Larry Rohter and Michael M. Grynbaum report high turnout — perhaps record high turnout — in Indiana and North Carolina.

“I’ve seen people I thought had passed on to glory, and young folks that sit around and usually don’t care,” said Carlotta Blake-King, an elections judge at a polling place in Hammond.

Election Day Tuesday is almost over. Do you know why we vote on Tuesday? Here’s the answer.

Posted in Election 2008, Election Reform, Indiana, North Carolina | Comments Off

School is out and all is relatively quiet in Durham on the Duke Political Science quad, as their PoliSci QuadCam shows live (ignore the incorrect time). Elsewhere in North Carolina, it’s going to be a busy Tuesday. In Indiana, too.

Why do we vote on Tuesday? You’ll find the answer here.

If you’re visiting us from Duke today, drop us a note and run by the QuadCam!

Posted in Election 2008, Indiana, North Carolina | Comments Off

Tuesday May 6, 2008 Indiana and North Carolina vote. Do you know why we vote on Tuesday? If you’re wondering, you’re not alone. We have the answer.

Drawing for the New York Times by Jason Logan.

Posted in Chris Rock, Election 2008, Election Reform, Indiana, North Carolina, Why do we vote on Tuesday? | Comments Off

A recent study from New York University and the University of California at Berkeley declares that states’ efforts to count every vote by producing paper trails for electronic voting machines may be less important than another election reform: performing post-election audits. The report calls the value of having a paper trail a “highly questionable” method of ensuring voting security.

The NYU/UC report applauds North Carolina for being the only state which “has collected and made public the most significant data from post-election audits for the purpose of improving future elections,” and the North Carolina media has taken notice.

Text from the press release announcing the findings, and an interesting chart from the study is after the jump.
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Posted in Audits, Election Reform, Electronic voting, North Carolina | Comments Off

Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter calls out what he deems the “mischief” of gerrymandering and two current plans by Democratic and Republican politicians in North Carolina and California, respectively, which, he writes, attempt to “rig admission to the Electoral College for strictly partisan purposes.” Both plans would award candidates presidential electoral votes based on the number of congressional districts they win. In California, the attempt - a ballot initiative - may not be constitutional.

Alter explains why he thinks change would make certain votes “count” for more than others - and his own plan for direct election of the president by popular vote without having to amend the Constitution - after the jump.
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Posted in California, Election Reform, Electoral College, North Carolina | Comments Off