The House of Representatives is poised to vote on NJ Rep. Holt's "election reform" bill (HR 811), TODAY ,Thursday. Organizations ordinarily aligned with the common good have pulled out all the stops to ram this legislation through. Unless - and maybe even though - we make a LOT of noise, this bill will become law and our elections will take more irrevocable steps away from democracy. If you doubt this, read Mark Crispin Miller's expose below -complete with quotes from Holt and his legislative aide, Michelle Mulder- as well as an action alert put out by VoteRescue.

Here's everything you need, in a nutshell: information about HR 811 and contact info for your member of Congress:

Here's how you call (no time to write) your Congressional Rep.: Contacting the Congress

Exposé: Holt bill was revised by Microsoft, Diebold and ES&S by Mark Crispin Miller

Ask your rep to vote NO on HR 811 NOW! why HR 811 as written should be opposed

BradBlog asks people to call Speaker Pelosi's office to voice opposition to HR 811: People for the American Way (PFAW) Continues Dishonest Lobbying Campaign for Holt Election Bill

This is the bottom line: Democracy is not a spectator sport. It's hard and frustrating and often dirty and discouraging. But, what can we do? We simply can't walk away.

Vote in secret; count in public!

Four billion tax dollars later, we can see the proof for ourselves. We shouldn't outsource our elections to private, for profit corporations which use secret, proprietary software. Period.

Pass this on to anyone who cares about the direction our country is heading. It starts with the ballot box.

Thank you!
Joan Brunwasser, Voting Integrity Editor, OpEdNews