IowaPolitics.com BlogWatch

Being inkognito has it advantages. During my extended time away from
the blog I was able to travel the state and get a better grasp of what
is on the hearts and mind of Iowa's konservative activists. I wish I
kould kome back here and tell you how fired up they were about the '08
elections but I kan't. Now that doesn't mean that we are hopeless when
it komes to 2008 in Iowa. Konsider the following: The words "great
depression" adequately described the konservative activist following
the 2006 general elections. Yet more Iowans voted in the Republican
kaucuses than ever before. And while we are having a little kaucus
talk, I must say I absolutely nailed my 2007 Breakout Kandidate of the
year. I was Huckabee when Huckabee wasn't kool!

Labels: elections, Iowa GOP

A spokesman in Congressman Tom Latham's office says the lawmaker voted
against incentives for election verification because the bill would be
a "costly redundant federal program." The Emergency Assistance for
Secure Elections Act of 2008 (HR 5036) encourages states to conduct
verifiable elections by converting to a paper ballot system, offering
emergency paper ballots, and conducting hand-counted audits. Two weeks
ago, the legislation passed the House Administration Committee with
unanimous and bipartisan support. "Congressman Latham believes it is
important to ensure the integrity and accuracy of our nation's
election process," said spokesman Fritz Chaleff.

Labels: elections, Tom Latham

The school election this September 9 may be the last one in a general
election year, if Governor Culver signs the election bill that passed
the Iowa Senate this week. House File 2620, which passed the House
March 24, would lengthen school board terms from three years to four,
and includes several other election items. The four year terms would
begin with the 2009 school election. Each school district must adopt a
transition plan by August 1 of this year. Districts vary between
electing members at large and by districts, and the dates of term
expiration must be settled. The bill faced some opposition from school
officials, who were concerned that a board majority could turn over at
one election.

Labels: Chet_Culver, elections

Although a few days remain before Iowans will know all the 2008 candidates for the state Legislature, retirements and switches already appear to have taken a toll on the number of women who will be seated in Des Moines when the next legislative session begins. Women currently occupy 34 of Iowa's 150 legislative seats -- 28 in the House of Representatives and six in the Senate. Five of those have announced retirements at the end of this term: Sen. Mary Lundby, R-Marion, District 18; Rep. Sandy Greiner, R-Keota, District 89; Rep. Polly Granzow, R-Eldora, District 44; Rep. Libby Jacobs, R-West Des Moines, District 60; Rep. Carmine Boal, R-Ankeny, District 70.

Labels: elections

Opposition to Third Parties and Electoral Reforms: The Third Party
"Threat." While the bickering regarding Wellmark's effort to buy a
University of Iowa college continues (see links below), the biggest
news this morning involves a baby step away from Iowa's reputation as
one of the most third-party-hostile states in the nation. Jason
Clayworth, "Iowa Voter Registration Forms to Include Third Party
Groups," Des Moines Register, July 19, 2007 editorial, "Letting Us
Register for Small Parties Good for Democracy," Iowa City
Press-Citizen, July 19, 2007, p. A9. The State had to be sued to
finally agree to do the decent thing, but at least the case is now
behind us. Professions of support for "democracy" to the contrary
notwithstanding, the two major parties have historically opposed
voting - even for their own candidates - especially by the poor. True
democracy has almost always been resisted by those in power. Most of
those said to be the fathers of our democratic system, those who
drafted the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, agreed with
John Jay that, "Those who own the country, should run it."

Labels: elections

Sen. Mike Gronstal and Rep. Kevin McCarthy were in Marshalltown this afternoon to speak about legislative accomplishments. ... Someone else asked about VOICE before I could get a chance to. ... Gronstal responded by saying that he is a fan of getting the influence of money out of politics, but the VOICE legislation had somethings in it that weren't the best. Gronstal talked about the study group created to look into the issue of clean elections. He then said that he will work with groups that are friendly, a clear shot at the incident at the State House with clean elections supporters. ... [McCarthy's issues with VOICE: ] First, the bill includes primaries. McCarthy said that if someone in his district is upset with one of his votes all they would have to do is get 100 people to donate $5 each and they would be eligible for tax payer money to run. Second, McCarthy said the VOICE legislation would make it illegal for House leaders to funnel money to other races. Right now the House leaders are able to raise unlimited amounts of money and then can dish that money out to candidates in targetted races.

Labels: campaign finance, elections, state House, state Senate

First there were the Soccer Moms sought by candidates for political office. Then, in 2004, there were the Security Moms and NASCAR Dads blocs to be turned into voters. Or were there? The Social Science Quarterly has published a study by two political science professors that claims the Soccer Moms and NASCAR Dads blocs don't actually exist. According to the study done by Steven Greene of North Carolina University and Laurel Elder of Hartwick College in New York, mothers are more concerned about social welfare than national security, and fathers as a group don't vote any differently than men without children. The professors said "the hype" about the two groups was wrong: "The NASCAR Dad stories implied that fathers were a conservative bunch, and that Democrats needed to move to the right side of political issues to have a shot at winning their votes. Security Mom stories implied that post-9/11, mothers had become more supportive of President Bush because of his stance on national security." Information on the SSQ study can be found at www.blackwellpublishing.com.

Labels: elections, voting

The Iowa General Assembly is debating a bill to adopt Clean Elections—public financing for candidates in legislative and statewide races. Clean Elections is a proven policy working in states like Connecticut, Maine, and Arizona where campaigns are now contests of ideas, not fundraising ability. There's less than two weeks left to pass Clean Elections before this year's session ends. Today is your chance to put this over the top. ... Can you imagine if Iowa's lawmakers owed nothing to corporate lobbyists and owed everything to voters? Iowa could join the cutting-edge of truly democratic elections. And if Iowa adopts public financing this year, the presidential candidates will have to go on record about this bold reform—putting the national spotlight on Clean Elections.

Labels: elections

The good folks at Iowans for Voting Integrity http://www.iowansforvotingintegrity.org/News.htm have been working hard behind the scenes to assure election integrity in Iowa. They are working with state legislators to introduce a bill that will bring paper ballots and verified voting to all Iowa elections. As you know, even the Republican Governor of Florida has decided to abandon touchscreen voting machines. ... Iowa should abandon touchscreens too. Your help is now needed. County Auditors may well be resistant to more changes in equipment; last year the Iowa's Auditors' association opposed even the modest bill SF 351, which would only have required that paper printers be added to the touchscreens. Action: Please consider calling or writing your County Auditor and ask her or him to support legislation that would replace touchscreens in Iowa. Be sure to note that you support legislation that would have the state fund the transition to paper ballots.

Labels: elections