Poll: 92% Support Public Supervision of Vote Count

New Zogby Poll: 92% Support Public Supervision of Vote Counting

Zogby poll: strong 92% support public access & info re vote counting
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1163 (press release weblink)

An extraordinary 92% of Americans believe that the public should have the right to observe vote counting and obtain information about it, according to a brand new Zogby poll of 1018 registered likely voters, taken August 11-15, 2006. This result flies in the face of electronic elections where vote counting is commonly considered a trade secret of the vendors of electronic voting machines.

Paul Lehto, who commissioned the poll, said: "It's one of the highest political values ever measured. Pretty much the ONLY way we can come up with anything more popular is to go to something about which there is NO SUBSTANTIAL CONTROVERSY. But such values with higher support, if they exist, are not being eliminated like public supervision and oversight of elections is. This is taking place in all jurisdictions, even in some places where they wrongly believe they have "transparent" elections until they ask for the information and it is denied by public officials."

WHAT DOES 92% MEAN? IT MEANS WINNING IF YOU KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE

* It's way higher than people who wouldn't mind a free tax cut.

* It's Higher than Bush's approval rating after 9-11. http://www.hist.umn.edu/~ruggles/Approval.htm

* It's higher than the approval ratings of any departing President.

* I'll bet it's higher than the approval ratings of Pres. Lincoln and Pres. Washington TODAY, if they exist. Though i'm willing to be proven wrong on that. Anyone?

* It's higher than the approval rating of any senator, governor or President since WWII, at any time. See, e.g., http://www.surveyusa.com/50governorsrated051005.htm others at main link.

* It's higher than the 87% thinking oil companies are gouging consumers these days. http://alternet.org/wiretap/29788

* And, it's also higher than the percentage of people who can get a basic math long division problem right.

Attorney Paul Lehto, who commissioned the Zogby Poll*, stated "This attack on transparency and loss of public rights to observe and supervise their own elections has occurred because of widespread government purchases of electronic voting machines that feature software claimed by vendors to be protected by trade secrecy and proprietary rights against any public observation or disclosure. Because of $4 billion in federal funding to states and counties under the Help America Vote Act of 2002, these new invisible electronic ballots are used by a rapidly increasing majority of Americans against the wishes of 92% of all Americans, according to Zogby. Under electronic voting run under this regime of trade secrecy, American citizens are never allowed at any time to verify if their elections are open, honest and accurate, and the government actually ends up ganging up with its vendors to fight citizen requests for information about the secret vote counting that is occurring. It is by no means "progress" to take checks and balances or public oversight out of elections, it is more like the biggest step backwards for democracy imaginable."

For more information and blogging, see for example, http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3276

Cross tabbed Zogby data and press release in pdf form are attached hereto. Official Zogby materials are only those attached and that contained in the Zogby link at the top of the page, the rest is the work of the undersigned.

******

Paul Lehto
Attorney at Law

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