My name is Edward True of Appanoose County, Iowa. I am writing on behalf of Watch The Vote 2012. Let me introduce myself, and why I am writing. On January 3, 2012 I attended one of the local gatherings of the Iowa Caucus. That night the nation heard the Iowa GOP announce that Mitt Romney was the winner by 8 votes over Rick Santorum, with Ron Paul in 3rd place. When I checked the Iowa GOP website, I found that Mitt Romney had been credited with 22 votes in my local caucus, instead of the 2 votes he actually received. This naturally meant that, all else being equal, Santorum was the winner of the Iowa Caucus, not Romney.



After appealing for help on the CNN Facebook page, I made contact with Watch The Vote 2012. This group published my affidavit on its website, and my affidavit can be read here:





http://

www.watchthevote2012.com/

AffidavitTrue.htm





While the Iowa GOP tried to minimize this development, Des Moines, Iowa TV station KCCI, Newsweek Senior Columnist, John Avlon, and Erin Burnett, host of CNN’s Outfront program, did not.





http://www.cnn.com/video/

standard.html#/video/bestoftv/

2012/01/18/

exp-erin-did-santorum-win-iowa.

cnn?iref=allsearch





Then, for the first time in Iowa Caucus history, the winner was changed. On January 17, 2012, Santorum was declared the winner instead of Romney.



If the Iowa Caucus were the only concern, it might be viewed as an unfortunate aberration. But then followed the Maine Caucus, where Maine GOP state leaders rushed to the microphones to declare Romney the winner even though many towns and counties had not yet even held their caucuses. The Maine state GOP leadership had colluded with local GOP leaders to postpone several towns and counties that were known to be favorable to Ron Paul. And Ron Paul himself raised this issue, among others, here:





http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=X_LWRc5dRM8





And the national newsmedia declared Romney the winner within a few minutes of the open of that caucus. Later in the day the Nevada GOP to announce that there were “ mystery ballot boxes” that prevented them from declaring a final count. In contrast, the only caucus televised (by CNN) showed Ron Paul the winner by a landslide. As far as I know, the Nevada GOP had still never declared final results.



And then there were the high handed tactics documented on youtube in the Georgia caucus, the Missouri caucus, the Washington caucus, and the North Dakota Caucus. A former leader of the North Dakota state GOP, Gary Emineth, stated immediately following the convention that the North Dakota GOP state convention was run improperly, and that the delegates were railroaded to a pre-determined victory for Romney. That video testimony can be seen here:





http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=Ush7h1nQRbo





And this underscores the reason for this open letter to you, Mr. Call, and the Colorado state GOP.



Concerns have reached us at WatchTheVote2012.com about how the upcoming Colorado state convention will be run. Hopefully these concerns are unfounded, but here they are:



* that despite perhaps as many as several thousand qualified delegates, there will be no live, easily accessible microphones on the floor for delegates to ask for points of information or clarification as the convention proceeds; that, at present, there are only plans for one microphone for the delegates on the convention floor, and that that microphone will be shut off if a delegate raises a question or concern that is not approved by the convention Chair;



* that it is unclear at this time how the votes are going to be counted; the only acceptable way for the votes to counted, or course, is in the open, in front of everyone, with a representative from each group running a slate of delegates watching the count at close range; this would mean a representative from not only each of the Presidential campaigns, but also from the issues groups which are running slate;



* that video cameras are not to allowed in the Colorado state convention; does this include the local TV stations? And if these are allowed in with cameras, then why are not those representing websites, and individual delegates who want to record the proceedings? Is it even legal to forbid video cameras which merely record what is happening? This is supposed to be an open convention, governed by the Sunshine laws, not a secret meeting modeled after the Comintern in the old Soviet Union; it is most disturbing if you are forbidding video cameras, which in our day operate silently, and can be held in the palm of one’s hand;



* while we understand that some agenda for the upcoming convention has been published, the concern is that what has happened elsewhere will happen at the Colorado GOP state convention: namely, that the convention chair will try to rush through agenda items so fast that the delegates will not understand exactly what is happening; naturally, this is completely unacceptable at any convention;



Needless to say, the Chairman running any political convention should be like the referee at a sporting event. He should make sure that everything is run fairly, and above board. And he should make sure that the rules are known to all the delegates in advance. The delegates, who have earned their position to be on the convention floor as voters, are analogous to the players at a sporting event. It’s the delegates that should make the decisions. And the Chairman should be meticulous to make sure that what decisions the delegates make are enforced – and this is done primarily through an open and honest count of the ballots.



It would be the insult to the delegates if they are treated as window dressing, or actors in a pre-scripted play, -- where their only function is to shut up and rubber stamp the result which has been pre-determined by the State GOP. This is what happened in North Dakota blatantly, and this is what must not be allowed to transpire at the upcoming Colorado State Convention.



Thanks to the internet, it appears that millions of people have a very bad taste in their mouths regarding the GOP primary and caucus process so far in 2012. They have the impression that the GOP is being run like a private club that does not want new members. They further have the impression that the party leaderships do not feel bound by the rule of law – but rather can “make things up as they go along.” They have the impression that the current GOP state and national leaders feel that they have some kind of a divine right to stay in power and be the delegates to the 2012 GOP convention – even if the majority at any given event want something different.



I am hoping to come to Colorado myself this weekend for the state convention, if circumstances permit me to do so. In any case, I am issuing this Open letter to you on behalf of Watch The Vote 2012 in the hope, first of all, that it is unnecessary. But in the event the above concerns are valid, that this Open Letter released on the internet will inform and alert hundreds or even thousands of the delegates to go to Denver this weekend prepared to stand up for their rights as delegates, and especially to demand a fair, open, and verifiable process in the counting of the votes.



If the citizens of the United States of America do not ensure that the primary, caucus, and convention proceedings are fair and honest, then the entire process is a sham, and the choices the people see on the November ballot for President will have been predetermined by a Ruling Elite, rather than by the people, as our Founding Fathers intended when they framed the Constitution and Bill of Rights.



Contact information follows:



Edward True at:





https://www.facebook.com/