filed a bill for statewide Same Day Registration here in Massachusetts.
I and John Bonifaz both testified at the Elections Laws hearing about the importance of the reform, especially for current voters who have registration problems for a host of reasons. See MassVOTE's Election Protection report for more details.
Secretary Galvin didn't testify in the public hearing, but instead submitted his testimony in writing the next day - out of public view. When a pilot version of the bill was presented to the Senate in December 2005, Galvin worked with Republicans to kill it. I know because I was in the State House when this all came down.
Now he says he's in favor of it on a statewide basis. Well, where has he been the last 12 years in office. States like Minnesota have had Same Day Registration for 30 years! And where has Galvin been during this Legislative session, which began with the Same Day bill presented to the Election Laws Committee?
Submitted by Ofer Inbar on Tue, 09/05/2006 - 8:31am.
Q: If elected, do you pledge to debate any candidate who is in the ballot to run against you in any election? (and who wants to debate)
A: "Absolutely! That's an easy one." -- John Bonifaz.
Let's all call some candidates running for office this year, incumbents and challengers alike, and ask them this same question.
Post the answers they give you as comments here.
Submitted by Ofer Inbar on Mon, 09/04/2006 - 1:08pm.
The voter registration deadline for the Massachusetts primary was last week. The next day, I was talking to a friend about the election and found out she hadn't registered in time - she didn't know there was a deadline.
In early March, I went to several city halls to collect signature sheets after they had certified them. As I got each sheet back, I skimmed to see how many signatures didn't get certified, and for what reasons. In Somerville, something caught my attention - one of my friends was marked "N"(ot registered). I knew she'd voted in November, and the address was correct, so I asked... and it turns out they misread her city census form in April, and switched her address to where she used to live last year.
I got to thinking about Election Day Registration...
Imagine you've registered to vote, and voted. Then one election day, you go to your polling place, and they can't find you on their list. You've waited in line, it's 8:30am, and you need to get to work. Or you made it to the polling place shortly before closing. What do you do? If you live in Massachusetts, chances are, you don't vote. (read on...)
Submitted by Ofer Inbar on Sun, 09/03/2006 - 12:06pm.
The 7 p.m. start time approached. Galvin had not appeared. Everybody anxiously eyed the clock. The minutes drained away. Finally, at 6:50, organizer Joyce Ball urged Bonifaz to take his seat. Bonifaz hesitated, still watching for Galvin.
"It's late, and I don't know where Mr. Galvin is," a worried Ball said, adding, "You'd think he would have called or something." A front page article in today's Sunday Globe focuses on Bill Galvin's refusal to debate. "Galvin is unused to challenges" and "at times seems to view the Bonifaz challenge as an annoyance," writes the Globe. John Bonifaz, recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant at age 33, Brown - and Harvard-educated, nationally known for his groundbreaking legal assaults on the current electoral system, now finds himself trying to break into a seemingly impenetrable universe: Massachusetts Democratic politics.
For Bonifaz, the secretary of state's office is an avenue to put into practice the ideals he has fought for in the courts: voter enfranchisement, easier access to the ballot for non-incumbents, and grass roots democracy. Why not write the Globe a letter (letters@globe.com)? Thank them for covering the secretary of state race, and encourage them to follow up by writing more about the issues, and the candidates' different visions for the office.
Submitted by Ofer Inbar on Sat, 09/02/2006 - 11:58am.
Marry in Massachusetts, a blog that had formerly endorsed Bill Galvin, writes "Bonifaz Becomes Only Option"...
The dictionary defines galvanize as "stimulate" or even "coat with zinc." Given our secretary of state's cowardly inaction and lack of communication, perhaps it would define Galvinize as "avoid citizens" or "disdain the voters." Galvinize, huh... wanna give Google a hint, by linking it here? In the meantime, let's galvanize voters to support a candidate who will stand up and lead proudly!
P.S. Blue Mass Group's David feels similarly.
Submitted by Ofer Inbar on Fri, 09/01/2006 - 3:44pm.
"railer" on Daily Kos posted a diary today, "John Bonifaz: Galvin a No-Show Again"
If you have a Daily Kos account, please recommend his diary! (click the "recommend" button on the right sidebar) If you don't have an account, why not? Sign up, it's easy.
Submitted by Ofer Inbar on Fri, 09/01/2006 - 8:11am.
Lynne of Left in Lowell is starting to wonder about Galvin. Andy of Mass Revolution Now says, "Shame on you, Galvin." Jan at Below Boston asks, "Who do these incumbents think they are? Royalty?" Massachusetts bloggers may not be unanimous in their choices of candidates, but one thing they do agree on: candidates should show up to debates and forums.
Bill Galvin didn't show up last night in Worcester either, leaving John Bonifaz and Jill Stein to answer questions from the panel without him. The best we've been able to get from the Galvin campaign about why he skipped Medford on Wednesday, is that he wasn't planning to be there in the first place - even though his sudden cancellation sure surprised the Medford Democrats who organized the forum.
Ryan Adams calls Galvin on it, and adds,
Galvin is doing a great job as Secretary of State by not doing anything about ballot fraud, not addressing campaign finance law violations, not doing anything about voter irregularities and not complying with years-old national statutes in voting law. Add "facing his competition in person" to the list of things he won't do, and Bonifaz will.
Submitted by Juan Martinez on Thu, 08/31/2006 - 10:58pm.
Well, he did it again. Or should I say "didn't" ... as in Bill Galvin didn't show up for another scheduled debate with John Bonifaz. This time he spurned the multiple invitations from ¿Oiste?, the Massachusetts Latino Political Organization, and failed to show up at the Worcester Public Library.
|
del.icio.us
