Holiday gift tips for the election geeks on your list

It’s something of a tradition for us here at Election Updates to offer a few suggestions for holiday gift tips for the election geeks on your list.

First, something really special I’ve been watching on Ebay: an ES&S 150 central count scanner (it even seems to have the original cover). It’s listed on Ebay as $450.00 on Buy It Now — with only $65.00 shipping. What a great deal, though clearly not a stocking-stuffer.

Second, there are lots of good books out there for the election geeks on your list. For those who are more number-geeks, there’s Nate Silver’s The Signal and the Noise. I recently read Silver’s book, and I couldn’t put it down. But for the more election-administration oriented election geeks on your list, there is the new book by Lonna Atkeson, Thad Hall and I, Evaluating Elections. (Note that our book is available in paperback!)

Here’s another good one — a thousand “I Voted” Stickers. Here’s a place that offers them for $19.95 (with free shipping!). You could give a roll to your favorite election geek, or pass them out individually to your thousand favorite election geeks.

Finally, here’s what I know tops every election geek’s holiday wish list: a framed and autographed photo of Doug Chapin in one of his argyle sweaters. These are rare and highly collectable, and I’ve never seen one on Ebay. But I know that election geeks throughout the world would love to have one in their collection.