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Wednesday, January 07, 2009

More Bush last minute appointments

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While we were happy to see 100s of Bush nominations die last week when the old Senate adjourned, unfortunately he is still able to make appointments that don't require Senate confirmation:

President Bush made another round of last-minute appointments Tuesday, giving 45 aides, supporters and others a parting gift as he leaves office: presidential appointments to boards and councils, with terms lasting three to six years after he leaves office.

The full list as released by the White House after the jump includes attorney general Michael Mukasey, deputy national security advisor Elliott Abrams, and Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff. - CNN

 The full list follows below.


Read more...

The President intends to appoint Robert D. McCallum, Jr., of Georgia, to be a Member of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarships Board, for the remainder of a three-year term expiring 09/22/10.

The President intends to appoint Martin Faga, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Public Interest Declassification Board, for the remainder of a three-year term expiring 10/03/11.

The President intends to appoint the following to be Members of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, for six-year terms expiring 06/19/14:

Panel of Conciliators:

James C. Boggs, of Virginia;

William Burck, of New York;

Ronald A. Cass, of Virginia;

Emmet Flood, of Maryland.

Panel of Arbitrators:

Fred F. Fielding, of Virginia;

Daniel M. Price, of Maryland.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Board of Directors of the Valles Caldera Trust:

Raymond Loretto, of New Mexico, (State or Local Government Representative in New Mexico), for a four-year term beginning 01/17/09;

Virgil Trujillo, of New Mexico, (Livestock Management Representative), for a four-year term beginning 01/17/09.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, for the remainder of two-year terms expiring 05/03/10:

David Allen Josserand, of Florida, and upon appointment designate Chairman;

Kirk M. Bauer, of Maryland, and upon appointment designate Vice Chairman;

Steven Bornstein, of California;

Susan Lieberman Dell, of Texas;

Allyson Felix,of California;

Susan Finn, of Ohio;

Diego Gutierrez, of Illinois;

James W. Holsinger, of Kentucky;

Michelle Kwan, of California;

Robert A. Labonte, of North Carolina;

Edward R. Laskowski, of Minnesota;

Elisha Nelson Manning, of Louisiana;

David W. Marsh, of Alabama;

Leslie E. Miles, of Louisiana;

Omar Minaya, of New Jersey;

Richard F. Phelps, of Indiana;

Ruth Riley, of Florida;

Jason Sehorn, of California.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council:

Elliot Abrams, of Virginia, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

Joshua B. Bolten, of the District of Columbia, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

Alan I. Casden, of California, for the remainder of a five-year term expiring 01/15/11;

Michael Chertoff, of New Jersey, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

William Danhof, of Michigan, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

Sanford Gottesman, of Texas, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

Cheryl Feldman Halpern, of New Jersey, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09,;

J. David Heller, of Ohio, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

Amy Kaslow, of Maryland, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

M. Ronald Krongold, of Florida, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

Michael B. Mukasey, of New York, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

Daniel Silva, of the District of Columbia, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science, for the remainder of a three-year term expiring 12/31/11:

Sally K. Mason, of New Jersey;

Robert Y. Moore, of Pennsylvania;

Henry Yang, of California.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, for the remainder of four-year terms expiring 12/03/12:

Nancy Ann Starnes, of Virginia, (Individual with a Disability);

Hans A. Van Winkle, of Texas.

The President intends to designate Lynne A. Osmus, of Virginia, to be Acting Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, to become effective January 16, 2009.

The President intends to designate Susan E. Dudley, of Virginia, to be Acting Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Evening Update

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As expected, Former Senator Norm Coleman filed suit in Minnesota to stop Senator-elect Al Franken from being certified as winner of the Senate election:

Republican Norm Coleman, who received 225 fewer votes than DFLer Al Franken in the U.S. Senate recount, will challenge the result in court. He told reporters at a state Capitol news conference that a lawsuit, known as an election contest, would proceed.

Coleman said he respects the process but added: "Let's take the time to get it right." He said every vote should be counted, but only once, and that uniform standards must be applied, previewing what are expected to be central themes of his court case.

Shortly before Coleman spoke, his campaign said the lawsuit would be filed in Ramsey County shortly after 3 p.m.. 

TPM Election Central summarizes the lawsuit:

The Coleman campaign's complaint shows that they intend to fight on: the allegations that absentee ballots in 25 selected precincts were counted twice to Franken's benefit; the decision of the state canvassing board to revert to election night totals in a pro-Franken precinct where they lost one of five numbered envelopes, containing 133 ballots; to work to get rejected absentee ballots counted that local officials from around Minnesota, in both blue and red counties, have re-examined and say were properly thrown out; and to contest the inclusion of those 930 absentee ballots that were counted this past weekend -- which their own campaign agreed to have counted under a careful bargain.

Elias did say, though, that there's one thing he hadn't heard before: The Coleman campaign wants to have ballots thrown out in cases where the election officials neglected to properly initial them.

(Tmess2 has more in his post)

While Illinois Senator-designee Roland Burris is meeting with Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday, the first Democratic Senator has come out in favor of Burris being seated:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein rejected the reasoning that all of the chamber's Democrats, herself included, had cited in a letter last week — that corruption charges against Burris' patron, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, tainted his appointment.

"Does the governor have the power, under law, to make the appointment? And the answer is yes," said Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, which judges the credentials of senators.
...
"If you don't seat Mr. Burris, it has ramifications for gubernatorial appointments all over America," the California senator said. "Mr. Burris is a senior, experienced politician. He has been attorney general, he has been controller, and he is very well-respected. I am hopeful that this will be settled.

Jeb Bush will not run for the Senate in Florida in 2010.

Obama will be announcing a "Chief Performance Officer" on Wednesday. Sounds very Dilbertish to me.

And we finally found out why the Obama family couldn't stay in the Blair House before Jan 15.

UPDATE: Springsteen will be playing the National Mall event on Jan 18.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Sunday with the Senators: Early December Wrap-Up

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2008:

Minnesota: As Matt reported this week, the first part of the Franken-Coleman recount is over. Next up, absentee ballots.

Illinois: We still do not have a replacement for the seat vacated by President-elect Obama. Blagojevich granted an interview this week about his thoughts on the President-elect's Senate seat. Currently at the top of what he said was a long list are Dem Representatives Jan Schakowsky; Danny Davis, and Luis Gutierrez, also former state Senate President Emil Jones, Veterans Affairs chief Tammy Duckworth, and Attorney General Lisa Madigan. He has already interviewed Schakowsky, Davis and Gutierrez.

What of Jesse Jackson, Jr's very public lobbying for the position?

"He's got a right to do it," Blagojevich said, "and he obviously believes in himself as a candidate for the United States Senate and his public campaign is, you know, something he obviously believes appropriate and helpful, and all power to him."
Blagojevich has not ruled Jackson in or out, although he did say in the interview that he does not consider the seat an "African American seat." If he does not appoint an Africa-American to fill the seat, there will be none in the Senate.

2009:


New York: The latest person to express interest in Hillary Clinton's seat is Caroline Kennedy, who had a conversation with David Paterson about it this week. Why would she want the seat? She's always been a private person, leaning more to foundation work and writing (yes, she's a lawyer, too) than public service. She has never held elective office. She is a long-time resident of New York City.

A thought comes to mind: look at how long there has been a Kennedy in a prominent elected or appointed position: Joe Kennedy, Sr. was the first Chair of the SEC, appointed by FDR in 1934, he later served as Ambassador to the UK. JFK was elected to the House of Representatives in 1947, went on to be Senator and then President. RFK was Senator from NY from 1965 until his death. Uncle Teddy has been Senator from Massachusetts since 1962. Other Kennedys from Caroline's generation have also held elective office, her cousin Pat is now a Representative from Rhode Island, and I haven't heard that he is mulling a Senate run.

It may be that Caroline wants to be in the Senate and work with her uncle. He has stepped down fom his Judiciary post to work on health care. It may be that working on this year's election made her realize she wants to be in the spotlight she has always eschewed.

2010:


Florida: Well, Mel Martinez is gone. Jeb Bush has floated that he'd like to run for the seat, and everyone says that he's a shoe-in, but I'm not so sure. When Martinez leaves the Senate, barring changes in other 2010 races (or a replacement for an open seat prior to then) it would leave Bob Menendez (D - NJ) and Ken Salazar (D-CO) as the only Hispanics in the Senate. (And note, they are both Democrats, there would be no Republican Hispanic.)

A generation ago, maybe 10 years ago, people "worked one's way up" through the ranks of row offices to State and Federal elected positions. But we're seeing more and more actors, bankers/financiers, comedians and people with other career paths. So, it may well be that a prominent Hispanic from the business community, or the acting community, or whatever, may begin a grassroots run via the Hispanic community. As for Jeb himself, how many people are really willing to send ANY Bush back to DC in any capacity?

Pennsylvania: The big news is that Chris Matthews might run. There are numbers indicating he'd be competitive, since the Rasmussen topline showed Spector at 46% and Matthews at 43%. But there's more:
For example, the poll shows Matthews actually leading 68 percent-28 percent among voters age 18-29 and 46 percent to 40 percent among those age 30-39, numbers that look a lot like those from the Obama/McCain race.

As a preview, however, of how odd this race could be given Specter’s uneasy relationship with conservatives, Matthews actually leads within this group 51 percent to 43 percent. But Specter is ahead among self-identified liberals, 53 percent to 25 percent.
The poll was small (500 people) and the election is 2 years away. So maybe the numbers are viable, and maybe they're not.

There's no question that Chris has always loved politics, and likely always aspired to holding elective office, but segued over to media. Careers happen...

But to run against Arlen (if indeed Arlen is the Republican nominee) Chris has to convince a lot of people that he is going to run as a viable candidate.

"All politics is local", spoke Tip O'Neill. All "locals" have their own eccentricities and intricacies. Pennsylvania is no different. To win against Arlen, or any Republican, Chris would have to make all sorts of inroads in the areas that Barack Obama carried in the general election, and especially areas Hillary Clinton won in the primary.

Chris would have to win over the women who were fans of Hillary in the primary, and who were incredibly offended of Chris' sexism (perceived or real). I don't have a source on this, but I know a lot of women who feel this way. Chris would need Ed Rendell to not actively work against him. There is no indication either way of whether or not Fast Eddie will run, and I assume that if he does, Chris would reconsider his options.

Further, while a pale image of what machine politics used to be, the Democratic "machine" is strong in parts of Pennsylvania that Chris would need to win. I'm not convinced he understands that playground, nor the rules.

There is the question of whether he leaves MSNBC's Hardball. If he's serious about a run, he really should leave. (Yes, I know some people would like to see him leave no matter what.) To my knowledge, the last media type who ran for high office was Pat Buchanan, who did take a leave of absence from CNN to run for President. It may be that media ties help Chris in that we now have candidates with Facebook pages, who make the rounds of the late night talk shows and comedy shows, as well as the news shows. That ability to be on so many venues may help getting his name out to the vast number of Pennsylvanians who have no idea who he is. Back in August, Quinnipiac found that number to be greater than 50%.

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Charlie Brown loses twice

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In California:

Democrat Charlie Brown conceded defeat to Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock on Wednesday in their hard-fought race for California's 4th Congressional District House seat.

Brown made the decision a day after counties turned in their final vote tallies to the secretary of state, showing McClintock with a lead of nearly 1,800 votes out of more than 370,000 counted.
That's up from a lead of 622 still showed by CNN.
Brown's concession leaves just a couple House races unsettled.

In Virginia, incumbent GOP Rep. Virgil Goode has requested a recount in his narrow loss to Democrat Tom Perriello in the 5th district. In Ohio, the state Supreme Court will consider how to handle thousands of uncounted provisional ballots in the 15th district race between Republican Steve Stivers and Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy. On Saturday, Louisiana will hold elections for two House seats. - San Jose Mercury News
And in Florida:
Once WFTS-Ch. 28 picked up a simulcast of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers/Carolina Panthers Dec. 8 game on ESPN's Monday Night Football, the station would pre-empt two major TV events: the finale of long-running drama Boston Legal and the December showing of the Peanuts cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas. - TampaBay.com
What no Charlie Brown on TV?

OK. This whole second part was just an excuse to embed this. Enjoy:

Monday, December 01, 2008

House/Senate Update

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  • Florida’s chief financial officer, Alex Sink, One of the Democrats’ leading candidates to challenge Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) in 2010 has decided to pass up the opportunity, according to a source familiar with her decision.
  • Another Kansas Congressman may be leaving the House. (Here's the first).
  • Rep. Nita Lowey is not interested in Clinton's Senate seat.
  • Democrat Bill Hedrick finally conceded defeat on Saturday in CA-44.
  • And, of course, we have an election in Georgia tomorrow.

2009 Governors: Terry McAuliffe?

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We've mentioned it before, here and here: Terry is thinking of running.

It's hard to know where to begin. Perhaps with what he has to say:

As I consider running for Governor, I plan on spending the next two months having a conversation with Virginians. I’m going to travel to every corner of our Commonwealth, my home for nearly 20 years, and share my vision for a Virginia that continues to lead the nation in public management, education, and business climate. How do we grow our economy to create more jobs and decrease the skyrocketing cost of living? How do we invest in the infrastructure we need to thrive as a state?
If you go over to his site, there is a place to sign up if you want to have Terry come and visit.

He'll be announcing his decision on 7 January.

First, the fun: Wrestling the alligator:
"Are you nuts? I'm from Syracuse, New York, the most dangerous animal I've ever seen is a squirrel. I ain't wrestling no alligator. "

-- To Seminole Chief Jim Billie of Florida, who pledged in 1980 to donate $15,000 to the Democratic Party if McAuliffe wrestled a 260-pound alligator for three minutes. McAuliffe eventually did it.
Yes, Terry has had an interesting life. Y'all know him from his work on the Clinton presidential campaign, but before that he spent a lifetime in Democratic politics, and did head the DNC. He has never held elective office.

Terry McAuliffe is a 51 year old, well-connected, life-long, political operative. This background certainly gives him the background necessary to launch a campaign, and possibly to win his own election.

The question is, would he make a good governor? Certainly, if one lives in Virginia and Terry runs, the choice of whether or not to vote for him would be influenced by who runs against him. But the more general question is: is it a good idea for political operatives to move over to elective politics?

On the one hand, understanding the system may well make "governing" easier as the learning curve is less than for, say, an academic coming into office. On the other hand, being a lifelong partisan may make it more difficult for the administration to find common ground with "the other side."

To me, the question is one of what does the candidate really stand for? When one is a political operative, especially someone who has worked for the party all his life, does that make his beliefs identical to those of the party? Or would he represent the needs of his constituency, which in this case would be the people of Virginia? Virginia is a recently blue state: is there a better chance to keep it blue by running a moderate or a progressive?

Terry went to college in DC, and has lived in Northern Virginia most all of his life since law school. So he counts as a local, if you count Northern Virginia as being representative of all of Virginia.

But what do you think?

Friday, November 28, 2008

Jim Martin Unveils New Ad Criticizing Chambliss' Votes On Veterans Affairs

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Jim Martin’s campaign released a new ad focused on the importance of taking care of our nation’s veterans.

While Saxby Chambliss has voted against increasing veterans’ healthcare and voted to stop the new G.I. Bill, Jim Martin knows the importance of serving our nation’s veterans because of his time serving our country. Chambliss, a member of the Armed Services Committees, missed an important hearing on military strategy the week before troops were sent to war in Iraq while he was vacationing on the special interest dime in Boca Raton, Florida and raising money from these same special interests.



"Answered"


"Georgia needs a leader who will fight for our men and women in uniform, not a politician who votes against critical funding for our veterans," Martin for Senate spokesperson Kate Hansen said. "Georgians know that we must show our gratitude to our veterans in actions as well as words, but all Saxby Chambliss has given our men and women in uniform is empty rhetoric. As a veteran, Jim Martin knows firsthand the importance of caring for our men and women in uniform and he will work with Barack Obama in Washington to ensure we fully honor our veterans."

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Americans making plans for inauguration

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From Florida:

TAMPA - Carolyn Collins sat on her couch the night Barack Obama was elected president and thought about her late parents, who had drilled into her that she had the right to vote.

Then she thought about her 18-year-old grandson, who had called her with pride the day he got his voter registration card. Suddenly, Collins said, "my hands flew up and the tears began flowing."

The next day she put her name on five different lists of people seeking tickets to Obama's inauguration, set for Jan. 20. Active in Florida A&M University alumni groups and the Hillsborough County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, she's hopeful. But tickets or no tickets, she and her husband are heading to Washington to get as close as they can to the ceremony.

"We just want to be there," she said.
From New York:
When Susan Gilbert was 10, her parents bundled their seven children into the family car and drove to Washington to witness John F. Kennedy's funeral procession.

Forty-five years later, on Jan. 20, most of those brothers and sisters, plus many from the family's next generation, expect to gather again in the nation's capital, this time for Barack Obama's inauguration.

"My parents are deceased but they would have been out there working for Obama," said Gilbert, principal of Siwanoy elementary school in Pelham. "My mother is smiling, I know. ... I'm doing it for them."
And from North Carolina:
Pattie Brew, daughter of a North Carolina sharecropper, had let almost a century go by without casting a vote for president or joining the inaugural crowds only three miles from her home in the nation's capital.

"I never had no interest in it because my vote don't matter anyway, so I never even took the time to fool with it," said the 97-year-old woman known as Mother Brew. "I knew white people had the right of way here, you know."

But on Nov. 4, she slipped on white gloves and pearls and found her way to a polling booth. And on Jan. 20, she wants to see the country's first inauguration of a black president — not from a couch at home but from somewhere closer by.

"So much history in this, honey," Brew said. "You gonna get me a ticket?

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Senate 2010 - top ten races

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The Fix lists (alphabetically) their top ten Senate races:

California (Boxer-D) - especially if Schwarzenegger runs
Florida (Martinez-R) - Martinez has a 23% approval rating
Kansas (Open (Brownback - R)) - But not if Sebelius goes to the Dept. of Labor
Kentucky (Bunning - R) - Should have beaten him in '04
Louisiana (Vitter - R) - why is he still in the Senate and Spitzer had to quit?
Nevada (Reid - D) - doesn't want to be "Daschled"
New Hampshire (Gregg - R) - the last GOP major office holder in NH
North Dakota (Dorgan - D) - only if Hoeven runs
Ohio (Voinovich - R) - could be picked off, but who will the Dems choose?
Pennsylvania (Specter - R) - Lets play Hardball

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Obama-Biden Transition Team Announces Policy Working Group Leaders

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Today, the Obama-Biden Transition Team announced leaders for a series of Policy Working Groups for the Presidential Transition.

The focus of the Policy Working Groups will be to develop the priority policy proposals and plans from the Obama Campaign for action during the Obama-Biden Administration. The Policy Working Groups will focus on the following areas: Economy, Education, Energy and Environment, Health Care, Immigration, National Security, and Technology, Innovation and Government Reform.

The list of Policy Working Group Leaders and their biographies are below:
Economic: Daniel K. Tarullo
Education: Linda Darling-Hammond
Energy and Environment: Carol M. Browner
Health Care: Senator Tom Daschle
Immigration: T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar
National Security: James B. Steinberg, Dr. Susan E. Rice
Technology, Innovation and Government Reform: Sonal Shah, Julius Genachowski, Blair Levin
Read more...

ECONOMIC:
Daniel K. Tarullo is Professor of Law at Georgetown University. He teaches and writes in the areas of banking law, international economic regulation, and economic policymaking. From 1993 to 1998 he was, successively, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, and Assistant to the President for International Economic Policy. From 1995 to 1998 he was also President Clinton’s personal representative to the G7/G8 group of industrialized nations. Prior to joining the Administration, he practiced law, served on the staff of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and taught at Harvard Law School.

EDUCATION:
Linda Darling-Hammond is Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education at Stanford University where she has launched the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education and the School Redesign Network. Her research, teaching, and policy work focus on issues of school reform, teaching quality and educational equity. She is a former president of the American Educational Research Association and member of the executive board of the National Academy of Education. She has been a leader in the standards movement, chairing both the New York State Curriculum and Assessment Council as it adopted new standards and assessments for students and the Interstate New Teachers Support and Assessment Council (INTASC) as it developed new standards for teachers. From 1994-2001, she served as executive director of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, a blue-ribbon panel whose 1996 report, What Matters Most: Teaching for America’s Future, was named in 2006 as one of the most influential affecting U.S. education, and Darling-Hammond was named one of the nation’s ten most influential people affecting educational policy. She received her BA from Yale University, magna cum laude, in 1973 and her Doctorate in Urban Education from Temple University in 1978. She began her career as a public school teacher.

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT:
Carol M. Browner is the longest serving Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency serving from 1993 to 2001. Prior to that, she served as Florida Secretary of the Environment. Browner is a founder and principal of The Albright Group LLC, a global strategy firm and of Albright Capital Management, an investment advisory firm that focuses on emerging markets. Browner serves as the chair of the National Audubon Society Board of Directors, and sits on the Board of Directors of APX, the Alliance for Climate Protection, the Center for American Progress and the League of Conservation Voters.

HEALTH CARE:
Currently, Senator Tom Daschle is an advisor to the law firm of Alston and Bird, where he provides strategic advice on public policy issues such as climate change, energy, health care, trade, financial services, and telecommunications. He is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Center for American Progress, a Visiting Professor at Georgetown University and a public speaker. In 2007, he joined with former Majority Leaders George Mitchell, Bob Dole, and Howard Baker to create the Bipartisan Policy Center, an organization dedicated to finding common ground on some of the pressing public policy challenges of our time. He is also Co-Chair of the ONE Vote ’08 Campaign, along with former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, to address health and poverty in the developing world in a more aggressive and successful way.

Daschle was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978, serving eight years. In 1986, Daschle was elected to the U.S. Senate. Two years later he became the first Co-Chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee and the first South Dakotan to be elected to a leadership position in the U.S. Congress. In 1994, Daschle was elected by his colleagues as their Democratic Leader. Daschle is one of the longest-serving Senate Democratic Leaders in history and the only one to serve twice as both Majority and Minority Leader.

IMMIGRATION:
T. Alexander Aleinikoff has been Dean of the Georgetown University Law Center and Executive Vice President of Georgetown University since July 2004. He has been a member of the Georgetown faculty since 1997. Dean Aleinikoff served as General Counsel and Executive Associate Commissioner for Programs at the Immigration and Naturalization Service for several years during the Clinton Administration. From 1997 to 2004 he was a Senior Associate at the Migration Policy Institute, where he now serves on the Board of Trustees. He has written widely on immigration, refugee and citizenship law and constitutional law. Dean Aleinikoff is a graduate of Swarthmore College and Yale Law School.

Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar is Professor and Deane F. Johnson Faculty Scholar at Stanford Law School. His work focuses on how organizations manage complex regulatory, migration, international security, and criminal justice problems. During the Clinton Administration he served at Treasury as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for Enforcement, where he worked on countering domestic and international financial crime, improving border coordination, and enhancing anti-corruption measures. He has served on the boards of numerous organizations, including Asylum Access and the Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation. He has testified before Congress on immigration policy and separation of powers, and was appointed to the Silicon Valley Blue Ribbon Task Force on Aviation Security. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute.

NATIONAL SECURITY:
James B. Steinberg is dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs (2006-present) and is a former Deputy National Security Advisor to President Clinton (1996-2000). His previous positions include vice president and director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution (2001-2005), director of the Policy Planning Staff (1994-1996) and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Analysis in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (1993-1994) at the U.S. Department of State. He is the author of and contributor to many books on foreign policy and national security topics, including, most recently, with Kurt Campbell, Difficult Transitions: Foreign Policy Troubles at the Outset of Power.

Dr. Susan E. Rice served most recently as a Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Obama for America campaign while on leave from the Brookings Institution where she is a Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy and Global Economy and Development Programs. Rice currently serves on the Obama-Biden Transition Project Advisory Board. From 1997-2001, she was U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. Prior to that, Rice served in the White House at the National Security Council as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs and as Director for International Organizations and Peacekeeping. Rice was previously a management consultant at McKinsey and Company. She received her B.A. in History with Honors from Stanford University and her M.Phil. and D.Phil. (Ph.D.) degrees in International Relations from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION & GOVERNMENT REFORM:
Blair Levin is a Managing Director of Stifel Nicolaus and serves as the firm’s principal telecom, media and tech regulatory and strategy analyst. Prior to his work as an analyst, Mr. Levin served as Chief of Staff to Chairman Reed Hundt at the Federal Communications Commission from 1993 through 1997. Before joining the FCC, Levin was a partner in the North Carolina law firm of Parker Poe, Poe, Adams and Bernstein.

Sonal Shah
Sonal Shah heads Google.org’s global development efforts. Prior to joining Google, she was Vice President at Goldman, Sachs and Co. developing and implementing the firm’s environmental policy. She is also the co-founder of Indicorps, a U.S.-based non-profit organization offering one-year fellowships Indian-Americans to work on development projects in India. Sonal also worked at the Center for American Progress on trade, outsourcing and post conflict issues and the Center for Global Development on development policy issues. Sonal worked at the Department of Treasury from 1995-2002 on various economic issues and regions of the world, including Bosnia, Kosovo, the Asian crisis and sub-Saharan Africa. During that time she also worked at the National Security Council from 1998-1999. Sonal received her BA in economics from the University of Chicago and her MA in economics from Duke University. She is on the Obama-Biden Transition Project Advisory Board.

Julius Genachowski is co-founder of Rock Creek Ventures and LaunchBox Digital, a special advisor at General Atlantic, and a member of various boards of directors and advisors. From 1997 to 2005, he was a senior executive at IAC/InterActiveCorp, where his roles included Chief of Business Operations, General Counsel, and a member of the Office of the Chairman. Genachowski served at the Federal Communications Commission from 1994 to 1997, including as Chief Counsel to the Chairman. >From 1991 to 1994 he served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter, to U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. (ret.), and to Chief Judge Abner J. Mikva of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He worked in Congress from 1985 to 1988, for Sen. Charles E. Schumer (then a U.S. Representative), and for the joint select committe on the Iran-Contra Affair. He is a on the Obama-Biden Transition Project Advisory Board.


The Policy Working Group Leaders can also be viewed here

Lunchtime Trivia

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Ben Smith is reporting on the write-ins on the Florida ballots.

Hillary won with 234.

Here is the list of those who received one vote each: Abstain, Against All, Alfred E. Newman, Bill Clinton, Bill O'Riely, Bill Richardson, Bobby Bowden, Bugs Bunny, May the best man win, Me, Morgan Freeman, Mr. Bill, Newt Gingwrich, None (Anarchy), Oprah, Pat Buchannan, Ralph Nader, Hilary Bush, Homer Simpson, Jay Plotkin, Jimmy Carter, Joe the Plumber, John Doe, Lieberman, Theodore Roosevelt, They Both Suck '08, Tiger Woods, Tommy Chong, Truman, Weird Al Yancovic, William Crosby and Willie Nelson.

I love democracy...

Minnesota Senate Recount Starts Today

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This was one of the races I watched very closely this year. Seeing Norm Coleman lose his Senate seat would be the icing on the cake for me. Out of 2.9 million votes, Coleman leads by only 215 votes (or .008%).

The Minnesota Secretary of State website has all you need to know about the recount:

Recount Plan - Includes all dates and rules for the recount.
2008 Recount Guide - detailed instructions for election officials
Recount FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
Not all counties will begin their recount today according to the Recount Plan above. Some counties won't start until as late as December 3rd. Counties have until December 5th to complete their recount. Final tabulation of the votes will begin on December 16th and should conclude by December 19th.

If you still have anything left in your wallet, the Franken Campaign still needs help.

Here's an interesting section of the Minnesota Election Laws that brings back shivers from Florida in 2000.
204C.22 DETERMINING VOTER’S INTENT.
Subdivision 1. Ballot valid if intent determinable. A ballot shall not be rejected for a
technical error that does not make it impossible to determine the voter’s intent. In determining
intent the principles contained in this section apply.
Subd. 2. From face of ballot only. Intent shall be ascertained only from the face of the
ballot.
Subd. 3. Votes for too many candidates. If a voter places a mark (X) beside the names of
more candidates for an office than are to be elected or nominated, the ballot is defective with
respect only to that office. No vote shall be counted for any candidate for that office, but the rest
of the ballot shall be counted if possible. At a primary, if a voter has not indicated a party
preference and places a mark (X) beside the names of candidates of more than one party on the
partisan ballot, the ballot is totally defective and no votes on it shall be counted. If a voter has
indicated a party preference at a primary, only votes cast for candidates of that party shall be
counted.
Subd. 3a. Votes yes and no. If a voter votes both yes and no on a question, no vote may be
counted for that question, but the rest of the ballot must be counted if possible.
Subd. 4. Name written in proper place. If a voter has written the name of an individual in
the proper place on a general or special election ballot a vote shall be counted for that individual
whether or not the voter makes a mark (X) in the square opposite the blank.
Subd. 4a. Write-in vote for candidate team. A write-in vote cast for a candidate for
governor without a write-in vote for a candidate for lieutenant governor must be counted as a
vote for the candidate team including the lieutenant governor candidate selected by that
candidate for governor.
Subd. 5. Name written on primary ballot. If a voter has written the name of an individual
on a primary or special primary ballot, a vote shall not be counted for that office.
Subd. 6. Mark out of place. If a mark (X) is made out of its proper place, but so near a
name or space as to indicate clearly the voter’s intent, the vote shall be counted.
Subd. 7. All written names or marks counted up to limit. If a number of individuals are
to be elected to the same office, the election judges shall count all names written in and all
printed names with (X) marks in squares opposite them, not exceeding the whole number to be
elected. When fewer names than the number to be elected are marked with an (X) or written in,
only the marked or written in names shall be counted. When more names than the number to be
elected are marked or written in, the ballot is defective with respect to that office and no vote
shall be counted for that office.
Subd. 8. Misspelling; abbreviations. Misspelling or abbreviations of the names of write-in
candidates shall be disregarded if the individual for whom the vote was intended can be clearly
ascertained from the ballot.
Subd. 9. Votes for only some offices or questions determined. If the voter’s choice for
only some of the offices or questions can be determined from a ballot, the ballot shall be counted
for those offices or questions only.
Subd. 10. Different marks. If a voter uniformly uses a mark other than (X) which clearly
indicates an intent to mark a name or to mark yes or no on a question, and the voter does not use
(X) anywhere else on the ballot, a vote shall be counted for each candidate or response to a
question marked. If a voter uses two or more distinct marks, such as (X) and some other mark, a
vote shall be counted for each candidate or response to a question marked, unless the ballot is
marked by distinguishing characteristics that make the entire ballot defective as provided in
subdivision 13.
Subd. 11. Attempted erasures. If the names of two candidates have been marked, and an
attempt has been made to erase or obliterate one of the marks, a vote shall be counted for the
remaining marked candidate. If an attempt has been made to obliterate a write-in name a vote
shall be counted for the remaining write-in name or marked candidate.
Subd. 12. Soil; defacement. A ballot shall not be rejected merely because it is slightly
soiled or defaced.
Subd. 13. Identifying ballot. If a ballot is marked by distinguishing characteristics in a
manner making it evident that the voter intended to identify the ballot, the entire ballot is
defective.
Subd. 14. No votes for certain offices. If the number of candidates for an office is equal to
the number of individuals to be elected to that office, and the voter has not marked any name, no
vote shall be counted for any candidate for that office.
Subd. 15. Blank ballot for one or more offices valid. If no name or response to a question
is marked and no name is written in, the ballot is blank with respect to that office or question. A
ballot that is blank with respect to one or more offices or questions is not defective.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Foreclosures

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Yesterday, I wrote about some of the economic problems facing our country. I had a conversation last night with a friend who spent much of her working life in commercial real estate. She'd read the piece and wanted to talk about the plan to bail out homeowners. She pointed out that I hadn't directly mentioned anything about it, and wanted to explain to me why it was a bad idea to bail out homeowners.

Her opinion, which is shared by many people, is that the people who bought houses did this to themselves. They should have known that buying a $400,000 home with no money down on a $40,000 annual income was idiotic, at best. And there is some truth to that.

My friend, and many others, feel that they saved for a downpayment, took a 30 year fixed rate mortgage, gave up on extras to pay it off/pay it down, and shouldn't be made to pay for the mistakes of others who overspent, and used their homes as revolving ATMs.

People can argue about whether people should have known better, or whether they actually didn't understand the terms, and the real problem is that a deregulated lending system should never have allowed for no-doc loans. That's a long-term philosophical and historical discussion.

The real issue is "what do we do?" There's a town in California where fully 90% of the homes have mortgages on them where more is owed than what the houses are worth. Not a misprint: 90%. While that percentage can't spread nationwide, it could be approached in many communities in California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Michigan and Ohio.

What does it mean for a country if massive amounts of houses are abandoned? It means that the houses lose MORE value as vandals steal what they can. It means shrinking tax bases. Also, a rise in homelessness, decreased learning on the part of kids shuffled from school to school, and an inability of people to live anywhere near where they work. There are even public health concerns. All those abandoned swimming pools? The ones where no one pays the electricity to keep the pumps working, and water is left in them to preclude cracking? Meet your new neighbors: mosquitoes carrying diseases.

The homeowner bailout plans that I've looked at indicate that aid will only go to those homeowners who can pay off the mortgage at the new, lower, valuation and at a lower interest rate. It's a good idea, provided the loss is taken by the lenders.

Here's how it works. You bought a $350,000 house with no money down, and adjustable rate, and a 7-year balloon. Your plan had been to pay the first 3 years and then sell for $450,000. Unfortunately, your house is now worth $250,000, your monthly payment is about to hit $5000, and you can't get anyone to buy your house, even at $250,000, since there is precious little mortgage money.

You have NO SHOT at making the payments. You can walk away and mail the keys to the bank. Everyone loses.

Instead, the lenders (because there no longer is **a** lender, your mortgage has been sliced, diced, resold, repackaged, and sold several more times) agree to leaving your payment at the $2500 you can afford, they decrease the total due to $250,000, and extend the term of the loan. I didn't see this in any of my reading, but if I were writing the agreement, I'd put in a clause that precludes the borrowers from being allowed to take out a second or a HELOC so long as money was still owed on the mortgage.

Upside: an occupied home, tax revenue, kids in school, another family able to pay their bills, afford food, and life goes on.

It's not a perfect solution, but it's better than a nation of abandoned houses. But that's just my opinion, what's yours?

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

McCain on Leno

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I would have let this pass, except for the article in today's Wall Street Journal. The opening line is:

Where's John McCain's honor when we need it?
McGurn's article goes on to bring up some important questions. For example, will McCain express outrage over the information on Spunky which has emanated from his campaign? Will McCain acknowledge that the only huge bump his campaign had was after her introduction?

McGurn's contention is that McCain, if he is a man of honour, would actually take some responsibility for what happened in the campaign.

The article made me ask myself whether there was anything that McCain could have done to win the 2008 election. I think about this strictly from a strategic perspective: I worked long and hard for the Obama-Biden ticket, and believe that NO ONE could have won against the Obama campaign juggernaut.

In First Read this morning, they crunched some numbers. They indicated that not only did Obama WIN by outperforming Kerry, but McCain LOST by underperforming Bush. From the First Read e-mail:
-- Obama received approximately 34,000 fewer votes in Ohio than John Kerry. McCain received nearly 350,000 votes less than Bush in 2004.
-- In Florida, McCain received about 25,000 fewer votes than Bush in '04, but Obama found another 540,000 votes over the Kerry total.
-- In Wisconsin, McCain received 220,000 fewer votes than Bush, while Obama outperformed Kerry by about 180,000 votes.
-- In Virginia, McCain received 10,000 more total vote than Bush in 2004, but Obama found another 500,000 votes over the Kerry '04 performance.
-- In North Carolina, McCain outdid Bush by about 150,000 votes from 2004, but Obama bested the Kerry number by nearly 600,000.
-- In New Mexico, McCain received about 33,000 fewer votes than Bush, while Obama outdid Kerry by close to 100,000 votes.
-- A similar story in Nevada, where McCain received 7,000 fewer votes than Bush in 2004, while Obama surpassed the Kerry total by approx. 135,000 votes.
-- In Iowa, McCain came up about 74,000 votes short of the Bush total, while Obama soared passed Kerry's vote total by about 70,000 votes.
-- In Colorado, both McCain and Obama surpassed the '04 vote totals: McCain beat Bush by about 18,000 votes, while Obama topped Kerry by about 215,000 votes.
So, was there anything McCain could have done to LOSE LESS? I believe there was. First, he could have courted Mittens back in the spring when McCain became presumptive. He could have announced his veep choice way ahead of what is common, and the two of them could have barnstormed the country: McCain talking security, Mittens talking economy and health care.

Remember, while the great crash of September came as a surprise to many, the foreclosure crisis had been an open discussion topic for a long time. In addition, Mittens was Governor of Massachusetts when the health care plan was passed. Sure, it has its problems, but it works better than what came before, and, with modifications, could work on a larger scale.

The discussion would have been on issues, not Spunky. When Obama talked health care, Mittens could have talked health care. When the economy crashed and burned, Mittens would have had a measure of gravitas. Granted, his views are not our views, but compared to the economic brain trust headed by Phil Gramm, Mitt could have held sway. And to many of those stay-at-home Republicans, it might have been enough to get them to the polls. It would not have overcome the deficit caused by the Obama win, but it might have been less of a loss.

2009/2010 Gubernatorial Races

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There are 2 states which will hold gubernatorial elections in 2009: Tim Kaine is term limited in Virginia, and Jon Corzine looks to be running unopposed by any Democrat for a second term in New Jersey. We'll be up with frames on these races in the next few days. I'm wondering what Terry McAuliffe learned from the HRC campaign...

There are 36 states which will have gubernatorial elections in 2010; of them, 20 are currently held by Democrats, and 16 by Republicans. This list is current as of today, but may change with Senate seats to be filled, as well as administration positions to be filled. Not to mention, you can never tell when someone might get indicted.


Some of these folks are term-limited, some are not. Some may have Senate aspirations, and there may be a choice to be made about an additional Gubernatorial term, or a Senate term, also up for grabs in 2010.

As always, Democrats in blue, Republicans in red. My comments are in green. (TL) means the person is term-limited.

While DCW did not cover the Gubernatorial races for 2008, we’re on it now.

Alabama: Bob Riley (TL)
Alaska: Sarah Palin What can we say that hasn't been said before? Oh, yes, think IRS audit, and more legal problems, and she STILL might be the GOP Presidential nominee in 2012.
Arkansas: Mike Beebe
Arizona: Janet Napolitano (TL)
California: Arnold Schwarzenegger (TL)
Colorado: Bill Ritter
Connecticut: Jodi Rell
Florida: Charlie Crist He may also run for President in 2010. Does anyone know if he ever married the woman he got engaged to, so as to pander in an attempt to get the veep slot?
Georgia: Sonny Perdue (TL)
Hawaii: Linda Lingle (TL)
Illinois: Rod Blagojevich (think i-n-d-c-t-m-e-n-t)
Idaho: Butch Otter
Iowa: Chet Culver
Kansas: Kathleen Sebelius (TL)
Maine: John Baldacci (TL)
Maryland: Martin O'Malley
Massachusetts: Deval Patrick
Nebraska: Dave Heineman
New Hampshire: John Lynch
New York: David Paterson Announced around the time he took over for Eliot Spitzer that he would run for a full term in 2010.
Michigan: Jennifer Granholm (TL)
Minnesota: Tim Pawlenty
Nevada: Jim Gibbons Good personal dirt available - I'm saving it.
Ohio: Ted Strickland
Oklahoma: Brad Henry (TL)
Oregon: Ted Kulongoski (TL)
Pennsylvania: Ed Rendell (TL) May run against Arlen Spector, who has already announced he will run for re-election as Senior Senator from PA. Chris Matthews (yes, that Chris Matthews) may also throw his hat in the ring.
Rhode Island: Donald Carcieri (TL)
South Carolina: Mark Sanford (TL)
South Dakota: Mike Rounds (TL)
Texas: Rick Perry
Tennessee: Phil Bredesen (TL)
Vermont: Jim Douglas He's said he wants Pat Leahy's Senate seat if Senator Leahy retires. If Douglas doesn't run, look for a really fun campaign cycle.
Wisconsin: Jim Doyle
Wyoming: Dave Freudenthal (TL)

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Senate 2010: Florida

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We'll have lot more on the 2010 races in the future, but here's little nugget on who the most endangered incumbent might be:

Public Policy Polling did three surveys over the summer looking at Mel Martinez's job approval rating and how some potential opponents would fare against him.

In June his approval rating was 23%, in July it was 24%, and in September it was 23%.

We found that in hypothetical 2010 matchups Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink would lead Martinez 37-31, Congressman Robert Wexler would be tied with him 31-31, former Senator Bill Graham would lead him 51-31, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz would lead him 38-37, Congressman Allen Boyd would lead him 37-33, and Congressman Ron Klein would lead him 37-33. Martinez is probably the most endangered incumbent in the country for 2010 and given his lack of popularity even with Republicans is ripe for a strong primary challenge. - PPP
23% approval rating, and in the mid-30s against various Congressmen? Ouch.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Presidential Election Results

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Electoral Votes RemainingStates
Decided
Electoral
Votes Obama
Electoral
Votes McCain
Obama
Pop.
Vote %
McCain
Pop.
Vote %






11
49 (and DC)
365
162
52.745.9






Last updated: 11/19/08

Update 11:00 Obama wins

Click here for our state-by-state table

Update 7:00 - CNN calls Vermont for Obama and Kentucky for McCain
Update 8:00 - CNN calls SC, OK, TN for McCain. Calls NJ, IL,DC, MA, CT, DE, MD, ME (3 of 4) for Obama
MSNBC called NH and PA for Obama
Update 8:35 - NBC calls AL, GA for McCain
Update: 8:40 - CNN calls PA for Obama
Update 9:00 - NBC calls MI, MN, WI, NY,RI for Obama. KS, ND, WY for McCain
Update 9:08 - NBC calls Arkansas for McCain
Update 9:28 - Fox News calls OH for Obama; NBC calls it also along with NM
Update: 9:40 - NBC WV for McCain
We're back... Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post call CO for Obama
10:41 - SD for McCain

This table is in order of poll closing times. It starts with the first state to close its polls and ends with the last. We are using the latest poll closing time in the state.

Table not fully updated.

StateElectoral Votes% Vote In
%
Obama
% McCain
Georgia15
73
39
60
South Carolina8
31
42
57
Vermont3
14
66
32
Virginia13
57
48
51
Indiana11
88
50
49
Kentucky8
97
42
57
Ohio
20
10
56
43
W Virginia
5
21
46
52
Connecticut
7
48
61
38
Delaware
3
5
55
44
DC
3
14
92
8
Maine
2-1-1
17
63
36
Tennessee
11
23
41
58
Maryland
10
41
62
37
Massachusetts
12
71
62
36
New Hampshire
4
46
55
44
New Jersey
15
75
56
43
Pennsylvania
21
78
57
42
Alabama
9
67
41
59
Florida
27
69
51
49
Illinois
21
42
59
40
Mississippi
6
58
41
58
Missouri
11
36
49
49
Oklahoma
7
77
34
66
North Carolina
15
32
53
47
Arkansas
6
27
43
55
New York
31
70
64
35
Rhode Island
4
50
62
37
Louisiana
9
60
37
62
Michigan
17
38
55
43
Minnesota
10
22
55
43
Wisconsin
10
31
54
45
Arizona
10
4
44
55
Colorado
9
19
56
43
Nebraska
2-1-1-1
29
46
53
New Mexico
5
19
56
43
South Dakota
3
59
45
53
Texas
34
52
45
54
Wyoming
3
60
35
62
Iowa
7
35
56
43
Kansas6
24
44
55
Montana3
6
52
45
Utah5
1
49
49
Nevada5
0
54
43
North Dakota3
59
42
56
California55



Idaho4



Oregon7



Washington
11



Hawaii
4



Alaska
3




















48


Fw: DEVELOPING STORIES: FL, MI, OH, VA

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

------Original Message------
From: Alan Boswell
To: Alan Boswell
Sent: Nov 4, 2008 12:52 PM
Subject: DEVELOPING STORIES: FL, MI, OH, VA

***2:45p.m. DEVELOPING STORIES FROM ELECTION PROTECTION*** (See http://blog.ourvotelive.org for live updates)
As of 2:45pm, Election Protection has received over 48,000 calls to the 1-866-OUR-VOTE Hotline since the phones opened at 5:30am this morning.

FLORIDA
We have received more than 30 calls from voters all across the state concerned that their precinct's optical scan machine is not working. When this occurs, ballots are supposed to be placed in a "a secure bin" under the voting machine. Because of the volume of ballots, these bins are now filling up. We have received several reports of poll workers collecting ballots in a bag, which is not in accordance with the law. Election Protection is working with local election officials to ensure that all votes that have yet to be counted due to optical scan malfunctions are placed in secure locations.

MICHIGAN.
As of 11:45 a.m. EST, voters on Detroit's east side were waiting 5 hours to vote in 1,000-person long line at Beth Eden Baptist, largely as a result of an understaffed polling operation. An Election Protection partner law firm on the ground in Detroit is investigating the situation.

OHIO
Voters in several Ohio counties reported to Election Protection problems at their polling location due to poll workers not accepting proper identification and forcing the voters to cast provisional ballots.

VIRGINIA
Many machine issues from early this morning have been resolved but we continue to see major residual effects in the Chesapeake area where some voters are waiting in five to six hour lines.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Fw: ELECTION ALERT: VIRGINIA AND PENNSYLVANIA VOTERS FACE SERIOUSTHREATS TO THEIR VOTING RIGHTS AT THE POLLS

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

-----Original Message-----
From: Alan Boswell <aboswell@gloverparkgroup.com>

Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2008 13:50:31
To: Alan Boswell<aboswell@gloverparkgroup.com>
Subject: ELECTION ALERT: VIRGINIA AND PENNSYLVANIA VOTERS FACE SERIOUS
THREATS TO THEIR VOTING RIGHTS AT THE POLLS


http://www.866ourvote.org/newsroom/press-releases?id=0041

For Immediate Release: November 4th, 2008

ELECTION ALERT: VIRGINIA AND PENNSYLVANIA VOTERS FACE SERIOUS THREATS TO THEIR VOTING RIGHTS AT THE POLLS

Voters can call 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) to report issues at the polls

November 4, 2008 - Voters are reporting major obstacles to casting their ballot in polling locations across Virginia and Pennsylvania, which could disenfranchise thousands of [state] voters. Long lines, broken voting machines, ballot shortages and misused absentee ballots are just some of the problems that threaten to rob thousands of eligible voters of their right to vote.

In Virginia:

* Dozens of polling places are experiencing varying degrees of machine malfunction. Some polling places are either completely closed or have been closed for hours.
* Thousands of voters may have been turned away illegally by polling workers.
* Voters have illegally been issued with provisional ballets where machines have been broken.
* Students at Virginia Tech, previously the victims of misinformation, have seen their polling place suddenly and unexpectedly moved six miles to a location with little parking.

In Pennsylvania:

* Voting machine malfunctions are widespread and at least a dozen locations, mainly focused on Pittsburg and Philadelphia.
* We have received reports of campaign materials are being illegally distributed at polling locations in Pittsburg.
* Voters across the state are reporting that they never received their absentee ballots, which is creating additional chaos at the polls.

Several other states like Florida, Ohio, Colorado and Michigan are reporting long lines due to problems with registration lists and poll locations.

Election Protection legal volunteers are working to resolve these issues quickly to ensure that no one leaves their polling location without effectively casting a ballot. Voting rights experts urge voters to stay patient and cooperative in the meantime and to report all instances of voter intimidation or disenfranchisement to Election Protection's 866-OUR-VOTE hotline immediately.

All voters have the right to vote without intimidation or problems. There is no excuse for these sorts of problems, which not only threaten individual voters' rights, but also the integrity of our election. The only way to prevent such failures in the future will be to institute comprehensive election reform to improve the registration process, voting systems, and administration and to prevent disenfranchisement of all voters.

If voters have questions about their rights, the 1-866-OUR-VOTE Hotline has thousands of trained Election Protection volunteers and legal experts available to provide direct assistance to voters in across the country. Experts can help voters understand their rights, verify their registration status, find their polling place, and resolve Election Day issues.

###

Election Protection is the nation's largest nonpartisan voter protection coalition, led by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Through its 1-866-OUR-VOTE Hotline (1-866-687-8683) and dedicated team of legal experts and trained volunteers, Election Protection helps all American voters, including traditionally disenfranchised groups, gain access to the polls and overcome obstacles to voting, offering live assistance. The coalition has more than 100 partners at the national, state and local level, and is providing live voter protection services now through Election Day for all 50 states.

For more information about Election Protection and the 1-866-OUR-VOTE Hotline, please visit: www.866ourvote.org.

12:30p.m. DEVELOPING STORIES FROM ELECTION PROTECTION

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***12:30p.m. DEVELOPING STORIES FROM ELECTION PROTECTION***

As of 12:30pm, Election Protection has received over 41,000 calls to the 1-866-OUR-VOTE Hotline since the phones opened at 5:30am this morning.

FLORIDA

Voters in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area have experienced numerous problems trying to cast ballots this morning. We have preliminary reports of voters being turned away from the polls for incomplete registrations and instances of the statewide problem of broken optical scan machines in some two dozen polling locations all across the state.

MICHIGAN.

Voters are reporting massive voting machine malfunctions across the state resulting in long lines and discouraged voters leaving lines without casting a ballot. In many cases, poll workers are asking voters to cast their ballot on paper and they will tally them later. Some voters are being asked to vote on paper using magic markers.

MISSOURI

There were multiple reports of swapped poll books (voter lists for a given precinct at the wrong location) in Kansas City, MO. This issue has been resolved.

Stay tuned for more updates.