Green Party Conference

After work yesterday I caught the last two hours of the Green Party of Minnesota Winter Membership Conference at the Harriet Alexander Nature Center in Roseville. The Greens elected three new members to the central committee, all women. I attended two of the workshops, one by Elizabeth Dickinson who had an impressive run in the St. Paul mayoral race, and one by U.S. Senate candidate Michael Cavlan about his experiences as an election recount observer in Ohio 2004. He told us about unsecured ballots, being told which precincts to recount, technicians replacing chips on machines that were about to be compared against paper ballots, and much more. If it weren’t for minor parties like the Greens, the recount effort would have dissolved. However, Cavlan did recommend a book based on the hearings of one Democrat, Rep. John Conyers, titled "What Went Wrong in Ohio." For now, I’ll take his word for it. I’ve seen the videos of the long lines. Funny how the dems didn’t do more to get more voting machines. At least they brought around umbrellas, coffee, and donuts to the people waiting in line.