Perhaps President Bush won the election legitimately.  Perhaps not.  The simple truth is -- we will never know nor will we be able to know.  Millions voted in an election that left no audit trail whatsoever.  And whether a citizen supported the President or Sen. Kerry, either way, the lack of verifiability is bad for our democracy, our nation, and our people.

People in this nation and across the world have died for the right to vote.  Not far from the ruins of the World Trade Center stood the Statue of Liberty, as she has for over a century, welcoming millions who gave every last thing they had to reach our shores for a simple promise -- that all citizens have the right to participate.

A verifiable vote is necessary for any person to claim to understand the true will of the people.  We the people know that good decision making for the general welfare begins when our voices are heard accurately.

Our soldiers fighting today do not give their lives in vain.  Perhaps ironically, they sacrifice for freedom, the cherished right to vote -- ours, here at home.  It is not so much to ask that my representatives and the free press demonstrate similar  bravery and ask the tough questions. 

Yes, it is about values -- the value of freedom.

Shari Helaine Lichtman
Attorney & CPA
Litigation, Consulting and Education
New York, NY