On May 2, 4 U.S. Senators introduced S.2959, which would require states to permit same-day voter registration in federal elections. The sponsors are Senators Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Jon Tester of Montana, and Tom Harkin of Iowa. The four Senators all represent states that use same-day voter registration.
This should be left to the states to decide.
Well now here is another unfunded mandate being
shoved down the States throats. For states that
don’t want to do this I see 2 measures to avoid
this. 1) Since election Day for Federal elections
is fixed move the State election day from the 1st
Tuesday following the first Monday OR 2) Require
people to vote twice on election day. First for
state/local offices using the present voter roll
then walking to some other location to vote in
the Federal election where the voter registration
forms were filled out and those ballots be kept
separate as provisional ballots. Then after the
election the County Voter Board (by whatever name)
can checked to see if there was any duplicate
voting done and to verify that the person was
eligible to vote by thats state current law.
I believe the issue of whether States got to decide matters for themselves was settled 143 years ago.
Mercy – see Const. Art. I, Sec. 4.
How about ALL mail ballots ??? — to END election day machinations.
Oregon has survived with ALL mail ballots.
Utility and tax bills magicially seem to get to homes routinely via the mail.
How hard is it for a qualified Elector to register BEFORE election day — regardless of ALL bleeding hearts ?
As usual – has Civil W-A-R II already started between leftwing EVIL FANATICS and rightwing EVIL FANATICS ???
See the END of the Roman Republic due to left vs. right stuff in 120 B.C. – 27 B.C. — with its many civil wars and tyrants before Augustus Caesar and his gang took over.
#1: This should be left to the states to decide.
Please consider what Jack Santucci has to say about this over at The Democratic Piece: we should see the federalism of election administration for what it is: an excuse for states to inscrutably limit voting rights.
Nonstop ANTI-Democracy gerrymander systems in ALL regimes in the U.S.A. — Fed, States, many Local.
Democracy NOW
Total Votes / Total Seats = EQUAL votes needed for each seat winner in legislative body elections.
How many wannabee Caesars are lurking in ratholes under rocks ???
See the earlier Stalin and Hitler MONSTERS from Hell — using all the well known loopholes to gain Caesar type EVIL POWER in the 1900s.
You finally got something right, Demo Rep: “How hard is it for a qualified Elector to register BEFORE election day…?
You mentioned Stalin and Hitler. Mao Tse-tung was the greatest mass murderer in history.
#7 Will there be more or less Stalin, Hitler and Mao party hack clones in the WA legislature after the top 2 primary and general election ???
Are you saying that there are potential mass murderers among Washington state’s politicians?
If the “top two” is allowed to operate for a few years in Washington, the only two parties will be the Dems and Republicans, and independents will also be absent from the second round of voting.
Which means that Washington will have one more party than Stalin, Hitler, and Mao allowed in each of their countries.
Re #9, Louisiana elected 2 or 3 independents to its legislature in 2007. I bet Republicans are regretting switching away from the jungle primary followed by a runoff for Congress.
#10: Did Republicans AND Democrats run in those elections which independents won?
An LSU-Shreveport* professor says the Republicans have a good chance of retaking Richard Baker’s old House seat in November.
*It may now be called the University of Louisiana at Shreveport.
#11
In district 55 (Lafourche Parish) there were 2D and 1R in the primary.
In district 45 (Lafayette Parish) the incumbent was unopposed in 2007. He won the seat in a special election in 2004, when he faced 3R and 1O in the primary in which the 3R’s collectively had 60% of the vote. I couldn’t find any record of the district (number) being contested since 1987 when Kathleen Babineaux Blanco was elected.
Their was a proposed Voting Rights Amendment that also had a thing on same day voter registration.
The challenge — in which we should be able to honestly and civilly discuss — is that election law reforms are sometimes very hard to promote and implement.
The three basic rights – voting, candidacy and political organizations are not really explicitly mentioned in the Federal (or most state) Constitutions.
Also I find that too few people can be bothered to focus on election law reform intiatives, especially (ironically) if they are third party or independent supporters.
I hate to bitch, but I spent several years trying to organize interest groups in MN, ND and SD on election law reform initiatives and it failed to go too far. Why?
The third parties seemed unable to work with each other, and simply did not make it a priority. The same people who complained about unfair ballot access — for example — would turn around and tell me that they really did want to bother on ballot access law reform.
I mean come on! When election law reform interest groups can command the attention of the AARP or the NRA, then we might just get stuff done.
Attention constitutional law MORONS —
ALL States define the qualifications to be an Elector — mainly in the State’s constitution.
The Fed regime incorporates such definitions via Art. I, Sec. 2 and the 17th Amdt.
The voters in WA took charge and passed the top 2 primary law — regardless of all party hacks — Donkeys, Elephants and third parties.
Uniform definition of Elector in ALL of the U.S.A.
With EQUAL nominating petitions for direct general election ballot access there is NO need whatever for any party hack stuff — caucuses, primaries, conventions — all totally obsolete super- dangerous Stone Age stuff from the bad old days of the 1800s – 1900s.
See the Donkey Prez timebomb machinations since Dec 2007.
—
Election Law 000000001
Electors – Registration
Ballot Access – Candidates/Issues
Make Ballots
Vote Ballots
Count Ballots
Election Results
Add *LEGAL* to each of the above.
All New Age so very difficult — especially for the EVIL gerrymander extremist party hacks NOW in power in the gerrymander Congress and all 50 State legislatures — lots of EVIL Hitler, Stalin and Mao control freak wannabees — especially behind closed doors — making their EVIL deals.
ETJB: Did you know that, in 1925, North Dakota voters wisely defeated a measure for a “top two” election system similar to the one that has recently been approved for Washington state?
California voters wisely defeated “top two” proposals in 1915 and again in 2004.
Between 1966 and 1979, the Mississippi legislature passed the “top two” five different times, but (thank God!) its implementation was blocked each time.
# 15 USELESS ancient history — like reviewing the dead history of divine right of kings.
Sorry — Current history — The Supremes have upheld the Top 2 Primary in WA State — for nominating PUBLIC candidates for PUBLIC offices.
Are the WA party hacks (Donkeys, Elephants and third parties) now starting to really sweat — ready or not to face the voters in the top 2 WA primary in Aug 2008 ???
Demo Rep #16: Sorta like your personal history of voting in HACK party primaries, eh?
My point in #15 is that the “top two” monstrosity is not some revolutionary “reform,” and that it has been wisely rejected by voters down through the years.
I suggest that you take the time to actually read the majority opinion in the Supreme Court’s “top two” ruling. The court left the door WIDE OPEN for more “top two” litigation.
The “top two” is not a nominating system. It is in fact a nonpartisan general election with a runoff.
It’ll be interesting to see how many of the candidates on WA’s Aug. 19 ballot actually call themselves independents.
#17 Gee — the WA voters wisely approved the top 2 primary law — regardless of the scare tactics of the party hacks — and their lawsuits.
Deadline for ballot access in WA must be near.
How many longtime party hacks will now magically become *independent* — to try and get votes from independent voters — i.e. to survive to make it to the general election ???
I.E. How many party hacks will dare to have ANY party hack label on the ballots ??? Stay tuned for the stats.
The main reason the Washington “top two” passed was that WA had a 68-year history with the old blanket primary. Voters there are accustomed to being able to choose among ALL the candidates in the first round of voting. Unlike the old blanket primary, of course, the final round of the “top two” is limited to just two candidates.
Oregon’s “top two” initiative will be harder to get enacted, since Oregon has stronger parties than WA.