For Immediate Release
December 1st, 2007
Contact: Joni LeViness 918-296-5057, joni@OkVoterChoice.org
Former Congresswoman, Cynthia McKinney,
to Speak in Tulsa Dec. 6th at 6:00 pm
Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform (OBAR) will welcome Cynthia McKinney, former Georgia Congresswoman and current Green Party presidential hopeful, to Tulsa on Thursday, December 6th at 6:00 pm. Congresswoman McKinney, an outspoken champion of expanding voter rights and choices, will share her "power to the people" message at Peace House Tulsa, located at the Church of the Restoration, 1314 N Greenwood, Tulsa.
Cynthia McKinney is known for her integrity on many issues including exposing the systematic disenfranchisement of African American voters in the 2000 and 2004 elections. McKinney, who withdrew her membership from Democratic Party in March 2007, is now a member of the Green Party. She formalized her candidacy with the Federal Election Commission in late October, has qualified for several state ballots as a candidate, and an announcement is soon expected.
A screening of the documentary "American Blackout" will be shown on Friday, December 7th, at 7:00 pm at the Peace House Tulsa. This film chronicles McKinney's drive to expose the overburdened and unfair 2000 and 2004 electoral process. It shows how votes in these elections went uncounted and thousands of mostly African American voters were dropped from the voting rolls and had polling machines removed from their districts.
McKinney told her Illinois supporters in a thank you note that "we are going to have to do things we have never done before if we are going to have things we have never had before," such as democracy and authentic representation. She will address these issues in Tulsa, Oklahoma where her name, due to current restrictive ballot access law, would not appear on Oklahoma ballots, even if she were to get the Green Party's Presidential nomination.
According to Ballot Access News, Oklahoma has the most restrictive laws governing independent presidential candidate access to state ballots, making it the only state in the nation limited to two choices for president in 2004. OBAR has been collecting signatures to put a question to a vote of the people to return the number of signatures for recognition of political party back to 5,000, the number required in Oklahoma from 1924 until 1974.
OBAR Chair, Joni LeViness calls Oklahoma's current ballot access law and petitioning process prohibitive and now punitive, creating a climate of citizen uncertainty even when asked to sign a petition. "Having Cynthia come speak at this time in Oklahoma gives me hope that people will hear her message of empowerment, it truly will take all of us in this state and in this country who see how we've been disenfranchised to unite together to reclaim our democratic process."
Jim Robinson of Tulsa Truth, cosponsor of Cynthia's visit said, "Throughout her career, Cynthia McKinney has always held true to her convictions and been willing to challenge the ruling elite to expose their lies, corruption, and cover ups. With the failures of today's two-party system, our country needs new leadership with the courage and integrity to uphold the Constitution, restore our lost civil liberties, restore America's image abroad and be relentless in the pursuit of truth, accountability, and justice."
