‘Existing laws’ Category

Monday, May 12th, 2008

Oregon, Where Everybody Votes By Mail

NPR’s Ina Jaffe took a look yesterday for Weekend Edition Sunday at the vote-by-mail election system in Oregon, and how the rules there make campaigning a unique experience.

NPR Jaffe Vote-By-Mail

A big critique of vote-by-mail, which has been echoed here by Norman J. Ornstein, is that the process negates the secret ballot. “We got rid of that big reform that guaranteed secrecy in the voting booth,” said Jim Moore, political science professor at Pacific University, “and got rid of the idea that no one can come between you and directly placing your ballot in the box — a sealed locked box.”

Listen to Jaffe’s piece here. My piece this week for NPR Sunday Soapbox, which was teased on Weekend Edition Sunday, was about how super delegates are shifting the election reform debate from our voting systems to our party system.

Monday, April 21st, 2008

Florida Senator: Change Voting System Now

Last week team Why Tuesday? visited with Senator Bill Nelson (D-FLA) in his Washington, D.C. office to discuss his sweeping plan to change the way and day we vote, and why he chose now to introduce his plan. Watch the video for his answers. (more…)

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

Follow Nelson’s Lead on Reforming Elections System

Norman J. Ornstein
Why Tuesday? Board Member Norman J. Ornstein

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) is one of the good guys in Congress — smart, thoughtful, decent and hardworking. Now, fortunately, he is turning his attention and considerable energies to election reform, a broadly defined issue.

It is fortunate for two reasons: First, there are big issues out there and enough people distrustful of the electoral process or cynical about it to create a real crisis of governance the next time we have a very close election. Second, precious few lawmakers have decided to devote their time and attention to this topic.

Despite the emotions raised by problems with voting, this is not a slam-dunk winner of an issue politically. And those lawmakers who were instrumental in passing the Help America Vote Act in 2002 have either lost interest in the issue, are exhausted from it or believe we should wait awhile before acting again.

They are wrong. We do need to be careful about rushing to major reform without considering the costs and consequences; we are paying now for the rush to employ touch-screen devices known as DREs, or direct-recording electronic machines. And every major reform has to be absorbed by hapless election administrators who have neither the resources nor the trained personnel to make big changes on a frequent basis.

(more…)

Tuesday, March 11th, 2008

Rebooting Democracy

As Kos noted yesterday, despite last week’s wave of media enthusiasm for Clinton, Obama’s delegate lead didn’t shrink at all. The delegate math doesn’t look good for Clinton: she’ll need a big win in Pennsylvania, an upset in North Carolina, and solid victories in Florida and Michigan revotes, all still up in the air.

So, barring the unlikely, Barack Obama will preserve his delegate lead and become the Democratic nominee. At the risk of starting the Monday morning quarterbacking a bit too early, how did Obama put the Clinton machine on the brink of defeat? (more…)

Monday, November 26th, 2007

South Carolina “history and tradition” standing in the way of voting?

Five days ago Will Moredock, a columnist for the Charleston City Paper in South Carolina made the case for increasing voter turnout in his state. Given the history of disenfranchisement in South Carolina, he says that young folks who are eligible - you can be 17 to vote in a South Carolina primary if you’ll be 18 by the general election - should “be an adult” and vote. But there’s something else that might help increase voter turnout, and it’s something he doesn’t mention. See if you can figure it out. (more…)

Tuesday, November 6th, 2007

Vote today!

I voted

Today is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, Election Day 2007.

Ian Urbina breaks down who is voting this year, and where, in today’s New York Times. Do you know why we’re voting today, a day smack in the middle of the work week?

If not, you’re not alone. We’ve asked politicians from Main Steet to the Washington, and most don’t have a clue. Isn’t it time for an upgrade? Psst… here’s the answer.

“I voted” sticker courtesy of aperture lag on flickr.

Thursday, October 18th, 2007

The Onion investigates Tuesday

Have a read of the Onion’s in-depth look at the day we vote. Here’s how it starts:

WASHINGTON, DC—After running a thousand errands, working hours of overtime, and being stuck in seemingly endless gridlock traffic commuting to and from their jobs, millions of Americans were disheartened to learn that it was, in fact, only Tuesday.

“Tuesday?” San Diego resident Doris Wagner said. “How in the hell is it still Tuesday?”

Click here for the full article.

Why Tuesday? is an effort to make America’s democracy stronger through increased voter participation. We work to make election reform an issue that our politicians cannot afford to avoid.

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Recent Comments

  • Marquett: I have never wanted to be involved in politics before. That is until this year. Watching Hillary Clinton...
  • Verena: I don’t think changing election day to Saturday is helpful- that just screws people who work weekends,...
  • Just got Citizenship: I still can’t believe that such an advance nation has so outdated ideas and laws....
  • Concerned Citizen: Although it is touted as such, our nation is not a pure democracy, but a federal republic. We...
  • Michael: Jacob: If one has the time to vote then one has the time to get a state-issued ID card. There is no reason...