A National "Write-in" for President.

[donnay]

A National "Write-in" for President.

I have been kicking around the idea and wondering how we can make this work. My plan is simple but we would need the Ron Paul Campaign and volunteers help.

Lot's of us have be disenfranchised with the primary/caucus results. I am in NH and I thought from the git-go there was chicanery going on in our primary. I have actively helped in the re-count efforts but I think, in all honesty, it is a waste of time because there is absolutely no transparency but I digress.

Nevertheless, I was thinking that all Ron Paul supporters should vote absentee in the Presidential Elections and take the official absentee ballots make copies of them so we have a duplicate copy. The Ron Paul's headquarters can be the depot where we can mail (Registered) our copies of absentee ballots to be hand counted. Or each state, through meet-ups can organize volunteer hand counting of the register copies to be networked to an official area to be posted.

However, Ron Paul would have to declare a write-in candidacy in each state so we can make this "official" and do it the legal way so there is no discrepancies whatsoever.

Here is just a small list of states rules about "write-in" Candidacy.

Texas:
http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections...unpres07.shtml
Kansas:
http://www.kssos.org/forms/Elections/WP.pdf
Washington:
http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections...eclaration.pdf
North Dakota:
http://www.nd.gov/eforms/Doc/sfn18440.pdf
California:
http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elec...es_nov2008.pdf
Connecticut:
http://www.sots.ct.gov/ElectionsServ...inAppl2008.pdf

Any suggestions or comments?

[donnay]

Here is what I found out about New Hampshire (which is my state):



655:14-a Filing by Other Candidates. Every candidate for state or federal office who intends to have his name placed on the ballot for the state general election by means other than nomination by party primary shall file a declaration of intent with the secretary of state as provided in RSA 655:17-a or RSA 655:17-b during the same time period in which party candidates file a declaration under RSA 655:14.

655:18 Forwarding Declarations of Candidacy. Each city or town clerk shall forward each declaration of candidacy filed with him to the secretary of state on the day of filing of the same, provided the requisite fee shall have been deposited, or the requisite number of primary petitions shall have been filed therewith.

[...]

655:19-a Filing Fee for Presidential Candidates Who File Nomination Papers. At the time of filing declarations of intent, each candidate for president who seeks nomination by nomination papers shall pay to the secretary of state a single fee of $250 for himself and his vice-presidential candidate.

http://www.sos.nh.gov/rsa655.htm

[nate895]

none of the links work, except ND and KS.

[Forefall]

We'd get our votes thrown out because they were "illegible". LOL

[AJ Antimony]

Creative idea! However perhaps we should wait until the Republican party officially names a nominee in September.

[donnay]

none of the links work, except ND and KS.


I apologize...and I will try relink them. Or if anyone would be so kind to check out their state and post their election rules, that would be great too.

Forefall wrote:

We'd get our votes thrown out because they were "illegible". LOL


That is the purpose of this thread to try and get people together to search their States rules to see how a Write-in applies in their state and make it legal.

AJ wrote:

Creative idea! However perhaps we should wait until the Republican party officially names a nominee in September.


As I see it if we wait until September it will be too late for Ron Paul to declare a write-in candidacy in many of the states. In North Carolina, for example, the Candidate has until the 90th day before the general election to declare a write-in which roughly the deadline is August 2008.

Again, if we can get each states rules and approach the Ron Paul Campaign with the information and deadlines that would be one phase of this plan.

Once we get that going the second phase would be to organize locations all around the country for people to, by (registered) mail their copy of the absentee ballot so they can be logged into a central network and have an accurate count. This way if some chicanery goes on in each states, we can cry foul immediately and we would have copies to back up our votes that should match the states. Hence-- a true blue "paper trail."

All Ron Paul supporters would need to vote absentee in order for this to be conducted without a hitch.

Again, this is just in the rough stages. Any or all comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Lovecraftian4Paul]

Why bother with declaring a write-in campaign? If there are really enough of us that dedicated to Ron Paul, it seems like the effort would be better used pushing him to actually run independent. Or at least collect signatures to place him on the ballot as one instead of messing around with write-in votes that never get counted or reported.

[donnay]

Why bother with declaring a write-in campaign? If there are really enough of us that dedicated to Ron Paul, it seems like the effort would be better used pushing him to actually run independent. Or at least collect signatures to place him on the ballot as one instead of messing around with write-in votes that never get counted or reported.


Because in case you haven't noticed there has been a lot of chicanery going on in these primary/caucuses and it is harder for us to track the problems without any transparency or paper trail. Just in New Hampshire alone, a recount, to me is/has been a futile attempt. The Chain of Custody is a joke and the seals for the boxes were nothing more than "post-its" and they did not "seal" the ballot boxes in any capacity. Not to mention, the memory cards are missing from many machines and the SoS doesn't think that the disappearance of these memory cards is a problem and has not pursued finding what even happened to them.


By doing the National "Write-in" there would be a paper trail, Ron Paul does NOT have to switch parties or have to worry about Billionaire Bloomberg jumping into the race to squash any third party efforts.

[Arek]

well here's the information for the state of Maryland.

http://elections.state.md.us/candidacy/documents/Writein_packet.pdf

No fees or anything.

But you must form an exploratory committee.

[donnay]

Thank you. I am not sure Ron Paul would need an exploratory committee since he was in the primaries and caucuses.

Also, this is just to get an absentee ballot not to do the touch screen voting.

[donnay]

*****bump******

[pepperpete1]

Thank you. I am not sure Ron Paul would need an exploratory committee since he was in the primaries and caucuses.

Also, this is just to get an absentee ballot not to do the touch screen voting.

A person would want to check out whether they can get an absentee ballot also.

Here is what was posted on the SOS for Michigan

As a registeredvoter, you may obtain an absentee voter ballot if you are:

age 60 years old or older
unable to vote without assistance at the polls
expecting to be out of town on election day
in jail awaiting arraignment or trial
unable to attend the polls due to religious reasons
appointed to work as an election inspector in a precinct outside of your precinct of residence.


A person who registers to vote by mail must vote in person in the first election in which he or she participates. The restriction does not apply to overseas voters, voters who are handicapped or voters who are 60 years of age or older. (Voting in person on one governmental level clears the restriction on the other levels. For example, if a voter subject to the restriction votes in person at a school election, the voter would be free to obtain an absentee ballot for the first state election in which he or she wishes to participate.)

Requesting an Absentee Voter Ballot

Your request for an absentee voter ballot must be in writing and can be submitted to your city or township clerk. (For assistance in obtaining the address of your city or township clerk, see www.Michigan.gov/vote) Your request must include one of the six statutory reasons stated above and your signature. You must request an absentee voter ballot by mailing the online application, a letter, a postcard, or a pre-printed application form obtained from your local clerk's office. Requests to have an absentee voter ballot mailed to you must be received by your clerk no later than 2 p.m. the Saturday before the election.

Once your request is received by the local clerk, your signature on the request will be checked against your voter registration record before a ballot is issued. You must be a registered voterto receive an absentee ballot. Requests for absentee voter ballots are processed immediately. Absentee voter ballots may be issued to you at your home address or any address outside of your city or township of residence.

After receiving your absentee voter ballot, you have until 8 p.m. on election day to complete the ballot and return it to the clerk's office. Your ballot will not be counted unless your signature is on the return envelope and matches your signature on file. If you received assistance voting the ballot, then the signature of the person who helped you must also be on the return envelope. Only you, a family member or person residing in your household, a mail carrier, or election official is authorized to deliver your signed absentee voter ballot to your clerk's office.

If an emergency, such as a sudden illness or family death prevents you from reaching the polls on election day, you may request an emergency absentee voter ballot. Requests for an emergency ballot must be submitted after the deadline for regular absentee voter ballots has passed but before 4 p.m. on election day. The emergency must have occurred at a time which made it impossible for you to apply for a regular absentee voter ballot. Your local clerk will have more information about emergency absentee voter ballots.

Voting is one of the most cherished and fundamental rights in our country. If you are eligible to obtain an absentee voter ballot and cannot attend the polls on election day, use of the absentee voter ballot is strongly encouraged.





:)

[donnay]

Thank you, pepperpete1 for that information-- "expecting to be out of town on election day" can help people get the absentee ballot. I have personally had to do that and then, at the last minute, did not have to go out of town.

I am just saying that having an absentee ballot ensures that you can photo copy it and have your proof that you voted for whom you voted for. Right now as it stands we have no proof. If there is a rigged election, we can call for all the costly re-counts we want but it proves nothing when we are up against the Diebold machines.

Also if we network we have real time numbers as well.

Again, any other comments or suggestions are welcomed. I can not think of any other way to buck against the system.

[Shera]

If you absolutely, positively have to go to the polling place to vote, you could take a picture of your ballot/confirmation screen with a handy dandy cell phone or digital camera and forward the pic to the central location.

There are two issues as I see them: #1, we have to get Ron Paul's campaign to get the necessary forms filled out, signed, etc. for every state.

#2, we need to have a way to confirm that every vote for Ron Paul is verified, by the tracking through the counting.

This is a large task, but I believe that Ron Paul supporters can handle it. Let's get up and get doing!

[donnay]

If you absolutely, positively have to go to the polling place to vote, you could take a picture of your ballot/confirmation screen with a handy dandy cell phone or digital camera and forward the pic to the central location.

There are two issues as I see them: #1, we have to get Ron Paul's campaign to get the necessary forms filled out, signed, etc. for every state.

#2, we need to have a way to confirm that every vote for Ron Paul is verified, by the tracking through the counting.

This is a large task, but I believe that Ron Paul supporters can handle it. Let's get up and get doing!


Thank you, Shera! Some great insight!

If someone has to absolutely go to the polling places they should put their initials on the upper right hand corner of their ballot then take a few pictures to make sure it is clear enough to prove the ballot they had.

Digital cameras shots would probably be better than phone camera shots.

However, a national push for absentee ballots will give us a better edge, IMHO.

"It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything."
~Joseph Stalin

[donnay]

I would also like to add that if we can get this information together quickly we can present it to the Ron Paul Campaign because it will be up to him to do the paper work to make the declaration for a write-in candidacy in many of the states. The quicker we do that the quicker we can organize the other parts.

We all have witness the GOP changing the rules sporadically with regards to the dates and rules of the Primary and Caucuses-- we want to be quicker than them this time around so that they cannot pull any quick changes that would hinder or complicate getting absentee ballots or the write-in process.

[donnay]

Bump

[donnay]

*Bump*