Around the Country and in the Counties - Reports on
Election 2008
A SPECIAL TWO-HOUR VOICE OF THE VOTERS
Tonight Starting at 7pm!
Special Guest Co-Host: Jim Strait
Special Guests:
Bucks County Commissioner, Diane Marseglia
Alysoun McLaughlin of the National Association of Counties
AND YOU!
on Voice of the VotersWednesday, January 30, 7 pm ET
Heard on 1360 AM and on the InternetCall In to Add Your Questions & Comments
856-227-1360 or 856 232 7078
Part I: Starting at 7pm, We'll Take a Trip Around the County to Hear Reports from Key States and Voting Integrity Advocates
First Brad Friedman of the dynamic website, Bradblog.com, will present an overview of the country's elections/voting systems: what are the chalellenges? Where are the hotspots? What issues most need to be addressed. Will we? Can we? Brad will share his outlook for the November 2008 elections.
Then we'll open a discussion with leading voting integrity advocates as we take a trip around the country to visit Florida, Ohio, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, Colorado and more.
Call in to give your own report on the status of your state's elections and voting issues. What's working? What isn't? What challenges are being addressed? What are the expectations for the November 2008 elections? We want to hear what's happening in your state. Questions also encouraged!
First Brad Friedman of the dynamic website, Bradblog.com, will present an overview of the country's elections/voting systems: what are the chalellenges? Where are the hotspots? What issues most need to be addressed. Will we? Can we? Brad will share his outlook for the November 2008 elections.
Then we'll open a discussion with leading voting integrity advocates as we take a trip around the country to visit Florida, Ohio, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, Colorado and more. Call in to give your own report on the status of your state's elections and voting issues. What's working? What isn't? What challenges are being addressed? What are the expectations for the November 2008 elections? We want to hear what's happening in your state. Questions also encouraged!
Part 2: Starting at 8pm, The Counties
Alysoun McLaughlin, Associate Legislative Director of the National Association of Counties - the Voice of America's Counties. (NaCo) will discuss the diversity of challenges facing counties around the nation as we seek to improve our elections process. She will address some of the differences that have developed among elections officials, county governments and voting integrity advocates. "We're in a place of change. The system was designed around election officials, cnadidates and parties," says Ms. McLaughlin. "Now as more and more citizens want to become more involved, how do we integrate? How do we build bridges? How do we deal with hot buttons of technology?"
Ms McLaughlin will also review NaCo's position on HR 5036, The Emergency Assistance for Secure Elections Act of 2008 and will also discuss problems created for the counties, especially for the smaller ones, by voluntary guidelines issued by the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission.
In all the talk and attention on Florida, Ohio and California, Pennsylvania has become the forgotten state. The silence on the issue in the media and from state leaders is deafening. Yet, in 2008, Pennsylvania may be the most critical battleground state, becoming the Florida/Ohio of 2008. Predominantly a paperless state, dependent on DRE (direct record electronic) machines, there is no way to recount results independent of the machines. We are facing a faith-based election in Pennsylvania in 2008.
Bucks County Commissioner Diane Marseglia will share her ideas on improving citizen involvement in county government and improving the flow of information between the citizenry and their government. She will discuss election systems weaknesses in Bucks County as well the possible impact of the 2008 Pennsylvania elections on the country. Commissioner Marseglia will address problems around using paperless DREs and her own position on what remedies are needed in time for 2008.
She will also review her standing on HR 5036 and address whether there is enough time in her county to change systems.
Calls to Ms. McLaughlin and Commissioner Marseglia will be welcome.
As always, the incomparable John Gideon of Voters Unite will be on hand to share up-to-the-minute voting news and analysis you won't hear anywhere else.
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Voice of the Voters, hosted by Mary Ann Gould, is an hour devoted to voting rights and election reform. Ultimately it is an exploration of Representative Democracy itself and the responsibilities of citizens and their elected representatives. It airs every Wednesday night at 8:00 PM ET on 1360 AM and on the Internet. (http://wnjc.duxpond.com/)
Dial-up Internet users: Please turn off all other programs in order to receive clearest broadcast.
Listeners can call in questions live at 856-227-1360 and submit questions in advance at the Voice of the Voters website.
Archived Voice of the Voters shows are available here.
Bio for Alysoun McLaughlin
Alysoun McLaughlin is a lobbyist with a decade of experience representing state and local governments on Capitol Hill. As Associate Legislative Director with the National Association of Counties, she organizes lobbying efforts by county officials to oppose unfunded mandates and strives to foster coordination among federal, state, and local governments in addressing a broad range of policy challenges facing the nation. Alysoun is a leading national advocate for the county officials who are responsible for administering most elections for federal, state and local office. She is also a pollworker in Montgomery County, Maryland, and a member of the Board of Advisors for the Pollworker Institute.
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