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December 30, 2004.
Democrats.com
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by Bob Fertik on 12/28/2004 11:33am. - revised 12/30/2004 9:30am

An Open Letter to Senator John Kerry on Leading the Challenge to Ohio's Electors on January 6

Dear Senator Kerry,

I was proud to support you in every way possible this year, including casting an enthusiastic vote for you - just one of 59 million Americans who put our ultimate trust in your hands.

Today I am writing you to ask you to honor our trust by leading the challenge to�Ohio's Electors on January 6.

Your attorneys in Ohio have carefully monitored the recount and ongoing contest based on serious allegations of fraud. Monday afternoon, your attorney Don McTigue�joined John Bonifaz in two important motions to preserve and augment evidence of�such fraud in the November election, stemming from Triad's actions in Hocking County.

But Monday night, your attorney Dan Hoffheimer told Keith Olbermann your investigation is over:

"There are many conspiracy theorists opining these days. There are many allegations of fraud. But this presidential election is over. The Bush-Cheney ticket has won. The Kerry-Edwards campaign has found no conspiracy and no fraud in Ohio, though there have been many irregularities that cry out to be fixed for future elections. Senator Kerry and we in Ohio intend to fix them. When all of the problems in Ohio are added together, however bad they are, they do not add up to a victory for Kerry-Edwards. Senator Kerry's fully-informed and extremely careful assessment the day after the election and before he conceded remains accurate today, notwithstanding all the details we have since learned."

I beg to differ with Dan Hoffheimer. Let me address two issues:

1) When do "many irregularities" (Hoffheimer's own phrase) rise to the level of "fraud" and ultimately "conspiracy"?

2) How much fraud would it take to "add up to a victory for Kerry-Edwards"?

1) When do "many irregularities" (Hoffheimer's own phrase) rise to the level of "fraud" and ultimately "conspiracy"?

"Irregularities" happen by accident or neglect. "Fraud" happens by design, when someone intends to interfere with a free and fair election. "Conspiracy" happens by coordination among those intending to commit "fraud."

The first challenge is proving the "many irregularities" were not accidental, but were intentional "fraud."

There is no doubt that George Bush's campaign�stole Florida in 2000 through a conspiracy to commit fraud.

In the midst of the 2000 recount - Dec. 4, 2000 - Perry County the number of voters exceeded the number of people who signed the books in at least 11 of 46 precincts.

Contest and Cover-up

The Green and Libertarian Presidential candidates are now in court contesting Bush's "official" victory, citing evidence of widespread fraud. Ohio's Chief Justice - Republican Thomas Moyer, whose own election in 2004 is under scrutiny - has repeatedly delayed and even obstructed this contest by failing to serve valid subpoenas to George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Karl Rove. Ken Blackwell, who was served with a subpoena, refused to appear at a scheduled deposition and is seeking a court order to avoid testifying. If Ken Blackwell conducted a fair and honesty election - as he claims - he would have no reason to avoid testifying. What fraud is Blackwell hiding?

This brief summary represents just the tip of the iceberg of the "many irregularities" documented at http://democrats.com/ohio. Many more have been documented by VoteProtect.org, Ray Beckerman and the lawyers in Moss v. Bush.

A few of these "many irregularities" are finally being documented by reporters from the Washington Post and the NY Times, although they are way behind the lawyers and investigators on the ground. In the coming days and weeks, some of the "many irregularities" are likely to be revealed as outright fraud. And as the fraud investigations are traced to their sources, one or more "conspiracies" may indeed be found.

Thus, Dan Hoffheimer is profoundly wrong to declare America's Presidential election "over" before these investigations are finished.

2) How much fraud would it take to "add up to a victory for Kerry-Edwards"?

Dan Hoffheimer implies that the fraud we document must add up to 118,458 votes - one more than Bush's "official" margin - before�John Kerry would challenge Bush's "victory."

But this is a ludicrous standard. The effect of certain kinds of fraud can be roughly estimated by academics and statisticians - such as the estimated 15,000 - 95,000 votes lost to Kerry due to the shortage of voting machines in Columbus. More broadly, the total impact of the various frauds can be estimated by Kerry's 3.2% victory according to the networks' exit poll.

But Bush's lawyers and Republican judges all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court would never accept any statistical estimates, no matter how scientific. In 2000, they wouldn't even allow 175,000�uncounted ballots to be counted!

In an honest political system, widespread fraud is grounds for nullifying an election and holding another one, regardless of the precise quantification of that fraud.

Election fraud drives a dagger directly into the heart of democracy. If the citizens of a democracy do not believe the election was fair, then the government chosen by that election has no legitimacy in the eyes of its citizens or the world.

Election fraud by the ruling party is especially poisonous, because the ruling party controls the investigative bodies that alone have the power to determine how widespread the fraud was, and how high up the chain of command it went. That is why volunteers are conducting the investigation in Ohio - because Attorney General John Ashcroft is a partisan hack.

This past weekend, Ukraine held a second presidential election because of widespread fraud by the ruling party in the first election, and the belief that Ukraine's ruling party could not investigate its own crimes. Both Republicans and Democrats - as well as the mainstream media - supported popular demands for a revote in Ukraine.

As in Ukraine, millions of Americans believe our own Presidential election was stolen. A post-election poll by Harris (Nov. 9-14) found 16% of Americans thought our election was not conducted fairly. In December, those who believe our election was stolen grew to 19%.

Why does fraud in Ukraine warrant a revote, but not fraud in Ohio? Is the Ukrainian Presidency more important than the American Presidency? Is Ukrainian Democracy more important than American Democracy?

As I write, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee and their staffs are scrutinizing all of the reports of fraud. At least one Representative - Maxine Waters - will�challenge Ohio's illegitimate Electors on January 6, just as she challenged Florida's illegitimate Electors in 2001. Many of your most dedicated supporters are lobbying their Representatives and Senators urging them to "contest the vote." Thousands are taking to the streets in protests around the country, including a major rally in Columbus on January 3 and a "Save our Votes" March from Baltimore to DC culminating in a "Patriotic Outrage" rally outside the Senate on January 6.

Senator Kerry, I urge you to fulfill your repeated campaign promise to "count every vote" by standing up now for the 59 million Americans who placed their ultimate trust in your hands.

Specifically, I urge you�to:

  • acknowledge - and support publicly - the ongoing investigations into possible fraud in�Ohio
  • condemn�systematic Republican efforts to obstruct those investigations
  • insist publicly that no election - overseas or at home - is "over" while valid claims of fraud remain unresolved, and
  • lead your Senate and House colleagues in a formal challenge to Ohio's Electors on January 6.

Sincerely,

Bob Fertik

p.s. This letter can be found at http://democrats.com/kerry-letter

Please share your own thoughts with Senator Kerry by calling 202-224-2742 or visiting http://www.kerry.senate.gov/bandwidth/contact/email.html

2004 President

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