As the fight against the right-wing electoral vote stealing initiative here in California gains steam, it has begun to take on a national profile, as it should considering that if it passes it could mean that a low turnout June election in California determines who becomes president in 2008.

Since The New York Times weighed in with their editorial slamming the initiative as a right-wing "dirty trick," it's begun to gain the attention of the presidential candidates. FairElectionReform.com has launched a petition urging the presidential candidates of both parties to publicly oppose  the measure. The first to do so was Chris Dodd, who called the initiative a "blatant power grab" saying:

"The process of elections should be above partisanship and I hope all Presidential candidates - Democrats and Republicans alike - will join me in standing up for fair and honest elections."

Next, John Edwards not only came out against the measure but sent his own e-mail blast urging us to do the same:

Help us send a message to these political operatives that their Karl Rove tactics will not work. We, the people, will not allow you to get away with this naked partisan power grab.

As a result, momentum against the measure is growing back here in California, even among local Republicans. The vice-chair of the CA Republican Party Thomas del Baccaro came out against the measure on his blog; in addition The OC Register, no liberal rag they, in an editorial called the initiative a "nakedly partisan and profoundly subversive of our constitutional system;" and when asked about the initiative, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger seemed unenthusiastic at best, likening the measure to "changing the rules in the middle of the game." Schwarzenegger refused to officially comment, however, as he claimed not to have read the initiative yet. Well, let's help him out with that, shall we?

The next step in opposing this measure is to force Schwarzenegger to comment publicly. Surely such a post-partisan as he would have nothing to do with such a partisan dirty trick as this, so my colleagues at Courage Campaign have launched a new effort to "Educate Arnold" and send him one copy of the 3 page initiative for every person who signs up.

The Los Angeles County Democratic Party has joined with the Courage Campaign and Progressive Democrats of America in supporting Secretary Bowen’s review of California’s electronic voting systems. LA County Democratic Party Chair Eric C. Bauman has signed the Courage Campaign's petition in support of Secretary of State Debra Bowen as she secured the vote, putting strict new requirements for voting machines.

Speaking out against county officials who apparently don't want to take the time to do their most basic job right, Bauman wrote, "This is pretty simple: if we have time to vote, we damn well want those [county election] officials to make the time to count our votes."

Sign the petition now to show your support for Secretary Bowen in her courageous actions to make sure our votes count! 

Secretary of State Bowen has done exactly what she said she would do when we elected her in November.  She conducted the nation's first full, "top-to-bottom" independent review of electronic voting machines.  After finding serious flaws with the system, she decertified them.  And now there are strict new security measures in place to reassure all Californians that we will not be the next Florida or Ohio.

Despite heavy opposition from county elections officials, who didn't want to lose face with their constituents (and apparently wouldn't mind getting a job with Diebold's PR department), Secretary Bowen has acted with courage and done the right thing.

But we need to have her back going forward.  As progressive activist David Dayen said today, "Bowen is going up against some really powerful forces and needs our support.  The registrars are going to scream holy hell about this, and we'll hear that we don't have the money to up and change everything now.  That dog shouldn't hunt."

Thank you, Secretary Bowen, for making sure our votes count.  We've got your back.

Yearlykos, the annual convention of progressive bloggers hosted by the good people at DailyKos.com, is in full swing in Chicago right now. This year, labor is well represented at the convention with SEIU and UHW leaders speaking about the urgent need for universal healthcare.

Sal Rosselli, president of UHW, told Earthtimes.org: ""Our members are committed to achieving quality healthcare reform, and we have seen how effective the online community can be at bringing attention to this and other vital causes."

Courage Campaign Chair Rick Jacobs added: "Labor and the online communities usually have common agendas. Communication between us is key to more victories."

Stay with CourageCampaign.org in the coming weeks for a major announcement toward making universal healthcare a reality.