From: Justin Krebs, MoveOn.org Political Action [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2016 1:28 PM

Subject: Add your name: Hand recount or audit in key states

When we hold an election in this country, every vote should be counted fairly and transparently. That’s an essential principle of our democracy.

Dear MoveOn member,

When we hold an election in this country, every vote should be counted fairly and transparently. That’s an essential principle of our democracy.

Here’s what we know about the elections held two weeks ago: Hillary Clinton is leading Donald Trump in the popular vote by more than 2 million votes1—but the results in a few key states mean that the outcomes of the electoral vote are likely to come down to as few as 100,000 votes. That’s why Americans deserve to be fully confident that all votes in this election are counted fairly before the Electoral College meets in mid-December.

There is an opportunity right now to give us greater confidence in our elections, both this year and in the future—by asking for an audit or hand recount in close states including Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Will you sign our petition asking for an audit or recount in key states?

Ask for an audit or hand recount in key states so the American public has confidence in the election results.

Sign the petition

Leading computer scientists and election security experts have urgently called on election officials to transparently verify the results that have been reported by auditing the paper ballots—the actual votes cast—in key states and precincts where only computer results have been tallied.2

To be clear: the electoral results are not likely to change. However, experts are saying we shouldn’t place all of our trust on a computer alone when the actual votes are in front of us.3

If you believe that our democracy shouldn’t rely on computer tallies alone, then sign our petition and ask for an audit or hand recount in key states.

Researchers have repeatedly exposed critical vulnerabilities in electronic voting machines, and in a year like this when the result was close and unexpected and where election hacking repeatedly made the news, we owe it to our democracy to make sure everyone can be as confident as possible in the outcome.4

This is worth repeating: Americans deserve to be confident that all votes in this election are counted fairly. Fortunately, we don’t have to trust a computer to know the true results of this election. In most counties in key states, there’s also a verifiable paper trail of votes cast. We can all be confident in the results of the election by just double checking the votes as they were cast.5

That’s why we are calling on the 2016 presidential candidates and election officials to ask for an audit or hand recount in key states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

—Justin K., Anna, Alex, Vicki, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. “Clinton’s popular vote lead surpasses 2 million,” USA Today, November 23, 2016

2. “Want to Know if the Election was Hacked? Look at the Ballots,” Medium, November 23, 2016

3. Ibid.

4. “How to Hack an Election in 7 Minutes,” Politico Magazine, August 5, 2016

5. “Want to Know if the Election was Hacked? Look at the Ballots,” Medium, November 23, 2016

You’re receiving this petition because we thought it might interest you. It was created on MoveOn.org, where anyone can start their own online petitions. You can start your own petition here.

Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump’s agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation’s pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your ongoing support, now more than ever. Will you stand with us?

Yes, I’ll chip $5 a month.

No, I’m sorry, I can’t make a monthly donation.

An unprecedented U.S. presidential campaign came to an end with the unexpected victory of Donald Trump!

Since the November 8 elections, there has been endless speculation by self-styled Armenian analysts about the President-elect’s business ties with Azerbaijan and Turkey, wrongly concluding that he would side with Armenia’s enemies! Since Trump has made no comments on Armenian issues, no one can really know what his position is likely to be….

Beyond Trump’s sweeping campaign promises to “drain the swamp in Washington,” and “make America great again,” no one can predict what he might do on domestic or foreign policy fronts. In addition, there is no guarantee that he will stick to the positions he assumed during the campaign. In recent months, and particularly since the election, Trump has moderated his views on a number of major issues, such as banning all Muslims from entering the United States, building a wall along the Mexican border, deporting 11 million illegal aliens, and repealing Obamacare. As Pres. Obama explained during his Nov. 14 press conference, Trump is a pragmatist, not an ideologue with fixed opinions.

Consequently, rather than speculating about what Trump may do as President, let’s follow Hillary Clinton’s wise advice to keep “an open mind” and give Donald Trump “a chance to lead!”

Since the President-elect has not yet taken a concrete position on Armenian issues, now is the time for Armenian-Americans to ask friendly Republican members of Congress to convey the community’s vital concerns to Trump and his team. It would be much more difficult to make such contacts once the President is inaugurated in January and has given his marching orders to the new Cabinet. Meanwhile, Turkish and Azeri officials are busy establishing their own contacts with Trump’s transition team and Congress through their high powered lobbyists in Washington! Furthermore, while many heads of state, including those of Armenia and Azerbaijan, have sent congratulatory messages to the President-elect, Turkish President Erdogan personally telephoned Trump, urging closer ties between their countries!

Already there are warning signs that two of Trump’s closest aides, who may be appointed to top positions in the new administration, are rabid Turkophiles:

1) Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has repeatedly declared his admiration for Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey, viewing him as a hero;

2) Retired Lt. General Michael Flynn wrote an article in The Hill last week, calling on the U.S. government “to adjust our foreign policy to recognize Turkey as a priority. We need to see the world from Turkey’s perspective.”

While Armenian-American ties with the President-elect are practically non-existent, the community has fortunately cultivated excellent relations with many reelected members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, who can adopt bills and pass resolutions on issues of importance to Armenia and Armenians.

Over 90% of the Congressional candidates endorsed by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) were elected on November 8. In the House of Representatives, 117 out of the 122 candidates endorsed by ANCA won their election bids, including Congresswomen Jackie Speier and Anna Eshoo, Armenian-American Democrats from California. Regrettably, Cong. Robert Dold (Republican-Illinois), Co-Chair of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, was not reelected; and candidate Danny Tarkanian (Republican-Nevada) lost his bid for the House.

In the U.S. Senate, 7 of the 11 candidates endorsed by ANCA won their election bids on Nov. 8. Armenian Caucus member Cong. Chris Van Hollen (Democrat-Maryland) was elected to the Senate after defeating Turkish Caucus member Cong. Donna Edwards in the Maryland Primary. Unfortunately, Sen. Mark Kirk (Republican-Illinois), a staunch supporter of Armenian issues, was not reelected.

Significantly, while 11 members of the Congressional Armenian Caucus did not return to the House due to failure to win, retirement, resignation or seeking other office, the Turkish Caucus suffered a greater loss, with 19 of its members not returning to the House, including Co-Chair Ed Whitfield (Republican-Kentucky) who resigned earlier this year due to an ethics probe.

The substantial electoral success, enjoyed by Congressional friends of the Armenian community, bodes well for the pursuit of Armenian issues in the new Congress. Given that the Republican Party will be controlling both Houses of Congress and the White House, it is incumbent upon Republican Armenians to win over more members of the majority party, while Democrat Armenians can build on their long-established ties with the minority party. After all, the Armenian Cause, as a nonpartisan issue, should be supported by both parties!

Jerusalem Post November 9, 2016 at 6:55 am