McCain Absentee Ballot Apps Must Be Accepted

Earlier this week, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that Secretary of State Brunner must direct Ohio's county boards of elections that the McCain-Palin distributed absentee ballot request forms, which included a checkbox next to an affirmation that the applicant is a qualified elector, must be accepted regardless of whether the box is checked.

Brunner had been taking the position that those who failed to check the box were indicating that they weren't qualified electors, and therefore not entitled to receive an absentee ballot. The Supreme Court rejected that argument (rightly, in my opinion), holding:

[Ohio election law] does not expressly require that the statement be located a certain distance from the applicant’s signature. Because the statute also does not strictly require that the box next to the qualified-elector statement bemarked, we cannot require it. . . . Moreover, we “must avoid unduly technical interpretations that impede the public policy favoring free, competitive elections.” No vital public purpose or public interest is served by rejecting electors’ applications for absentee ballots because of an unmarked check box next to a qualified-elector statement. There is also no evidence of fraud. As relators persuasively assert, the “only reason to complete the form was to obtain an absentee ballot for the November 4, 2008 election,” and signing it necessarily indicated that the applicant represented, “I am a qualified elector and would like to receive an Absentee Ballot for the November 4, 2008 General Election,” regardless of whether the box next to the statement was marked.

(Slip op., paras. 21-23) (citations omitted). So I'll say it: the Republicans were right, and Jennifer Brunner was wrong.

I'll admit: it was fun watching Brunner stick it to the Ohio GOP. After all, the McCain campaign had created an unnecessarily encumbersome form, so it was the GOP's own fault that not everyone filled it out as intended. Moreover, it's been the GOP that has, over the past eight years, strived to create additional barriers to access to the ballot box. And Brunner's position wasn't going to deny anyone the right to vote: all voters had to do was submit a new absentee ballot request. If they didn't, they'd still be able to vote on Election Day. (These weren't, after all, registration forms.)

But the principles enunciated by the Ohio Supreme Court were exactly right, and I'm glad they reached the decision they did. Our public policy should be geared towards making it easier to vote, not harder. And the GOP (some of whose members believe the Seventeenth Amendment should be repealed) should bear this in mind when open access doesn't necessarily favor their candidates.

D'Oh: "Maybe in Ohio, but not in America"

I thought this was funny.

Two-Wheeled Menaces

I know from my survey of the Internets that many local bloggers think Cincinnati needs to become a more bicycle-friendly city.  That's probably true (perhaps we could start by flattening the landscape--who really wants to bike from downtown up to Clifton, Mt. Adams, or Price Hill?).

But a few words of wisdom for bicyclists:  just because you're not in a car doesn't mean you can ignore all traffic laws.  You know those traffic lights in the middle of intersections?  When they're red, you're supposed to stop.  I nearly had to scrape one of you off my bumper earlier this evening when you didn't stop for the light, and I (naively) thought I could proceed through the intersection with my pretty, green light.

And you know those hand signals we learned when we were kids?  The ones for left and right turns?  Try using them.  Those of us in our four-wheeled vehicles might have a clue as to what the hell you're doing.

I Like Pizza! I Like It!

Remember Multiplicity?  That pretty awful Michael Keaton movie where Keaton's character clones himself?  And then one of the clones clones himself?  Explaining the erratic behavior of the clone of the clone, one of the clones says,

"You know how when you make a copy of a copy, it's not as shap as, well, the original."

I'm pretty sure that explains the Republican nominee for Vice President.  You see, George W. Bush has always fancied himself a copy of Ronald Reagan (he's not, but that's a whole separate discussion).  And Sarah Palin is a clone of George 43.  She's trying to emulate the populist aura he exuded during the 2000 election.  She's trying to support his concept of a nearly unrestrained executive (that's why she appeared to agree with Cheney when Ifill asked her whether Palin felt, as does Cheney, that the VP is "outside the executive branch").  And, of course, she decided that Dubya really has been correctly pronouncing the word "nuclear" all these years.

But Bush isn't as sharp as Reagan, and Palin isn't as sharp as Bush.

I always knew that when the torch is passed to my generation (I was born in 1974), we'd have politicians winking into the camera, as if it's a person with whom the candidate is having a conversation.  After all, we grew up watching things like Ferris Beuller's Day Off and Saved by the Bell, where TV characters threw off convention and regularly made asides to the camera.  But Palin's about ten years too old to have been influenced by that, and winking into the camera just looked weird.

That having been said:  I think Palin did pretty well.  She wasn't as substantive as Biden was, but Biden came off a little whonk-ish at times.  I'm not sure she made any real connection with the voters, but the debate didn't really focus on social issues, which I think is where she'd have liked to stoke the fires of the conservative base.  Biden came awfully close to advocating for gay marriage (fine by me, but not a winning issue in this country yet), but cleaned it up.  Biden had two good moments, I thought:  first, when talking about Afghanistan and Iraq, and comparing the amount of money we've spent in each.  And second, when he choked up a little bit talking about being a single father.  That was unexpectedly unscripted--one of the few non-canned responses either candidate gave all night.

What were your thoughts on the debate?  Did it change your mind about anything?  And try not to feed the trolls....

New CityBeat Website Design

I haven't had the chance to dive into CityBeat's newly redesigned website, so check it out and chime in with opinions.

Putin Rears His Head . . . . .

Hmmmm, I couldn't think of Supreme Court decisions either in my Constitutional Law final years ago, but then I was never Mayor of Wasilla or Governor of Alaska and never thought I was qualified to be a 72 year old's heartbeat away from being President and was certainly never quoted three months ago in the press saying the following about the SUPREME COURT DECISION in EXXON V. BAKER that directly affected --- what state? --- wait for it --- drumroll --- ALASKA:

Gov. Sarah Palin [said,] “I am extremely disappointed with today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Palin said. “While the decision brings some degree of closure to Alaskans suffering from 19 years of litigation and delay, the court gutted the jury’s decision on punitive damages.” Palin added, “It is tragic that so many Alaska fishermen and their families have had their lives put on hold waiting for this decision. My heart goes out to those affected, especially the families of the thousands of Alaskans who passed away while waiting for justice.”

"As Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state."

I love America, even though Rush tells me that we are about to be taken over by the radical Marxists (are there still radical Marxists anywhere?)!

Wake Me Up When It's Over

Matt Damon called me today to remind me to vote for Barack Obama. I don't think it was him, really, just a tape recording. At least, he wouldn't stop to answer questions.

I love politics. And I'm sick of this election.

Has anyone ever cast a vote because Matt Damon persuaded them to do so?

I paid for an Obama/Biden car magnet over the internet (at the campaign website) just before the DNC convention. I still don't have it. I'm tempted to buy a McCain/Palin magnet, and put the one that comes first on my car.

And how about a VP debate drinking game for tomorrow night?

• A chug every time Palin mentions "hockey mom".
• A chug every time Biden mentions the nuns at Catholic school growing up.
• A chug every time Palin says "nucular". If "nucular" is followed by an attempt at "proliferation," finish your drink.
• A chug every time Biden says "Scranton".
• A chug every time Palin mentions the Bridge to Nowhere or the airplane that was(n't) sold on eBay.
• Finish your drink whenever Biden tells you that he takes the train home every day.
• A chug every time Palin says "gotcha journalism," "maverick," or "reformer." Finish your drink anytime she mentions her son in Iraq.
• A shot (preferably of Stolichnaya) anytime Russia's proximity to Alaska is mentioned.

Any additions?