Measure would put signature initiatives on November elections
by Brian Leubitz
First, let's say one thing, SB 202 is not a simple stroke of genius that makes initiatives all of a sudden a great system. But, it is a fair reform that lets the full electorate vote on important measures.
In short, SB 202 moves all future (so doesn't apply to measures already qualified for the ballot) initiatives placed on the ballot through signatures to general elections. In other words, gubernatorial and presidential elections.
Of course, the Right is pretty livid about this, as this June was going to be their dream election to put a bunch of right-wing crap on the ballot. With low turnout on the Democratic side, we would basically have the electorate of Arizona or something.
You can read Governor Brown's signing message for SB 202 here or below the fold. He refers to a rainy day fund measure that will be on the ballot that is moved by SB 202, in the context of wanting to avoid putting additional money into a bank account when we are broke. (Makes sense, huh?)
In other news, the Governor also approved finally allowing people to register to vote online. Which, if you think about it makes perfect sense. So, apparently Jerry has some of that common sense thing. Hooray!
It's been a few days now since we began a conversation that addresses the issue of how frustrated some number of LBGT voters are with the Democratic Party this cycle; this because they find themselves either frustrated at the lack of progress on the civil rights issues that matter to them, or because they see both the Democratic and Republican Parties as unreliable partners in the struggle to assure equal rights for all.
In an effort to practice some actual journalism, I assembled a version of an online "focus group" at The Bilerico Project ("daily adventures in LBGTQ"), with the goal of gathering some opinions on this subject in the actual words of those frustrated voters.
Part One of this story focused on "stating the problem", and today we'll take on Part Two: in this environment, with Election Day staring us in the face, what is an LBGT voter to do?
As before, there are a variety of opinions, including a very informative comment I was able to obtain from a genuine Member of Congress, Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania's 8th District, and that means until the very end you won't hear much from me, except to help "set the stage" for the comments that follow.
In the state that puts most propositions before voters, in the country that puts most questions before the electorate, Liberty Hill asked: How do you decide how to vote? True confessions with cameo appearances by Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield and California Common Cause director Kathay Feng.
In the state that puts most propositions before voters, in the country that puts most questions before the electorate, Liberty Hill asked: How do you decide how to vote? True confessions with cameo appearances by Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield and California Common Cause director Kathay Feng.
It is about a week before early voting begins for a bunch of us around the country, and that means this may be one of the last times I have to convince you that, frustrated progressive or not, you better get your butt to a ballot box or a mail-in envelope this November, because it really does matter.
Now I could give you a bunch of "what ifs" to make my point, or I could remind you how we spent all summer watching oil gush into the Gulf, and how that came to be...but, instead, it's "Even More Current Event Day", and we're going to visit Hungary for a extremely real-world reminder of what can go wrong when the environmental cops are considered just too much of a burden by the environmental robbers-and if today's story doesn't scare you to death, I don't know what will.
It ain't Texas, but we will surely visit a Red River Valley...and you surely won't like what you're gonna see.
Hey do you vote? Well, if you are reading this, the answer is probably yes. And you would assume that pretty much anybody who was really interested in politics would have done so for pretty much every election. Not so with Meg Whitman. She's less interested in such trivial matters when she can go ahead and just plunk another $104 million into the game.
But, some really good people fought like hell to give her that right to vote that she has chosen to cast away. So, a few groups have banded together to remind her of said fight, on the 90th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment
Whitman's spotty voting record, of course, has been an issue in the gubernatorial campaign, and the candidate herself has called it "atrocious." But the California Nurses Association, the Courage Campaign and a host of labor groups intend to remind voters again, insisting they'll deliver the largest and possibly most colorful anti-Whitman rally ever on the 90th anniversary of the day the 19th amendment was signed into law. ...
The 4 p.m. rally near the Capitol steps will include folks in period costumes, historical characters, newsboys and Elizabth Jenkins-Sahlin, the great great grandaughter of the women's rights pionner Elizabeth Cady Stanton,says CNA spokesman Chuck Idelson. (SFGate)
Should be fun for the whole family, don your best bonnet if you are in the neighborhood.
A while back, I mentioned Sen. George Runner's idiotic VoteSAFE initiative. It is pretty much an effort to disqualify some pretty Democratic-leaning constituencies from voting. Basically, it is a law to require photo ID and disqualifies voters with a felony conviction, even after they have completed parole. Here's how Jerry Brown titled the previous draft Runner submitted:
Limits On Voting. Initiative Statute.
Summary Date: 04/09/09 Failed: 09/21/09
Proponent: George Runner c/o Elizabeth Hansel (916) 648-1222
Prohibits citizens from voting at the polls unless they present a government-issued photo-identification card. Establishes provisional voting for citizens at the polls who fail to present government-issued photo-identification. Requires that provisional ballots and mail-in ballots be deemed invalid unless the accompanying envelope is marked with the last four digits of a citizen’s California driver’s license, state identification card or social security number. Eliminates the right to vote for citizens on probation for a felony offense. Establishes that ballots from absent military personnel are timely if postmarked by election day. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Some increased government costs associated with voting in elections. These costs probably would not be significant. (09-0005.) (Full Text - PDF)
See, all of this is designed to make voting harder, at precisely the time when we should be making voter easier. We should be providing new ways for voters to register, and breaking down barriers. We should be allowing same-day registration so that there aren't any artificial barriers to entry based upon some silly arbitrary deadlines.
But that's not the way George Runner would like to see it. So, he's gone and sued Jerry Brown for telling it like it is. Surely, Runner would prefer some incendiary anti-immigrant language, but the description is completely valid and describes the initiaitve to a tee. This kind of litigation happens frequently, and usually it gets tossed pretty quickly. The AG has substantial latitude on how to write these. This case will also get tossed pretty quickly.
Meg Whitman has taken a beating over this whole not voting for twenty years. But now it seems that she's been totally vindicated! She was registered to vote in Santa Clara County in 1999 for eight months. Now, she didn't vote in any elections during this period, but I'm sure she was very civically active.
It turns out that Santa Clara County had lost some data on old registrations, including Whitman's. Whitman's campaign is triumphant!
"Meg is adamant about her recollection of voting in San Francisco in the 1984 and 1988 presidential elections, and the Sacramento Bee ran with a misreported item they let through their editing process," said Tucker Bounds, Whitman's deputy campaign manager. "Meg's voting record could certainly be better, but it should have been accurately reflected, and that's all we have been arguing for." (CoCo Times 10/06/09)
But as San Jose State Professor Larry Gerston points out in the above article, this is hardly about voting once or twice. The campaign is trying to make this into another opportunity to attack the media. The damnable liberal media is always out to get the good conservative and all that jazz.
If they were concerned with the underlying issue, they would probably try to ditch the whole "her voting record has no excuse line." The only possible reason to keep this story alive is try to get some base conservative support by making the press the boogeyman. And, honestly, given her electorate, it isn't a bad idea.
This story will never go away for Whitman though, no matter how many times she explains the voting deficiencies, at every debate this issue will come up. It has to, it goes to the very heart of civic engagement, and whether politics is important enough to take 5 minutes to vote.
For a long time, Meg Whitman didn't really feel that voting was really worth her time, save for a few occasions. Many Californians, particularly the ones who vote in gubernatorial elections, feel differently.
With so many important California matters on the ballot, everybody needs to vote. Even if you are hearing anything about the presidential race, Obama is not enough! Please go out and vote for the propositions: Yes: 1A, 2, 3, 5 &12. No: 4, 6 - 11.
Vote for the legislature, vote for your local elected offices. Also, please [rec this dKos diary Yes: 1A, 2, 3, 5 &12. No: 4, 6 - 11] that has a similar message.
VOTE!
[UPDATE by Julia] No on 8 leadership is worried. Key voting locations are deserted. Go drag everyone you know to the polls. Put down the laptop and go call your friends and knock on your neighbor's doors.
The governor said "the only solution for our healthcare crisis" is a complete overhaul of the state's healthcare system along the lines of his $14.9-billion plan that the Legislature rejected last January as too expensive.
"We supported wholesale health reform, but this is a population that has nowhere else to go, and he's leaving them high and dry," said Elizabeth Landsberg, legislative advocate for the Western Center on Law & Poverty, a Los Angeles nonprofit. (LA Times 10/28)
Disgusting.
• A fascinating legal case is going to trial in San Francisco. A group of Nigerian villagers are suing Chevron over a protest on one an oil rig in the Niger Delta. The plaintiffs accuse Chevron of drastic human rights violations. Oh, and Chevron is now the #3 oil company in the world.
PRESIDENT \ V.P. - BARACK OBAMA \ Joe Biden
This will be a close race! Phone-banking to swing states-including Colorado-continues at your local Obama or United Democratic Campaign headquarters. Go to http://my.barackobama.com/page... to find the Obama office near you.
U.S. Congress - C.D. #s 1-53 - Vote for the Democrat in your district!
IF you live in one of these two districts, please volunteer/contribute to your candidate's campaign:
~ C.D. #4 - Charlie Brown [www.charliebrownforcongress.org] - This district is our best chance to turn a red district blue in California this year. He is running against Tom McClintock, the most ideologically conservative legislator in the state and a carpetbagger from Southern California. Charlie Brown, he's "a good man."
~ C.D. #11 - Jerry McNerney [www.jerrymcnerney.org] - The Democrats, with tremendous grassroots activism, took this seat two years ago, but the Republicans are spending huge amounts of money to take it back. Let's make sure we send Mr. McNerney, a leader in renewable energy, back to Congress.
California State Senate:
~ S.D. #3 - Mark Leno
~ S.D. #5 - Lois Wolk [www.loiswolk.com] - This is an open seat that we must keep in the Democratic column.
~ S.D. #7 - Mark DeSaulnier
~ S.D. #9 - Loni Hancock - Since I live in this district, I will take this opportunity to say that we are very fortunate to have Loni representing Oakland and other East Bay communities in the St. Senate. Among her accomplishments, she was successful this year in getting passed and signed into law a 'Clean Money' pilot program.
~ S.D. #11 - Joe Simitian
~ S.D. #19 - Hannah-Beth Jackson [www.jackson4senate.com] - This district is our best hope at picking up a Democratic seat in the St. Senate. Please do what you can to help her win against a very conservative opponent who is misleading voters about his own record.
~ S.D. #23 - Fran Pavley
~ S.D. #27 - Alan Lowenthal
~ S.D. #39 - Christine Kehoe
California State Assembly - A.D. #s 1-80 - Vote for the Democrat in your district! IF you live or work in one of the following districts, please volunteer/contribute to your candidate's campaign. These are expected to be very close races.
~ A.D. #10 - Alyson Huber - www.alysonhuber.com
~ A.D. #15 - Joan Buchanan - www.joanbuchanan.com - If you live in the Bay Area and want to help the Democrats gain seats in our state legislature, please contact the Buchanan campaign and help in any way possible. 925-806-0560 ~ A.D. #26 - John Eisenhut - www.johneisenhut.com
~ A.D. #65 - Carl Wood - www.wood4assembly.org
~ A.D. #78 - Marty Block - www.martyblock.com
~ A.D. #80 - Manuel V. Perez - www.manuelperezforassembly.com
LOCAL RACES:
Oakland City Council (at-large seat) - REBECCA KAPLAN -
Rebecca is exactly the type of person we need on the Oakland City Council. She is smart, progressive, experienced and accomplished. She will shake things up on the city council and move it in a more progress-oriented direction. She is a former civil rights attorney, policy advocate, environmental activist, and yes, a 'community organizer'. She understands the array of issues facing Oakland residents and will work hard to make Oakland a more safe and livable city. She is well-known for being able to work with a broad cross-section of people and personalities. Currently, she's an elected member of the A/C Transit Board of Directors. She is endorsed by the Alameda County Democratic Party, the MGO Democratic Club, the Sierra Club, East Bay Young Dems, Assembly Member Sandre Swanson, Supervisors Keith Carson and Nate Miley, and a wide array of organizations, elected officials and community leaders. www.kaplanforoakland.org
Mayor, City of Berkeley - TOM BATES - Mayor Bates has shown leadership and brought people together to get things done in Berkeley. He's endorsed by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the Sierra Club, and a broad range of organizations, public officials and community leaders. See www.tombates.org/index.htm for details on his priorities.
Judge - Superior Court (Alameda County seat #9) - DENNIS HAYASHI -
Dennis, a public interest attorney, is highly qualified to be a superior court judge. He is a former attorney with the Asian Law Caucus, and was director of the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President Clinton. He was also the director of the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. We desperately need more public interest attorneys as judges. He is endorsed by the Sierra Club, the Alameda County Democratic Lawyers Club, former Attorney General Bill Lockyer, and numerous state and local elected officials, as well as several judges. Dennis will make a superb Superior Court judge. www.dennishayashi.com
San Francisco County Supervisors:
District #1 - ERIC MAR - Eric is an elected member of the S.F. Board of Education, a civil rights attorney, college lecturer, and long-time progressive political activist. He's been recognized for his civic involvement, leadership, and passionate advocate for human and civil rights. He is committed to working at City Hall and in the Richmond district for working families, thriving neighborhoods, and responsive local government. To volunteer on his campaign, go to www.ericmar.com.
District #3 - DAVID CHIU (rank #1) - As a former civil rights attorney, counsel to a U.S. Senate subcommittee, neighborhood activist and leader, former deputy district attorney, member of San Francisco's Small Business Commission, affordable housing advocate, and Democratic Party activist, David has the breadth and depth of experience to be an excellent supervisor-responsive, innovative, smart ideas. http://votedavidchiu.org TONY GANTNER (rank #2) - Experienced neighborhood and environmental activist, Tony would also be a good Supervisor.
District #4 - CARMEN CHU - She's moderate-to-conservative by San Francisco standards, but this is the Sunset district and her principal opponent is even more conservative.
District #5 - ROSS MIRKARIMI - Ross has been a very good supervisor for this district and he deserves reelection. He reaches out to groups of people in his district and strives to develop and support innovative and compassionate ideas and proposals.
District #7 - SEAN ELSBERND - Has only token opposition and will be reelected easily in this relatively moderate-to-conservative district.
District #9 - no recommendation - Many good progressive candidates in this district, including David Campos and Mark Sanchez.
District #11 - JULIO RAMOS (rank #1) - Julio is an attorney, elected member of the San Francisco Community College Bd. of Trustees, an experienced trial lawyer, and former Coro Fellow. I've known Julio for nearly 10 years and I'm confident that he would be an excellent county supervisor. He's progressive, compassionate, and is committed to focusing his energy on crime prevention, services to seniors, helping at-risk youth, improving neighborhoods and creating clean streets, and expanding educational opportunities for local residents. www.julioramos.org
JOHN AVALOS (rank #2) - Former supervisorial aide, Avalos would also be a good county supervisor.
BART Bd. of Directors
Tom Radulovich (district 9) - Smart environmental leader. He's been a very good BART director.
A.C. Transit Bd. of Directors
Chris Peeples (at-large)
Greg Harper (ward 2)
East Bay Municipal Utility District Bd. of Directors
Doug Linney (ward 5) - Environmental leader on the EBMUD Board. Certainly deserves reelection.
East Bay Regional Parks District Bd. of Directors
Norman LaForce (ward 1) - Norman has shown important leadership as a long-time advocate for parks. He is currently the chapter chair of the Sierra Club and an experienced attorney for environmental causes. He will be an excellent EBRPD board member.
Trustee, Peralta Community College District
Marlon McWilson (area 2)
San Francisco Community College District -
Several good candidates. I recommend the following four candidates:
Natalie Berg
Milton Marks
Chris Jackson
Rodel Rodis
San Francisco Board of Education:
Several good candidates. I recommend the following four candidates:
Norman Yee
Sandra L. Fewer
Kimberly Wicoff
Jill Wynns
City Council, Daly City - Judith Christensen - She's a teacher, is supported by the environmental community, and she's been a breath of fresh air on a stale city council. She deserves re-election.
Mayor, City of Fremont - Gus Morrison - Former Mayor Morrison would do a far better job as mayor once again than either the incumbent or his other opponent. Vote to put Gus back in the Mayor's office.
City Council, Orinda - Victoria Smith - She's done a good job on the Orinda City Council and deserves re-election. Go to www.voteforvictoria.com for more information.
Mayor, City of Sacramento - Heather Fargo - Mayor Fargo is running against a former Pro Basketball player who has no experience in government. Her opponent is being put forth as a candidate by development interests who do not like Ms. Fargo's policies. She'll do a better job than her challenger. Vote to re-elect her. For info on her priorities, experience and endorsements, or to volunteer, go to www.fargoformayor.com
Los Angeles County Bd. of Supervisors (2nd district) - Mark Ridley-Thomas -
Ridley-Thomas is the more progressive of the two candidates. He is a former L.A. City Councilman and a current State Senator. We will miss him in Sacramento, but he will make an excellent County Supervisor. He is endorsed by the L.A. County Democratic Party, Sierra Club, Members of Congress Jane Harmon, Brad Sherman, Howard Berman, Hilda Solis, Planned Parenthood, and dozens of other elected officials and community leaders. Go to www.ridley-thomas.com to learn more.
Santa Clara County Bd. of Supervisors (2nd district) - Richard Hobbs - Endorsed by the Santa Clara County League of Conservation Voters and the local Sierra Club chapter. That's good enough for me.
With the long lines that we've seen in some of these early voting sites, the fact that California law guarantees time off to vote seems worth noting. With the high percentage of vote by mail in the state, we generally don't see as long of lines. However, you never know what might happen. And conveniently enough, I got an email with a nice little guide on this. So, know your rights and all that stuff:
If you are planning to vote at the polls on Election Day, and do not have enough time to do so either before or after work, remember that:
1. California law guarantees you the right to take off from work as much time, when added to time available to you before or after work, as you need to vote.
2. The first two hours of such time off shall be without loss of pay.
3. The time must be either at the beginning or the end of your workday, unless otherwise arranged with your supervisor.
4. If you think you may need time off to vote, you should talk to your supervisor at least 3 days before the eleciton, so they can make plans for you to be gone.
5. If you have enough time to vote before or after work (without taking time off from work), or if you are voting by mail, none of this applies to you.
This law applies to all employees in the state, private as well as public. (Cal. Elections Code, Sections 14000-14003).
With such a massive vote by mail presence in California, sometimes I forget about those more touchy-feely voting booths you can hit up before Nov. 4. Well, not every has forgot. In fact, they are getting some serious use:
Election day is only 11 days away, but for thousands of people around the Bay Area, that's simply too long to wait.
From the basement of San Francisco City Hall to county election offices in the far corners of the region, record-breaking numbers of people are waiting in long lines to cast their votes early.
Sure, some voters will be out of town come Nov. 4 or just want to avoid potentially longer lines on election day. But many people - and particularly many African Americans who are voting early in huge numbers - say they just want to vote. Now.(SF Chron 10/24/08)
Apparently what's pushing this isn't the inconvenience of waiting in line, because these lines appear longer than you typically see at SF polls. Rather, this story finds that people are just really excited to vote.
• A Houston Congressman, Ted Poe, has called LA Superior Court Commissioner Marilyn Mackel "Anti-American". Apparently Mr. Poe didn't like the fact that Ms. Mackel denied early enlistment for a 17 year old while telling the potential Marine that she opposed the Iraq War. You pretty much know you are on the right path when Ted Poe is attacking you.
• Former Folsom Mayor Glen Fait came out very publicly: he took an ad out in the local newspaper coming out and asking his neighbors to vote against Prop 8. Good for him.
• Ballots sent by mail with incorrect postage will still be counted. While some counties, like San Francisco, choose to pay for the postage for VBM voters, that is not the case in many counties. This is a sad statement from the Santa Clara County:
"We have an agreement with the post office that they'll deliver the election mail, but we keep urging people to use the proper postage," Morales said. "We don't want to subsidize the entire ballot."
One would hope that voting would be subsidized, instead of applying a neo-poll tax, small as it may be, for voters who are forced to do VBM by closed precincts or other necessities.
• From a few days ago - turns out that racist "Obama Bucks" cartoon in a Republican mailer was actually taken from a parody blog site. Ron Nehring is trying to spin this as a "liberal blog" producing hate and racism. Um, Ron, it makes it WORSE that your GOP minions can't recognize parody when they see it.
• Already, 6 papers in California that backed Bush in 2004 have endorsed Obama.
• Mary Nichols, head of the California Air Resources Board has come out for No on 10. And something for the kiddos: A No on Prop 10 Crossword (PDF) from Prop 87 proponent Anthony Rubenstein. Well, at least the very nerdy kiddos. Fun!
Since Dave Cogdill has taken over as Senate Minority Leader, the Senate Minority has been sending out missives on one policy area or another on a weekly (ish) basis. Today's was another doozy, this time on the identification requirement for voting:
Those opposed to showing ID at the polls raise as their primary objection the fact that there is no empirical data to support the allegation of widespread voter fraud. Therefore, they argue that there is no justification for erecting what they call "a barrier to voting" that disproportionately affects minorities, the poor, and the elderly. Those in favor of ID at the polls argue that fraud is a real problem, though it is extremely hard to detect without a voter ID requirement. Nevertheless, they point out that there is plenty of documented anecdotal evidence to show that in-person voter fraud is a problem. They also point out that research and experience show that, contrary to the claims of opponents, voter ID requirements in other states have not impacted voter turnout.
These facts are important to consider and debate, but they fail to account for what voters believe about fraud and what effect this belief has on voter confidence in the electoral process. Voters are losing faith in the electoral process partly because of a belief that fraud is a problem in our elections. Polls show that voters increasingly distrust the integrity of the electoral process. A recent Rasmussen Reports survey found that 14% of voters believe there is "a lot" of fraud in American elections, while 50% believed there was some fraud. Only 33% believed there was hardly any fraud.
There's really just so much in the ways of deception here, it's hard to even know where to start. But I'll go with the whole "voter fraud" angle. The Bush Administration really wanted this BS to be true, because they believe ID requirements scare Democratic-leaning voters away from the polls. So, they dug, and they dug, but nothing came up, other than politically motivated garbage cases where the prosecution of the cases boggled the mind of even some federal judges:
Five years after the Bush administration began a crackdown on voter fraud, the Justice Department has turned up virtually no evidence of any organized effort to skew federal elections, according to court records and interviews.
***
"I find this whole prosecution mysterious," Judge Diane P. Wood of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in Chicago, said at a hearing in Ms. Prude's case. "I don't know whether the Eastern District of Wisconsin goes after every felon who accidentally votes. It is not like she voted five times. She cast one vote."(NYT 4/12/07)
So, now that we have the first talking point cleared up, let's look at the other: voter confidence. If we want to improve voter confidence, well we need look no further than our own Profile in Courage winner, Debra Bowen. Bowen is working incredibly hard to restore confidence in our voting system. The greater issue is confidence in our voting system, rather than these supposed instances of voter fraud.
And if Sen. Cogdill wants to decrease the level of voter anxiety about the so-called fraud? Well, he could start by not sending out missives exaggerating the instance of fraud. The Republican DoJ couldn't even find any evidence of any systemic issues of fraud. Enough of the politically-inspired concern for voter confidence, while objecting to doing anything about Diebold, Sequoia and the lack of paper trails. It is naked, and transparent, political posturing that is unbecoming of an elected official and unhelpful to our small-d democracy.
UPDATE: I should have included a link to this Pandagon post about a 97-year old woman in Arizona who was denied the right to vote because of a voter ID law. Yup, there's no problems with that at all.
This is funny (and Charlie Brown's people confirmed this with me).
As Mike Spence just reported, Doug Ose failed to sign his ballot when he voted at the Placer County Registrar of Voters this morning. I was actually there with Rick Staats and we witnessed the whole episode. Here's what happened when Ose realized he hadn't signed his ballot. The election officials had to get a key to unlock and reopen the highly secured ballot box and retrieve his invalid ballot. In true elitist fashion he was unwilling to take responsibility for his incompetence, muttering under his breath "this is bull ****!"
Since when is ballot security bull ****?
Keep in mind that yesterday Ose had McNally Temple employee Richard Robinson call the Registrar's office and ask to have someone there to "show Doug how to vote." He needs to be shown how to vote? Guess he didn't know how things work in Placer County because he has never voted here before. Maybe he thought we vote differently here in a conservative county.
Of course, there wasn't such a foul-up with Red County's hero Tom McClintock, because he's not eligible to vote in the district at all. Rumor was he was flying down to Los Angeles on election day to cast his ballot. So basically, among the 3 major candidates in CA-04, only Charlie Brown actually knows how to vote there.
What's going on in California politics? Here's some things that I found:
To the right, you see a video from WhyTuesday.org about an HBO promo event for the HBO movie Recount coming out this Sunday. They brought some of the Florida butterfly ballot machines and let people experience FL voting. Hilarity ensues!
Prop 98 keeps picking up opponents. (I do work for No on 98.) Today, the Redding Record Searchlight opposed it and the Desert Sun went No, alongwithseveralothers, yesterday. The Nos are leading the Yes editorials something like 45-3. In SD-03, Joe Nation has announced his opposition, while Leno and Migden have long been outspoken critics. Also, yesterday the campaign released it's "Fortune 500" List of Landlords who have donated to Yes on 98. Thomas Coates alone gave $500,000 in the hopes of getting a windfall from the end of rent control.
Speaking of the lottery, Peter Schrag has a great column on the lottery's past and future. I was at a debate for my high school government class between then Gov. Ann Richards and GW Bush (then just a grade A doofus sans any real power), when Ann Richards brought the house down with a remark about the lottery. I can't do it justice with the pixelated word, but it was something like "I just think gambling is a cheesy way to make money." It was and is. As Shrag points out, it's not been anything close to a panacea for our schools, and it creates other messes. When it comes to funding, you can try all sorts of gimmicks, but there is no replacing the one guaranteed revenue source: taxes.
While the California Republican Party is busy defending tax breaks for yacht owners, Democrats are busy working to decrease barriers to voting and increase participation in democracy. The California Democratic Party Platform even talks about increasing participation:
To promote honest leadership and open government, California Democrats will: [...]
Increase voter participation by advocating for extended voting hours and/or days, scheduling elections on weekends, or by declaring Election Day a holiday
While I agree that would be great, the current perspective of the CDP Platform is to seek increases in the percentage of participation among registered voters. Yet there is even greater potential to increase voter participation by reforming barriers to voter registration. This is the premise behind recent national legislation by Democrats in Congress and a bill by Assemblyman Curren Price for California.
These are two pieces of legislation that deserve to be followed closely, which means you'll probably need to follow on the blogs as so far both reforms have been largely ignored by traditional media.
Yesterday was my last day working the polls in Santa Clara County - Auros and I have moved to San Mateo County (we made sure to have overlapping residency in scc so we weren't in violation for the election) so we'll be working up here next round. We were in precinct 2005, college terrace Palo Alto, right next to Stanford campus. We've worked that precinct before - me twice and him 3 times. The last time and this time he was precinct inspector. Fortunately this time they gave us the larger chapel room instead of crowding us into the tiny fireside room.
This election of course we were on paper ballots (optical scan) as our primary voting method but we still had one sequoia touchscreen machine as an option for disabled voters. This became relevant later.
