Leaders & Experts Unite To "Audit The Vote"

For Immediate Release
December 9, 2004

COMMUNITY LEADERS AND COMPUTER EXPERTS UNITE TO "AUDIT THE VOTE"

National Network Comes Together to Ensure Integrity and Sanctity of American Democracy

A new national organization, Audit the Vote, has been formed to ensure that our elections are fair and accurate. Americans are already working on recounts in Ohio and New Mexico.

Among its immediate activities, Audit the Vote will participate in the investigation of the Presidential election to ensure that every vote is counted accurately and to gain a better understanding about problems with voting procedures. To this end, it supports ballot recounts, public records searches, and legal avenues to identify problems in the electoral process. Recounts have been requested in Ohio and New Mexico and are expected to begin next week.

"Our electoral system has some serious flaws, but it can't be repaired until we are really able to get under the hood and find what's broken," said Eleanor LeCain, founder of Audit the Vote. "We are not satisfied to sit back and simply accept that the system is flawed. We, as Americans, have the right to find shortcomings in our voting system, and the power to fix those problems."

Audit the Vote was founded on the premise that for our society to function properly, every eligible voter must be allowed to vote and every vote be counted as cast. If votes are denied due to voter suppression, computer malfunction, or intentional manipulation, the public has a right to know. Likewise, if votes are being cast fairly and counted accurately, it is critical to restore confidence in our voting system.

The recounts in Ohio and New Mexico were requested by the campaigns of the Green and Libertarian party presidential candidates in response to irregularities regarding faulty voting machines, polling place closures, and changing vote totals since the election. Audit the Vote has partnered with Help America Recount to work on these recounts.

There has been a groundswell of popular support for the recount in New Mexico, with more than 750 volunteers coming forward to oversee the process in a 48-hour period. Trainings for volunteers will begin Saturday. The recount is expected to get underway Monday.

In Ohio, where the recount is also slated to begin Monday, nearly 2,200 volunteers have already begun training to monitor the process. As recount efforts begin, State electors will meet, to cast votes in the November presidential election. However, the electoral votes will not be official until January 6, 2005, when they are opened and voted upon by the full United States House and Senate.

Audit the Vote has launched http://www.auditthevote.org/ to provide credible recount information and opportunities for the public to get involved.

###

Contact: Meghan Scott - 610.737.8150

© Scoop Media