Elections

30 May 2008 -- The Carter Center congratulates the people of Nepal, the government, and the political parties on the first sitting of the Constituent Assembly on May 28, 2008. This is a testament to the commitment and dedication of the Nepali people and their political leadership to sustainable peace and multi-party democracy.

Street markets in Kathmandu, Nepal: Photo by Shinya Ichinohe (CC)    » read more »

May 20, 2008 -- As John McCain tries to court minority voters today, a new report on Politico.com highlights how the Republican Party's "highly publicized" outreach over the last few years has lacked infrastructure and has yielded little results. The article focuses on candidate recruitment, noting that while Democrats have several candidates in "winnable House races who are either black or Hispanic," the GOP has none.

John McCain rally: Photo by james (CC)    » read more »

21 May 2008 -- Hillary Clinton won the Kentucky primary election, Tuesday, by a margin of more than two to one, but Barack Obama won the race in Oregon and passed a milestone in the Democratic Party's presidential contest. Hillary Clinton has vowed to stay in the race, while Obama is looking ahead to the presidential election in November.

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton: Barack Obama photo by selena marie, Hillary Clinton photo by circulating (CC)

Hillary Clinton won the Kentucky primary by 35 percentage points. According to exit polls, she did well among women and white voters.    » read more »

May 13, 2008 -- OLYMPIA — While the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision restoring Washington’s top-two primary system in March gave voters much to celebrate, the battle to preserve it is far from over.    » read more »

May 10, 2008 -- Chicago, IL - The Barack Obama campaign launched Vote for Change, a 50-state voter registration and mobilization drive, with 101 kickoff events across the county today. Thousands of grassroots volunteers joined with elected officials and activists to register new voters and engage more people in the democratic process in advance of the November election.

Senator Barack Obama with supporters: Photo by Barack Obama campaign (CC)    » read more »

April 28, 2008 -- This morning, the Supreme Court handed down a ruling upholding Indiana's undemocratic and restrictive voter identification law. The Supreme Court acknowledged that "The record contains no evidence of any such [impersonation] fraud actually occurring in Indiana at any time in its history," and acknowledged the law's burden on the elderly, low-income voters and other classes of voters covering hundreds of thousands of Indiana citizens.

Yet this Court, ignoring the realities of life for the less affluent and powerful of the state's citizens, shrugged off these burdens and found that the law should stand. [New Republic Blog, 4/28/08]    » read more »

April 21, 2008 -- Residents who participated in Michigan's Jan. 15 presidential primary won't have their political party preferences revealed thanks to Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land's commitment to voter privacy.

Land is refusing to release information regarding which partisan ballot each voter selected in the Jan. 15 election. Public Act 52 of 2007, which set the Jan. 15 election date, required the Secretary of State to provide Michigan's Democratic and Republican parties with a list showing voters' party preferences.

Vote here sign, Michigan primary election: Photo by Ben+Sam (CC)    » read more »

12 April 2008 -- The Carter Center found that the majority of Nepali voters participated in a remarkable and relatively peaceful constituent assembly election on April 10, 2008. Preliminary reports indicate that the administration of this election was well executed, bearing testimony to the hard work of election officials and the determination of Nepal's people to ensure that their country continues on the path to sustainable peace and democracy.

It is now essential for Nepal to remain calm, to await final results, and where there are disputes, to follow appropriate legal procedures. The Carter Center will continue to observe the district counting and national tabulation until complete and, when appropriate, comment further on the electoral process.

Key points:    » read more »

01 April 2008 -- ATLANTA -- The Carter Center announced today that its founders, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, will lead the Center's international election observation delegation to Nepal. Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai, former deputy prime minister of Thailand, will co-lead the delegation with the Carters. The Carter Center mission will also include more than 60 observers representing more than 20 different nations deployed throughout the country.    » read more »

March 27, 2008 -- CONCORD - New Hampshire Governor John Lynch today received a letter from U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Stewart Baker PDF Doc icon stating the federal government has agreed to postpone imposing Real ID requirements on New Hampshire citizens.

Gov. Lynch sent a letter to Homeland Security officials PDF Doc icon last month requesting that the Department not impose Real ID requirements on the citizens of New Hampshire.    » read more »

March 27, 2008 -- (Frankfort, KY) With many Presidential campaigns’ attention turning to Kentucky, Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson announced a number of reminders today for voters in Kentucky so that they can be prepared for the May 20th election. In particular, he reminded Kentuckians about a number of voter registration issues that citizens may encounter.

“Kentucky is already receiving attention from presidential campaigns, and that intensity will only increase after the Pennsylvania primary on April 22nd,” said Secretary Grayson. “Kentucky voters need to be aware right now about many issues that they may face before Kentucky’s primary in May.”    » read more »

18 March 2008 -- The Carter Center's international election observation mission in Nepal has observed the pre-electoral environment in the country for the past 14 months. The Center is encouraged by the level of electoral preparations and campaigning presently taking place, as this represents a marked increase from the two previous election periods in June and November 2007.    » read more »

According to his website, Mr. Vondersaar was "illegally purged from USAF in 1986 by fascist criminals and targeted by the secret police since." A cursory analysis of the candidate's website would seem to indicate that there remains the merest iota of, shall we say, bitterness in his apparently somewhat singleminded psyche.

From the official campaign website:    » read more »

March 14, 2008 -- (Frankfort, KY) -- The Kentucky House of Representatives voted today to allow early voting in Kentucky, a voting procedure backed by Secretary of State Trey Grayson that allows voters to vote absentee ballots without having an excuse as currently required in the Commonwealth. The historic vote on House Bill 138 is the first time that early voting has passed out of a chamber in the Kentucky Legislature and is sponsored by Rep. Milward Dedman (D-Harrodsburg) and co-sponsored by Rep. Rob Wilkey (D-Scottsville).    » read more »

Online Analysis Lets Voters Judge Members of Congress for Themselves

March 13, 2008 -- (Washington) - - The new AFL-CIO congressional scorecard shows that support for working families is becoming an even more mainstream position in Washington, with the reportedly moderate freshman class voting for working family issues 94 percent of the time. The newly updated scorecard -- which allows users to track the records of members of Congress online as far back as 1996 -- is available online at http://www.aflcio.org/issues/legislativealert/votes/index.cfm    » read more »