Expert, Non-Partisan Q & A on Voting and Elections

[KenMacMillan]

How do we get congress to obey the constitution?

[musicteacher8]

I HATE those unreadable voter pamplets. Are there any grass-roots organizations that are trying to change the explanations of ballot initiatives into normal, readable English? This is where the conspiracy has always begun.

It has to stop. No wonder there is so much voter apathy! Or where voting "Yes" is deceptively worded to vote something down, etc..

[tito2k]

Hey CentGov - How does Campaign Finance Reform work?

[bellabalogna]

thanks for answering my last question. I have another. What do I need to bring with me on Election Day to vote?

[bellabalogna]

What happens if someone votes early or votes absentee and then passes away prior to the election. Does it still count?

[kroger2005]

vote with family first followed by dedication to country..finally someone with a wish for the future..maintenance free? I am only 47 with 8 years Navy behind me @ 17 years of age...but that is strange....if we are only now waking up to that then we have gone to hell in a handbasket faster than I thought. We have never been maintenance free...that is the problem...we have forgotten where this great country came from..hard work...dont have kids you cannot afford.Tax me for lack of a condom?

c

[1293drive]

I'm reposting because I would really like an answer on the freedom to organize act for unions. Republicans and corporate interests say the act "takes away the private ballot." Democrates say it makes it easier to form a union. No one has explained what "taking away the private ballot" means. Even former Senator George McGovern is on TV deploring taking away the secret ballot in support of the Republican position. Why would Democrats write a bill that "takes away the private ballot?"

[kroger2005]

Private Ballot.....for lack of a better term .........is more goverment control..very interesting you caught the McGovern thing...keep paying attention and you will discover that the old guard in power now will start shifting ...lieberman..etc...yes I am speaking of the soon to be middle ground 5 to 9 year officials that will sway with the wind..hell they are going to have to after november 4.

[KimKinMIA]

Thanks for the response.

I was however, wondering more as to why we don't create a Nat'l system(SS# or otherwise - I only used social security as an example because people are familiar with it &we file taxes w/IRS w/current address,age,etc)that AUTOMATICALLY gives us the right to vote if eligible rather than the type of current voter-reg where the voter themselves HAS TO apply for&seek out which creates voter suppression. There has to be a better way-Look at voting in Canada & other Democracies

[Sactotrixie]

Thank you CGS for doing this! Bob and Tracy really know there stuff and Betsy is simply awesome and putting all of this together! Betsy should be paid more money! :)

[heli0tr0pe]

EEE ZP

[UnconcernedCitizen]

QUESTION: What if they held an election and nobody showed up to vote?

[coballan55]

that's a defeatist view. i mean think about it, looking back how many people can honestly say they if given another chance would still want bush elected president... and thats my whole point popular vote has been proven to mean shit in our country

[xfire1prod]

thank you for allowing me to post a comment, barackobamadotcom on youtube censors all comments. the only presidential nominee with a channel on youtube that practices censorship!

[Whistleblower101]

Cute.cute cute

[coballan55]

why do we need an electoral college???

[kroger2005]

Not trying to be an ass.but if you check back in history there was a certain time in our history that all people of a certain color were directed to flock to the cities...NOT the areas that they lived in at that time.....then politics actually was born.

[CrystalIrismusic]

buy guns and food a revolution is coming

[boyprodegy]

American's should stand up and say no too becoming the welfare nation directed by the Democratic vision.

[tra12345iscool]

im from texas, and ive registered as a democrat.i know i never got my voting card in the primaries, but i'm registered, and voted...im just wondering if maybe the state doesnt give its voter cards to people who vote democrat?

before you say its probably because the state is too overwhelmed with new voters, my father has been a life long democrat since..well along time. he never got his voter-card either, in every election its the same.

[1293drive]

A lot has been made in Minnesota of the freedom to organize act for unions. Republicans and corporate interests are spending a lot of TV money on how the act "takes away the private ballot." Democrates say it makes it easier to form a union. Noone has explained what taking away the private ballot means. Even former Senator George McGovern is on TV deploring taking away the secret ballot in support of the Republican position. What aren't we being told here?

[file83]

If UPS can track every package from origination to destination, why can't we track a vote** from the voting booth to final state tally?

**A unique ID for every vote that the voter can track to make sure it was included in the final tally, but with no way to match the vote with the voter (maintain privacy). However it can be matched to the voting precinct from which it came.

We know it is possible to do, so why isn't it done?

[sploogersmoof]

why is it that people jump all over passing comments but ignore actions?

[CosmoHunter24]

That's unconstitutional.

And it's "TOO many" - not "to many". Go read a book.

[g699a]

When a 501(c) X Group (ACORN and affiliates) get the vote out campaign endorses one candidate over another, whether stated publicly or simply because of its internal demographics and targets a singular segment of the populace that is likely to be politically ignorant yet inclined to base their vote in terms of a discriminatory benefit they are lead to believe they will in return receive, is this not considered a fraudulent interference with the election process by an undeclared 527?

[dave777blaster]

Oh gee golly

could you answer this Question for me

What does Electronic voting machines mean for Democracy in America?

and if you can't answer that one may be you could help me out with this one.

What does the purging of millions of voters from the registered list that Gregory Plast

Has demonstrated took place and is taking place again in 2008 ?

Gee golly me these new fangled Elections are

complicated

[ElementOBam]

Hooray, elections

[rumboogie31]

Why isn't the main stream media talking about McCain's role in the Keating 5 scandal? Isn't this related to our current economic crisis?

[SparklestheClown]

Why in God's name are either party, like Ohio Secretary of State surpressing our votes or registration fraud? How do they even have a right to do that? Why cannot we have a uniform voter reform, in which the methods and rules are same all over America, at least for the national level elections? I smell rats!

[jibbi4one]

Why is the U.S. under a winner-take-all type plurality when most of the world's democracies have Proportional Representation(PR)democracy in one form or another?

[corbaman]

Is Joe "the Plumber" Wurzelbacher a close relatve of Robert Wurzelbacher of Keating 5 fame as claimed by some blog sources? Has this claim been proven or disproven?

[klockhamer]

Seen the blogs. Failed to see the controversy in what Joe asked so cant imagine who asked it being of any importance. A lot of hatred for that man for asking if his taxes were going to go up though so if you want to see the evil questioner it sounds like hell be on the Huckabee show tonight.

[corbaman]

If Joe the Plumber is tied to the Keating 5, it certainly turns around his image as the "every man" and instead makes it look like he's part of a corrupt system.

I also don't think his question was entirely valid. Businesses are taxed on profits, not income. If he's showing more than 250K profits, minus all salaries and expenses, then he's a very well off individual. You can have a 10 million dollar revenue business and only show 250K in profit.

[borddurasoir]

What is the easiest way to find out about state-wide, district-wide, and/or city-wide candidates or issues on the November 4th ballot? How can I obtain a sample ballot to know what I'm voting on before Nov. 4th?

[klockhamer]

Thanks to motorboatin fun I dug into the bill a little. Can get the details from the Library of Congress or just google HR 1424 Sec 308 for starters. Statesboro biz lists the the ammendmensts as well as the sponsors. Everyone should read it and vote every one of them out.

[danhegelund]

Youtube's new wave of "not available in your country" sucks!

[TianSan]

They both voted for the bail outs.

[skinnydaddyjoe]

How can we stop voter repression, vote caging and the GOP's attempt to steal this election?

[motorboatinfun]

Why do we still have the Electoral College? Wasn't designed back when people did not have the ability to get information and informed officials would vote for a majority? Do we still need that today?

[mhollis]

Good question and this one should be addressed.

It is a myth that the Electoral College was designed as a result of "bad public information systems in the fledgling USA" The United States was the only country with a free and unfettered press and voters had _more_ access to information than most other countries.

The EC was a compromise. States did not want to give up power to a Federal system, so they were given the opportunity to choose the President.

[klockhamer]

Yes, I would love to see a list of who voted for what. And specifically, which members of the Congress and Senate were responsible for all of the ridiculous special interest pork that was added to it. I want names. It made me furious!

[motorboatinfun]

The WashingtonPost has a project to track Senate and House votes by bill and by member. Do a search on google for "senate voting record washington post"

[Leaveyou88]

What would you guys do to fight back the corruption that has a steady grasp around American politics?

[bluepointparis]

Why can't we have instant voter registeration It seems that the registration process favours the radicals on both sides leading to un democratic results ...