8-13-08, 11:50 am
Most Americans understand that the 2000 presidential election was decided by five Republican Supreme Court Justices rather than voters. Many are suspicious that something fishy happened in Ohio in 2004 under the auspices of former Republican Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign.
A number of new movies and documentary films have tried to dramatize or uncover the facts behind those two fateful elections. Some recent projects include 'Stealing America: Vote by Vote' from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Dorothy Fadiman, 'Uncounted' by David Earnhardt, the soon-to-be-released 'Murder, Spies & Voting Lies: The Clint Curtis Story' by Patty Sharaf, Spike Lee's short film 'We Wuz Robbed,' and award-nominated HBO products 'Hacking Democracy' and 'Recount.'
Among these is a new film titled 'Free for All!' by John Wellington Ennis, a self-described 'regular guy' turned 'citizen journalist.'
The film opens with footage of the 2000 elections and the successful actions by the Republican machine in Florida, led by Bush-Cheney Campaign Co-Chair Katherine Harris, and the swift Supreme Court decision closing down reelection efforts.
The movie then turns to the 2004 elections in Ohio where disfranchisement of voters and other vote-blocking schemes implemented by Ken Blackwell handed the state to George W. Bush. Ennis interviews prominent figures and journalists, from leading members of the two major parties in Ohio to investigative journalist Greg Palast, Ohio politician turned talk show host Jerry Springer, NYU media studies professor Mark Crispin Miller, and election integrity journalist Brad Friedman of BradBlog.
Ennis follows the campaign prior to the 2006 election and civic efforts to protect the vote in that state. In that election, Ken Blackwell, who sought the governor's seat, lost to Democrat Ted Strickland. Ohio voters also gave Blackwell's old office to Jennifer Brunner, who pledged that the 2008 elections in Ohio would run so smoothly and correctly that her name would not become nationally known like Harris or Blackwell.
Further, while the Democrats gained control of Congress in 2006, the evidence continues show that Republican Party tactics undermined the vote in that cycle as well. The Republican Party voter fraud schemes went all the way to the White House, involving Attorney General and former Bush personal lawyer Alberto Gonzalez. Gonzalez ultimately stepped down after revelations of his involvement in firing US attorney who failed to track down voters the Republican Party wanted blocked from the polls.
Journalist Greg Palast notes that Republicans still strongly influenced the outcome of the 2006 election through fraud. The shift in power in Congress should have been much greater, polling data revealed. 2006 was 'fraught with malfeasance and fraud,' Palast says. One lesson, however, Palast adds, is that 'high turnout can overcome the margin of manipulation.'
'Free for All!' producer Holly Mosher hinted that Republican efforts will again be in play in 2008. Their focus will be on not winning the most votes, but on 'stopping the most voters.' 'Free for All!', she said, 'uncovers evidence of a variety of schemes to swing our elections-rampant corruption, conspiracies to block millions of voters, privatized elections run by biased officials, misinformation, voter I.D. obstacles, malfunctioning voting machines, legislated voter suppression, polling place confusion, and more.'
But the film is not aimed at simply scaring voters into apathy. As the old saying goes, 'the price of liberty is vigilance.' The point of the movie is to convince voters to get active to protect the vote in 2008. One effort is Video the Vote. This group of volunteers, as the name suggests, plans to organize a poll watching effort using video cameras to prevent or at least provide evidence of fraud or irregularities where they occur.
Video the Vote was founded by 'Free for All!' filmmaker John Wellington Ennis, Ian Inaba of the Guerrilla News Network (and award-winning filmmaker of 'American Blackout'), and James Rucker of ColorOfChange.org. It's backers include Common Cause, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, The League of Young Voters Education Fund, People for the American Way Foundation and Rock the Vote.
The Free for All! DVD will be out September 9th, but you can see a longer version for a limited time at .
Also, if you are not registered to vote, you can use resources at this web site to do so. But make sure you follow-up. Talk with your Secretary of State about the status of your registration. Use your state's resources available by law to understand your status, as well as how and where you are required to cast your ballot. Make an effort now to get the proper identification, voter's card, and other information you may need to cast your vote.
Above all, use the resources at Video the Vote to get involved.
