Thursday, April 12, 2007
The Land of Pleasant Living Keeps it Up
I think if the Center of American Progress is looking to put together a book of model bills for progressive state legislators to use, they should just cut and past all the bills from the last few sessions of the Maryland House of Delegates. Living wage, state wide smoking ban, the Wal-Mart bill and now this:
"The Maryland Senate unanimously approved a bill Friday that would require the state to scrap its $65 million electronic-voting system and switch to new machines that have a paper record.
If the bill wins final approval and is signed by the governor, voters would not use the new optical-scan equipment until the 2010 election. The measure is contingent on state funding, and the new system is projected to cost $18 million to $20 million."
The bill was likely given a boost by the meltdown of voting machines in Montgomery County during the heated primary election on September 12. Maryland has also been blessed with the presence of hard-working outfits like True Vote MD that have been fighting the good fight on this issue for years.
Labels: Maryland, True Vote MD, Voting Rights
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Keep DC Voting Rights Alive
Got the following note from my "Shadow" Representative for the District of Columbia, Mike Panetta.
Dear xxxxxx,
In case you haven't heard by now, last week a few Republican Congressmen temporarily blocked the progress of the DC Voting Rights Act on the House floor using a rarely implemented parliamentary procedure. Representatives Lamar Smith (R-TX), Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Louie Gohmert (R-TX) attempted to amend the DC Voting Rights Act by adding a section that would eliminate DC's gun control laws. It was a pathetic attempt to not only deny over a half million people voting representation in Congress, but to also re-write our local laws to their liking.
This is only a minor setback. The bill will return to the House floor!
Can you please take a minute and make two phone calls to help with this effort? I need you to call both Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Both have been champions on this issue and we need to thank them for their leadership in this fight. They also need to hear from people that this bill needs to brought back to the House floor this week before the upcoming recess.
Can you please take a minute and make two phone calls to help with this effort? I need you to call both Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Both have been champions on this issue and we need to thank them for their leadership in this fight. They also need to hear from people that this bill needs to brought back to the House floor this week before the upcoming recess.
Their phone numbers are below:
Speaker Pelosi: (202) 225-0100
Majority Leader Hoyer: (202) 225-3130
Majority Leader Hoyer: (202) 225-3130
Please make the following points on your phone call:
* You are calling in regards to the DC Voting Rights Act
* You are very appreciative of their leadership on this issue* You are urging the House leadership to bring the bill back to a floor vote this week.
Please take a few minutes and make the call today. These offices need to hear from people like you to get this bill back to the House floor. After you make your calls, please forward this email to others who would be supportive of this effort.
Thanks for all that you do,
Mike Panetta
Mike Panetta
U.S. "Shadow" Representative (D-DC)
p.s. Don't forget to tell your friends and co-workers about http://www.freeandequaldc.com/
p.s. Don't forget to tell your friends and co-workers about http://www.freeandequaldc.com/
Labels: District of Columbia, Voting Rights
