The Economist has an article this week on why people rig elections. The answer is, because it works really well. As the summary report of the key findings notes:
Using dirty tactics during elections helps politicians that are already in office. If they use illegal practices to win elections, they can expect to be in office [...]
Kudos to Michael for the links to overseas voting systems in other countries. If you read between the lines–or maybe read more directly Alvarez and Hall’s book on electronic elections–Mike’s implication is clear. Fixing overseas citizen and military voting may finally move us toward a secure system of internet voting.
That was the sense I had [...]
Readers might be interested in these signs which we saw yesterday in Valparisaio, Chile — in the window of a house overlooking the city’s harbor.
Click here for the photo, my slow internet connection won’t let me put the thumbnail in this post.
The Boston Globe is reporting this morning that the Mass House did not take up the EDR bill that the Mass Senate had passed:
Major items that lawmakers neglected to take up included whether to allow residents to register to vote on election days, whether the state should ban trans fat oils in restaurants, and [...]
The Piece County auditor is proposing to switch to all voting by mail. Interestingly, he’s proposing the change because of the county adopted instant run off voting, and the auditor is fearful of handling the voting rush in a presidential election year at the same time they have to implement the new voting system.
Pierce [...]
There is a conference next week at Kent State University, “The Future of Election and Ethics Reform in the States.” Here’s the overview provided of the event:
The critical theme of this Symposium is that the 2008 Presidential Election will be crucial for American democracy, especially in light of the apparently related phenomena of decreasing [...]