DU's Own "Sonias " Hard work and Article... Kudos to Her!!

[Melissa G]

For all her efforts to the Cause despite Rep Denny's obstructionist ways to transparent elections. God Bless the ACLU and their efforts on this issue in Texas!!! Yea Sonias!!!

Texas Kills Again: Verified Paper Ballots Suffocated

Edited on Sat May-14-05 09:14 PM by Melissa G
Texas Civil Rights Review
Texas Kills Again: Verified Paper Ballots Suffocated in Calendars Committee
Posted on Friday, May 13 @ 12:24:37 MDT by editor



By Sonia Santana

HB 166 died in the Texas House Legislature on Thursday May 12, 2005. HB 166 was our best attempt at a verified paper ballot trail for Texas this session.

The original bill filed by Rep. Aaron Pena (D-Edinburg) was amended in the Elections Committee by Chairwoman Mary Denny (R-Flower Mound) to the point it was simply a study bill. We can't proceed too slowly on this issue in Texas for Rep. Denny's tastes.

Despite the fact the bill was pretty uncontroversial by the time it reached the Calendars Committee, the powers that be, still could not risk their perceived loss of power. The bill had bi-partisan support with 4 Republicans on board including Mary Denny on the committee substitute version, and still it was quietly killed in Calendars with no vote scheduled on the floor.




Thursday was the last day bills in the House needed to be listed on Calendars for a vote this week. HB 166 never made the cut.

http://texascivilrightsreview.org/phpnuke/modules.php?n...


edit.. I have her permission to 'out 'her.

[Bill Bored]

1. A sad day in the Lone Star State. nt

[Melissa G]

2. God bless the ACLU ! they have already won a preliminary injunction

to make Vendor meetings subject to public hearings. Denny seems to want to close them up again.. may her bills to that effect die a nasty DEATH...

[sonias]

3. Texas Voters have a nemesis in Rep. Mary Denny

I have seen the enemy, and its name is Mary Denny, at least for Texas. The only election bills that are passing in the Texas Legislature this session, are bills that Mary Denny has authored. Denny is totally being controlled by the Republican leadership of Texas. Tom Craddick is our speaker of the House, who should have been indicted along with other DeLay cronies for the illegal corporate contributions to TX Republicans. Craddick personally delivered some of those checks to House Representatives before the 04 elections.

Denny not only helped kill our only possibility of verified paper ballots this year, but she has like Melissa said declared war on us (citizens) by trying to change the election code to make the certification process for vendor equipment a secret process. The ACLU-TX sued our Secretary of State's office last year, because we know that process should be subject to our Open Meetings Act and we won a temporary injunction to have those meetings open to the public. But because our election code is too vague, we wanted to make sure we cleaned up the language to make that process permanent in the code. Mary Denny killed our bill (HB3383) that would have made that language clear in her Elections committee. A similar bill she filed HB2465, which has passed the House and now being heard in the Senate, has specific language to close those meetings by law. Frigging unbelievable.

And that's only the icing on the Chairwoman's evil power. One of the most important campaign finance reform bills of this session HB1348, which would have tightened those corporate donations to campaigns even further was also snuffed out in her committee, but with much more publicity. Denny and Craddick at least got some bad publicity on that one. That bill had 93 co-sponsors, and broad bi-partisan support but died a very violent death in the House. Denny wouldn't let the bill out of her committee, so one House member actually tried to bring it to the floor anyway. Four members of the Elections committee have all benefited from TRMPAC money. Can we say conflict of interest? Anyway if you want to follow that ugly story CleanUpTexasPolitics.com has a great section in their scandal blog.
http://www.cleanuptexaspolitics.com/scandalblog

Thanks to all of our voter activists for fighting. Never give up and never surrender.

Sonia

[sonias]

4. Oops looks like the link went bad in original post

Here is the permanent one, I think.
http://texascivilrightsreview.org/phpnuke/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=231

Also kudos to Greg Moses (another DUer) who runs the blog Texas Civil Rights Review. He does some great work as well, publicizing other stories that get no media coverage in Texas. Right now he has a very good series on the "database" that Texas is building for a centralized voter registration database. Easier to track your voting patterns by region, and perhaps target those areas with a little voter suppression. Easier to purge suspected felons, and the list goes on. That thing isn't even on the radar of the MSM, and it's a done deal. The database will come on line in 2006. Nothing to see hear, move along.

Sonia

[Melissa G]

5. Thanks Sonia for the fuller version! Thanks again for all your hard

Work and persistence on this issue! NGU :kick: May Dems run someone really good against Denny in her next election and may we make sure every vote against her is counted!:kick:

[sonias]

6. Great idea Melissa

One you and I and millions of Texans would support. Anyone know any good Democrats in Flower Mound, TX? Denny's District (TX House District 63) is in Denton, County, so any Democrat in Denton county willing to save Texas from the likes of Mary Denny, please step forward. She didn't even have an opponent in the last election. The district is tough but it's not impossible. A lot like DeLay's congressional district 22.

Take a look at the last election analysis on Denny's own state website and you see that Dems get 40-43 percent. That population analysis shows the district is 85% Anglo but obviously we have some solid Democrat voters if we're pulling 40%.
http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist63/denny.htm

Protect your voter rights in Texas - Vote Mary Denny out!

Sonia