TresSugar

Front Page: Maine Voters Reject Gay Marriage

TresSugar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:00:12 -0800

Voters in Maine voted to repeal legislature-approved gay marriage yesterday by 53 to 47 percent. - Politico
Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will host the Oscars together this year. - BuzzSugar
Michael Bloomberg has won a third term as New York City's mayor, after spending a record $90 million on the campaign. - New York Times
Convicted rapist Anthony Sowell has been charged with five counts of aggravated murder, as investigators in Cleveland, OH, continue to search for bodies in his home. - CNN
Roman Polanski's defense team will argue for the dismissal of the director's sexual assault case during a hearing to be held in US court on Dec. 10. - LA Times
Judge who disapproved of interracial marriages resigns. - CNN

Do You Buy Meg Whitman's Excuse For Not Voting?

TresSugar — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman wants to be governor of California, but it took her until the age of 46 to register to vote. (Reminder: the voting age is 18!) Whitman has apologized for the 28-year oversight while offering an explanation. She said:

"I was focused on raising a family, on my husband's career, and we moved many, many times. It is no excuse. My voting record, my registration record, is unacceptable."

Registering to vote is somewhat annoying, but it doesn't take that long! And it's a little strange that Whitman, an accomplished businesswoman, is citing her husband's career as one reason for not voting. Then again, Meg Whitman isn't the only candidate to have a spotty voting record. Carly Fiorina, who wants to run for the US Senate, hasn't voted all that often either.

Do you buy Meg's excuse that she was too busy with other priorities, or is this lack of democratic engagement inexcusable for someone who wants to hold elected office?

Picture It: Better Than "I Voted Today" Stickers?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:30:49 -0700

Want to know who voted in Indonesia's elections today? Just look for blue ink on pinkie fingers, and maybe actually be in Indonesia. Details! Voters are asked to dip their pinkies in blue dye, which lasts for days, before leaving. It acts as a security measure (like Iraq's purple fingers) to ensure nobody votes twice. Archaic but efficient! This would never work in the United States; people would complain and complain about finding blue on their white Volvos and silver MacBooks for days - at least until it wore off. Instead we should all get our nails done in festive American flags, like this. Yes. Yes we should.

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Will Voter Turnout Break Records?

CitizenSugar — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:06:50 -0700

Experts are divided on just how big this week's voter turnout will be, but they seem to be in agreement that it will be highest in decades. Some say it will be the largest since 1968, others believe it will blow 1960's records out of the water, or maybe, just maybe, be the largest in a century.

Early voting levels point to a big turnout, but that could just be the same voters casting ballots earlier instead of more voters planning on visiting the polls. Weather could turn out to be a factor, but realistically we won't know until Tuesday.

According to the AP, the McCain campaign released a strategy memo this week saying, "turnout is going to go through the roof" and predicted that more than 130 million people would vote. Obama's camp said, "we think turnout is going to be higher than that" but didn't provide a specific number.

In 2004, 122.3 million people voted for president. Do you think more people will hit the polls this year?

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Briefing Book! Are You a Bradley Voter or a Bandwagon Voter?

LibertySugar — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:30:00 -0700

Election Day: Bradley or Bandwagon? Election effects to look out for. - 23/6
Ads: The morning after? Advertising world critiques Obama's 30-minute infomercial. - Adweek
RNC: Newt for RNC Chair? Could Gingrich lead the party out of the wilderness? - Townhall
Gore: Better luck this time? Al Gore will return to Florida to campaign for Obama. - Politico
Money: About time? Americans adopting prudent money habits. - SavvySugar

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Don't Take No For an Answer: Protecting Against Election Theft

LibertySugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:53 -0700

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Greg Palast wrote in the Huffington Post yesterday, that while Republicans had the media searching for links between Barack Obama and ACORN, RNC operatives were completing one of the most massive voter suppression and purging efforts in US history. RFK, Jr.'s piece asserts that none of ACORN's bad registration signatures will impact the election; but an obstacle course of barriers for November 4 voters, including purging legitimate voters from the list, and creating mayhem and long lines at the polls, has been created on behalf of Republicans.

In its story about what might go wrong on Election Day, Time Magazine offers advice of what you can do to make sure your vote counts. Tips include: contacting your local registrar or going to canivote.org to verify your info; making sure you know your polling location and ID requirements; not taking no for an answer. If you get turned away, request an emergency paper ballot or cast a provisional ballot if you must. You can also call 866-OUR-VOTE if you have an issue.

Here's to hoping both sides play fair on Election Day!

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Virginia Bans Campaign Apparel at Polls, Bad Ban on Buttons?

LibertySugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:00:00 -0700

If you want to make a voting fashion statement on election day, you better check your state's election law. The Virginia board of elections just banned voters from wearing campaign apparel, including T-shirts, hats, and buttons, when they go vote on Nov. 4, a decision which is sure to cause some confusion.

The officials want to prevent polling places from being dominated by any candidate's supporters. They hope the ban will help voters cast their private ballots free of pressure or influence. The ACLU argued to the election board that the ban violates free speech.

Virginia is not alone in prohibiting campaign clothing inside polling places. Do you disagree with Virgina's stance that the rule is a necessary protection of the right to vote free of undue influence?

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VA Registrar to Students: Dire Results if You Register to Vote

LibertySugar — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:00:00 -0700

Two false warnings issued by a local registrar of elections in Virginia may have prevented students from registering to vote. The written warning, issued during an Obama-supporter voter registration drive at Virginia Tech, incorrectly cited dire consequences if students register on campus - namely, that parents could not claim the students as dependents and that the students would risk losing scholarships or health insurance coverage. The IRS released a statement explaining that there is no risk of losing dependent status, while the state board of elections said it will modify and clarify murky guidelines.

Any chill on student voting seems troubling. Why should students have to chose between participating in democracy where they live and keeping a scholarship or health insurance? Students should not be forced to vote in their home elections while they live near school and are impacted by local decisions, such as police policy, neighborhood ordinances, or rent control. Still others may argue that there must be a higher bar for voter registration. If a student wants to vote where she attends college, should she expect to pay state taxes, for example?

Perhaps the solution would be for voter-registration drives to present accurate pros and cons of where you register (not an erroneous and alarming official statement discouraging student voters), while providing resources for students to register back home, too.

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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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Is Internet Voting OK For Troops Overseas?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:30:52 -0700

Everybody wants a say in who our next president will be this year. Especially the people whose lives will be most affected by the decisions of our next commander in chief: US troops overseas.

As it turns out, a vote from the other side of the world is not easily cast.
Ballots are often not ready until 45 to 30 days before an election. Add two weeks of transit time and very mobile troops - most of the two-thirds of returned ballots in 2006 were undeliverable - and we have an ineffective system.

To combat the disenfranchisement of the troops, this year 13 states will allow them to vote via email and districts in another seven will allow voting over the Internet. It sounds like a simple solution, but electronic voting of any kind is still fraught with trouble. Concern over not having a paper trail in the event of voter fraud and the security risk of transmitting personal information (birthdates, addresses, Social Security numbers) run high.

Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita said, "What people want ultimately is a safe, electronic system for voting, and nothing has been developed yet that passes the test." Indiana voting also had its day in the Supreme Court today, with a 6-3 ruling upholding Indiana's strict photo ID requirement, which Democrats and civil rights groups said ironically might deter poor, elderly, and minority voters from casting ballots.

What do you think? Should troops overseas be allowed to vote over the wild, wild Web?

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