And do you think things like democracy and representative government are important? Time to step up.

Our current major projects for 2006 include the following:

Voting Equipment Database
In 2004, Verified Voting had the best databases of voting equipment (by county) for the U.S., but some of that information is out of date. We need volunteers to gather information from states and counties to update and extend the databases

Election Observation
We will develop materials and methods for data collection and work with local organizations in a few selected jurisdictions to observe and document problems that arise during all phases of the 2006 elections -- from early voting to final tabulation and certification.

Election Administration
We will work with exemplary election officials in a few selected jurisdictions to develop a set of "best practices" for election administration that can subsequently be shared with election officials throughout the United States.

In most cases, volunteers can work over the internet from home. So there isn't really an excuse here, Cheeto lovers! You can even have American Idol on in the background! If you like working with other people, however, we also need volunteers to work at the Verified Voting office in San Francisco and other locations including San Diego and Washington, DC. We hope most volunteers can work an average of at least ten hours per week.

I suspect most of us won't really want to say, "Gosh, I could've done something to save democracy but I was too busy downloading porn!" as we languish in our concentration camp cells.