When our sole representative refuses our will and goes over to the dark side, it has become time to find a better representative. If you believe that time has come, if not long past, then we are on the same page; and we need to coalesce to accomplish our own ends. On 6 November 2007, Congressman John Olver voted to table H. Res. 333, which calls for the impeachment of Richard B. Cheney, VP, in direct defiance of the clearly mandated will of a 2/3 majority of his constituents. Let's not delay in forming a more perfect union.

Peter S. Kosinski, Co-Executive Director
Stanley L. Zalen, Co-Executive Director
Commissioner Evelyn J. Aquila
Commissioner Helena Moses Donohue
Commissioner Neil W. Kelleher, Co-Chair
Commissioner Douglas A. Kellner, Co-Chair
New York State Board of Elections
40 Steuben Street
Albany, New York 12207

Dear Members of the State Board of Elections:

I urge you to make the following changes in the draft regulations for Part 6210, "Routine Maintenance and Testing of Voting Systems and Operational Procedures."

1. Visual illustrations should accompany the verbal descriptions of how paper ballots can be marked and how to interpret the marks.

2. Procedures for security and other purposes should not be delegated to county boards, but should be developed by experts under contract to the State Board.

3. Any models or diagrams used in pollsites to show voters how to use new equipment must be required to show how to locate and verify the voter-verifiable paper audit record of DREs, and how to locate and use the override button of Optical Scanners that voters can use to cause their ballot to be accepted even though it has overvotes or undervotes.

4.The regulations should require the choice "None of the above" in all contests, so that paper ballots need not contain undervotes if voters do not wish to vote for a candidate in a contest.

5. The use of system logs for pre- and post-election testing should be specified, as well as the use of system logs in investigation of discrepancies found during audits.

6. The regulations should require the use of cameras to record the keyboard, mouse, and display screen when the EMS (Election Management System) and all other equipment is used or subject to maintenance in the county board or its storage facility.

7. County boards must be accountable to the public, so the role of the public should be specified in the regulations, including the right of citizens to:
**participate by observing all procedures;
**easily obtain information about audits including when and where the random selection of machines and the audit itself will take place and all reports created.

8. Even simple security breaches, such as the compromising of a single password, can result in tampering that changes the outcome of all contests in an election within the county. When security breaches occur, the regulations should require county boards of elections to request assistance of law enforcement authorities to investigate.

Sincerely yours,

gemma hakins

To those who turned out on Tuesday, 16 September 2008:

  Thank you to the 88 residents of Stockbridge, who stood with me and
were among the 8,696 voters across the First Congressional District who
supported me and the issues I raised in last Tuesday's Democratic Primary.

  This is to honor and thank everyone of the 8,696 voters of the 1st
Congressional District who made it their purpose to cast their vote for
Bob Feuer for Congress. Each of you has demonstrated your awareness and
commitment to gaining greater accountability from our federal
government. Our votes made a huge statement of solidarity for the issues
that weigh on our district and country.

  We want improved public transportation in the face of rising fuel costs. We want good paying jobs to establish a sustainable economy. We want affordable health care for all. We want the development of alternative fuels, increased efficiency, and conservation as we move forward. We want the development of sustainable and local food production, bringing producers closer to consumers.  We want a balanced, Constitutional federal government to return us to a rule of law that protects and defends our rights and liberties.

  To accomplish these ends, I am reaching out across and into every
corner of our vast district to connect with those committed voters who
have embraced this agenda. My county coordinators have urged we take the
gain of nearly 9,000 voters, and form a District 1, progressive
political organization to press all elected officials for the issues we
embrace. Imagine you are a voting member of an active, cohesive group of
9,000 and growing. To that end, I encourage and invite each of you to
contact me, enroll, and together we will move mountains.

  My personal contact information is stated below, yours will be
protected. Let's pick up today where we left off on Sept. 16th. Join in
by email or phone, and together we will expand CSA farming, develop
alternative fuel co-ops, and press all of our elected officials to stand
up for our Constitution and make a public record of the crimes of this
current administration, so that no future president can ever again do to our nation what has happened here and abroad in these last eight years.

Bob Feuer
P.O. Box 658
Stockbridge, MA  01262
(413) 298-4749
<fires4@vgernet.net>
new website to be announced.