The January 13 air attack on a Pakistani village, which killed many civilians and perhaps a few al-Qaida members, illustrates the United States' policy of bombing from the sky and letting the chips (and bodies) fall where they may. As Seymour Hersh reports in The New Yorker, the US military now seems to be relying on drawing down troop numbers on the ground while shifting focus to its air assault capabilities.

A letter from Common Cause offers us this news, and invitation to speak out:

The 2006 elections will be close and hard-fought, as many elections have been in the past few years. Because of this, it is likely that we will see the return of some of the despicable and underhanded tactics used in past elections to stop people, especially minorities, from voting.

For example, voters waiting in long lines have been arbitrarily told that there was no point in waiting and that they should just go home, even though polls wouldn't close for hours. Fliers have been distributed listing the wrong day for the election, or saying Republicans should vote on Tuesday and Democrats should vote on Wednesday.

Voters have been told that traffic violations made it illegal for them to vote and that all parking tickets and overdue rent had to be paid before voting. Voters have received mailings claiming that anyone registered by the NAACP was not allowed to vote.

Now, Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) is working to eliminate this significant problem. He has introduced a bill, S. 1975, The Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2005. The bill would create a criminal penalty for deceptive practices, with penalties of up to $100,000, one year imprisonment, or both. Here's the letter he sent to his colleagues about the bill. The legislation would also require the attorney general, in conjunction with the federal Election Assistance Commission, to provide accurate election information when allegations of deceptive practices are confirmed.

We need your help to round up cosponsors for the bill. We hope to see it signed into law before the 2006 elections. Building support for this bill is a critical first step.

After the 2004 election we released a report based on phone calls from voters reporting problems they faced. Sen. Obama's bill will help put a stop to these violations of Americans' voting rights.

Please call your Senator today and urge them to cosponsor S. 1975.

Click here to find your representative: www.commoncause.org/FindElectedOfficials

Thank you for all you do for Common Cause.

Sincerely,

Chellie Pingree
President
Common Cause