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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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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?

Carly Fiorina's Spotty Voting Record: Shocking or So What?

TresSugar — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman isn't the only businesswoman gunning for a political career in California. Republican Carly Fiorina, once the head of Hewlett-Packard, wants to challenge Barbara Boxer to her senate seat. Just one problem: she has a very spotty voting record.

According to Morris County, NJ, election officials, Fiorina registered to vote in 1997 but never actually voted there; her record in California isn't consistent either. A Fiorina spokesperson says that while "she didn't vote all the time . . . she did vote." Would you vote for a senator who doesn't vote much herself?

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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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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Can Online Voting Maintain Election Integrity?

LibertySugar — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:00:48 -0700

What's a few million extra ballots between friends? In Zimbabwe today, opposition leaders are accusing the government of printing 3 million extra paper ballots, enough to change the outcome of the Mar. 29 election. It's yet another harbinger of potential voting fraud to come. Though most of us probably agree voting integrity is essential to democracy, Africa is not the only place where the authenticity of an election is threatened.

For the past few months, the Democrats have been grappling with what to do about the Michigan and Florida primaries. Online voting has been proposed as a potential solution. Since paper ballots have been historically imperfect, and electronic voting machines are still proving problematic, maybe it's time to bring this whole voting thing online!

Millions of Americans go online to shop, pay bills, sell, bank, and pretty much to do anything! I think online voting could be the future, as it is cheap and efficient. Voting would probably take no more than one minute, and you could do it at home, work, wherever . . . assuming you had a computer. Which brings us to one of the potential problems. For some of the drawbacks, read more.

Online voting could disenfranchise those without internet access, like the poor or elderly, especially if it's used as the exclusive means of voting. Also, the results could be susceptible to fraud, hacking, or innocent technological glitches. So, it might not be the best solution for Florida and Michigan, as there is not much time to guarantee protection from abuse.

Should we start developing secure methods of voting online, and inevitably increase voter turnout? In fact, a system has been used before. The Michigan Democrats voted online in 2004's primaries, and the Democrats Abroad used the internet last month without any problems. The reality: no voting system is free from fraud. So, is it time to check the cyber box?

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Colin Is the Second Contestant Voted Off I'm a Celebrity!

PopSugarUK — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:15:31 -0800

Colin McAllister has become the second contestant to be voted by the public to leave I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. With the viewers voting for who they want to save out of all the contestants, Colin received the fewest votes and had to leave the jungle, and his partner of 20 years, Justin Ryan, last night.

His departure follows hot on the heels of Lucy Benjamin's exit on Monday, which was of course overshadowed by Katie Price quitting. They're dropping like flies now! There's no installment tonight because of the football, but another celeb will have to leave again soon: who are you supporting?

© ITV Plc

Michigan Asks: Does Foreclosure Take Away Right to Vote?

CitizenSugar — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:15:45 -0700

The housing crisis suddenly has a whole new address: voting rights. Yesterday the chairman of the Macomb County Republican Party was quoted in the Michigan Messenger as saying he's set to assign election challengers with "a list of foreclosed homes and [we] will make sure people aren't voting from those addresses." The statement voting laws, which require an address and a desire to make sure proper election procedures were followed. Furor erupted immediately, with Project Vote issuing the following statement:

The Macomb County GOP's plan is a cynical partisan attempt to suppress the vote of thousands of low-income and African-American voters. . . . Just because you're behind on your mortgage doesn't mean you lose the right to vote. . . the challengers will still achieve nothing but to slow down voting and create an intimidating atmosphere at strategically chosen polls.

The chairman has since announced to the Detroit News, "I never said anything even close to that. We won't be doing voter challenges on foreclosures, and we've never had a plan to do it." Challenges are allowed at the polls if the challenger "knows or has good reason to suspect" a voter isn't eligible, a rule the Secretary of State has clarified to need "reliable sources or means." There's also a new state law requiring voters to produce photo identification.

Outdated addresses could be a very real problem this election. Ohio earlier this summer said that 3,700 people are registered to vote at vacant addresses, and another 27,000 have filled out change-of-address notices without updating their registration. Will foreclosures and outdated voter lists affect the accuracy of the results?

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Ever Wondered Why Jehovah's Witnesses Don't Vote?

CitizenSugar — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 10:00:55 -0700

I'm not so much a sportsy-follower and admit that I didn't know that Serena Williams is a Jehovah's Witness until she started talking about Barack Obama in this Slate piece, but I'm glad she did - this is fascinating stuff. Do you know why Jehovah's Witnesses tend not to vote? Passages like John 17:14 where Jesus says of those who follow him: "They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world." This other-worldliness is what Jehovah's Witnesses have interpreted as a directive to remain above terrestrial concerns like the election and neutral in all political matters.

Though voting isn't completely prohibited it's cautioned against - the Watchtower, the official publication of the Jehovah's Witnesses has suggested that whether to stop into the voting booth was one of personal conscience. Not limited to voting, Witnesses also don't serve in the military, pledge allegiance to the flag, or run for office.

The cautioning against politics does work - only 13 percent are registered to vote, and though they're the biggest religious group that opts out of voting, there are others, like the Amish and the Rastafarians (though even their attitudes have altered the last few years.) Is God a big reason to stay vote-free? In the US about 2 percent of people who don't register to vote cite religion as the reason.

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