links for 2008-02-12
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ActBlue has a widget you can put on your site to start fundraising for the Democratic presidential candidate, whomever they might be.
I think Bryan Caplan is a fucking dickhead
Oh, the things I have to say about this New Yorker article on economist Bryan Caplan’s book “The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Politics.”
And alas, no time to say them, because we have to go out the door. But I’m putting Bryan Caplan on the list of arrogant jackholes whose shins I intend to kick if ever I meet them. Someday I need to search for that phrase in all of my blog posts and actually compile the list.
Make Sure You’re Registered to Vote!
In all the recent hullabaloo surrounding the GOP purging voter rolls in Indiana, it turns out that although I returned my postcard with my corrected new address on it promptly, my voter registration was not updated. I talked to at least one other person who discovered that they are no longer registered to vote either after calling the Marion County Election Board Voter Registration. They returned their registration card also, and they didn’t have the additional wrinkle of having moved recently.
Contact Marion County Election Board Voter Registration and make sure you’re registered to vote!!
Do it quickly — you have to be registered by October 10th!
If you’re not in Marion County, you can find your county election board here.
Princeton Researchers Break Voting Machine Security
Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy have proven that they can easily, undetectibly hack Diebold voting machines and alter votes and the outcome of elections, and they’re publishing a paper on their findings.
Abstract This paper presents a fully independent security study of a Diebold AccuVote-TS voting machine, including its hardware and software. We obtained the machine from a private party. Analysis of the machine, in light of real election procedures, shows that it is vulnerable to extremely serious attacks. For example, an attacker who gets physical access to a machine or its removable memory card for as little as one minute could install malicious code; malicious code on a machine could steal votes undetectably, modifying all records, logs, and counters to be consistent with the fraudulent vote count it creates. An attacker could also create malicious code that spreads automatically and silently from machine to machine during normal election activities — a voting-machine virus. We have constructed working demonstrations of these attacks in our lab. Mitigating these threats will require changes to the voting machine’s hardware and software and the adoption of more rigorous election procedures.
Indianapolis Progressive Candidates You Might Consider
Below are candidates that have been supportive of GLBT issues and strong on progressive issues in the past. Please consider voting for them tomorrow when you go to the polls for the primaries.
Marion County Superior Court Judge
Karen Celestino Horseman
“Every so often an elected official will go to extraordinary lengths to improve the lives of those around them. In 2002, (then City-County Councilor) Karen Celestino-Horseman did just that when she introduced Proposal 278, which would have provided domestic partner benefits to Indianapolis city employees. It was a well strategized attempt, the community rallied around it, but it did fail on party lines.” — Linda Perdue
The GLBT community needs a judge in this position that understands and supports GLBT issues, especially considering the difficult issues surrounding adoption.
U.S. Congress, District 7
Julia Carson
Obviously, you should consider Julia — read here for more info on her opponent.
State Legislature
David Orentlicher, HD 86
Susan Fuldauer, HD 88
Greg Porter, HD 96
William Crawford, HD 98
Vanessa Summers, HD 99
Indianapolis Public Schools
Kelly Bentley
In IPS District Three, Kelly Bentley, a friend of our community, is running for a third term on the Board. Kelly has been a strong advocate for safe schools for everyone, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. It was thanks to her efforts that IPS policies against discrimination now include protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for both teachers and students). She has supported efforts of students at Broad Ripple High School to form a gay-straight alliance.
Having Trouble Voting?
Source: Fast Company “Trouble voting? Call or text these 3 resources to report election problems now“
Call, text, or visit these resources:
Election Protection – 866 Our Vote
This is a coalition made up of voting-rights and civil-rights groups. Its hotline is 866-OUR-VOTE. USA Today reported earlier that it expects thousands of calls before the day is over. In addition to calling the number, you can also text OUR VOTE to 97779 to report an issue.Stateline
This resource from the Pew Charitable Trusts partnered with ProPublica to monitor issues related to voter access. You can report an issue by texting VOTE or VOTA (for Spanish) to 81380. You can also report an issue to this group using WhatsApp or Facebook.The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
This is not the most user-friendly interface (few government websites are), but voters can and should report issues to the federal government, especially rights violations. The DOJ has an online form where you can file a complaint if you believe your voting rights have been violated.
Register to Vote
May primaries are coming up in states where the Republicans aren’t trying to prevent them. Don’t forget to register to vote. In many states you can register online.