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Tag : Election '08

  1. November 10, 2008

    ELECTION ’08: Felons in Office: Ted Stevens Set to Join an Even More Elite Club

    If the current returns hold up, then Alaskans will have reelected a newly convicted felon to the U.S. Senate; Senator Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in that august body, currently leads his opponent by about 3,000 votes. His victory comes less than two weeks after he was convicted on seven counts of corruption. Unlike the chattering classes, what surprises PaperTrail is not Stevens’s victory, but that he will be the first convicted felon to be elected – or reelected – to the U.S. Senate. Apparently, in even the darkest corners of our history books, we have so far managed to avoid this eventuality. Read more

  2. November 06, 2008

    ELECTION ’08: Democrats Dominate Secretary of State Races in Toss-up States

    Secretary of State Project leaders are probably still celebrating. The liberal 527 group that supports progressive candidates for secretary of state positions in swing states saw three of the four candidates it supported this cycle win their elections. As of this morning, the fourth, Linda McCulloch, is ahead in Montana by about 4,400 votes. Read more

  3. November 04, 2008

    ELECTION ’08: Lines at the Polls: A Tale of Two Neighborhoods

    I waited almost two hours to vote today in Mt. Pleasant, my neighborhood in D.C. Andrew, our web editor, lives one neighborhood over in Columbia Heights, but waited only about five minutes. Why did I have to wait while he breezed through? Read more

  4. November 04, 2008

    ELECTION ’08: Best Election Websites

    Let’s be realistic: For political junkies out there, today is bigger than the start of March Madness. Work, if it’s done at all, will be completed between furtive refreshing of favorite political websites. But which sites offer the best analysis, the surest returns? PaperTrail has put together a list of our favorite stops (with commentary by our far-flung staff), to help guide your Election Day reading. Read more

  5. November 03, 2008

    ELECTION ’08: As America Votes, It Ain’t Pretty

    Election junkies who’ve already checked every poll three, four, 10 times over can now monitor the travails of individual voters, thanks to the Election Protection Coalition. The nonpartisan group, which mans 1-866-OUR-VOTE, a voter protection hotline, is broadcasting reports of voting problems in real time. Read more

  6. October 31, 2008

    ELECTION ‘08: Alaskan FOIA Follies

    To be sure, an out-of-the-way state like Alaska may have been ill-prepared for the deluge of reporters filing Freedom of Information Act requests that followed John McCain’s surprise pick of its governor in August as his running mate. Read more

  7. October 30, 2008

    ELECTION ’08: Hoosier Secretary of State Takes First Crack at ACORN

    Forget Obama and McCain; the hottest battle in Indiana this election season is between the secretary of state and ACORN. The left-leaning voter registration group has been caught up in a dispute over more than 400,000 invalid registration ballots that its workers collected or created around the country. Part of the flap over ACORN’s actions stems from the fact that in many states it’s illegal to toss application forms once they’re filled out, even if they’re clearly false. But ACORN has been getting flak for turning in those forms. What should the group have done? That’s the question PaperTrail posed to six secretaries of state offices recently, all of which concluded the organization’s best bet was to turn in the forms to authorities and flag those that were likely fraudulent. But in Indiana, Republican Secretary of State Todd Rokita is calling for an investigation of the group – even though Indiana law would appear to make it illegal both to submit the forms and not to submit them. Read more

  8. October 23, 2008

    ELECTION ’08: The Haves, the Have-Lesses, and the Have-Almost-Nothings

    Much has been made about Barack Obama’s record-shattering fundraising efforts ($150 million in September alone, more than $621 million raised to date) — and his financial advantage over John McCain. But very little attention has been paid to the true underdogs in this election: the “third party” candidates. So, what kind of contributions have they hauled in? Read more

  9. October 21, 2008

    ELECTION ’08: PhRMA Ads Offer Pat on the Back to Politicians Who Supported SCHIP

    They’re doing it for the kids. The nation’s leading drug makers have underwritten the largest political issue advertising campaign on the airwaves this election season, spending $13.1 million in the past five weeks on TV spots praising members of Congress who voted to expand a popular federal-state health insurance program for lower- and middle-income children. Read more

  10. October 21, 2008

    ELECTION ’08: Public Financing System’s 150 Million Death Knells

    Barack Obama’s stunning fundraising total for September leaves little doubt that the public financing system he eschewed is now in serious peril. Obama’s campaign raised $150 million last month alone — dwarfing the nearly $85 million limit John McCain agreed to for the entire general election campaign cycle when he accepted public funds. Read more

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