Senator John Edwards, now running hard for the Democratic presidential nomination, visited UCLA today for a rally in Bruin Plaza. The Road Team’s own Jacob Soboroff had a chance to catch up with him afterwards on the Kerckhoff (sic) Patio. Jacob shouldered his way to the front of the press pool in time to be the second-to-last question Edwards answered; the presidential hopeful didn’t have a chance to really dive into the topic beyond a general affirmation of making Election Day a holiday, but with a little luck this won’t be the last time we get the opportunity to put some questions to him.

Regarding the soundtrack to this particular clip: please refer all questions to Jacob. We try to control him, but it’s very difficult.

America is going to be looking hard at a handful of politicians over the next year or so (unless some calendar-happy state moves its primaries up even further). We’re going to do our best- beginning humbly with this clip- to make sure that election reform is a part of the conversation the nation has with these candidates. An Executive Branch with a real commitment to election reform could set the tone for change, and a major campaign that addresses this issue might remind people to pay attention to something we tend to talk about AFTER elections rather than before them.

Please join us. If a candidate is coming to your town or school- pop the question, and ask them their thoughts on election reform. We all might be surprised by some of the answers we get.

Posted in California, Election 2008, Election Reform, Get Out The Why?, National Holiday, Weekend voting | Comments Off

The dust is settling, and all speculation is about the impact of this year’s election on national and foreign policy. If you’re reading this blog you’ve probably read a lot about this year’s elections already: about your own local or state contests and the national issues that galvanized the voter base.

Without being unduly negative, it seems like a good idea to attach some numbers to the adjectival discussion of this momentous midterm. The most straightforward one is this: according to the non-partisan Center for the Study of the American Electorate (CSAE), national turnout was around 83 million this year, or 40.4% of the population. There are some interesting details: despite strong/record turnout in states like Virginia and Tennessee, not all states with hot races saw turnout bumps- Maryland, Minnesota, and Florida all reported drop-offs, despite each having competitive races. Click here to read the full report.

It’s also interesting to see what effect Montana’s experiment with EDR had. Despite causing some delays, it seems to have run very smoothly. Did it increase turnout? A look at the CSAE’s numbers casts some doubt. Montana’s turnout in 2002 (the last mid-term election) was 48.02%, compared to 55.58% in this year’s election. That’s a healthy jump of 7.56%, compared to a 0.7% increase nationally. BUT, if we compare Montana to seven other states with races that were either tight or widely publicized (Connecticut, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia), we see that they on average enjoyed a 6.55% increase in participation. Amongst that pack, then, it’s not clear that EDR had a dramatic effect.

Which isn’t to say that it’s not a good idea: even a small impact is good, so long as the integrity of the process isn’t compromised, as is any measure that makes voting more convenient for those who fulfill their civic responsibility.

What seems most important to us is to remember- amidst all the comparative values- that the numbers we’re dealing with are still very low. A look at the CSAE’s report shows that, even in states celebrating record turnout, we’re dealing with participation in the low 40- and 50-percent range. Even if one takes the higher numbers offered by political campaigns and various state offices you’re still in the same ballpark.

Bottom line: there’s still work to do. And there’s a big election in a couple of years. So we’re gonna keep on asking why, and trying to figure out how to get as many citizens into the voting booths as possible.

Posted in Election 2006, Election Day registration, Election Reform, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, Tennessee, Virginia | 1 Comment »

Because they are still crazy, Barnett and Jacob once again took in their own hardware for a TV appearance. Jacob uses the chance to give the viewer a little lesson in the tissue of beautiful illusion that TV studios drape over the everyday. Enjoy.

Barnett, your diligence is appreciated.

Posted in Election Reform, Get Out The Why? | Comments Off

Props to the Road Team for blagging their way into what looks like a real press conference. As we fall off to sleep watching CNN/Fox/what have you, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stands with his family on a verdant lawn. The Gubernator doesn’t think Election Day is the issue- he thinks a lack of excitement about politics is. A smooth and easy clip to mark the passing of another Election Tuesday…

ps If you can’t hear it, the Governor’s bon mot upon hearing Barnett’s follow-up question is, “Yes, we are moving into the weekend; joy joy!”

Posted in California, Election 2006, Election Reform, Get Out The Why?, National Holiday, Weekend voting | Comments Off

The (unstoppable) Road Team caught up with Senator Dianne Feinstein and Congresswoman Jane Harman at a rally for Phil Angelides in California. Senator Feinstein, a 14-year veteran and California’s senior Senator, wasn’t ready to come down for or against voting as a holiday. The team caught Congresswoman Harman- whose website is to be commended for its richness in substantive policy issues, by the way- at a better time, however, and she has a ton to say.

The Congresswoman mentions several touchpoints of election reform: public financing, reforming the Electoral College, making Election Day a holiday, and considering the lessons of several countries where she’s observed Sunday elections where it’s a big celebration everyone wears their finest duds. In addition to serving as a testament to the Congresswoman’s awareness of these issues, it’s interesting that once again someone has observed how interlinked many aspects of reform are. One needn’t wait for all the others, but focusing on any one area seems to make it easier to consider improving other aspects of the system.

Posted in California, Election Reform, Electoral College, Get Out The Why?, International elections, National Holiday | Comments Off

We’ve gotten some good comments on YouTube, and the Road Team was keen to respond to one from lucasderosa:

What you guys are doing is great. Your videos are well done and you handle yourselves well. The coolest thing about what you’re doing is that it shows that politicians aren’t as hard to interact with as one might think. Apparently you dont have to have ties to the press or any special clout to reserve a few minutes of their time, and I think demonstrating that is very important. It shows that anybody can be involved if you’re tenacious enough. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Also, do you think you could describe the process you went through to contact the people you have interviewed? Was it really as simple as showing up at the event with a camera and trying to get their attention? How difficult was it to get time to sit down with Mr. Kohl? Also, what inspired you guys to put this together?”

To which, our brave Road Team responds:

Thank you so much for your kind words and for checking out GOTW! We can’t take the credit for putting it together, for that you’ll have to talk to Mr. Wachtel and Ambassador Young. But we thank them for doing it just as you thank us! As far as getting the interviews, it’s the luck of the draw. Often times we just show up and wait for the official to arrive. In the case of Senator Kohl and Gov. Vilsack, we put an interview request in with their respective offices after telling them about the project. Just go out there and do what feels natural! While there’s an aspect to this project that some are calling “gotcha journalism,” we really don’t feel that’s the point. And fundamentally it’s for a great cause - increasing voter participation and turnout - so don’t feel guilty if you put someone on the spot!

Posted in Election Reform, Get Out The Why? | Comments Off

Because they are crazy, Jacob and Barnett took a camera on television with them for their Fox appearance. So, if you saw it on tv- or while you wait to see the clip here (we’re working on it)- here’s the segment from a very different perspective.

Your tie looks great, Jacob.

Posted in Election Reform, Get Out The Why? | Comments Off

Jacob and Barnett were having all the fun, so I decided to grab my friend Jen and see if we couldn’t get some clips ourselves. We got into a DCCC fundraiser in Midtown Manhattan, and had the chance to talk to two Congressmen and a Senator- none of whom knew the answer!- but each of whom had something interesting to say on the topic.

We lost audio (and would’ve lost video too, if Jen hadn’t guerrilla-like remembered she could record image on her Treo), but check the clip to hear what Congressman Nadler said- it might be the wittiest response we’ve gotten so far.

Special thanks also to Sasha Gordon for her invaluable editing assistance.

Posted in Election 2006, Election Reform, Get Out The Why?, New York | Comments Off