Daily Voting News For October 7, 2008
Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org
Several days ago, in this space, we recommended that voters who have the ability to vote “straight party” do not
exercise that right. Yes, it is easier because all you have to do is mark one box on the ballot for the
top-of-the-ticket votes are all taken care of for you. However, consider this. In North Carolina (and South Carolina
also) the “straight party” vote does NOT include President. According to the first “Featured” article [below] ballots in
North Carolina have the following words: “A Straight Party vote is a vote for all candidates of that party in partisan
offices. Individual partisan office selections are not necessary if you select a Straight Party below.” What the ballot
doesn’t tell you is that this does not include President. How many thousand of voters will vote straight-party but not
for President in North and South Carolina?
In our second “Featured” article we learn another good reason not to vote straight party. New Mexico is one of the
states that allows straight party voting, including the presidential race. However, if the ballots are not properly
programmed and a thorough pre-election testing is accomplished there is no telling what may be the result of voting
straight party. Voters should not take a chance that the county has tested thoroughly. Voters should not take a chance
that their machine may not even register straight party votes for their party while it does for the other party. Don’t
trust them. Forego the “straight party” selection and pick each candidate individually.
The straight party states are: North Carolina, South Carolina, New Mexico, Utah, Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, Kentucky,
Pennsylvania, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, West Virginia, and Rhode Island. ...
Featured - NC: Straight-ticket omits presidential race LINK
Featured - NM: Santa Fe County - Officials find, fix glitch in NM voting machine LINK
National: Election 2008: Election Law (and How They Break It) LINK
National: Hack-a-vote: Students at Rice learn how vulnerable electronic voting really is LINK
National: Fears over US electronic voting machine fraud As the Presidential election nears, Texan students learn how to
rig votes LINK
National: Democratic Election Protection Strategy's Missing Link: Electronic Vote Counts LINK
National: E-voting issues stir in advance of November elections LINK
National: Voter Rolls Grow As States Help Poor People Register LINK
Arizona: Tucson - Disabled vet claims city kept him from voting LINK
California: I Just Prevented Thousands of Californians from Having to Vote on Provisional Ballots! LINK
California: Don't foreclose the vote LINK
California: San Francisco County - S.F. turnout on election day to be huge LINK
Colorado: Is Colorado the next Florida? Watchdogs worry huge turn-out and a new untested voter database could spell
disaster on Election Day LINK
Connecticut: New machines offer voters advantages, challenges LINK
Florida: Hillsborough County - Hillsborough elections supervisor's mass mailing criticized LINK
Iowa: Carroll County - County approves contract for new voting machines LINK
Indiana: Lake County - Judge orders opening of early voting sites despite hearing LINK
Michigan: Clerks' offices swamped with voters-to-be Registration deadline was Monday LINK
Montana: Montana Registration Challenges Are Error-Prone LINK
Montana: Suit filed to stop vote challenges LINK
Montana: Dems challenge claim that 6,000 Montanans aren’t eligible to vote LINK
Montana: GOP registration challenge frustrates voters, officials LINK
New Jersey: Report on voting machines at issue Analyst wants results released to public LINK
New Mexico: Bernalillo County - New voters' ballots could be thrown out LINK
Ohio: Window came as surprise to Ohio GOP LINK
Ohio: Ohio GOP sues over voter ID discrepancies LINK
Ohio: Come To Ohio! What We Can Learn From 2004 - And What We Can Do In 2008 LINK
Ohio: Licking County - Some enjoy convenience of early balloting; others see disadvantages LINK
Ohio: Putnam County - Ohio county fires election director LINK
Pennsylvania: Bucks County - Bucks awaits voting figures, machine count LINK
Pennsylvania: Bucks County - Voting deadline draws last-minute registrations LINK
South Carolina: Beaufort County - Voting machine snafu hits county LINK
South Carolina: Beaufort County - Ballot machines for early voting down again today LINK
Tennessee: Officials: It's too late to change ballot U.S. District Court in Nashville to hear Kurita's case Friday LINK
Utah: Salt Lake County needs more poll workers and voting machines LINK
Virginia: Virginians meet registration deadline in droves LINK
Washington: Outdated, Arcane Laws Disenfranchising Voters in Seattle LINK
Wisconsin: Legal Center Opposes Voter Roll Purges in Wisconsin Lawsuit LINK
**"Daily Voting News" is meant as a comprehensive listing of reports each day concerning issues related to election and
voting news around the country regardless of quality or political slant. Therefore, items listed in "Daily Voting News"
may not reflect the opinions of VotersUnite.Org or Scoop.**
-- John Gideon Co-Executive Director VotersUnite.Org www.votersunite.org
"To encourage citizen ownership of transparent, participatory democracy." The Creekside Declaration March 22, 2008