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.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Posted in Get Out The Why?, Election Reform, Election 2008, California, National Holiday, Weekend voting | 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 Election 2006, Election Reform, Get Out The Why?, California, 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 International elections, Election Reform, Get Out The Why?, Electoral College, California, National Holiday | Comments Off

In this epic segment, the Road Team kicks it all telejournalist in San Diego, speaking to Congressman Duncan Hunter (who’s considering-slash-preparing announcing a 2008 Presidential bid) and Congressman Darrell Issa at a fundraiser for the former. Both had some interesting points to make: Representative Hunter feels the issue is that people aren’t inspired, rather than that the day makes it difficult. And Representative Issa brought up an interesting point about multi-day voting and how it’s used to good effect in many countries.

In fact, a number of states already offer multi-day voting here in the U.S., either in the form of no-excuse absentee balloting (by mail) or no-excuse in-person absentee balloting (early voting). Some people- like Congressman Issa- do think universalizing this practice would appreciably increase turnout. Another solution to consider as we continue bringing together every serious election reform proposal we run across.

Posted in Election Reform, Absentee ballots, Election 2008, California, Early voting | Comments Off

Jacob and Barnett randomly ran into Senator Barbara Boxer in a Beverly Hills, CA delicatessen while the Senator was filming an appearance on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. Senator Boxer has been in Congress for a total of 23 years; she has a long record of outspoken advocacy and was nice enough to talk to the WT crew on this issue. Turns out the Senator not only (basically) knows the answer to the question, she’s co-sponsoring a bill that she says is designed to make it easier for more people to vote. Check the clip.

Posted in Election Reform, Get Out The Why?, California | 6 Comments »

The GOTW Road Team caught up with 2004 Presidential Candidate John Kerry in California at a campaign event; the Senator didn’t know why we vote on Tuesdays (check the video for what he thought), but did have some strong opinions about Election Day Registration and other access issues.

P.S. from the Team: I know we’ve been talking to Democrats for the last couple entries, but we’re out to ask anyone we can find. Stay tuned as we look for answers to “Why Tuesday” from Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, and Vegetarians - and that’s just for starters.

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