http://www.inthesetimes.com/archives/tags/elections/ In These Times features award-winning investigative reporting about corporate malfeasance and government wrongdoing, insightful analysis of national and international affairs, and sharp cultural criticism about events and ideas that matter. en-us Expression Engine jessica@inthesetimes.com seamus@inthesetimes.com Fri, 01 Mar 2002 11:43:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/1427/blacks_on_the_ballot/ Roland Burris, an African-American making his third run for governor of Illinois, is facing a familiar challenge. The former attorney general and state comptroller must find a way to excite his core black supporters without alienating the white voters he needs to win. Burris is a serious candidate in the gubernatorial primary because of bloc voting by the black electorate, which makes up about 25 percent of Democratic primary voters. But he must downplay this support lest he be accused of playing the “race card.” His white opponents, however, can proudly appeal to their ethnic supporters free from backlash. It’s a vexing dilemma, but one that most black candidates seeking a multiracial mandate must confront. But more candidates seem willing… elections politics David Sirota Mon, 19 May 2003 11:30:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/445/the_war_at_home/ This lull between the war in Iraq and whatever adventure the Bush neocons next drag us into provides an opportunity to focus on the war at home. The battlefield is mapped: tax cuts, military spending, environmental deregulation, booming prisons, a health care crisis, curtailed liberties … It is a first step to demonstrate on a weekend afternoon, directing anger and ridicule at an emperor who would be naked were it not for media costume managers. But where do we go from there? The Democratic primaries are one place to begin. Candidates who opposed the war, including Howard Dean, Dennis Kucinich, Carol Mosely Braun and Al Sharpton, should be supported. Kucinich, while great on the issues, has failed to inspire with… elections politics election 2004 David Sirota Fri, 13 Feb 2004 15:41:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/397/endorsement_up_for_grabs/ As Massachusetts Senator John Kerry continued to rack up early primary victories, exit polls consistently showed that the elusive characteristic of “electability” was weighing heavily on the minds of Democratic voters. The same can be said of labor unions, it seems. On February 9, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) announced that it was withdrawing its support for the flagging candidacy of former Vermont Governor Howard Dean. The group, along with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), endorsed Dean in November. “We can’t be wasting time supporting a candidate who will not be the nominee,” explained one AFSCME organizer who worked for Dean in Iowa. “We need to focus on taking back the White House.” After… elections labor politics election 2004 David Sirota Sat, 13 Mar 2004 01:46:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/522/the_international_wrong/ The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) seems to be the only governmental body concerned about the Bush administration’s controversial role in the recent regime change in Haiti. Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti’s duly elected president, charged he was the victim of a coup d’etat February 29 that was aided and abetted by U.S. forces. “One could say that it was a geo-political kidnapping,” he said, or “terrorism disguised as diplomacy.” Aristide made these charges in a statement broadcast on Pacifica Radio’s “Flashpoints News” magazine following his arrival in the Central African Republic, after being spirited away from Haiti by gunpoint. He said U.S. officials in Port-au-Prince told him that he and his family were unlikely to survive attacks by armed rebels and that… elections government: administration international affairs politics race social justice south america David Sirota Sat, 13 Mar 2004 02:02:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/713/haiti_democracy_in_flames/ In the fall of 1990, Jean-Bertrand Aristide officially left his position as a parish priest to embark on an unanticipated political career. Within weeks he became the most popular president in Haiti’s 200-year history. Aristide’s Lavelas Party, meaning “flood,” referred both to the near-universal applause of Aristide’s fundamental tenets and the presumed cleansing effects it would have on remnants of the Duvalier dictatorship. Despite the country’s Provisional Electoral Council’s (CEP) approval of 11 presidential candidates for the 1990 elections, Aristide’s surge in polls was overwhelming. He won the first free and fair election in the country’s history with 67 percent of the vote. Despite Aristide’s exultant inauguration, threats remained in the form of the Duvaliers’ still-menacing band of supporters and… elections international affairs politics south america David Sirota Tue, 16 Mar 2004 09:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/404/chavez_escapes_recall/ The petition drive to recall Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez was stopped short March 2 when the Electoral Commission (CNE) invalidated more than 876,000 signatures. The commission accepted more than 1.8 million signatures collected in late November (see “Recall Fever Spreads South,” January 19), but the petition ended up 603,590 short of the 20 percent of registered voters required for recall. The CNE granted the opportunity to revalidate the signatures, but spokesmen for the opposition argued that any procedures violated were minor in nature and did not imply organized manipulation. Even before the CNE decision, opposition leaders initiated the “Guarimba Plan,” in which small groups blocked traffic and burned trash on key avenues in Caracas and other cities. Street damage in… elections politics south america David Sirota Tue, 16 Mar 2004 09:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/523/campaign_of_shame/ With John Kerry as their de facto nominee, Democrats now are in a position to marshal their efforts to put Bush out of office. But between now and November 2, Kerry and the Democrats will have to overcome several foreseeable obstacles. Democrats go into this election as the financial underdogs. The Kerry campaign has raised an estimated $40 million, while the Bush campaign has taken in an estimated $150 million. This Republican funding advantage will allow Bush to buy many more television advertisements and consequently reach many more people. To counter this, independent organizations critical of Bush have been buying air time and running their own advertisements. For example, MoveOn.org has run an ad that shows a lie detector oscillating… activism elections politics social justice election 2004 David Sirota Tue, 16 Mar 2004 09:00:01 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/714/all_against_one/ Bal Harbour, Florida—For Dan Radford, head of the Cincinnati Central Labor Council, the presidential campaign started last fall, long before Democrats had a nominee. And it will continue unabated throughout the year with more resources, more determination, more unity and a greater variety of tactics than ever before. Reflecting the national labor movement’s strategy and resolve, Radford’s work in his crucial battleground state is based in a profound fear of Bush’s re-election—a fear that already is producing glimmers of hope. “Working families are frightened of this administration for several reasons,” said Radford. “You take the issue of overtime [which could be eliminated for 8 million workers under new Bush administration rules]. They see their safety net being eroded. And they’re… elections labor politics election 2004 David Sirota Mon, 22 Mar 2004 09:00:01 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/407/first_amendment_problem/ I understand there’s a new Palast Investigative Fund, which suggests you’re in trouble again. What’s up? There’re two suits I’m dealing with. One is from the Bush family’s former gold mining company. Most people don’t realize that Poppy Bush had a gold mine: Barrick Gold Mining Corp. Just before Mr. Bush left office at the request of two-thirds of the American people, he changed the rules for gold mine claims, allowing one corporation named Barrick to lay claim to a $10 billion gold mine, the biggest in the United States, and pay the U.S. Treasury $10,000. They then gave President Bush a lucrative job as their senior international advisor. Barrick got the gold mine, the public got the shaft and… elections politics technology election 2004 David Sirota Wed, 24 Mar 2004 09:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/405/smear_campaign/ San Salvador—The people of El Salvador will vote March 21 in the most polarized presidential election since the tiny Central American country’s 12-year civil war. In 1992, the Salvadoran government signed peace accords with the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) that transformed the FMLN from a left-wing guerrilla movement into a legally recognized political party. The president who signed the Peace Accords and the two presidents in succession have belonged to the Republican Nationalist Alliance party (ARENA). This year’s election will be the first in which the FMLN has a real chance of capturing the required 50 percent of the vote. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Roger Noriega, has expressed concerns about an FMLN government.… elections politics south america David Sirota Fri, 23 Apr 2004 08:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/416/fund_fight/ On May 13, a six-member bipartisan panel of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) will decide whether Democrat-affiliated groups pushed McCain-Feingold campaign finance laws beyond the intention of the law—which could fundamentally reshape their fundraising efforts this election season. The vote comes after months of GOP complaints that Democratic groups are circumventing finance laws by using massive soft money contributions to undermine the Bush reelection strategy. Most recently, the Bush camp and the Republican Party accused Senator John Kerry and several Democratic organizations of violating the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA or McCain-Feingold). Republicans claim that “527” groups such as MoveOn.org Voter Fund, the Media Fund and America Coming Together are illegally in cahoots with the Kerry campaign by purchasing television… elections politics election 2004 David Sirota Wed, 16 Jun 2004 15:32:01 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/783/will_your_state_be_the_florida_of_2004/ 537 Do you know what this number is? It’s the number of votes by which Bush supposedly beat Gore in the year 2000. Here we are in 2004. Now pay close attention. On the second day of November this year—mark your calendar—Stupid White Men will be stripped of the job titles they do not deserve because of this article and the book from which it is excerpted and the thousands of people who read it between March and October of 2004. I am not exaggerating. I am not giving an inspiring speech. I am putting my reputation on the line to tell you what’s going to happen and invite you to be part of it. On Tuesday, November 2, the… activism elections politics social justice election 2004 David Sirota Thu, 05 Aug 2004 08:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/900/freedom_reborn/ Forty years after Mississippi Freedom Summer, poll taxes, literacy tests and Jim Crow laws are history—but not the electoral system that disenfranchised many voters. To change that, organizers of a new generation of Freedom Schools are spearheading a massive voter registration campaign and mobilizing youth activists across the country. “In the original Freedom Schools, it was mostly young people organizing to get adults the vote,” says David Billings, an organizer with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISB), one of the organizations sponsoring Freedom Schools this summer. “Right now, we’re trying to direct the political energy and enthusiasm in the youth culture toward voter registration, to bring together a youth politic which is larger and more varied than the… activism elections politics social justice election 2004 David Sirota Tue, 10 Aug 2004 09:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/906/the_ex_factor/ The red-faced man slows his shopping cart of empty beer cans and stares in disbelief at the white form just thrust into his hand. “I can’t,” he mutters, shaking a head of unkempt, yellowish hair. “They told me I can’t.” Caylor Roling, a tall, bespectacled young woman, who chased down her new friend through a crowded Food 4 Less parking lot, shakes her head back. “That’s not true,” she almost shouts. “In Oregon, even if you have a past felony conviction, you can!” Roling—an organizer with the Western Prison Project (WPP), a prison reform group in the midst of a voter registration drive aimed at convicted felons—smiles as the man trots away, curiously eyeing the registration form she’s handed him.… activism elections politics social justice election 2004 David Sirota Fri, 20 Aug 2004 12:24:01 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/973/party_hacks/ It’s the kind of preaching so common in conservative circles that it slips past the public. In May, a Minnesota state official told a prayer group in May, the “five words” that are “probably most destructive” in the nation today are “separation of church and state.” Such an assertion by a public servant would have drawn shrugs were it not from Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer, whose duty is impartial administration of elections. And her remarks might have escaped wider attention had she not later justified them, claiming victim status for right-wing Christians: “There are a lot of good church people who don’t think they can be involved in government.” Kiffmeyer’s defense of greater church involvement in the democratic process… elections politics election 2004 David Sirota Tue, 24 Aug 2004 07:01:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/978/sum_of_a_glitch/ In the Alabama 2002 general election, machines made by Election Systems and Software (ES&S) flipped the governor’s race. Six thousand three hundred Baldwin County electronic votes mysteriously disappeared after the polls had closed and everyone had gone home. Democrat Don Siegelman’s victory was handed to Republican Bob Riley, and the recount Siegelman requested was denied. Three months after the election, the vendor shrugged. “Something happened. I don’t have enough intelligence to say exactly what,” said Mark Kelley of ES&S. When I began researching this story in October 2002, the media was reporting that electronic voting machines are fun and speedy, but I looked in vain for articles reporting that they are accurate. I discovered four magic words, “voting machines and… elections politics technology election 2004 David Sirota Sat, 11 Sep 2004 11:38:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/1070/on_the_rebounce/ Over the past fortnight, aided by both a gloves-off Republican Convention and the over-publicized Swift Boat liars attack on Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, the George W. Bush reelection campaign rebounded in both the popular vote and the electoral vote races. Since mid-August, Kerry’s 7 percent lead in the popular vote reversed into a Bush lead of 1-11 points, depending on the poll. But an ongoing survey of nonpartisan state polls found Kerry’s substantial electoral-vote lead (which he steadily maintained since selecting John Edwards as his running mate in early July) plunged from 108 on August 24 to only eight votes three days later. Then, as a mounting stack of Navy documents and a growing chorus of first-hand accounts disputed… elections media politics election 2004 David Sirota Mon, 13 Sep 2004 00:10:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/1072/a_swift_backlash/ George W. Bush has some explaining to do. Following a series of discredited attacks on John Kerry’s war record by a group with extensive connections to the Bush campaign, the president’s own service, or lack thereof, in the Texas and Alabama National Guard is poised again to become a campaign issue. On September 5, the Associated Press reported that Freedom of Information Act requests reveal that at least five types of documents which should be included in Bush’s Texas National Guard records have not been located. Among them are documents that would explain why Bush refused to take a physical in 1972, which led him to lose his flight status. Days after the AP story, CBS’ “60 Minutes II” revealed… elections politics election 2004 David Sirota Mon, 18 Oct 2004 08:58:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/1354/demise_of_democracy/ Russia’s democratic window, never pried open very wide following the Soviet Union’s demise, is slamming shut. Citing a summer wave of terrorist attacks that killed 430 people, President Vladimir Putin last month ordered sweeping changes to the country’s political system that will effectively abolish regional gubernatorial elections, sharply reduce the space for independent politics and accelerate the pro-Kremlin United Russia Party’s merger with the state bureaucracy to create a single party-state behemoth reminiscent of the former Communist Party of the Soviet Union. “After these changes I am in a state of shock,” says Yevgeny Yasin, a former Russian Economics Minister, now head of research at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. “This is directed against the democratization of the… elections politics europe David Sirota Sun, 31 Oct 2004 07:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/1395/making_every_vote_count/ This year’s presidential election has spurred massive registration drives. States are hiring extra help to process applications and to implement new procedures required under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), passed by Congress in 2002. But will these new voters have their day at the polls? States were required to comply with two HAVA mandates by January 2004: provisional balloting and ID requirements for first-time voters registered by mail. However, reports by the Election Reform Information Project and the National Conference of State Legislatures show that implementation was slow in coming, leaving poll workers throughout the United States woefully under-trained to deal with the changes. Add ongoing patterns of Republican secretaries of state disenfranchising voters to this mix, and you… activism elections politics social justice election 2004 David Sirota