Elections
Monday, May 21, 2012
Elections Election night watch party
I wish him the best.
But remember the old computer cliche — GIGO — Garbage In Garbage Out?
Make this one NINO — Nothing In Nothing Out.
For this system to work, 75 county election operations will have to either create files to upload to the secretary of state system or, in three cases, manually report them. From personal experience in the state's largest county, I can tell you the wait for results can be long and frustrating. Pulaski got nothing, Mark Martin got nothing.
In time, this will work. This week, it probably won't be Mark Martin's fault if the Associated Press reporting system continues to run ahead of an official vote tallying effort.
Posted by Max Brantley on | Permalink | Comments (1)
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Walmart / Elections Walmeddling in politic$
Interesting story here (hit tip to eLwood for bringing it to our attention) about a new California-based venture by Greg Penner, son-in-law to Walmart board chairman Rob Walton, that seeks to influence elections at the state level.
Though the group, called Govern For California, bills itself as non-partisan, the other two heads of the effort are a Democrat who worked for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (and who is prone to decrying the idea that public workers should have collective bargaining rights) and billionaire registered Republican Ronald Conway. As for Penner, the article says he spent a quarter-mil of his own money in 2006 to help defeat an initiative that would have created a statewide preschool system in California by taxing earners making more than $400,000 a year. Both Penner and Conway are listed as having "no party affiliation" on the group's website.
It looks like Penner and his friends may be carrying on the longstanding Walton family tradition of monkeying around with the gears of public education: Govern for California recently endorsed their first candidate, State Assembly candidate Brian Johnson, who is the executive director of Larchmont Charter School, one of the biggest charter schools in L.A.
Posted by David Koon on | Permalink | Comments (7)
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Elections Talk Biz poll: Ark. Dems like Obama, still out with GOP and Indies
A new Talk Business/Hendrix College poll of 759 likely Arkansas voters finds that President Obama's approval ratings have mostly held steady in the state since last September, with almost three-quarters of Democrats approving of his job performance, while large majorities of Independents and Republicans disapprove of his job performance.
Posted by David Koon on | Permalink | Comments (28)
Monday, February 13, 2012
Elections The history of vote suppression
Interesting op-ed in the New York Times today on the history of vote suppression over the life of the republic. Key observation:
The targets of exclusionary laws have tended to be similar for more than two centuries: the poor, immigrants, African-Americans, people perceived to be something other than “mainstream” Americans. No state has ever attempted to disenfranchise upper-middle-class or wealthy white male citizens.
We should make it easier to vote, not hard. Voting by mail, now possible in Oregon and Washington, should be universal. Early voting should be more widely conducted for longer hours. Some, you know who you are, fear more voting means more participation by people don't deem qualified to make such important decisions.
Posted by Max Brantley on | Permalink | Comments (59)
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Elections Setbacks for the right wing on election night
The defeat of the Mississippi anti-abortion measure and Ohio voters' rejection of an anti-union law were the big political news of election night, but there was more heartening news. Arizona voters apparently recalled the legislator who was the architect of the state's anti-immigration law. Iowa voters turned back a Republican takeover of the Senate, a move built on the promise of restoring a ban on same-sex marriage in that state. Many incumbents on both sides of the political divide were re-elected.
I wouldn't begin to propose a theme for a mixed list of outcomes. But the absence of a Tea Party/extremist domination theme is a step in the right direction from 2010. Not a great night for the Kochs, in other words.
Posted by Max Brantley on | Permalink | Comments (14)
Event Calendar
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Re: The Riverfest line — Sign the ethics petition
Some commie/pinko/socialist said this:
“This disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich…- on May 25, 2012
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Re: Little Rock can do better than ditches
When I read this week that our state was 50th in bicycle safety, I wasn't…
- on May 25, 2012
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Re: The Riverfest line — Sign the ethics petition
Damn it's hot! Close to 90 said the bank sign. Only good thing to come…
- on May 25, 2012
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Police close the Occupy Little Rock camp, perhaps the last Occupy encampment on public land.
Fox16 Local News and Weather
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2 have minor injuries after plane crashes in Ark.
May 25, 2012Authorities in western Arkansas say two people suffered minor injuries when the small plane they were in crashed while trying to make an emergency landing in Ozark. fox16.com /more/ -
Baxter County man found dead at Salesville resort
May 25, 2012Baxter County authorities say a man has been found dead at Peal's Resort in Salesville near Mountain Home. fox16.com /more/
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