We, concerned Americans, and our fellow citizens the People of the United States, have good reason to believe that the November 8, 2016 vote was illegally counted in several key states. This is based on abundant and accumulating evidence, including but not limited to:

• Exit polls in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Florida differed sharply from the results.

• Demonstrated signs of Russian hacking that led to a presidentially-mandated CIA investigation.

• In Michigan, voting machines broke on Election Day in communities of color, and afterwards recounts were blocked by the Trump campaign and top GOP officials, despite the fact that paper ballots were not being recounted.

• Voting machines in more than one-third of all Detroit precincts registered more votes than they should have.

• The votes of 87,000 people for president were not reported in Michigan. (Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump by less than 11,000 votes in Michigan, out of several million votes cast. If only a few of those 87,000 so-called undervotes were incorrectly scanned and actually went to Clinton, that would give the state to her.)

• In Wisconsin, the fee for the Green Party’s recount effort tripled, yet the state refused to hand-count ballots in the most controversial jurisdictions. Presidential candidate Jill Stein has observed that the recounts in Michigan and Wisconsin “looked everywhere except in the areas of greatest risk.”

• In Pennsylvania, authorities have engaged in unconstitutional actions to stymie and finally prevent a recount. On the day after the election Trump was reported to be ahead in Pennsylvania by 126,091 votes, but that lead narrowed to 44,321 within a week after officials started actually counting the ballots. Unfortunately, the recount was then summarily stopped. Because the Pennsylvania machines do not dispense a paper ballot or receipt, the only way to conduct a full, foolproof audit—according to an expert—is through a forensic analysis, opening each machine to look for evidence of tampering or voter manipulation.

• According to a Reuters report, private emails show that Republican officials in North Carolina “lobbied members of at least 17 county election boards to keep early-voting sites open for shorter hours on weekends and in evenings—times that usually see disproportionately high turnout by Democratic voters.”

President-elect Donald Trump’s supporters went to court in three of the above states, determined to prevent, halt or stall ongoing election recount efforts. Nevertheless, Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote by a startling—and still growing—2,676,670 ballots. This despite “mass disenfranchisement of voters of color in poorly served, under-resourced communities,” according to one election monitor.

At this critical juncture in the nation’s history, these voting anomalies demand expeditious action and not an abundance of caution. New and untoward information now accumulating almost daily requires a forceful response, one that errs on the side of protecting the People’s sacred rights under the Constitution rather than one that cautiously observes protocol, precedent, and conventional deadlines. This new information annuls recent actions such as the state Supreme Court’s premature and forcible shutdown of the Michigan election recount on Friday Dec. 9, 2016. The above egregious irregularities have made it clear that only expeditious hand recounts and forensic machine analysis will resolve the many counting problems that have occurred. Those irregularities are substantial enough to have not only affected the results in those states, but to have possibly impacted the selection of President of the United States. This is why expeditious and thorough recounts are indispensable before the inauguration of the next president on January 20, 2017.

Because of this matter’s time-sensitive nature, concerned citizens like ourselves demand that President Barack Obama immediately take emergency measures and assume full control, in order to ensure an accurate count in the swing states noted above. To wit:

(1) All voting machines in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania should be immediately seized and impounded by federal authorities—even if this may necessitate calling out the National Guard. Any person obstructing such seizure should be held liable to criminal charges. If that person holds a government office he should be subject to arrest and temporarily removed from office (suspended) pending resolution of the charges against him or her.

(2) The federal government—the People’s representative—should furnish the manpower and assume the cost required to expeditiously and effectively count all the ballots cast in the Nov. 8, 2016 election in the states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Florida. The sequestration of voting machines and the recount of votes need not take more than a couple of weeks. Any person standing in the way of a prompt, diligent and complete recount and forensic examination of the vote should be liable to arrest.

(3) The electoral college should be temporarily suspended until a thorough and federally conducted recount is complete. The electoral college can then officially convene—perhaps with new electors—to report to Congress on the traditional date of January 6, 2017.

Secondary to the above problems, disturbing divisions are now appearing within the U.S. government itself, as certain entities refuse to execute their constitutional duties in helping to verify that the election was democratic and transparent. Thus, the House Intelligence Committee canceled a briefing set for yesterday on alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. election, after intelligence agencies refused to provide representatives for the session. Rep. Peter King (R-NY), a member of the committee, said the agency’s refusal to share intelligence with Congress is “absolutely disgraceful. This violates all protocols, and it’s almost as if people in the intelligence community are carrying out a disinformation campaign against the president-elect of the United States.” The country is divided. And the government is also divided.

When the government is gridlocked, we the People must raise our voice and require that our elected officials fulfill their mandated constitutional duties. An accurate accounting of the vote is beyond partisan politics and is our constitutional right. We citizens of this great country demand the protection of our inalienable rights as Americans. To date, the vote tally has proven less than accurate and hence less than fair. We demand a fair and accurate election guaranteed to us by the Constitution, a vote count that reflects our will. The alternative is unthinkable: a historic breakdown in democracy, the institution of an unconstitutionally elected government, and potential tyranny.

President Barack Obama himself has publicly called Donald Trump “unfit” for the office of Chief Executive. Mr. Trump lacks the foreign policy experience and demeanor needed to be commander in chief. During the campaign more than fifty Republican former national security officials and foreign policy experts co-signed a letter opposing Trump. In their words, “he would be a dangerous president.” During the campaign Mr. Trump asked Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails. Such encouragement of an illegal act has troubled many citizens and members of Congress. Mr. Trump has urged violence against protesters during the campaign and speaks of retribution against his critics. He does not understand the quintessentially American principles of freedom of speech and of dissent. He also does not realize that the Constitution expressly forbids a president from receiving payments or gifts from foreign governments. Mr. Trump may additionally have violated the Cuban embargo, and there are reports of improprieties involving his foundation and actions he took against minority tenants in New York. Finally, Mr. Trump has steadfastly refused to release his tax returns—records that would show evidence regarding many of his foregoing abuses.

This election took place on President Obama’s watch, a leader who assumed the presidency during a time of grave economic crisis. Mr. Obama successfully confronted that great challenge. Now, a second crisis of equal magnitude confronts Mr. Obama’s presidency as he prepares to leave office. We, the People of this nation, call upon him to exercise similar energy, resolve, and dispatch as before. We demand that he ensure the accurate accounting of the votes cast in the 2016 election, thereby also ensuring the continuing survival of our democratic institutions. We call upon Mr. Obama to once again merit the sacred trust that has been placed in him by the People of this great nation.

The next president is scheduled to assume office on January 20, 2017—exactly one month and five days from the present writing. There is still ample time to act if there is the will.

The 2016 election is a test of this nation’s mettle. Democracy must continually be merited through vigilance, and now is the time for the President, the government, and the people to earn our freedom. The moment has arrived for Americans everywhere to ensure the preservation of our country’s sacred essence: truly representative democracy. Congressman Elijah Cummings recently observed that “Elections are the bedrock of our nation’s democracy. Any attempt by one political party to undermine them is a direct attack on our core democratic values, and it should chill every Member of Congress and American to the core.” Mindful that all government employees have sworn a solemn oath, we call upon our government to fulfill its oath to defend the United States and our Constitution against enemies, foreign and domestic.

We, the People of these United States, demand that our government act in accordance with the Constitution to ensure that our every vote counts and our every vote is counted. This is our basic right as Americans, a right that transcends all partisanship and is the foundation of our collective democracy. At this moment in history the future of that democracy hangs in the balance precariously, and thus we demand that the government act now.

Signed:
 
René Salm – Felix Vasquez-Ruiz – Brenda Pence – Samantha Gioglio – Deb Saunders– Rigoberto Flores
Brenda Bassett – Eddie Dickie – Chas Baker– Blanche Voix– Joe Conwell – Tom Kelly
Jason Richardson – Jody Noorkhah– Debbie Caniff – Diane Martin – Alice B. Tokeless
and others.

If you agree with this CALL TO ACTION, please:
(1) share this post with friends and contacts;
(2) contact your elected officials (even during the holidays)
and ask them to RAISE THEIR VOICES against the bogus GOP ‘victory’;
(3) email your suggestions to: rejecttrump@gmail.com or rjs@epud.net.

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