(Part 2 of 5 in a symposium on election law)

We love technology. We love efficiency. We love new gadgets. But when it comes to the machinery of elections, we just don't trust each other. Not counting hanging chads is one thing, but paperless electronic voting is something we just don't quite accept. And we are not alone.

Many folks often portray the two parties in terms of mother and father. The Democratic Party is considered the maternal party, and the Republican Party the paternal. Through the years one could make a reasonable case for this characterization. However, after gaining governing authority for the past ten years Republicans have relinquished and abandoned their obligation to govern in a responsible and sensible manner. Republicans have become the deadbeat dad.

Who thought that by this time in 2007 we'd be using the term "obstructionist Republicans?" Well, I did, and that's what happened last night when I turned on the news and saw that Senate Republicans had stopped debate on the anti-surge resolution. Majority Leader Harry Reid assured the GOP that the debate will happen anyways, and as the subject of money and budgets comes up, you can be sure Iraq will be a sticking point. The Chron has an in depth look at a couple of the implications.

We want to take a moment to tell you about a new feature we've introduced today called On The Record.

(Part 1 of 5 in a symposium on election law)

We often hear people say, "I vote straight ticket." What this means is that on election day, they opt to cast all of their votes for one political party in every race. Straight-Party Voting is quick and simple; however, surprisingly not the norm. Only 17 states allow straight ticket voting.
Even more surprising is that Missouri just eliminated straight ticket voting in 2006.

I just received this from the Communications Director of College Democrats of America. This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in becoming involved in national youth politics.

College Democrats To Hold 2007 Convention in South Carolina

Washington, DC- Exactly one year from the day of South Carolina Democratic primary, College Democrats of America announced that they will hold their 2007 convention on the campus of the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, July 26-29, 2007.

While it is not political news, I thought Prince's pre-Super Bowl press conference on Thursday was pretty excellent: he announced the conference to the collected media, and when they all showed up, he and his band wailed on three songs for about ten minutes and then took off. Prince should consider hiring himself to do a similar service to federal government press briefings.

Joining me for this week's On The Record is James Belk, Hale County Democratic Party Chair.

From the Department of "Say What?" - Rick Perry signed an executive order today requiring that girls attending Texas schools be vaccinated against HPV with Gardasil.

Recently, I wrote an article on financing public education detailing my objections to the voucher concept as a whole in Texas. I also mentioned the bills introduced this session to set up a voucher program in Texas. HJR 25, introduced by Richard Raymond, goes one step further.