Well, we’re there.  Tomorrow is election day, polls are looking good, and early voters are favoring Obama heavily.  Both of the candidates have made their closing arguments, and it is time to get out there and vote if you haven’t already.  Me, I’m lucky enough to live in a state that has a vote by mail system, so I got my voting out of the way already.  For those of you who have not been to the polls yet, make sure you get counted.  Know the local laws on campaign gear near the voting booth.  If you have problems voting, report it and get a provisional ballot.  Make sure to vote in your local elections, because your vote actually counts there.  Don’t make excuses and avoid the ballot box, make excuses to make it there.  Can’t get out of work in time to vote?  Call in sick.  Have to pick your kid up from school?  Have the people around you reserve your place in line if you have to leave.  Do whatever you need to, because almost nothing is more important than being heard.  Here are some resources to help if you have issues voting:

Wired’s How-To for Casting a Provisional Ballot
Wired’s Problem Reporting Map
Our Vote Live Problem Reporting

Posted by Wes Mueller on 11/03 at 12:18 PM  •  (0) Comments •  permalink

I’d like to take a moment to talk about a local candidate here in Oregon.  I’d like to talk about Pavel Goberman.

Pavel Goberman is without a doubt the craziest candidate I have had the chance to see run for an office.  This 71 year old fitness instructor has apparently run for office here more than once, and has failed to ever be elected.  This year he is running for Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries.  Apparently, in the past he has run for have been US Senator twice, US Representative once, and Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries once before.  He plans to use this election, which he says is our last chance to elect him, to launch him into an eventual campaign against Ron Wyden, who he calls a moron, political prostitute, and parasite.

If there is one reason alone to not vote for this man, it is his grammer.  Here’s an excerpt from his webpage:

“So, as we see, I was not elected as US Senator. Well, it is NOT my problem now, people of Oregon punished not themselves only, but all nation: I offered my help to state and nation, but I can’t give my brain to who has no own one, to who didn’t think, didn’t read Voters’ Pamphlet and brainwashed by the corrupted media junta, unions and Democratic Party. “

A little frightening, right?  I beg you, anyone who has the opportunity to vote for this man, don’t do it.  This man is a psychopath and makes even me think there’s something wrong with letting anyone run for office.

Posted by Wes Mueller on 10/29 at 12:48 PM  •  (0) Comments •  permalink

The cry of voter fraud is not unusual during elections.  It is something that happens every time power changes hands, and it will always happen.  This year, however, the cries are happening a bit early with the McCain campaign stating that Obama plans on stealing the election through voter fraud, citing the recent controversy with Acorn as evidence.

I, personally, find these cries to be somewhat ironic as Colorado comes under suit due to illegally disenfranchising voters, and voters are reporting that e-voting machines are switching their Obama votes to McCain.  If Obama is trying to steal this election why is it that these major instances of voting trouble benefit the Republican candidate in this election?  Seems like a poor choice on McCain’s part to cry fraud when the issues that are being reported point to him.

Posted by Wes Mueller on 10/27 at 01:04 PM  •  (0) Comments •  permalink

I finally went through my ballot and made my choices last night.  It feels great to vote in my first Presidential election, even though I know that my vote as an individual does not count towards whether my candidate wins or not.  This is what I’d like to discuss today, actually.  The popular vote versus the electoral college.

I have been an advocate for reforming the way we select our president for sometime.  The electoral college has obvious loopholes that can allow a nationally unpopular candidate to win an election based on high electoral value in a few states over relatively low electoral value in others.  For example, in the 1968 Richard Nixon won the presidential election with 301 electoral points, while his main opponent, Hubert Humphery, collected 191 points.  Nixon received a little more than 500, 000 more votes than Hubert Humphery in the national popular vote (which made up less than 1% of the popular vote that year) yet he one the electoral college by more than 100 points.  We then saw the effects of the electoral college again in 2000, when Al Gore won actually won the national popular vote, but lost the election when Florida’s electoral votes were given to President Bush by a Supreme Court decision that put the election decision in the hands of then-Florida Secretary of State and Bush campaign manager Katherine Harris.

Obviously, there are serious issues with a system that allows one candidate to lose the popular vote but win the election.  The answer to this could be a constitutional amendment to make the election a matter of the national popular vote.  A far easier way to solve this issue is with the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.  Each state has the right to decide how their electoral votes are distributed, and states that pass the pact will automatically go to the winner of the national popular vote.  If enough states do this to make at least 270 points go to the national popular vote winner it will effectively turn the popular vote into the deciding factor for the election, the way it should be now.  No messy constitutional amendments, just states acting with in their rights to affect a nation wide change towards democracy.

Posted by Wes Mueller on 10/24 at 11:36 AM  •  (0) Comments •  permalink

There is very little I can say about the election at this point that I have not said already.  I have regurgitated the words of professional writers and reporters, analyzing and giving my outlook on what is being said to America.  I have read relentlessly:  Obama said this, McCain said that, truth buried under a heaping pile of eloquence and straight talk.  Most of America made up their minds on who they would elect the day the primaries ended and the general election began.  Both sides vie for that always precious resource: the undecided, the moderate.  The people who can hear six months of political talk, news and advertising and still not have a clear idea of who they agree with more.  To me it seems ridiculous to still campaign so hard at this point, a time when people are already sending out their votes, where people are already making their decisions on paper.  It seems outrageous to me that there’s people who still have not made up their mind on which candidate they will vote for.

Posted by Wes Mueller on 10/22 at 01:44 PM  •  (0) Comments •  permalink