This is Jill Stein’s great opportunity, and what she does with it will affect the Green Party’s chances for years to come.

I am thrilled that she has accepted the challenge. David Cobb preformed the same service in 2004, but received less credit for his work. But now all eyes are on Stein.

Already all sorts of malicious rumours are being spread. It is hardly surprising that she could raise this amount of money in so short a space of time. The strength of online fundraising is that it offers the possibility of millions of people pooling their funds on occasions where there is widespread support for a project.

So now it is incumbent upon her to hold herself to the highest conduct. She must operate in complete transparency, donors must know how their money was spent and what was achieved. Green recount volunteers must carry cameras into the recount proceedings that people may know exactly what happened. There is precedent for this, as this is what was done in the Ohio recount in 2004 as documented in Hacking Democracy.

From my book, The precinct captain’s guide to political victory:

You should also review recount procedures in your jurisdiction with your team in the event that might be necessary. You should know what to do in the event that voting machines are malfunctioning and/or election officers are acting improperly. Know how to document such incidents and who to report them to. Rapid response is everything in such circumstances.

Ideally, Green Party volunteers already know about recount procedures. There is at least the possibility that there are some Green Party volunteers in Ohio who are veterans of the 2004 recount. If not, it will be necessary to brief all recount volunteers what to expect.

For those like myself, who have been fighting vapour voting for years, this is a welcome chance to educate the public about the dubious nature of America’s voting technology and the absolute necessity of switching to paper ballots counted by hand.

For those who want more information about election integrity:

Greg Palast

Bradblog

Verified Voting

Black Box Voting