Free Republic

The very liberal leadership of the California Democratic Party and the equally conservative hierarchy of the California Republican Party agree on virtually nothing, but they equally despise efforts to create some form of "open" primary election. Party activists – leftist Democrats and rightist Republicans – loathe the idea that voters who don't share their ideologies could choose candidates. Political reformers persuaded voters to approve one version in the 1990s. But it was in place for just one election cycle before being voided by the courts in a challenge by the two parties. By and by, however, courts endorsed another version...

ELECTION junkies like us can’t help but savor the excitement of races where the advantage shifts with nearly every click-refresh of the Board of Elections’ Web site. SNIP In truth, these nail-biters (the Minnesota Senate race and the New York 20th) have become, at least in elections to the House of Representatives, exceedingly rare. SNIP Why is it that there are fewer close elections than there once were? We can think of three reasons: POWERFUL INCUMBENTS The incumbency advantage has generally been increasing over time. . . . Since there are no term limits for Congress, and since most senators...

If you are not yet alarmed and outraged by radical Republican John McCain’s “bipartisan” campaign finance “reform” package, which is in no way bipartisan, Monday’s revelation from the American Conservative Union Foundation (ACU) should put an end to your complacency. In its latest report, “Who’s Buying Campaign Finance Reform?” (1) the ACU unveils the secret that some conservatives have suspected all along: The campaign finance reform ‘movement’ has, contrary to its anti-big money agenda, raised and spent more than $73 million since 1996; has, contrary to its bipartisan claims, been funded by “wealthy Democratic Party soft-money donors, ultra-liberal foundations and...

Computer technology, as a science, is still in its infancy. Far more is known about the automobile, for example, than the computer. Since the personal computer has only been in existence for thirty years, our experiences are limited simply due to lack of historical perspective. So computers of today are equivalent to the cars which were made in the 1930s; they were able to deliver you from point A to point B, but in terms of reliability there was more to be desired. There are shockingly few best practice guides on the market for designing bug-free software, because there just...

SEC. 701. VOTING RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS CONVICTED OF CRIMINAL OFFENSES. (a) Short Title- This title may be cited as the Civic Participation Act of 2005. (b) Findings and Purpose- (1) FINDINGS- Congress makes the following findings: (A) The right to vote is the most basic constitutive act of citizenship and regaining the right to vote reintegrates offenders into free society. The right to vote may not be abridged or denied by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, gender, or previous condition of servitude. Basic constitutional principles of fairness and equal protection require an equal...

IT IS NOTHING less than a scandal that 90% of the seats in Congress and the California Legislature are not competitive. It is also why Democrats, who have long championed a level playing field in elections as an important progressive goal, should be leading the call for an end to the "incumbent protection racket." Democrats strongly supported the concept of "one person, one vote" established in 1962 by the U.S. Supreme Court in Baker vs. Carr, a ruling that also required equal representation in all legislative bodies in order to reflect the interests and wishes of the people in a...

Oh, Lord. John McCain doesn’t even know what his own law is doing. Paul from Power Line reports on a dinner he and about 40 others had with John McCain. Here’s what I found interesting: I asked Senator McCain about the impact of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act on bloggers. He replied that he wanted no government regulation of the internet. I followed-up, politely I hope, by noting that a court decision in litigation undertaken in his name was serving as the basis for proposals to regulate the bloggers. McCain responded that he was not aware that the litigation...

It did not feature much in the way of butterfly ballots, hanging chads or protracted Supreme Court fights. But the first hearing yesterday of the Commission on Federal Election Reform made it clear that the 2004 election was not without problems. Former president Jimmy Carter and ex-secretary of state James A. Baker III, who co-chair the commission, invited a dozen experts to American University to recommend ways to improve the nation's voting system. The commission will consider those suggestions, along with others expected at a second hearing in June, and submit its own recommendations to Congress. Former president Jimmy Carter,...

More reports of dead people receiving ballots or voters receiving multiple ballots for Valley Medical Center's all-mail election have some voters again shaking their heads in frustration. Four people reported to the Journal this week that their dead relatives were mailed ballots for the special election. They joined another man upset last week when his son who died two years ago was mailed a ballot. Already inundated by reports of election malfunctions in King County from last November's governor's race, voters are much more sensitive to any irregularities, especially when they show up in their mailboxes.

I, unfortunately, have to work tomorrow, but for those of you who have the day off and/or live in the Olympia area, you might be interested in going to this: GRASSROOTS WASHINGTON ACTION ITEM: There will be a “Real Reforms” rally on Monday to urge House leaders to pass meaningful election reform legislation. We need you to be there! Real Reforms Rally This Monday, April 11 10 a.m. on the Capitol steps. Invited guests: Bob Williams, Evergreen Freedom Foundation Chris Vance, Republican Party State Chair Lt. Bryan Suits, Iraq War hero and disenfranchised military voter Mike Siegel, KTTH radio host...

BOSTON (AP) - All Americans must demand their right to vote and refuse to be intimidated, former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry told a voters' group Sunday. "Last year too many people were denied their right to vote, too many who tried to vote were intimidated," the Massachusetts senator said. "There is no magic wand. No one person is going to stand up and suddenly say it's going to change tomorrow. You have to do that." Kerry supporters charged that voting irregularities in largely Democratic areas made it difficult for voters to cast ballots in the November presidential election. A...

Returning today from its two-week spring recess, the San Diego City Council may be poised to take two giant steps backward for democratic values. In the first action, the council will be reviving the still-simmering passions from last fall's fiercely contested election for mayor. Before the council is a proposed ordinance that would ban write-in candidates for mayor, council or city attorney in general elections. It's a direct spinoff from Councilwoman Donna Frye's last-minute and nearly successful entry into the November election for mayor against incumbent Dick Murphy and challenger Ron Roberts. In the other action, the council will consider...

Today's update on King County's magical binder of precinct-by-precinct reconciliation worksheets, which the lunatic-fringe blogs tell us are "sitting down there at KC Elections for anybody to inspect". The punchline is: the lunatic-fringe bloggers are living in a sick fantasy world (but you knew that). The binder is not now, nor has it ever been, available for public inspection. King County is perpetrating a cover-up. Two things happened today: First, County Councilmember David Irons confirmed to me that he's been asking for these documents for the last six weeks but that the Elections office has still not made them available...

Democrats in the Ohio Legislature today unveiled an election reform plan that would allow early voting and have a hired elections officer run all state elections instead of the secretary of state. The plan came in the form of three bills the party will introduce in the Ohio House and Senate. One bill would institute specific changes in election law, such as allowing early voting, eliminating Election Day challengers and allowing provisional votes to be cast anywhere in a voter's home county. Another would create a six-member, bipartisan state election board that would hire a chief elections officer to run...

February 17, 2005 Senators Clinton and Boxer, Representative Tubbs Jones and Others to Unveil Major Election Reform Bill Legislation Would Enact Sweeping Reforms by Next Major Election Cycle in 2006 WASHINGTON, DC— U.S. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today unveiled comprehensive voting reform legislation to make sure that every American is able to vote and every vote is counted. Senators Clinton and Boxer announced the legislation today in a press conference joined by Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), who will sponsor the legislation in the House of Representatives, and voting rights advocates. "Voting is the most...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a possible White House candidate in 2008, joined 2004 nominee John Kerry and other Democrats Thursday in urging that Election Day be made a federal holiday to encourage voting. -snip- "I think it's also necessary to make sure our elections meet the highest national standards," said the New York senator. -snip- Kerry, who lost the national contest by 3.3 million votes nationwide, and 118,000 within Ohio, denied the bill was an attempt to discredit the 2004 results. "This has nothing to do with me," said Kerry. "It is not partisan, or shouldn't be."...

WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (news - web sites), a possible White House candidate in 2008, joined 2004 nominee John Kerry (news - web sites) and other Democrats Thursday in urging that Election Day be made a federal holiday to encourage voting. She also pushed for legislation that would allow all ex-felons to vote. Standing with Massachusetts Sen. Kerry and other Democrats who had alleged voting irregularities in the 2004 contest, Clinton said, "Once again we had a federal election that demonstrates we have a long way to go." "I think it's also necessary to make sure our elections...

For Washington State Voters: There is an online Election Reform Petition that will be delivered to the Legislature and the Election Reform Task Force after sometime has been given to gather signatures. You may read and sign-off on the Petition at: http://www.petitiononline.com/wareform/petition.html You may post your comments about the Petition and Election Reform at: http://electionreforms.blogspot.com/ This proposals suggest are not intended to be a cure-all, however this will let the officials know that we are serious about meaningful election reform, that protects the integrity of our elections.

Dear XXXX, It's time to tell those who celebrate elections and voter participation in countries around the world that we must make sure every vote is counted in elections right here at home! That's why I am asking you to sign on now as a citizen co-sponsor of vitally important election reform legislation. http://www.friendsofhillary.com/CountEveryVote Next week, I will introduce the Count Every Vote Act of 2005, co-sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer. This comprehensive election reform bill will: Provide a verified paper ballot for every vote cast in electronic voting machines. Set a uniform standard for provisional ballots, so that every...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Members of a new federal voting commission meeting Wednesday to review problems with the 2004 election denounced the secretaries of state from Ohio and Florida, two states at the epicenter of complaints, for failing to show up. ``We can have disagreements, but you can't run and you can't hide,'' said House Administration Committee Chairman Bob Ney, R-Ohio. Ney, whose committee oversees election issues, said he would continue to push for Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell and his Florida counterpart, Glenda Hood, to appear the Election Assistance Commission. Elections chiefs from four other states were to testify...