The 2006 election will be here in a mere 5 months. 5 months. 20 weeks. 150 days.

Following considerable thought and a few down-topic posts on this subject, I am ready to propose what could be our one fighting chance to create a real check on the 2006 vote.

An independent exit poll.

I applaud all the citizen activists who are generating plans for pollwatchers. But we need something more, something systematic, and something statistically impeccable.

I also applaud all of the hard fought battles over the elimination of touch screens and other machines. But we can't win that battle in enough places to make 2006 safe. Especially not with the NSA data mining and the theft of 26 million veterans ID's. There's a lot of loose and valuable data that Bushco is sitting on, I guarantee that. Unless he's in prison, KKKarl will be there flipping switches on election night.

I'm told that Edison-Mitofsky will conduct exit polls this year, but after what happened in 04 they are likely not going to release data uncontaminated with mixed-in "actual" vote tallies, that questionable technique that ensures their totals ultimately match the official results. I am convinced without a doubt they are complicit in the theft and will never be trustworthy again.

No, we need an alternative. We need a consortium of locally and regionally based market research firms, coordinated and paid, to conduct statistically significant exit polls in key states and key districts. It doesn't have to everywhere, not in 06. Pick ten key Senate races, maybe 25 to 50 House races, and forget the rest.

Yes, it's a huge task. Yes, it's very expensive.

But it's doable.

It's doable if we as a community make it a priority. It's doable if an independent organization will step forward and lead the fundraising charge, whether it's MoveOn or even better, a coalition of groups that encompasses those beyond the left of center. Bring in the Libertarians, the moderates, the centrists, even real conservatives, not these pseudo-conservative corporate fraudsters. Get money from anyone who will give it. Get the coalition endorsed by anyone, ANYONE who wants to see free and fair elections.

It's doable if we start now. And when we're done with 2006, we roll it out nationally for 2008.

The data will be valuable. The coalition can sell it to any media or group willing to pay for free and unfettered, untainted data. My bet is there will be a nice market for the data which will help to defray the costs. Maybe even make money.

I am no expert. I am just a citizen with ideas.

I did, however, work as an exit pollster for Edison-Mitofsky in 2004. So the subject is near and dear to my heart. I did the job. I was well-trained and the process was clear and straightforward. So I was pretty offended when Mitofsky made excuses for poorly trained pollsters. BS. They did great. There was NO WAY an exit pollster could not have known how to do their relatively simple job.

I digress.

Let's do this. Who's with me?