TresSugar

Texting Democracy: Estonia to Vote by Mobile Phone in 2011

LibertySugar — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:30:29 -0800

American Idol may let you text in your vote, but Estonia will be the first actual country to implement voting by cell phone. Technologically-savvy citizens will place chips into their cell phones, that authenticate identifications, before they cast their ballots for the 2011 parliamentary election.

Estonia has already used online voting, without any major security breaches. In order to prevent coercion that might happen when people vote in private, Estonians can still cancel out their e-votes with a paper ballot. An independent study found that the new vote-by-phone procedure should go off without any manipulation or malfunctions.

Would you like to see more access to democracy from voting options like Internet or phone voting? I guess we'll be looking to E-stonia to see how it's done!
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Group Wants to Create a Clothing-Free Polling Site

CitizenSugar — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:30:00 -0800

Talk about exposing your ideals, politics and, well, ahem, all at once. A nudist community in Florida wants to create the first clothing-optional polling site in the US.

According to reports, the Caliente Resorts, located north of Tampa, has approached election officials about the idea. There's nothing in Florida law that would prevent the unusual polling place, but the supervisor of elections says he is opposed to creating any new precincts before redistricting in 2010.

Casting your feelings about nudity aside, do you think citizens should be allowed to vote in the buff?

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Voting Bloc: How Will the Amish Vote?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:00:00 -0800

With only 13 percent of eligible Amish voters casting their votes in 2004, they are not the most coveted vote. But with large populations in states like Pennsylvania and Ohio, they are not to be ignored.

Actually, they are kind of being ignored this year - unless you count Obama’s sad attempt to court the electricity-shunning group with the Amish For Obama blog - but in 2004 Bush went all out to woo them with his Southern charm. Without the influence of the Internet or TV, they are some of the most issued-focused voters out there.

How will they vote this year? Will they? To find out, read more.

Since the Amish are largely a self-sufficient group, most think today’s outcome won't affect them. Those who do vote tend to be firm Republicans with ultratraditional values and an antigovernment stance. So what do they think about this election?

McCain lacks the religiosity and traditional values Bush championed, but Sarah Palin is bringing the ticket in the right direction.
Though women are regarded as men’s subordinates in Amish culture, many are OK with Sarah Palin running for VP. After all, some said, it’s not like she’s on the top of the ticket.
"The country isn’t ready for a black president." Well, that’s certainly one way of putting it! All-out racial attacks were common and often "he’s too inexperienced" segued into them.
Immigration, national security, and too many government handouts top their lists of concerns.
They don't think national healthcare would work, despite having their own health-care system, when the same values aren’t shared among everyone in the system.

Sounds like Amish Country will put McCain first!

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Polygamous Community Releases Voter's Guide

LibertySugar — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:43:02 -0800

Hoping to move away from the fringe and regain political influence, Utah's polygamous community has released a voter's guide to help members decide how to vote tomorrow.

A coalition of polygamist groups - Communities in Harmony - asked federal, state, and local candidates about their positions on a wide range of topics that impact the once powerful demographic. Of the 150 candidates questioned, 60 responded and were rated on a scale of one to 10. Neither Obama nor McCain responded, but Libertarian candidate Bob Barr received a total score of 7.5.

Politicians who submitted their answers (to questions such as "Should polygamous people have the same right as other Utah citizens to hold public offices?" or "Should the government spend public safety funds disproportionately to target one group of people?") may see a modest bump in the polls. Out of 2.7 million people living in Utah, 37,000 are polygamists. If you were a politician, how would you answer the group's questions?

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Add It Up and See - Are You a Swing Voter?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 06:00:52 -0700

"I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the United States of. . . Pennsylvania?" It seems that way anymore, with all attention being lavished upon that holy grail of voter, the Swing Voter. Because like it or lump it, the Electoral College system means the presidential race is decided really by 15ish states - those with the big enough electoral "score" to make a difference in the race to the magic winning number of 270. PA's hefty score makes those votes more attractive and potentially a bigger deal than others.

Want to find out how "swingy" your own vote is? Slate has put together this handy calculator to figure out that very thing. Slot in six easy facts about you and see both your "pull" and swing factor. The tool weights the state you're voting in higher than any other factor, and then adds in key demographics about race and education, finishing off with how many people there are like you in your state. The guts of the calculator are based purely on polls, so it is only a close facsimile of voter behavior - but with a week left, if the needle points sharply to one side or the other when you put in your info, clear off the sofa. You can bet one of the campaigns will be paying you a visit.

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VA Rules Military Ballots Must Be Counted & Vets Campaign

CitizenSugar — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:15:45 -0700

After watching the documentary Hacking Democracy last night on HBO, the business of counting votes was very much on my mind today (if you're at all curious about electronic voting and accuracy, watch it. It's repeating a lot this month.) This story of counting trouble is hopefully resolved.

In Virginia, the attorney general has just ruled that absentee ballots filled out by members of the armed forces must be counted. This ruling comes after Fairfax county began rejecting overseas ballots for a technicality. Though all votes count, those who can't be here in person to vote because they're serving, that's a vote to count for sure.

Troops may be voting, but veterans are volunteering for both campaigns. To see they're stories, read more.

Though Pentagon regulations forbid active-duty troops from doing and partisan political activities, for those 869,000 troops who've served in Iraq or Afghanistan and have left the military, campaigning is just the ticket. McCain is expected to carry the military/veteran vote though young vets are working for both parties. For some, the rigors of working on a campaign is pretty close to the service they remember.

One such volunteer said, “For the first time since I came home, I felt like I had the same clarity of purpose with a like-minded set of individuals. It really motivated me.” The key difference for these volunteers could be their motivation. For many it's people over policy. One describes the reason he's campaigning like this: “We lost 37 men in my unit. That sacrifice is holy to me. All of them I knew and I loved.”

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Man Who Bought 2000 Voting Machine Buried in Chads

CitizenSugar — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 07:00:39 -0700

In a weirdo-political garage sale that keeps on giving, remnants from the 2000 Florida election are a hot commodity. Jim Dobyns, one Republican consultant who purchased 1,200 Votomatic III voting machines from the 2000 election debacle in Florida is starting to see his own returns. In 2005, a man who originally bought the machines from the county was reselling them from his warehouse. When Dobyns saw them all stacked to the ceiling amidst thousands of spilled chads, he bought the whole lot calling his buy the “Holy Grail of the 2000 election."

What does one do with a pile of old voting machines? Well, when the HBO movie Recount wanted to find the very same voting machines at the the center of the controversy, they called Dobyns, who leased them 26 machines for the shoot. Dobyns doesn't own all of them though - to see who else does, and how much a bag of chads is worth, read more.

Most of the machines have fallen into Democrat’s hands, many of whom are still angry about the 2000 election. Owners who have purchased the machines have also claimed that they enjoy having a piece of history and one heck of a conversation starter. One owner of Dobyns' machines said: “I always like to say however you vote it always comes out Bush, and then the heated debate starts from there.”

But the machines may just be one source of income. There’s always the infamous chads, most of which are now scattered in a variety of places in the Dobyns’ home. From the top of the microwave to under the coffee table to coating his pets, the little pieces of election-berry residue fall from the machines and sprinkle themselves everywhere. He is going to start selling the voter after-leavings with certificate of authenticity in ziploc bags for $20 a pop.

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Front Page: 50% of Doctors Give Placebos, ACORN's Tally Hugely Overstated, Obama's Fundraising Drops 50%

CitizenSugar — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 06:58:18 -0700

50% of Doctors Give Placebos:
A nationwide study just found that half of all American doctors routinely prescribe placebos. Studies in other countries have found similar results. The most common placebos prescribed are headache and vitamin pills, though stronger drugs have been faked too. 95 percent of doctors prescribing them don't identify them as fake, leading to ethical and trust issues.

ACORN's Tally Hugely Overstated:
Though the community organizing group ACORN stated they had registered 1.3 million new voters, the real number is actually closer to 450,000. The overstated count is due to already registered voters changing their address, and 400,000 registrations rejected by election officials, a faulty rate of 30 percent.

Obama's Fundraising Drops 50%:
Obama reports spending $105 million in the first two weeks of October, while raising $36 million during the same period - a reduction of 50 percent from September. Obama and the DNC have approximately $95 million left. McCain and the RNC report $84 million on hand with restricted spending coming from accepting public financing. McCain is currently spending approximately $1.5 million per day.

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Have Voting Questions? Here Are Voting Myths Busted!

CitizenSugar — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:15:01 -0700

Early voting kicked off in Florida today with long lines in the sun, and with voting underway in Colorado and Nevada, even if you've got two weeks to go before you cast your ballot, questions are bound to crop up. The deadline to register to vote here in California was yesterday, and questions were being zapped to me from left and right (heh) about voting eligibility.

Here are some myths busted about what does or doesn't take away your ballot:

Campaign Tees = No Vote?
Nope, but you might have to cover up the offending slogan - and it's not a bad idea to make like your mom always says and take a jacket.
Snafu With Voter Rolls = No Vote?
Nope, but you might have to take an oath swearing you are who you say you are, and live where you say you do. You can also request a provisional ballot from poll workers and call 1-866-OUR-VOTE if problems persist.

To see more myths busted, read more.

Voting With School Address = Dropped From Parent's Insurance?
Nope. The rumors that using your school address to vote means you might lose your financial aid or parents' health insurance are just that. Rumors.
Driver's License Address ≠ Your Current Address?
No biggie. Your driver's license is only to ID the voter, not where you live.

The list of myths busted is produced by Rock the Trail, and has links to maps pinpointing your polling place, hours of voting, and what kind of ID you'll need to take with you when you go to vote as well as more myths just like these, busted.

Any crazy myths flying around a precinct near you? Got questions? Stick them in the comments and we'll see if we can help!

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YouTube and PBS Say Tape Your Vote For History and Hijinks

CitizenSugar — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:30:49 -0700

With all of the ACORN and voter registration snafu stories floating around, it's nice to find comfort in the cozy arms of technology. That is to say, if you have a video camera, use it. YouTube and PBS are teaming up to encourage voters to upload any footage of the voting process onto a new website. The Video Your Vote site wants to spark people to "document the energy and excitement, as well as any problems you may see." The best clips will air on PBS.

Some bad-voting situations to be on the lookout for? Excessively long lines, broken voting machines, or "overly aggressive" voter identification procedures. But be careful about local rules before putting on your documentarian hat. Some states aren't excited about having you film - a move that could end up in cuffs. The site has a link to the Citizen Media Law Project to tell you who has laws against what. Florida, Georgia and Michigan all prohibit photos and recording equipment in polling places. Are you planning on recording the day in photo or video?