Mudflats Exclusive: Joe Miller Calls for Unity and Right of Citizens to Hand Count of Municipal Election
Former Alaskan Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, Joe Miller, has issued a statement to The Mudflats regarding the integrity of all elections, including the Alaska Senate race in 2010, and the recently held Anchorage Municipal election on April 3, 2012.
The Mudflats strongly supported Joe Miller’s (and Scott McAdams’) right to a full hand count of paper ballots in the 2010 election, and for processes that were fair, laws that were consistent, and the ultimate right of citizens to have confidence in their electoral process.
Miller has been a strong proponent of the accessibility of the public to a full hand count of paper ballots, and has discussed on his website the lack of security of our Diebold AccuVote system, long after his own election was over. [Diebold Voting Machines Can Be Hacked by Remote Control for $10]
Many thanks to Mr. Miller for stepping up and proving that though we may disagree ideologically on many issues, there will always be people on both sides who put aside partisanship for the sake of this cornerstone of our democracy. Accusations of “sour grapes” from either side of the aisle do nothing but sabotage genuine efforts to ensure free and fair elections for everyone.
Below is Mr. Miller’s full statement.
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“As reasonable people from all political stripes recognize, the integrity of elections is one of the bedrocks of our nation. ‘We the People’ is a rallying cry for many Americans, and this is manifested in our ability to vote, so that the people control what government does, and not vice versa.What seems to be missing in many things today is common sense, and what should be simple – voting – tends to become overly complex. In my election, our basic position was that if one candidate’s votes were counted by hand, then all candidates should follow the same process. We raised many other issues, too, including the failure to follow election laws that had been on the books for years prior to the election, but applied differently.
“Although the issues we raised in 2010 are not the same issues that were confronted in the recent Anchorage election, the various problems should be honestly reviewed and corrections made as needed. Plus it is imperative that voters be permitted to conduct a hand count, at their own expense, of any election.
“However, unlike our race where only 3 or 4% separated the candidates and thousands of ballots were in question, the numbers in the Prop 5 election make it difficult to question the outcome. But vote integrity is not just about the outcome, it is about a process in which voters can have confidence.
“In the aftermath of the 2010 Senate election, I received support from some who are polar opposite to my political views. Why? Because vote integrity is a nonpartisan issue, critical to the survival of our Republic. When real voting problems are experienced, there should be an immediate, honest review of the process. Our Division of Elections and local officials must then be held accountable – by those of all political persuasion – to make all changes necessary to ensure the integrity of future elections.”
I’m late to the party. Hi Joe. I don’t trust you, I don’t like you, and I believe you are a con artist and a Drama King. But I’ll agree with AKM on this one that of course we can have some common goals. Just don’t think for one moment of your waking life that we aren’t keeping an eye on you – eyes wide open.
Remember that with common goals-common is the operative word that separates goals(good guys) from loons(them guys).
Say what ya want but I like that AKM can be Bipartisan And give both sides of a story or at least let the other side have a say as long as they are truthful. That is one reason I stayed on this blog because it did not matter ,repub,dem or indep,AKM kept them all on their toes. I agree their should be a do over as itseems from what I have read,and I get the anghorage paper,that a whole lot of people could not vote and who knowes or cares who they would have voted for,They should have been able to vote,
ditto
Yeah, me too. If I wanted to be close-minded, unforgiving, uncompromising, selfish and all of that – I’d be on right leaning blogs. The whiny commenters on those blogs are just so fun and interesting ya know.
Even a broken clock…
I’m glad this is being spoken about. Heck, it should be SHOUTED! Not even one single vote should be miscounted. This isn’t about ‘our side’ and ‘their side’, it’s about ALL of us.
Fight, Anchorage!
It is our fault if we let this go unchecked.
As the saying goes: We coudn’t do it to you without ya!
Oh, would that Mudflats and Joe set an example for our Congress.
Well done.
Accusations of “sour grapes” from either side of the aisle do nothing but sabotage genuine efforts to ensure free and fair elections for everyone.
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Really!?…….” free and fair elections”…unless you vote multiple times for yourself…as Miller has done.
That’s not “sour grapes”…..the man is a fraud and you know it….what a disappointment this blog has become.
http://youtu.be/dmf8rZfGTKQ
Just after one post you don’t seem to like? Why exactly are you here? Your comment prevented any “welcome back, how are you?” that may have been forthcoming. I never thought about that – going over to some blog and telling everyone what a disappointment it’s become. That sounds like a very productive way to spend my time. Petty.
My Gramma’s saying: Politics makes strange bedfellows. Never truer than here.
He wants the votes to be real, for the integrity of the voting system……wow, why didn’t he think of that when he was using his colleague’s computers without their permission to vote for himself over Randy S.? That’s a rhetorical question. He didn’t exercise integrity then, and he won’t in the future….he has shown the colors he wears.
Be careful, no matter how good he sounds, or how pretty he looks, he is still a snake. We just need to know how venomous he is……I don’t think he is all that venomous on a national level, he will never make it there…..but he could be venomous to alaska politics….like his buddies, Sarah and Todd, two other snakes.
I signed the sign-on petition. Yes, Anchorage, someone in NYC cares about this. If an election was compromised in Anchorage, it can and will happen elsewhere. Those Diebold Accu-Scan machines should be sold as scrap metal.
Amen to both points!
What? Isn’t this the same Joe Miller who snuck around and illegally used other employee’s computers to vote multiple times?
Now he’s lecturing us on fair elections?
amen.
I’m having a similar reaction myself.
the lil itchy bumps are getting to me too.
Well, I haven’t forgotten that this guy was the stealth candidate in the 2010 R primary. Entirely willing (and expecting!) to take scads of outside Tea Party Express PAC dollars to wrangle the R nomination, and then the Senate seat, from a state that basically wasn’t going to know what hit them. That’s ensuring the integrity of elections how, again? And he would have been beholden to whom? We Alaskans? Hardly.
When I hear him say he disagrees with Citizens United then, and only then, will I listen to one word of his regarding elections.
Meanwhile I hope Anchorage can muster its own outrage over the municipal election without the help of this takeover artist. Thank you AKM for your work on this.
Wow. (Hi Peeps! I read but never post)
We are all people. I have a huge aversion to Joe, don’t agree with a thing he ran on. Don’t trust him either. But as people, just people, we can agree on some issues and work together.
Remember when the US Congress worked?
If we hand counted ballots we could have observers from opposing sides. They could all sign a document stating how many ballots were counted. Then later if someone tries to change the numbers they are witnesses. It is very simple to prevent election fraud, but the powers that be don’t that.
Ok the positive thing here, besides an obviously bipartisan statemen on which everyone can agree, is that he made it to AKM. And this gives AKM some press, as it were. And the more people who visit this site, the smarter they leave, whether they like it or not.
Well done, AKM.
Our rights,as citizens,to free,fair and unfettered access to elections is the umbilical cord that ties us to our Democracy. When we have to ask for or fight for our constitutionally guaranteed rights,something stinks and the stench is coming from the right.
Good to find common ground on important issues whenever we can.
There should be a mass of people showing up at the Assembly meeting on Thursday, May 3rd.
That is when they plan on certifying the election.
Loussac Libracy, Assembly Chambers @ 5:00 pm
For two hundred years, this country has had peaceful transfers of power in government. For two hundred years we have resolved most of our political differences peacefully. The fundamental tool that has allowed us to have peaceful transfers of political power and peaceful resolutions of political differences has been the elections process. Open, fair and honest elections are essential to good government, to public support of government and to the peaceful resolution of political differences. I agree with Joe Miller we need vote integrity in order that the public can have confidence in the process.
Please sign this petition calling on the assembly to have a full hand recount and full audit by an independent, non-partisan auditor for this past April 3rd municipal election.
http://signon.org/sign/full-hand-recount-and.fb8?source=s.fb&r_by=4138391
The Anch. election needs a do over without the machines.
Look, my tribe holds elections. NO machines, just paper ballots. I’ve been a ballot counter for 9 elections. The council asks me to be a ballot counter because, while I am a tribal member, I do not vote. I do not live there and have not for 22 years.
Several years ago someone questioned the count. The council immediately asked for a recount. The person who questioned the count was able to view my recount and they walked away satisfied. Although no voting machines are used in my Tribal Council election, it only took one individual to raise a concern and everyone wanted the concern to be soothed, worked out, satisfied.
No questions asked from the Council or I.
The importance here is the ability to provide the tools necessary to vote and knowing that your vote was properly counted.
It is not a difficult concept.
The Anchorage election did not provide the tools for everyone to vote. That is just wrong.
And if you able to properly cast a vote, how the heck does one know your vote was counted, en light of the voting machine security tags being broken?
A total do over of the election is necessary.
Not having a do over just bites off the nose of what America stands for.
Why did they bother with the election in the first place, if security seals on the machines were broken in the first place?
There is so much with the Anch. election that I’m unable to understand.
*bangs head on desk*
It’s (unfortunately) a high bar for a politician to eschew hypocrisy.
Thank you, Mr. Miller. You will never have my vote, but you do have my respect.
cough-cough Same from me. . . on this singular issue.
Anyway, you catch more flies with honey. And a sociopath is a charming and talented liar.
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they are indeed.
You may not agree with him. But he is not the disagreeable personality that certain media outlets have painted him to be.
During the 2010 election I found his tone and demeanor towards the other two candidates – exemplary.
I voted for Scott McAdams, and I understand why he did it, by he was plainly sycophantic towards the so-called “moderate Republicans” (who really aren’t moderate – because they lie about their true intentions). And Lisa was downright disrespectful towards both Joe and Scott. The fact that Scott and Joe were not allowed to address the AFN convention, and that she did without mention of their exclusion – shows her true colors.
I know a lot of Democrats “like” Lisa because she has a “calming” and “kind” personality.
Yeah. That’s how they screw you, with nice – soulless people. Does anyone really think they are going to send in a jerk to work against your best interests? Wait… there was that Frank guy.
Anyway, you catch more flies with honey. And a sociopath is a charming and talented liar.
Lisa Murkowski is not who I want in office. She is a flip/flop as Mitt Romney.
I think Alaska’s “seniority preference above all other issues” is the root cause of our problems here.
It’s time we sent someone who doesn’t have friends in D.C. to represent us, and judge them on their ability to deliver independent of their Outside friendships.
If they fail. So be it, choose better next time. The point is, this should be an evolution – and we’ve been the Galapagos Islands of hypocritical Republican policy for far too long.
When Lisa disregarded the Republican party she (and the CBC) sent a clear message to the “small people”. Don’t even try it, we control the rules of the game, and we’ll change them to crush you if you find the nerve to run for public office.
I know I got that message loud and clear. If you aren’t one of the “chosen ones” you better budget for an election attorney, because you ain’t winning (or getting a fair election) without one.
She just can’t figure out which side of the bread to butter.
And she is not the only one in Congress that is wondering which way to jump.
Don’t give this carpetbagger the forum to insert himself into the dialog. He’s a self-serving, lying, cheating, opportunist who isn’t fit to be a expert on anything, except bending the rules for himself.
While I agree there needs to be a recount, we don’t need ‘Joe the Carpetbagger’ to tell us this.
But, you have to admit, he picked a good part in which to place himself. And, rest assured, I’m not a Miller fan!
Wow! Good call. By the way, the number of ballots counted should equal the number of voters who voted.
I agree with Miller on this issue! Alaska is a mess as to our government (both state and local levels)! Governor Parnell is doing a horrid job and Chenault (Head of House/Alaska Legislature) is in the Governor’s back pocket. I say ‘thank you’ every day to our Senate/Alaska Legislature for stopping the ‘spending’ as to the oil industry. They had every right asking the questions they did and Parnell and his representatives were totally inept in their responses.
As to the election process in Anchorage and the mess it proved to be, a hand count of the election is totally warranted.
Blah blah blah. don’t trust him.
good for him.