Judicial Watch has issued a request to the Illinois State Board of Elections to investigate whether the Obama campaign’s planned Election Day text messages would violate a state law that prevents electioneering in polling places.  Judicial Watch plans to issue similar requests to election officials in other states.

According to media reports, Senator Obama’s campaign sent text messages to voters on primary day in New Hampshire encouraging them to vote for Senator Obama.  The Obama campaign apparently intends to conduct a similar text message campaign on Election Day.  Given that these messages will likely be received and read by voters on their cell phones inside polling places, and perhaps inside voting booths, the messages may violate an Illinois state law against electioneering within polling places. Read the rest of this entry »

The tidal wave of money flowing into the presidential campaign is a powerful demonstration of the need for fundamental changes in the way we fund our elections, not proof of the health of the private contribution system. Politicians and their supporters will spend $5.3 billion on races, and raise the vast majority of those funds from large donors seeking their favor, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Less noted is the success of the Clean Elections programs, or full public financing, that have been implemented in seven states and two cities. Clean Elections is a proven policy successful in the states where it’s been implemented. Elections in these Clean Elections states are about voters and ideas instead of the endless campaign money chase. Read the rest of this entry »

It is deeply ironic that Republican operatives are working so hard to tarnish the most dynamic voter participation in our country in decades—apparently to justify and camouflage their most organized attempt yet to deny Americans the right to vote. The right wing in our country is responding to the massive registration of new voters with a despicable, massive assault on voter participation.

The AFL-CIO strongly condemns the coordinated national effort by the Republican Party and allied political operatives to suppress voter turnout and deny ballots to newly registered voters, particularly young people, the poor and people of color.

The assault is taking many forms. By smearing voter registration groups such as ACORN with false charges of voter fraud, the Republican Party hopes to discourage new voters and divert attention from the issues that are motivating so many—the disastrous economic policies of the past eight years. Read the rest of this entry »

The United States of America is a uniquely strong country because we ensure no one branch of government has too much power. That’s why we are disappointed that last week the administration issued two signing statements that ignore this fundamental principle.

Soon, a new president will be signing legislation into law. We urge both presidential candidates to respect our Constitution and resist using signing statements as a substitute for either negotiation with Congress or exercise of veto power.
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I was troubled today by yet another story demonstrating the alarming lack of regard for the fact that our military men and women are being disenfranchised from our democratic voting process.  In Fairfax County, VA, it has been reported that military ballots are being literally thrown in the garbage because of a “technicality” in the absentee ballot form.

Furthermore, the Justice Department has now filed a lawsuit against the State of Vermont and Vermont Secretary of State Deborah L. Markowitz, for failure to comply with the Uniformed Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), legislation intended to ensure that uniformed military members and overseas citizens may effectively participate in federal elections.

These cases only demonstrate the undeniable fact that the absentee voting system used for our overseas military is broken.
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If we are going to put the economy back on track—not just short-term crisis management, but long-term growth and health—we need a president who will invest in education. A cornerstone of any long-term economic plan must be an investment in quality public schools so our students are prepared to compete in a global economy.

Sen. Barack Obama’s vision for the future of this country, and the future of the American economy, couldn’t be more different than Sen. John McCain’s. While Obama calls for early childhood education, professional pay for educators, college affordability, parental involvement and full funding for critical education programs, McCain calls for more of the same failed policies of the Bush administration, including voucher schemes and rolling back teacher certification standards. Read the rest of this entry »

While Senator McCain should be questioned regarding decisions he has made as a Senator and choices he would make if he is elected President of the United States, any comments or criticism about the Senator regarding his health status should be left out of public debate.
Unless he has a disease attacking his cognitive abilities, all criticisms and concerns regarding his current health status are none of the public’s business.
During some of the most turbulent times in American history, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt successfully lead the nation through the Great Depression and most of World War II - and accomplished all of this while bound to a wheelchair. His health problems were not used against him as a marker to determine his ability to lead the nation. Why? Because his health problems were not put under scrutiny by the American public. Read the rest of this entry »

In 1996, Bill Weld and I held a series of eight substantive debates that cut to the core of the issues Massachusetts constituents care about. We debated the economy and education, health care and social security, tax reform and civil rights, all with the aim of presenting our positions to the voters so they could make an informed decision on Election Day. Back then, the Boston Globe described the exchanges “issue dominate[d]” and that we consistently highlighted our “familiar differences on policy issues.”

Two nights ago, Jeff Beatty, who used this space Monday to engage in a host of hollow accusations and misguided blamesmanship, showed Massachusetts the exact direction the Republican Party has traveled since that time – directly backwards. In a debate that should have honored Massachusetts by addressing the issue that affect us most, my opponent was unable to offer one constructive plan to solve our state’s and nation’s pressing issues. No plan for health care. No solution for an ailing economy. No strategy for Iraq. Beatty provided nothing but the empty, hateful rhetoric typical of a candidate incapable of providing answers or solutions. Read the rest of this entry »

Judicial Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Defense (DoD) to obtain documents detailing the voting process for active duty military and their families stationed overseas [Judicial Watch, Inc. v U.S. Department of Defense, Civil Action No. 08-01748]. As reported by columnist Bob Novak, the federal Election Assistance Commission, estimated overseas and absentee military voting rates were only 5.5% for the 2006 mid-term elections and questions have arisen as to whether the Defense Department is adequately ensuring that overseas U.S. military personnel will be able to cast votes for Election Day. Read the rest of this entry »

Joe the Plumber talked about wanting to buy the company he was working for. If he was thinking about getting a Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed loan like thousands of small business owners do every year, he had better vote for Senator Obama. Senator McCain will maintain Bush Administration anti-small business policies, close the SBA, and end all federal programs designed for small businesses, and firms owned by women, minorities and veterans, including all the loan programs.

After Joe the plumber starts his own small business, he might want to think about trying to bid on federal small business contracts. The United States government is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the world. He could get a small business contract selling plumbing fixtures and supplies to the government or government contractors. He could get a service contract to do plumbing work on the various federal buildings in the area around Toledo, Ohio.
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