Tuesday, June 07, 2005

The Iranian Government is setting up voting booths in the US

The Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran has launched a U.S. based website (in Persian) to encourage Iranians to vote, June 17th, here in the U.S. The site includes a pdf file with a listing of the cities and states they will be hosting voting centers. The site also includes an 800#: 800-899-4023 where people can be told the exact locations of the voting centers.

A few days ago, before being shutdown, SMCCDI posted the following:
A group of Iranian secularist activists have protested against the illegal holding of Islamic regime's ballot boxes on the US soil. Copies of a joint letter, endorsed by Roxanne Gangi of IRIC, Roozbeh Farahanipoor of Marzeporgohar organization and Aryo B. Pirouznia of SMCCDI, have been sent to the US State Department, President Bush's Office, the US Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.

Legitimate concerns are existing among members of the Iranian Diaspora and well aware Americans on the possible consequences of any type of free move granted to agents of a regime notorious for its sponsorship of terrorism and the murder of Iranian dissidents. ...

Officials of the Islamic Republic in New York, at the United Nations and in Washington DC (at Iran’s Interest Section in the embassy of Pakistan) are prohibited to travel beyond a certain limited area (in New York no more than 12 miles and in Washington not past 25 miles of their offices).

According to the Islamic Republic’s laws any ballot box has to be monitored by an IRI official representative. Therefore it is both against the United States regulations and the Islamic Republic of Iran’s laws for any such voting stations to be set up throughout the United States.
You can read their joint letter here.

Four years ago, Iranian opposition groups located the voting centers in Los Angeles and with the help of the LAPD, shut them down.

Update: Here is a translated list of cities they plan to set up voting centers in.
STATE, CITY

Arizona
  • Scottsdale
California
  • Irvindale (?)
  • Orange County
  • Downey
  • Ontario
  • San Diego
  • San Jose
  • Oakland
  • San Francisco
Colorado
  • Denver
Florida
  • Tampa
Georgia
  • Atlanta
Illinois
  • Chicago
Massachusetts
  • Boston
Maryland
  • Baltimore
Missouri
  • St. Louis
  • Mississippi
  • Jackson
Michigan
  • Detroit
Minnesota
  • Minneapolis
New Jersey
  • Fort Lee (?)
  • Teenek (?)
New York
  • Manhattan
New York
  • (blank) Special Interests Section?
Oklahoma
  • Oklahoma City
Ohio
  • Cleveland
  • Columbus
Pennsylvania
  • Philadelphia
Texas
  • Houston
Tennessee
  • Nashville
Virginia
  • Menses (?)
Washington D.C.

Wisconsin
  • Milwaukee
Translation of the list of locations courtesy of Alan Peters.