Flunking the Carter standard "American elections are global laughingstock"

[tommcintyre]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bal-ed.carter28mar28,1,5986933.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Originally published March 28, 2005
MANY ASPERSIONS were cast in the wake of the 2000 presidential election debacle. A common theme involved former President Jimmy Carter, trusted monitor of more than 50 elections around the world, and how his talents were more needed at home.

Indeed, Mr. Carter and former President Gerald R. Ford were both quickly pressed into service to recommend election reforms. But they were mostly ignored.

Now, four years and another messy election later, Mr. Carter, 80, is being drafted for help again. Congress would be smart to listen to him this time if American elections are to rise above global laughingstock.

By the criteria Mr. Carter applies to other nations, U.S. elections are nowhere near fair. Candidates don't have equal access to the public through the media. There is no central election commission viewed as nonpartisan. Voting procedures aren't uniform, even on a statewide basis. And many places using electronic touch-screens, including Maryland, have no paper backup for recounts.
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Carter will be co-chairing the Election Reform Commission. The first of two hearings are scheduled for April 18th.
http://www.american.edu/ia/cfer/

"Stay tuned" to this forum in the coming days for more information and calls-to-action regarding this commission.

[Helga Scow Stern]

1. Good for the Baltimore Sun.

Some waking up is going on. Over time, the truth becomes more obvious.

I will watch for action to take.

[tommcintyre]

2. Yes, there definitely seems to be more awareness...

and we can expect much more after the first commission hearing.

[FreedomAngel82]

6. When is the first hearing??

Will this be broadcasted on CSPAN or anything?

[tommcintyre]

7. The first of two hearings are scheduled for April 18th

The second will be in June. The commission will put its recommendations together in August, and present the report in September.

"Will this be broadcasted on CSPAN or anything?"

We need to do whatever we can to make this happen. I will be putting together an email blaster next week to try to bring this about.

[Dancing_Dave]

3. A global laughingstock indeed!

Folks don't put up with such fraud in the Ukraine, Iraqis would rather fight than accept a Bush-style election...only in America does the media assume we would never want to know the terrible truth about the scams being run against us!

[politicasista]

4. Kudos to the Baltimore Sun

We all want to blame Kerry for this when none of us know what's going on. There is a lawsuit pending in Ohio, but no one cares. Kudos to the Baltimore Sun, Conyers, Boxer, CBC and the Peace Patriot for fighting this.

[Einsteinia]

5. Carter's quote implying that he couldn't oversee our

elections because we don't meet his MINIMUM standards of election hygiene, does anyone know the link to that. Of course, he stated it differently, and I'm pretty sure he said it in an interview--maybe the Charlie Rose show. I want blast the media with this--but want to be able to back it up with the actual quote.

[eomer]

8. Here's an op/ed of his that appeared in the Washington Post

Still Seeking a Fair Florida Vote

By Jimmy Carter
Monday, September 27, 2004; Page A19

After the debacle in Florida four years ago, former president Gerald Ford and I were asked to lead a blue-ribbon commission to recommend changes in the American electoral process. After months of concerted effort by a dedicated and bipartisan group of experts, we presented unanimous recommendations to the president and Congress. The government responded with the Help America Vote Act of October 2002. Unfortunately, however, many of the act's key provisions have not been implemented because of inadequate funding or political disputes.

The disturbing fact is that a repetition of the problems of 2000 now seems likely, even as many other nations are conducting elections that are internationally certified to be transparent, honest and fair.

The Carter Center has monitored more than 50 elections, all of them held under contentious, troubled or dangerous conditions. When I describe these activities, either in the United States or in foreign forums, the almost inevitable questions are: "Why don't you observe the election in Florida?" and "How do you explain the serious problems with elections there?"

The answer to the first question is that we can monitor only about five elections each year, and meeting crucial needs in other nations is our top priority. (Our most recent ones were in Venezuela and Indonesia, and the next will be in Mozambique.) A partial answer to the other question is that some basic international requirements for a fair election are missing in Florida.

The most significant of these requirements are:

<snip>

<emphasis added>

Full article here

I think you are right that he also said this in an interview but maybe you can use this op/ed piece as well.

[tommcintyre]

10. Good article! Interview info below n/t

[Einsteinia]

12. Great! Thanks, this will be plenty to prove this was

the Carter Center's statement that we don't meet their criteria.

I can really use this, and I really appreciate your effort in finding it.

[rigel99]

15. KEY OTHER POINT from Carter Center Employee....

When I called Carter Center and spoke with Tanita in Democracy, she said basically that the Carter Center is

NON PARTISAN and that makes doing anything in US hard to do (I don't get this logic but ok, let's pretend we understand) and that Carter can personally do the commission because he can be from time to time partisan on issues (this chat was before he stepped down from center).

I said, but Tanita, if you knew how bad it was right here in Georgia and I quoted some of my audit results, she agreed "I know Georgia is bad", and then just said, they were an organization focused Internationally on elections and not the US (it sounded like a policy line at that point) and now, that he has stepped down with new leadership, I plan to march into the center one day this week (it's about 20 minutes from my house and the japanese garden is a very special visiting place).

I just really hope they wake up and smell the coffee.... if monitoring foreign elections while the US degrades to fascism is ok, then they must not understand the financial impact to their own US based company when the Chinese pull their finances in our currency out from under us...

I really don't think they get the primacy or importance of the issue to monitor US elections as the MODEL upon which they do their work overseas...

I have to go give these folks an earfull...

it's going to be amazing to see the results.....

[tommcintyre]

9. This is probably what you are looking for:

http://www.disabilityworld.org/01-02_01/gov/carter.htm
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter Critiques Florida Election Practices
<snip>
"Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, whose Carter Center works with 65 nations on various democratization projects, said that he was "taken aback and embarrassed" by what happened in the Florida election. In a January 9, 2001 interview aired on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition," former President Carter said that, if the Carter Center had been asked to monitor the Florida election, it would have refused to participate. The Center will not take part in election monitoring when a country fails to follow certain procedures to guarantee the fairness and integrity of elections."
<snip>

-------------------------------------------------------
Here is the NPR Morning Edition show if you care to listen to it:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1116766
Talk with Jimmy Carter

Listen to this story...

Morning Edition, January 9, 2001 · Bob Edwards talks to former President Jimmy Carter about his new book, An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of My Rural Boyhood.
<I was not able to get the audio to load. You can contact morning edition (link at bottom of page), or just use the quote above. (You can also order a transcript for $4.95 here: http://www.npr.org/transcripts/)>

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<another site with quotes:>
http://www.lumpen.com/coup2k/coup2k-all.html

Three days later, in an interview with NPR's "Morning Edition," former President Jimmy Carter said that he would refuse to monitor elections in any country that had election procedures as flawed as those in Florida had been. The Carter Center has monitored 30 elections in 20 countries, including such bastions of corruption as East Timor, Peru, Haiti, and Mozambique.

"I was really taken aback and embarrassed by what happened in Florida," he told interviewer Bob Edwards. "If we were invited to go into a foreign country to monitor the election, and they had similar election standards and procedures, we would refuse to participate at all." 83

83 Bob Edwards interview with Jimmy Carter, "Morning Edition" (National Public Radio), Jan. 9, 2001. Quoted in Mark Silva, "Carter: Fla. voting too flawed," Miami Herald, 1/10/2001. An audio recording of the entire interview is archived by NPR at http://search.npr.org/cf/cmn/cmnpd01fm.cfm?PrgDate=1%2F9%2F2001&PrgID=3 <"Page not found">

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"Carter: Fla. voting too flawed," Miami Herald, 1/10/2001 brings up the following links:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22Carter%3A+Fla.+voting+too+flawed%2C%22+Miami+Herald%2C+1%2F10%2F2001&btnG=Search

COUP 2K
... 9, 2001. Quoted in Mark Silva, "Carter: Fla. voting too flawed," Miami Herald,
1/10/2001. An audio recording of the entire interview is archived by NPR ...
www.lumpen.com/coup2k/coup2k-notes.html - 19k - Cached - Similar pages

COUP 2K
... "Rights groups to sue state leaders," Miami Herald 1/10/2001. Evan Shapiro,
Feed Daily (column), Feed Magazine www.feedmag.com 11/8/2000. ...
www.lumpen.com/coup2k/coup2k-all.html - 82k - Cached - Similar pages

Subliminal News - Coup 2K
... Quoted in Mark Silva, "Carter: Fla. voting too flawed," Miami Herald, 1/10/2001.
An audio recording of the entire interview is archived by NPR at ...
www.subliminalnews.com/archives/000068.php - 93k - Cached - Similar pages

Yahoo! Groupes : CubaSolidarityProject Messages : Message 1647 ... -
... voting too flawed," Miami Herald, 1/10/2001. Lire l' interview complet à
http://search.npr.org/cf/cmn/cmnpd01fm.cfm?PrgDate=1%2F9%2F2001&PrgID=3 84. ...
fr.groups.yahoo.com/group/ CubaSolidarityProject/message/1647 - 100k - Supplemental Result - Cached - Similar pages

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The following articles are available for $4.95 each:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/
<search the archive for: Carter: AND voting AND too AND flawed

Article 4 of 5; 316 words


CARTER: FLA. VOTING TOO FLAWED FORMER PRESIDENT `EMBARRASSED'

Source: MARK SILVA, [e-mail]
Paraguay yes, Florida no.Former President Jimmy Carter, who has monitored dozens of elections in troubled spots around the world, says he would not assist a foreign nation that had election procedures as flawed as Florida's.``I was really taken aback and embarrassed by what happened in Florida,'' Carter said in an interview aired Tuesday on National Public Radio. ``If we were invited to go into a foreign country to monitor the election, and they had similar election

Published on January 10, 2001, Page 1B, Miami Herald, The (FL)

Article 5 of 5; 295 words


CARTER: FLORIDA ELECTION TOO FLAWED TO OBSERVE EX-PRESIDENT URGES LEARNING FROM ERRORS

Source: MARK SILVA, [e-mail]
Paraguay si, Florida no.Former President Jimmy Carter, who has monitored dozens of elections in troubled spots around the world, says he would not assist a foreign nation that had election procedures as flawed as Florida's.``I was really taken aback and embarrassed by what happened in Florida,'' Carter said in an interview aired Tuesday on National Public Radio. ``If we were invited to go into a foreign country to monitor the election, and they had similar election

Published on January 10, 2001, Page 1A, Miami Herald, The (FL)

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The quote: "I was really taken aback and embarrassed by what happened in Florida" brought up the following:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22I+was+really+taken+aback+and+embarrassed+by+what+happened+in+Florida%22&btnG=Search

P&F: Weblog Archives <01/2001>
... "I was really taken aback and embarrassed by what happened in Florida," Carter
said in an interview aired Tuesday on National Public Radio. ...
www.pigsandfishes.org/links/ weblog/archives.html?year=2001&month=01 - 20k - Cached - Similar pages

Magellan's Log: Zone Red: Cassandra Rides Again
... "I was really taken aback and embarrassed by what happened in Florida. If we
were invited to go into a foreign country to monitor the election, ...
www.texaschapbookpress.com/magellanslog30/zonered.htm - 17k - Cached - Similar pages

Socialist Organizer: The Labor Party
... He insists that: "I was really taken aback and embarrassed by what happened
in Florida. … If we were invited to go into a foreign country to monitor the ...
www.theorganizer.org/LP/USHistory/CountEveryVote.html - 45k - Cached - Similar pages

Banana Republic USA - Elections 2000
... ``I was really taken aback and embarrassed by what happened in Florida,''
Carter said in an interview aired Tuesday on National Public Radio. ...
www.afrocubaweb.com/bananarepublic.htm - 80k - Cached - Similar pages

COUP 2K
... "I was really taken aback and embarrassed by what happened in Florida," he
told interviewer Bob Edwards. "If we were invited to go ...
www.lumpen.com/coup2k/coup2k-all.html - 82k - Cached - Similar pages

e.thePeople : Article : Bush is like a 'blind man in a roomful of ...
... Africa, and three in Latin America. And, I was really taken aback and
embarrassed by what happened in Florida. If we were invited to ...
www.e-thepeople.org/article/ 28733/view?viewtype=best&skip=30 - 101k - Supplemental Result - Cached - Similar pages

President Carter on Florida vote
... ``I was really taken aback and embarrassed by what happened in Florida,'' Carter
said in an interview aired Tuesday on National Public Radio. ...
www.mail-archive.com/marxism@lists. panix.com/msg17254.html - 7k - Supplemental Result - Cached - Similar pages

Fwd: Carter says Florida voting too flawed
File Format: Unrecognized - View as HTML
... ``I was really taken aback and embarrassed by what happened in Florida,''. >Carter
said in an interview aired Tuesday on National Public Radio. ``If. ...
www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv. aol.com/msg59665.html - Supplemental Result - Similar pages

In order to show you the most relevant results, we have omitted some entries very similar to the 8 already displayed.
If you like, you can repeat the search with the omitted results included.

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Sorry this is not better organized. I just pasted the info here as I found it.

Good luck!

[tommcintyre]

11. More background: Jimmy Carter resigns from Carter Center

<There has been speculation that this will free him up to take a stronger position.>

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050323-084812-7648r.htm
Jimmy Carter resigns from Carter Center

Atlanta, GA, Mar. 23 (UPI) -- Jimmy Carter has announced he and his wife have stepped down as leaders of the Atlanta-based Carter Center's board of trustees.

The former president said he and Rosalynn Carter will continue promoting peace, health, democracy, and advocating for the mentally ill as board members, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday. The former president said he and his wife stepped down to allow the board to play "a more prominent role in the governance and long-term mission of the center."

"Rosalynn and I see this as part of the ongoing process of preparing the Carter Center for the time when we no longer are active," Carter said in a statement. "As its founders, we know the Carter Center will always be linked to our identity and personalities, but we proudly recognize the center has expanded its reach beyond what the two of us contribute."

[AtLiberty]

13. Would someone please post the link of Carter's...

fax and e-mail addresses again? I read them in this forum a week or so ago. Thanks.

[tommcintyre]

14. Your own good answer ;)

Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform
c/o AU Center for Democracy and Election Management
3201 New Mexico Avenue, NW Suite 265
Washington, DC 20016-8026
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail]

<I went to search for that thread and found your post there. I thought it would be worthwhile to have it in this thread too.>

[liberalla]

16. Carter Commission information and fax numbers

These numbers are also available:

From Tanita at the Carter Center:

...if we would like to educate Jimmy Carter on Election Reform activities to send a fax to his personal fax # and that is listed as 404.331.0283.

She said we could wait a few days and then call the Carter Center and ask to speak with the executive secretary to discuss the fax. That number is 404.420.5100.

She also gave me the name of a person who hosted a seminar on US elections David Pottie and his email is [e-mail].

This is from a rigel99 posting: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=352880&mesg_id=352880

Jimmy Carter personal fax # [phone]

Executive Secty phone # [phone] (to discuss the fax)

[AtLiberty]

17. Thanks