Why Tuesday? Board Member Norman J. Ornstein

We’ve explored Minnesota’s fine track record of civic engagement and why they lead all states in voter turnout here.

Recently, Why Tuesday? Board Member Norman Ornstein gave an in-depth talk about the nuts and bolts of our voting system and the need for election reform at the Hubert Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota.

Yesterday, Minnesota Public Radio ran much of Professor Ornstein’s talk — including his shout-out to Why Tuesday? and his mention of Senator Bill Nelson’s election reform plan — at midday. Click here, or Professor Ornstein’s photo at right, to listen to his talk on Real Player.

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Posted in Election Reform, Minnesota | No Comments »

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission is an independent, bipartisan commission created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002. It will be holding a public meeting in Minnesota on the 16th. The EAC is operates the federal government’s first voting system certification program and is charged with making sure HAVA is executed-as-planned. They also adopt voluntary voting system guidelines that are, well, voluntary, and, according to their website, provide “best practices and resources to election officials throughout the nation.” (more…)

Posted in HAVA, Election Reform, Voter ID requirements, Minnesota | No Comments »

JOHNSTON, IOWA — We’re back in the press filing center for the Democratic debate here later today. Getting all set up to meet Rose and Pearl, the two beautiful horses that got us to the debate site here yesterday by a 19th century-like buggy. Why? Here’s the answer. Stay tuned for updates from here all day. Videos to follow in the days ahead.

In the meantime check out this cool look at the unusually high voter participation in the state to our north - Minnesota - produced by friend of Why Tuesday? MTV News.

Posted in Election Reform, Minnesota, Iowa, Friends of WT? | 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 Maryland, Minnesota, Election Reform, Tennessee, Virginia, Election 2006, Election Day registration, Florida | 1 Comment »