WHEREAS the fundamental purpose of the United States is to practice democratic self-government, and to ensure our government loyally serves We the People who created it and nothing else, and to recognize that all legitimate government power comes only from the people via elections; and
WHEREAS the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence declares our unalienable rights, including the right to alter or abolish our government at will; and
WHEREAS this paragraph also declares the reason government is created: to "secure these rights," to We the People, and affirms that rights are ours by birth, proving that our government guarantees us our rights, but doesn't grant us our core rights; and
WHEREAS it is noted that to be a free people requires us to have the ability to change elected representatives at will; and
WHEREAS American rights are most in danger when we wish to remove incumbent government officials because they also run or influence the very elections that are the only way to remove them from power; and
WHEREAS Americans have seen a long, dishonorable and often open and notorious history of vote suppression, including "legal" disfranchisement by laws denying the right to vote, and involvement by government officials; and
WHEREAS Americans have every reason to believe misconduct will be worse wherever secrecy is present instead of openness because secrecy prevents accountability; and
WHEREAS since the 2000 election, there's been an explosion in secret vote counts via new computerized voting machines, whereby ballots are purportedly "counted" using invisible electrons, but only results are reported and no evidence or witnesses to the count exist or are brought to light because of claims of "trade secrecy" in vote counts, and non-experts couldn't understand the evidence even if it were present and produced; and
WHEREAS our government is not based on "trust" or maintaining "public confidence" in elections, it is instead based on checks and balances, oversight and supervision, which are forms of distrust; and
WHEREAS scientific studies have shown that all computerized voting systems, both touch screen and optical scan systems, allow the unprecedented ability of a single person to alter election results if given access to a single computer for a few minutes, and moreover that it isn't possible to secure these machines against the insiders who claim to provide us with security, even though the power and paychecks of election official insiders completely depend on those same elections and insiders are always a high security risk, such as with embezzlement in businesses; and
WHEREAS secret vote counting leaves the people completely insecure in their right to remove incumbents, and leaves election officials completely free to alter elections without detection; and
WHEREAS no voting system can possibly be completely perfect when insider risks are high, we recognize that the preferable voting system is one that creates evidence when compromised, and that computerized systems do not do this; and
WHEREAS an August 2006 Zogby poll showed support for "observable vote counting" of 92%, and recognizing that secrecy in any part of our elections (including campaign finance) is simply an open invitation for corruption;
1. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that organizations represented by delegates of the 2007 National Latino Congreso support voting systems where every part of the system early voting, absentee voting, election day voting, and post election day vote counting is observable by the public and creates evidence accessible to and understandable by the public, and recognize this is necessary to preserve unalienable rights of self-government, such as the right to alter the government at will; and
2. FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that organizations represented by delegates of the 2007 National Latino Congreso condemn those so-called "public servants" who cooperate with corporations to deny information on vote counts to the public, violating their loyalty to the public, and preserving corporate rights instead of rights of people; and
3. FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that organizations represented by delegates of the 2007 National Latino Congreso require all voting systems to be compatible with the rights of self-government, or else they are unacceptable regardless of cost savings or convenience; and
4. FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED, by way of example, that organizations represented by delegates of the 2007 National Latino Congreso recognize the following system complies with the principles above:
a) the use of equal vote counting machines, which produce a paper record for verification purposes; and
b) completely open, honest, and public vote counts, with immediate access to all information about counts; and
c) absolutely secure chains of custody from the time ballots are cast through the time for recounts; and
d) guarantees of speedy, effective investigations and remedies for any reported irregularities, just as our armed forces treat all potential threats seriously; and
5. FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED these rights are mandatory and non-negotiable, and that it's the government's primary purpose to guarantee these birthrights, but election secrecy render government accountability to the people impossible; and
6. FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that organizations represented by delegates of the 2007 National Latino Congreso demand full recognition of all voting rights of all people, and voting systems that reflect the best checks and balances ever developed for elections: fully observable, transparent elections.
en Estados Unidos multiplican acciones de cabildeo en el Congreso para pedir a los senadores que introduzcan modificaciones al proyecto de ley de reforma migratoria que resolvieron comenzar a debatir el lunes.
