Bowen and Brunner to receive Profile in Courage award in Boston Monday, May 12

by Steven Freeman 5/10/2008 8:24:00 AM

Those of you in the Boston area may wish to attend the Profile in Courage award at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on Monday, May 12.

Debra Bowen, Secretary of State of California, and Jennifer Brunner, Secretary of State of Ohio, will be presented the award for political courage by Caroline Kennedy and Senator Edward M. Kennedy at a ceremony (I’m not sure what time -- Further information: Brent R. Carney (617) 514-1662, Brent.Carney@JFKLFoundation.org)

From the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation press release:

Two public officials who challenged the reliability of electronic voting systems in a bid to ensure the integrity of the vote in their states have been named this year’s recipients of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award,…

“As we prepare to cast our ballots for the next President of the United States, our confidence in the integrity and reliability of the voting process has never been more important,” said Caroline Kennedy, President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation “Secretaries of State Debra Bowen and Jennifer Brunner have each demonstrated exceptional leadership in working to ensure that voting systems provide a full and accurate count of the vote. Our democracy depends on voter trust. Debra Bowen and Jennifer Brunner’s efforts to earn that trust have made them true profiles in courage….

The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award is presented annually to public servants who have made courageous decisions of conscience without regard for the personal or professional consequences. The award is named for President Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Profiles in Courage, which recounts the stories of eight U.S. senators who risked their careers, incurring the wrath of constituents or powerful interest groups, by taking principled stands for unpopular positions.

Debra Bowen, Secretary of State, California

After a $450 million investment by California counties in electronic voting systems aimed at modernizing elections, newly elected Secretary of State Debra Bowen ordered an independent review of the new voting technologies to ensure they adequately protected the integrity of the vote. When the study revealed troubling flaws in the systems, Bowen strictly limited the use of direct-recording electronic voting machines, and imposed significant security and auditing requirements on systems to be used in California’s February 5 presidential primary election. Bowen’s decision was met with resistance by voting system vendors and many county elections officials.

Jennifer Brunner, Secretary of State, Ohio

A series of voting irregularities in several major Ohio counties that use electronic voting systems led newly elected Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to order that paper ballots be provided to any voter who requested one during the state’s March 2008 presidential primary. Furthermore, Brunner called for the replacement of all of the state’s electronic voting systems – used in 53 of Ohio’s 88 counties – with paper ballots and optical scan technology before the November 2008 presidential election. Critics have objected to the cost and questioned the necessity of Brunner’s proposals.

Tags: debra bowen, jennifer brunner, profile in courage award, caroline kennedy

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Comments

5/12/2008 9:44:15 AM

The paper ballots Secretary Brunner has opened up Ohio to are a good start for us in the very dark place we still find ourselves. What is not so good is that the Ohio Election Justice Campaign (OEJC) has asked Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, and the Ohio Legislature all to look at having a recall and refund on our voting machines. It is not good that the EVEREST report that Brunner put out on the voting machines, was not accompanied with the desertification of the Diebold/Premier voting machines. It is not good that Brunner wants to spend another $64 million dollars with ES&S for opti-scan machines. Lets just hand count those paper ballots.

As for the recall/refund issue, there has generally been no will to do this, or even mention it. Sixteen members of the OEJC had a discussion with attorneys at the AG office about the recall/refund and other election theft issues in December. Now they refuse our phone calls on all that and the theft of the Ohio 2004 election remains unresolved. Brunner has allowed/enabled/or is it promoted that the citizen gathered evidence on the theft of both the Presidential and Ohio Supreme Court 2004 races is to be ignored/covered up. The Attorney General's office also appears to be involved. The evidence has also been provided to them. Both offices refuse to do anything.

Because of a Federal Court Judge's order, Brunner has over 2200 boxes of what is left of the 2004 ballots. 57 of Ohio's 88 counties destroyed all or part of those protected records. Secretary Brunner knows exactly what to look at in those remaining boxes to start investigating, all compliments of the newly released book by Richard Hayes Phillips Ph.D titled "Witness to a Crime" available at richardhayesphillips@yahoo.com . Richard sent the new book to Secretary Jennifer Brunner. It details his years of analyzing Ohio's ballots. One ballot at a time. This data was collected by Richard, and a group of concerned Ohioans. I am proud to say "I helped". Brunner and Dann need to investigate.

Attorney General Dann is in the midst of an office scandal, so badly acknowledged that the Democratic Party has completely ditched him this past weekend. Yet the sun comes up on a new day, and if he wanted a way to redeem himself nationally and internationally... he just needs to push off the cover-up mentality. I look at this as a fantastic opportunity for him to now do the needed investigation into that 2004 election. Previously he would have had to worry about getting Brunner, the Ohio Democratic Party, the county party leaders across the state, and those who run the elections angry. Now they are daily spouting their hatred and disgust of the man. So go ahead Marc Dann, the man the papers now say has no party... INVESTIGATE THEM ALL. Look at Brunner's office too. Pat Wolfe is still on staff, and we have witnesses in two counties (of which Brunner and Dann have been informed)to the issue of Pat Wolfe's alleged rigging of the 2004 recount. Why does Brunner retain her? Wolfe is also on the Board of The Election Center in Texas, for those of you that know about that entity. While admitting your sins, tell us what happened when you went into office and why you then decided not to honor your campaign promises to investigate and prosecute? Who or what got to you? What happened to Brunner on these same issues? Why does both of your offices use the same line for every question on the election theft, "we must look forward to the new election, we can't look back".

So Jennifer Brunner, Ohio Secretary of State, please take your new award seriously, and come home and get the known alleged criminals out of Ohio's elections. Put them in a room with no view. Ohio has lots of good people looking for jobs, hire some of them.

Paddy Shaffer, Director, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign