Article #1: Lowell voting problems probed, from the Boston Globe.

Article #2: Voting rights issues probed, from the Springfield Republican.

From today's press release:

Last Friday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed that it is investigating the City of Springfield for possible violations of the Voting Rights Act. The DOJ has also been involved in similar efforts in Boston, Lawrence and Lowell over the last year - including filing a lawsuit against Boston in 2005.

Voting rights leader John Bonifaz, Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, issued the following statement today addressing the DOJ's investigation of Springfield:

"The confirmation of the Bush Justice Department's investigation of Springfield is the latest example of the need for a pro-active Secretary of State who will work collaboratively with each jurisdiction to assure that these voting rights cases never come to fruition.

Recently, Democracy for America Cambridge asked the Secretary of State candidates to complete an informational questionnaire. Here is John's response (in PDF format).

From our press release today:

Voting rights leader John Bonifaz, Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, has endorsed the adoption of open standards based data formats - including the Open Document Format for office automation - for software used by Commonwealth government organizations. Open standards insure that data formats are fully documented and available for use by any person or company without licensing fees.

"We should not allow Microsoft or any other corporate entity to dictate how our electronic archives are stored," said Bonifaz. "These changes cannot be made overnight, but we must take practical steps to ensure the integrity and accessibility of digital public information.

March 2006

Dear Delegate,

I am writing to introduce myself, explain why I am running for Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and ask for your support.

From today's campaign press release:

Voting rights leader John Bonifaz, Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, has endorsed legislation created by the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association to establish an Elections Task Force to study and recommend election reforms, including Election Day Registration (EDR).

"Today, I offer my complete support for the creation of an Elections Task Force to recommend electoral reforms for Massachusetts," said Bonifaz. "Our town clerks have taken a leadership role and I stand by them in our desire to have the Commonwealth's electoral system count every vote, eliminate barriers to voting and fully-fund the needs of our cities and towns."

Many articles have been published in the past few days about our camapign. Here's a sampling:

Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. has endorsed John. Check out our latest press release...

There's an exciting event coming up this Friday, February 10: a Town Hall Meeting on Voting Rights with John and Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. This topic has been John's life's work. Add in the particpation of another voting rights advocate like Jesse Jackson, Jr., and you have the makings for a great discussion that you won't want to miss!

Click here for the details.

A great article about John authored by William Rivers Pitt has been published on the Progressive Democrats of America website: http://www.pdamerica.org/
articles/campaigns/bonifaz.php.