For my edification - does low(er) voter turnout always favour Republicans, or does it favour the incumbent party?
Here in South Africa, the liberals always lose with lower voter turnout. We can't test the incumbent theory, as ANC government has been in power since the advent of democracy and it will stay that way unless the rift widens between the neo-capitalists (the African National Congress) and the masses (the trade union federation COSATU) - which is becoming a more likely scenario recently. For anyone interested in elections in Southern Africa, you can read "Outside the Ballot Box - Preconditions for Elections in Southern Africa, 2005", http://www.misa.org/downloads/Outside%20the%20Ballot%20Box.pdf. The 2006 edition should be out within weeks. It is also available in Portuguese, but I can't find it online. Anyone interested, I can email a copy. [I translated the articles on the Portuguese-speaking countries into English and articles on English-speaking countries into Portuguese. Rui ________________________________________________ Rui Correia Advocacy, Human Rights, Media and Language Consultant 2 Cutten St, Horison, Roodepoort, Johannesburg, South Africa Tel/ Fax (+27-11) 766-4336 Cell (+27) (0) 83-368-1214 "Quando a verdade é substituída pelo silêncio, o silêncio é uma mentira" - Yevgeny Yevtushenko "When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie" - Yevgeny Yevtushenko -----Original Message----- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Michael Perelman Sent: 28 October 2006 03:52 To: [email protected] Subject: [PEN-L] Be confident in electronic voting, please The Sacramento Bee has an opinion piece today by Paul DiGregorio, illustrious chair of the US Election Assistance Corporation, which is not on the paper's website. The thrust of the story is that rumors of defects in the electronic voting equipment will discourage voters from participating in the elections. This stance is interesting in two respects. First, he implies that people should be confident in the same voting machines, which have performed so poorly -- except, perhaps in pushing elections in favor of Republicans. Second, the Republicans have been going out of their way to discourage participation. My sense of irony is overwhelmed. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com
