Next Tuesday, June 3 is California's statewide primary and in some parts of the state there are heated contests underway for legislative, congressional and local offices. Today's San Francisco Chronicle features this article by John Wildermuth and Christopher Heredia spotlighting some of the dirtier political tricks being tried out around the state. Excerpts are below.
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Mailboxes across the Bay Area and throughout the state are being stuffed full of nasty mailers taking final sharp jabs at candidates up for office in Tuesday's primary election.
But most of the multicolored attack pieces aren't from candidates taking on their opponents by name. They are bought and paid for by special interests that use independent expenditure committees to do the dirty work for the candidates they support.
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As the election draws closer, the attacks grow nastier and complaints from candidates get louder.
Richard Holober, running in the Peninsula's 19th Assembly District, called a telephone news conference Thursday to slam JobsPAC, a political action committee financed by such corporate giants as Chevron, Philip Morris and Safeway, for sending out mailers painting him as a special-interest lobbyist.
"Look behind the veil and see who is funding these attacks," said Holober, a onetime lobbyist for labor groups. "These are the groups that don't want to see me in office."
Also on Thursday, the California Teachers Association and other education groups charged that a new independent expenditure television ad unfairly reports that Assemblyman Mark Leno, a candidate for a state Senate seat representing Marin County and parts of San Francisco and Sonoma County, joined with Republicans in 2004 to cut school spending.
"It's a cheap shot and teachers were shocked," said Larry Allen, a CTA board member. "We supported that cut as the best deal we could get and endorsed Leno. But the ad leads people in a certain way."
The ad gets across a point that the independent group, Protect Our Children, wanted to make, although it didn't mention that the independent expenditure group gets all its money from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and the San Francisco Police Officers Association, which supports former San Rafael Assemblyman Joe Nation, one of Leno's opponents.
Nation also has been under attack from independent expenditure committees representing state employee unions, teachers unions and nurses, which have spent more than $450,000 on mailers attacking him as a tool for corporate interests.
While Nation has sent out his own mailer attacking Leno and incumbent state Sen. Carole Migden for what he said was their unwillingness to take a strong stand against plans for a Rohnert Park casino, it went out under his own name.
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In the East Bay, Berkeley Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, who is running in the Democratic primary for the Ninth state Senate District, has been attacked by a group calling itself Education Leaders for High Standards for her voting record on education.
But the mailers don't mention that all the group's money comes from Indian tribes upset with Hancock's opposition to expansion of an Indian casino in San Pablo.
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Despite such concerns, independent expenditure committees aren't going away. While the state has set tight limits on direct contributions to candidates and their campaigns, courts have consistently blocked any limits on money given to the independent committees, calling it a freedom of speech issue.
"IE's are a fact of political life," Nation said. "We just can hope they're factual."
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
CVF-News Round-up: CA voter registration form, "software independence", JFK award and more
Yesterday the California Voter Foundation issued this CVF-News Round-up covering the following topics:
• California's voter registration form gets redesigned
• CVF encourages EAC to require "software independence" in voting standards
• 23 of 58 counties' post-election manual tally reports are now online
• California Secretary of State Debra Bowen to receive Profile in Courage award
• Redistricting initiative submitted for qualification
Follow the link above for more details and links.
• California's voter registration form gets redesigned
• CVF encourages EAC to require "software independence" in voting standards
• 23 of 58 counties' post-election manual tally reports are now online
• California Secretary of State Debra Bowen to receive Profile in Courage award
• Redistricting initiative submitted for qualification
Follow the link above for more details and links.
Friday, May 2, 2008
New California Online Voter Guide for June 3 Primary debuts!
With another statewide election just around the corner, the California Voter Foundation today released its new California Online Voter Guide, providing nonpartisan information on state candidates and measures.
Since 1994, CVF has produced the online guides to help Californians prepare to cast an informed ballot. The guide is now in its sixteenth edition.
This year, California’s primary election was split, resulting in three statewide elections in 2008. The Presidential primary was held in February. On June 3rd, legislative and congressional primaries will determine which candidates face off in the November General election.
The races are highly competitive in a number of districts, with contested primaries in 21 of the state’s 53 congressional districts, 8 of the 20 State Senate districts, and 28 of the 80 Assembly districts.
In addition, California voters will vote on just two statewide propositions this election. However, they are competing measures that address a complicated subject -- eminent domain. To help voters sort it all out, the new online guide provides lists of the top five donors for and against each measure, news articles and links to campaign web sites.
Another factor complicating this election is that the participation rules for nonpartisan, “Decline to State” voters have changed yet again. In the June 3rd election, The Democratic, Republican and American Independent parties will permit nonpartisan voters to participate in their primary elections.
Other resources available in CVF’s guide include a “Voting FAQ”, county-by-county directories of election offices and voting equipment, tips on how to host election house parties, and maps of political districts. The guide also highlights important dates and deadlines, such as the last day to register in order to vote on June 3 (May 19), and the first day voters can request a Vote by Mail ballot (May 5).
CVF’s California Online Voter Guide will be updated throughout the election season. The California Voter Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization advancing the responsible use of technology to improve the democratic process. CVF’s 2008 voter education programs are supported by the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation.
Since 1994, CVF has produced the online guides to help Californians prepare to cast an informed ballot. The guide is now in its sixteenth edition.
This year, California’s primary election was split, resulting in three statewide elections in 2008. The Presidential primary was held in February. On June 3rd, legislative and congressional primaries will determine which candidates face off in the November General election.
The races are highly competitive in a number of districts, with contested primaries in 21 of the state’s 53 congressional districts, 8 of the 20 State Senate districts, and 28 of the 80 Assembly districts.
In addition, California voters will vote on just two statewide propositions this election. However, they are competing measures that address a complicated subject -- eminent domain. To help voters sort it all out, the new online guide provides lists of the top five donors for and against each measure, news articles and links to campaign web sites.
Another factor complicating this election is that the participation rules for nonpartisan, “Decline to State” voters have changed yet again. In the June 3rd election, The Democratic, Republican and American Independent parties will permit nonpartisan voters to participate in their primary elections.
Other resources available in CVF’s guide include a “Voting FAQ”, county-by-county directories of election offices and voting equipment, tips on how to host election house parties, and maps of political districts. The guide also highlights important dates and deadlines, such as the last day to register in order to vote on June 3 (May 19), and the first day voters can request a Vote by Mail ballot (May 5).
CVF’s California Online Voter Guide will be updated throughout the election season. The California Voter Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization advancing the responsible use of technology to improve the democratic process. CVF’s 2008 voter education programs are supported by the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Berkeley -- A City of Firsts
A lot of the work I do with the California Voter Foundation is focused on how California can set a good example for the nation and world when it comes to responsible use of technology in the democratic process.
There's good reason to think California will have an impact -- it traditionally does. Whether it's property tax revolts, term limits, electric cars, recycling, smoking bans, electronic filing of campaign finance disclosure reports, paper trails for electronic voting....well, you get the idea. The influence is so persistent that in DC there is at times a bias against anything California.
Like it or not, California is no doubt a trendsetter in numerous ways, and within the state, the city of Berkeley is the place where trends begin. Yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle featured this story by Carolyn Jones about Berkeley's long history of "firsts". A few excerpts are below.
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Sometimes Berserkeley isn't so berserk after all.
Many ideas spawned in Berkeley - and roundly mocked by the rest of the country - have taken root and have been adopted by cities everywhere. Among them: police radios, a ban on Styrofoam, health benefits for domestic partners and a switch to biodiesel for city cars.
These and other Berkeley firsts are part of a painstakingly researched show at the Berkeley History Center that chronicles the city's long history of civic innovation. "Berkeley, a City of Firsts" covers dozens of ideas that started there, including some that flopped and a few that Berkeley claims credit for but really happened elsewhere.
"There's no small city in the U.S. more known in the nation and world - for better or worse - than Berkeley," said Charles Wollenberg, chair of the history department at Berkeley City College and author of "Berkeley: A City in History" (UC Press, 2008). "For a city of 100,000, it has a huge influence."
Berkeley's creative approach to government goes back to the city's early days, when the University of California moved there from Oakland in the 1870s. The mix of academic intellectuals and Bohemian castoffs from San Francisco's Gold Rush era made for a very independent, quirky population, Wollenberg said.
Besides the innovations from City Hall, Berkeley has been the birthplace of less tangible ideas, such as the Free Speech Movement, the disability rights movement and California cuisine.
There's good reason to think California will have an impact -- it traditionally does. Whether it's property tax revolts, term limits, electric cars, recycling, smoking bans, electronic filing of campaign finance disclosure reports, paper trails for electronic voting....well, you get the idea. The influence is so persistent that in DC there is at times a bias against anything California.
Like it or not, California is no doubt a trendsetter in numerous ways, and within the state, the city of Berkeley is the place where trends begin. Yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle featured this story by Carolyn Jones about Berkeley's long history of "firsts". A few excerpts are below.
------
Sometimes Berserkeley isn't so berserk after all.
Many ideas spawned in Berkeley - and roundly mocked by the rest of the country - have taken root and have been adopted by cities everywhere. Among them: police radios, a ban on Styrofoam, health benefits for domestic partners and a switch to biodiesel for city cars.
These and other Berkeley firsts are part of a painstakingly researched show at the Berkeley History Center that chronicles the city's long history of civic innovation. "Berkeley, a City of Firsts" covers dozens of ideas that started there, including some that flopped and a few that Berkeley claims credit for but really happened elsewhere.
"There's no small city in the U.S. more known in the nation and world - for better or worse - than Berkeley," said Charles Wollenberg, chair of the history department at Berkeley City College and author of "Berkeley: A City in History" (UC Press, 2008). "For a city of 100,000, it has a huge influence."
Berkeley's creative approach to government goes back to the city's early days, when the University of California moved there from Oakland in the 1870s. The mix of academic intellectuals and Bohemian castoffs from San Francisco's Gold Rush era made for a very independent, quirky population, Wollenberg said.
Besides the innovations from City Hall, Berkeley has been the birthplace of less tangible ideas, such as the Free Speech Movement, the disability rights movement and California cuisine.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Getting ready for the June Primary
The next statewide election is less than two months away! The California Voter Foundation is busy working on a new edition of our California Online Voter Guide which will debut soon. In the meantime, the official Certified List of Candidates and Statewide Voter Information Guide are available from the Secretary of State.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
LA Times/Onion on Diebold (April Fools!)
Today's Los Angeles Times online features this excellent blog entry by Andrew Malcolm "reporting" on a Diebold software glitch. The glitch was first "reported" by the Onion News Network (ONN)in this online news video. Andrew Malcolm's story adds some interesting twists to the original Onion report. Excerpts are below. Happy April Fools day!
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An apparent simultaneous software glitch in thousands of Diebold electronic voting machines across the country during the night accidentally released word that Arizona Arizona Republican Senator John McCain will officially win the general election on Nov. 4.
Release of the preset presidential election results months prematurely could become a serious embarrassment to the company whose expensive and allegedly unreliable electronic voting machines have been so controversial in some places.
"We really don't know how this happened," a company spokesman told The Ticket, "but we stress that all the congressional election outcomes are still sealed. So there's still some mystery. And we're asking the news media to suppress the presidential news results in order to maintain the national political suspense for another seven months." Obviously, the appeal for secrecy worked on other websites but not on The Ticket.
The computer error is certain to affect negatively the television....
audience ratings on election night, since viewers will have known the winner for exactly 31 weeks. So election night's mounting popular vote counts, the states changing colors, electoral college totals and pleasant people with perfect hairdos predicting state outcomes and discussing what it all means will look like the sham it is, except this time viewers will know it.
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An apparent simultaneous software glitch in thousands of Diebold electronic voting machines across the country during the night accidentally released word that Arizona Arizona Republican Senator John McCain will officially win the general election on Nov. 4.
Release of the preset presidential election results months prematurely could become a serious embarrassment to the company whose expensive and allegedly unreliable electronic voting machines have been so controversial in some places.
"We really don't know how this happened," a company spokesman told The Ticket, "but we stress that all the congressional election outcomes are still sealed. So there's still some mystery. And we're asking the news media to suppress the presidential news results in order to maintain the national political suspense for another seven months." Obviously, the appeal for secrecy worked on other websites but not on The Ticket.
The computer error is certain to affect negatively the television....
audience ratings on election night, since viewers will have known the winner for exactly 31 weeks. So election night's mounting popular vote counts, the states changing colors, electoral college totals and pleasant people with perfect hairdos predicting state outcomes and discussing what it all means will look like the sham it is, except this time viewers will know it.
CA Post-election tally reports now online at SoS site
Today California Secretary of State Debra Bowen began publishing post-election tally reports from counties on the results of their one percent manual counts which are conducted to audit the accuracy of computer vote counts.
California's manual count law is more than four decades old. Basically, a set of ballots are selected at random and hand-counted, in public. The hand-counted results are then compared to the computer-counted results.
What happens if they don't match? That's been a nagging question for a number of years. Fortunately, when Secretary Bowen was a member of the legislature, she authored a bill to require counties to report the results of their manual counts. So far 12 of the state's 58 counties have done so.
California is one of just two states that I know of (the other being Minnesota) that require reporting of post-election audit results. What these audits show is that vote counting is rarely perfect, but that there is also usually a reasonable explanation of why the results may be off by a few votes. You can view those explanations in the reports.
While California law requires counties to report their manual count results to the Secretary of State, it does not require the Secretary of State to publish these reports online. Kudos to Secretary of State Debra Bowen for doing so. We need this kind of transparency in elections to give the public confidence that election results are accurate.
California's manual count law is more than four decades old. Basically, a set of ballots are selected at random and hand-counted, in public. The hand-counted results are then compared to the computer-counted results.
What happens if they don't match? That's been a nagging question for a number of years. Fortunately, when Secretary Bowen was a member of the legislature, she authored a bill to require counties to report the results of their manual counts. So far 12 of the state's 58 counties have done so.
California is one of just two states that I know of (the other being Minnesota) that require reporting of post-election audit results. What these audits show is that vote counting is rarely perfect, but that there is also usually a reasonable explanation of why the results may be off by a few votes. You can view those explanations in the reports.
While California law requires counties to report their manual count results to the Secretary of State, it does not require the Secretary of State to publish these reports online. Kudos to Secretary of State Debra Bowen for doing so. We need this kind of transparency in elections to give the public confidence that election results are accurate.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
A record nine million Californians participated in Presidential primary
The certified results for the February 5, 2008 Presidential primary were released recently by the Secretary of State. They show a record 9 million Californians voted in the election, more than in any previous primary election in California's history.
Secretary of State Debra Bowen issued this news release on March 15 announcing the certified Statement of Vote.
Some interesting findings from the results: 58 percent of California's registered and 40 percent of California's eligible voters participated in the election. 42 percent of the ballots were returned through the mail; 58 percent voted at the polls. (Vote-by-mail rates have remained at the same level for the past several elections, despite predictions by some that they will continue to rise). Sonoma County had the highest voter participation rate, with 76.4 percent of the county's registered voters casting ballots, followed by Marin at 75.7 percent. Merced County had the lowest participation rate, at 46 percent of registered voters, with Kings county coming in the second lowest, at 47 percent.
Secretary of State Debra Bowen issued this news release on March 15 announcing the certified Statement of Vote.
Some interesting findings from the results: 58 percent of California's registered and 40 percent of California's eligible voters participated in the election. 42 percent of the ballots were returned through the mail; 58 percent voted at the polls. (Vote-by-mail rates have remained at the same level for the past several elections, despite predictions by some that they will continue to rise). Sonoma County had the highest voter participation rate, with 76.4 percent of the county's registered voters casting ballots, followed by Marin at 75.7 percent. Merced County had the lowest participation rate, at 46 percent of registered voters, with Kings county coming in the second lowest, at 47 percent.
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