The Outsider is one of Stephen King’s better books. Since I have enjoyed a number of King’s books, I don’t say that lightly.
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America needs National Voting Standards
I’m writing this about an hour after we learned three Florida races are headed for recounts and the same may happen in the contest for Georgia’s governor. All of this is happening against the backdrop of a midterm that saw the highest voter turnout of any midterm election since 1970–in spite of the GOPS voter suppression efforts.
The last five days have reminded us of the massive problems with our election system and the ways politicians game that system for their advantage. Below are several ideas that would dramatically improve the fairness of our elections. If enacted, they would go a long way to guarantee that every American can vote and trust their vote will be counted. That means if we don’t demand these changes, politicians will never consider them.
Predicting Important Governor Races
The races for the governors office in several states are absolutely critical. The reason is that the governors will play a big role in the drawing of district maps after the 2020 census. In order to limit Republican efforts to gerrymander even more districts so Democrats can’t compete, the elections for governors offices really matter.
Democrats Will win the Senate
With voters going to the polls in less than 48 hours in one of the most important elections in American history, I thought I would try to predict some outcomes. The caveat here is that unreliable polling data, Republican voter suppression, and the unique interest in this election makes predicting results difficult. Still, I love politics and making what I hope are accurate guesses is fun.
I will make predictions in the most important Senate races being decided.
News Updates for November 3, 2018
This addition of news updates covers the following stories:
- The migrant caravan
- Lead in Newark’s water
- Getting shot while practicing yoga
- The election
Reviewing The Fight to Vote
Michael Waldman’s The Fight to Vote is an incredibly timely, important look at the history of voting in America. Sadly, Waldman’s work highlights the systematic disenfranchisement of Americans (especially people of color and poor people).
Personal Update for November 2, 2018
This update has news about Ufi, Emma, my job, and some needed home improvements.
Interesting Ballot Questions Around America
In earlier posts, I covered the statewide ballot questions in Oregon and the local ballot questions In Portland. As the title indicates, this post is about some of the interesting ballot questions around America.
Knute Buehler’s Record
This post will not contain any opinion or commentary; furthermore, this post does not indorse nor discredit any political candidate. The purpose of this post is to give Oregonians information about Knute Buehler’s voting record during his time in the Oregon Legislature.
I will Never Face it
The verdict for this episode is: I don’t care.
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