Electoral College: 'antiquated and disenfranchises voters'

NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE
Movement seeks to elect U.S. president by popular vote (Mike Hasten, Shreveport Times) McPherson said the current method of choosing the nation's leader is "antiquated and disenfranchises voters."

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
What Independent Voters Want (By JOHN P. AVLON, Wall Street Journal) There are now six states where independents outnumber both Republicans and Democrats -- the swing states of Colorado, Iowa and New Hampshire as well as New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

REFORM
Yes: A direct popular vote would serve the will of the majority (Duluth News Tribune)

CAMPAIGN

• Zogby: McCain Is Gaining, Race Tightens (Newsmax.com)
• Virginia GOP Already Deep Into Post-Mortems (Washington Post/Raw Fisher)

FROM HARLEM WITH LOVE
Black America Going Independent (Michael Druker/The Independent View)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM: Budget Deficits, Redistricting, Initiative and Referendum, Electoral College, Ballot Access Reform

• CA: Is governor's pay cut threat just a big head fake? (Sacramento Bureau Contra Costa Times)
• CA: Would Prop. 11 help minorities? It takes redistricting away from the Legislature. Will minorities gain or lose? (LA Times)
• NY: Cut the Legislature-Plan to reduce number of lawmakers deserves support from officials (Buffalo News)
• The Far Left's War on Direct Democracy (By JOHN FUND, Wall Street Journal) A few words on Ward Connerly's anti-affirmative action activity
• Gov. Granholm likes part of Reform Michigan Government Now proposal (Michigan Live)
• Pennsylvania Senator Introduces Ballot Access Reform Bill (Ballot Access News)
• Maine Ballot Access Case Oral Argument in State Supreme Court (Ballot Access News)
• Dump the Electoral College? (Detroit Free Press LETTERS)

CAMPAIGN

• Bloomberg Wants Independents To Organize To Increase Power (JOE GANDELMAN, The Moderate Voice)
• John McCain takes my advice. (By mw, Donklephant) The Left of center blogosphere jumped all over it, called it a flip-flop, and completely missed the important point. Sure it was a flip-flop. But most Obama supporters cheered when Obama flip-flopped “moved to the center” on a whole host of issues. So let us just say that Maliki has permitted McCain to “move to the center” on Iraq. You know - where most of the voters are. With this move, McCain takes away the single biggest issue advantage that Obama has over him with moderate, centrist, independent and libertarian voters.
• Ralph Nader at UGA, criticizes Obama's corporate ties (By JIM GALLOWAY, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
DEMOCRATS’ SURGE REMAKING OREGON’S POLITICAL MAP (The Register-Guard)

REFORM

• Editorial: Corruption in Harrisburg-Hold them accountable (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Link states to the national vote (Detroit Free Press) To date, the National Popular Vote bill has been introduced in 45 states and enacted by four with almost a fifth of the electoral votes required.
• Keep the College for good reasons (Detroit Free Press) Without it, our two-party system would quickly degenerate into a multiplicity of small parties, with the result that minority presidents, elected in runoffs, would rule.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

The Week in Politics (TIME Magazine) If most of those million fleeing Republicans have become tenuous independents, then who are those 700,000 new Democrats?


REFORM

• MI: Graduate the Electoral College-States should dump winner-take-all system and award electors proportionally (Detroit Free Press) Polls show that 70%-80% of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College in favor of direct, popular election of the president.


• PA: Proposed election board rattles Republican Party (Lancaster Online)


• REFORM MICHIGAN GOVERNMENT NOW! PROPOSAL


• Nixing term limits is key Capitol reform (Lansing State Journal editorial) Lansing pols want roll back of term limits in context of reform proposal


• A plot to rule state-Democrats' secret strategy aims to trick voters into one-party advantage in Michigan (DETROIT FREE PRESS)


• "Who's on First?" for the State Reform Proposal? (The Flint Journal)

CAMPAIGN

McCain hits Maine Monday for votes, money (Morning Sentinel/Maine Today) independent voters outnumber both Democrats and Republicans in Maine. About 39 percent of voters are unenrolled, 29 percent are registered as Democrats and 32 percent as Republicans


LOCAL INDEPENDENT NEWS

• Swing vote key to win in Congress (Zanesville Times Recorder)


• Do the math, Republicans-The rise of independent voters in California means a boost for GOP moderates. (LA Times)


• More News (Republican & Herald) Monday, Reps. Chris King and John Galloway, both Democrats from Bucks County, called for a referendum this November on whether to conduct a constitutional convention in 2009.

THIRD PARTY NEWS

• AK: 9th Circuit Sets Hearing Date in Political Party Rights Case (Ballot Access News)


• PA: Constitution Party allowed on ballot (Springfield MO News Leader)

MEDIA / NETROOTS / BLOGOSPHERE

Marcos Moulitsas' Daily Kos moults to Netroots Nation in an attempt to flex muscle on the scrawney left-wing of the Dem Party...

• Left-leaning bloggers flex muscle in Texas (Joe Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle) "We knew that the Internet and Internet alone is not going to win elections. If our people on the Internet were not also organizing on the ground, we're not going to be effective," Obama's deputy campaign manager, Steve Hildebrand, a 22-year veteran of political campaigns, said Saturday. He urged the bloggers in Austin to talk about the 56 million unregistered voters in the United States, particularly people of color and youth, then get out and register them.


• Gore, Pelosi Address Liberal Bloggers at Convention (Associated Press/Fox News Election HQ)


• Texas Boot Camp for Bloggers on the Right (NY Times/The Caucus)


• LIVE from Austin:: From Dean to Obama - Four Years (Northwest Progressive Institute Advocate)


• Liberal Bloggers Rally, Drink in Austin (Wall Street Journal/Washington Wire)


• The War, Dems, MoveOn and The Uprising (Guerilla News Network) David Sirota now has a new book out: The Uprising: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist Revolt Scaring Wall Street and Washington. In it he expands on his criticism of the Democratic Party and its partisan, professional antiwar activists in the leadership of MoveOn.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM
Our view: Don't abandon the Electoral College (Eagle Tribune - North Andover MA) [Another establishment view... -NH]

CAMPAIGN

• Is McCain a maverick, moderate or mystery? (DETROIT FREE PRESS) Craig Ruff, a Lansing political consultant, said he believes this year's presidential race is all about attracting independent voters and crossovers.
• Contradictory Polls: Obama Falling, Obama Rising (The Moderate Voice)
• Newsweek giveth, and Newsweek taketh away (The Carpetbagger Report) [Amen, brother! - NH]

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM

• Obama's Liberal Shock Troops (Wall Street Journal) A redistricting commission would be set up to reshape political boundaries, but state courts would be barred from reviewing any plans it draws up. (Only federal courts could review the boundaries.) Voters would also be barred from rejecting or amending the commission's work by initiative.
• Confusion hides in constitutional amendment's fine print-Voters should beware; proposal has way too much 'other stuff' (Detroit Free Press)
• Wall Street Journal Op-Ed Attacks National Popular Vote Plan (Ballot Access News)
• Don't Mess With the Electoral College (Wall Street Journal)
• The push for a popular vote (Boston Globe)
• Current system needs an update (LETTER to Boston Globe)
• Same-day voter registration pushed-Revised bill backed by Augustus gets Galvin’s nod (Worcester Telegram & Gazette News)
• Naming rights (Boston Globe) Same Day Voter Registration - long-running battle between Asian activists and the state's top voting official on how to conduct an election.

CAMPAIGN

• The NEWSWEEK Poll: Is the Glow Fading? (Newsweek/Stumper blog) Is Barack Obama losing independents' support???
• North Dakota Poll Released by Rasmussen Reports: Barack Obama 43%, John McCain 43% (TransworldNews.com) McCain earns the vote from 87% of Republicans while Obama attracts 79% of Democrats and holds an eighteen point lead among unaffiliated voters.
• Wisconsin Poll Released by Rasmussen Reports: Barack Obama 50%, John McCain 39% (TransworldNews.com) In Wisconsin, Obama attracts support from 86% of Democrats and has a twelve point advantage among unaffiliated voters.

LOCAL INDEPENDENT NEWS

• OK: Slim pickings affect interest in primary election (The Journal Record) Another reason for fewer votes in primary elections is the increase in the number of registered independent voters. There are more than 200,000 of them who are not eligible to vote in primaries. Some states allow it as well as cross-party voting in primaries. Oklahoma does not.
• OR: Ben Westlund bucks “career politician” label (Politicker-OR)
• MN: Ventura is saving any news for TV (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• MD: Md. city with edgy racial past elects black mayor (AP-Google) Newcomer ousts incumbent in nonpartisan race, Decades after the demise of segregation, this sleepy city on Maryland's Eastern Shore has elected not only its first black mayor but also its first woman to the post.
• MD: Cambridge makes history-Racial strife in the past, city picks first African-American mayor (Baltimore Sun)

THIRD PARTY NEWS

• Nader setting up write-in campaign in North Carolina (News Observer) Ballot access very difficult
• Green Party: Red ink in Chicago bash-Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) is leading contender for W.H. nomination (Baltimore Sun/The Swamp)
• RALPH NADER FILES AS CANDIDATE IN WASHINGTON (Seattle dbusinessnews.com)

BOOK REVIEW

Body Politic, Rest & Motion (Texas Observer) Review of The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart [The Hankster's 2 cents: it's not clustering that's tearing us apart, it's the two-party partisan system that's got us divided]

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN
Ritter on 'Meet the Press': Obama has 'great opportunity' to win Colo. (9 News Colorado) "I don't know really if it'll help or hurt. What I can tell you is if you think about the play in the West, independent voters - independent registered, not registered Democrat or Republican - they're really where the play will be."

REFORM

• N.J. citizens need I&R (Press of Atlanic City LETTER)
• Voting's neglected scandal (David Broder Washington Post) the need for redistricting reform
• We think: An effort to reduce predictability in political districts deserves support (Orlando Sentinel)
• AS I SEE IT: Make sure votes cast are counted (Kansas City Star) Do away with Electoral College, make election day a holiday
• Editorial: Don't block vote on IRV in St. Paul (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• IRV: Dead or alive? (Twin Cities Daily Planet )
  

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Pew Study Finds One in Five Atheists Believe in God (CommonDreams.org) --Atheists and agnostics also have higher ratios of independent voters than most other groups in the study.

CAMPAIGN
New political battleground: Voters in the middle (Chicago Daily Herald)

REFORM

• Results of new poll surprising-The Midwest Democracy Institute has taken a new poll of 400 Michiganders, and it predictably strikes a dismal note — but one that contains some surprising grounds for optimism. (Hometown Life MI) lots of folks are interested in reforming the system and willing to work hard to do it.
• 'Reform' petition is a grab for control of the courts (The Detroit News Editorial) It is far too radical a rewrite of the state Constitution to be done in a ballot measure pushed by anonymous funders and masked in salary cutting language
• Voters may be asked to downsize Lansing-GOP says Dems gain in petition to cut leadership (Detroit Free Press)
• Groups criticize Perata for opposing redistricting measure (Contra Costa Times)
• REDRAWING THE MAP ON DEMOCRACY (Philadelphia Daily News) As you can imagine, the power to guarantee themselves great jobs means it will be hard to pry this power out of lawmakers' hands.
• 21st century gerrymander is biggest threat to system (By DAVID S. BRODER, The Washington Post)
• Keep electoral college (LETTER Tampa Bay Weekly) It is every liberal-socialist’s dream that this be done so that heavily populated states such as New York and California can dictate who the U.S. president is going to be.

RALPH NADER
Lengthy Washington Post Article on Ralph Nader (Ballot Access News) WaPo article here

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• Young Obama voters may not help down-ticket Democrats (Seattle Times) So far, initial evidence for this election points to young people behaving more like ticket-splitting independent voters than true partisans.
• Obama Tilts Toward Center, Irking Some Activists (Wall Street Journal) general-election season will put increased pressure on both candidates to attract moderate and independent voters.
• Election 2008: New Mexico Presidential Election-Obama Holds onto Lead in Land of Enchantment (Rasmussen Reports)

REFORM

• McGrath: All Ravalli County residents are 'qualified voters' (Missoulian) The opinion released Monday notes that Montana law directs the legislature to extend "initiative and referendum powers" to the qualified electors of each local government unit
• NATIONAL VIEW: Maybe, in January, it'll be time to rethink Electoral College (South Coast Today - MA)
• Editorial: The national popular vote alternative (Daily News Tribune - Waltham MA)
• Instant runoff voting poses problems (News Observer)
• The Groundhog Day Election in Los Angeles (California Progress Report) IRV prevents nasty runoff elections

LOCAL

• Nader tries to get on presidential ballot in Illinois (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH)
• GOP frets Barr could play spoiler in prez race (AP - Google)

PERSONAL DEMOCRACY FORUM -- Is there a role for independent voters???

• PDF: Citizen Media - left, right, left, right… (My Heart's in Accra blog)
• Patrick Ruffini (the new right) (Central America and beyond blog)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
The float vote (Frank Luntz, LA Times) Gone are the days when the candidate most successful in turning out his loyal partisans inevitably won.

CAMPAIGN

• In Jacksonville, African-Americans find inspiration in Obama's promise (St. Petersburg Times) The Obama campaign this month deployed 400 specially trained volunteers to launch a statewide voter registration and mobilization drive
• THE DEMOCRATS DARE TO DREAM (San Francisco Chronicle) Is post-partisan era to be one-party rule???
• Bloomberg Decries 'Whisper Campaign' Against Obama (Washington Post/The Trail)

REFORM

• California pols need a reality TV show (the Fresno Bee) Redistricting
• Dan Walters: November ballot is full of divisive issues (Sac Bee) Redistricting
• Democratic leaders accused of pressuring supporters of redistricting measure (Contra Costa Times)
• Redistricting reform: Keep up the pressure (Pocono Record)
• Redistricting reform needed (LETTER Wayne Suburban.com PA)
• Midwesterners Issue Call to Action on Reform (PRESS RELEASE, WisBusiness)
• Here's how to fix our broken election process (LETTER Sun Sentinel FL)
• Will states topple the Electoral College with new movement? (Times Leader PA)
• R.I. lawmakers approve plan on national popular vote (Boston Globe)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Author: Independents will pick next president (CNN) Interview with John Avlon
• The Body Is Back (RealClearPolitics) Barkley says Jesse Ventura will runa and win
• Redistricting can have bad impact on blacks (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Redistricting in California: Control or Democracy? (California Progress Report)
• Make it easier for third parties to get ballot access (Fort Wayne News Sentinel)
• Popular vote should decide who's president (Post-Tribune)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• Battle for independent voters begins (Christian Science Monitor)
• Obama Leads McCain In Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll Finds (Quinnipiac)
• Obama, Clinton to join forces for fund-raising pitch in D.C. (Palm Beach Post-Cox News Service) Florida's independent voters, who favored McCain by a 45-36 percent margin a month ago, now prefer Obama by a 47-37 percent margin.
• Analysis: Independents split over McCain, Obama (CNN)
• Swing Lobby Politics-Obama's Genuflections (CounterPunch)

IDAHO * Will Rex Rammell’s Run Ruin Risch? (New West Network) However, independents are at odds with Rammell’s strong support for closed primaries, an issue which dominated the recent state GOP convention. With that issue, they line up with LaRocco, who supports open primaries and more government transparency, another issue dear to the hearts of independents.

OREGON * Macpherson back to support open primary (Politicker OR)

CALIFORNIA * California is branded among a 'Dirty Dozen' on gerrymandering (LA Times)

NEW YORK * BLOOMBERG'S BLUES, why our billionaire mayor might not want to become our billionaire governor. (NY Press)

REFORM

• EDITORIAL: Changing the system-Is the Electoral College doomed? (Las Vegas Review Journal)
• Commentary: A national popular vote for president (Salisbury Post)
• Electoral College Myths, One More Time (The New Republic/The Plank)
• A well-advised 'whoa' on IRV (Pioneer Press)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• Softer-Touch Marketing Woos Cross-Party Voter (CQ Politics)
• Obama’s Down-Ballot Effect (New York Times/The Caucus) With all the talk and worry about the potential “Obama effect” on races down the ticket, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee believes it has identified a very positive one – Senator Barack Obama runs strongly with independent voters.

IDAHO
Idaho Republican Party May Drop Lawsuit Against Open Primary (Ballot Access News)

REFORM * INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING * OPEN PRIMARIES * NONPARTISAN ELECTIONS * INITIATIVE & REFERENDUM * REDISTRICTING REFORM * BALLOT ACCESS REFORM * DIRECT ELECTIONS * SAME DAY VOTER REGISTRATION
NC: Instant voting beats a runoff (News Observer)
OH: Brunner discusses election, staying nonpartisan (News Herald) "The legislature has changed a lot of the requirements for statewide initiative and referendum petitioning, making it much more difficult for citizen initiative legislation or constitutional amendments to occur, so oftentimes these efforts start but they don't come to fruition because the legislature has made the requirements much more difficult than before."
UT: Muzzling the people: Legislature should not take lawmaking petitions away (Salt Lake City Tribune Editorial) Why would the Legislature do this? To help developers, of course. In the delicate balance between private property rights and community interests, the Legislature is putting its thumb on the scale to favor property.
PA: No reforms for this Legislature (Erie Times News) The "reform-minded" Legislature, three-quarters through its two-year term, with 55 freshmen in the aftermath of voter anger over the noxious 2005 pay grab, hasn't exactly brought revolution.
MI: State ballot proposal seeks broad reform (Detroit News) A potential ballot proposal for the November election is rattling some of Michigan's political establishment, especially the Republican side.
NY: Public financing is the only real reform (Albany Times Union) Paterson may be off to a somewhat slow start where reform is concerned, but as the journey of 1,000 miles goes, this is still a mighty big first stride.
US: Text of Senator Nelson’s Proposed Constitutional Amendment for Direct Presidential Election (Ballot Access News)
PA: Independent Candidate for Pennsylvania Legislature Files Ballot Access Lawsuit (Ballot Access News)
US: Will states topple Electoral College? (Stateline.org/Republican American)
US: American apathetic toward government-Bigger changes are needed to fix this nation (The Daily Evergreen) The only way to get the politically apathetic portion of the American population involved in politics is to institute widespread political reform.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• Can McCain Remain Competitive? (American Thinker) How McCain-Feingold is holding McCain back
• Democrats’ Vote Drive in Louisiana Stirs Concern (New York Times) Registrars have reported that as many as a third of the applications cannot be entered into the system, and many of the rest require more information. The state Republican Party called the operation “the Dems’ phony registration drive.”
• Obama Surges Ahead (Democratic Underground)

UTAH

• Riven by factions, Idaho GOP picks Semanko as new leader (Seattle Times) As Semanko takes the reins, he'll have to figure out a way to manage libertarian-leaning Ron Paul supporters; social conservatives such as anti-abortion activist Bryan Fischer; and Rod Beck, the chief advocate for shuttering Idaho's GOP primary to Democrats and independents he blames for picking Republican candidates only lukewarm to party ideals.
• Semanko ousts Sullivan at divided GOP convention (Fort Mill Times)
• Idaho GOP reverses course, votes to keep primary open (Local News 8 - Idaho Falls, Pocatello)

REFORM

• The Republican “Voters First” Initiative (Calitics) “The Citizens Redistricting Commission shall consist of 14 members, as follows: five who are registered with the largest political party in California based on registration, five who are registered with the second largest political party in California based on registration, and four who are not registered with either of the two largest political parties in California based on registration.”
• It's time to eliminate the Electoral College (Chicago Post Tribune)
• Cheers, jeers at the state Democratic convention in Spokane (The News Tribune Spokane)
• Bob Barr makes his case at Texas Libertarian convention (Dallas Morning News)
• Time to Fix the Electoral Process, Panelists Say (Legal Times Blog)
• Should the side with the most votes always win? (St. Petersburg Times)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

UTAH CLOSED PRIMARY PUSH

• Politics in Utah: Is it a caucus or a cacophony? (The Spectrum) Is it time to dismantle the political machinery of Utah and reclaim the empowerment of citizens' votes by having open primaries, whereby scrutiny of candidates is encouraged?
• Board of Education protests process (Deseret News) "We would support either an open primary or a return to district committees but state that partisan elections and the present state selection committee are both detrimental to the oversight of the education of our children and that the current process subverts the Utah constitutional requirement that members of the State Board of Education be generally elected."

REFORM

• Two-party system a detriment to democracy (South Bend Tribune LETTER)
• Hometown Democracy Sues Over Petition Law (Florida Trend)
• It's time to phase out the Electoral College and let individual votes count (Tennessee Voices)

CAMPAIGN
The Ron Paul Vote: A Headache for John McCain? (Wall Street Journal/Political Perceptions)

MEDIA
The Lou Dobbs Primary? Media, not voters, push immigration issue (FAIR)

BLACK LEADERSHIP
The Black Progressive Leadership Void (BlackState)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• CALIFORNIA: Low turnout as most vote by mail (Contra Costa Times) The growing ranks of independent voters who eschew party registration has also drained interest in primaries, where parties select their nominees, Alexander said. "Almost 20 percent of the state's voters are decline-to-state and they literally didn't have a dog in this fight," Alexander added.
• IDAHO: Demos could storm GOP primary (Deseret News) And 56 percent of all Utah voters are officially unaffiliated

REFORM
R.I. poll: Most favor scrapping Electoral College, electing presidents directly (Providence Journal)

MEDIA
Voters Give Media Failing Grades in Objectivity for Election 2008 (Rasmussen Reports)


OPEN PRIMARIES

WASHINGTON:

• BIAW's paid media attack campaign against Governor Gregoire has begun (NW Progressive Institute Official Blog) One ad even attempted to blame Gregoire for the open (or pick a party) primary system first used by the state in 2004.
• Washington State Primary Has No Function in 3/4ths of Legislative Races (Ballot Access News)

FLORIDA: Kenric Ward: Gaming the system through one-party rule (Treasure Coast Palm) There are ways to get around this disenfranchisement. Many states hold open primaries, allowing voters to decide which contests they want to cast ballots in. An even cleaner alternative would be to make county offices nonpartisan (as they are for cities and school boards).

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

* Our current system is an unjustified way to select a president (The Tennessean) As such, the Electoral College should be abolished not just because it is an anti-democratic anachronism from an age where democracy was viewed with deep suspicion, but also because it fails even to do that which its defenders claim justifies its retention.

* Poll shows Clinton pulling away from Obama (Washington Times) "Democrats can't begin to make case to independents till they lock up their own core supporters, and this poll suggests there is a problem holding on to those core voters."

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Long Odds Face Any Independent Running for U.S. President (Media Newswire )
• Obama seeking independent voters in Colorado (Craig Daily Press ) and (Denver Post)
• Loudoun Co. VA Independent Voters organization (Washington Post)
• North Carolina instant runoff voting in action Nov. 6 in Hendersonville (Citizen Times)
• Dem Divide in Mississippi gives Repubs an edge (The Vicksburg Post)
• Proposed reform of Electoral College wouldn't make voting any more fair (Mercury News)