Hey, Iowa and New Hampshire! Read this!

MILLBRAE, CA. -- Here's a little secret that got out this weekend that should chasten those smug folks in Iowa and New Hampshire who think that just because they are so totally unrepresentative of America as a whole, it is their right to always vote first in presidential years.

Publicity and news coverage to the contrary, they really aren't anymore.

Thanks to quiet changes in how busy Americans choose to vote -- namely the explosion of early absentee voting as a convenience, not a necessity caused by travel -- Florida's absentee voters will actually be the first Americans to start voting in the primary process for the 2008 election. They can start casting their ballots on Christmas Day, 23 days from now and a full nine days before Iowa's caucus-goers thought they'd be first in the nation.

This means that voting in the 2008 presidential election process actually begins in 2007.

That curious reminder emerged from a conference on elections, hosted by the Pew Charitable Trusts, outside San Francisco this weekend.

A survey of election deadlines -- distributed by one of the speakers, Paul Gronke, an elections expert at Reed College in Oregon -- shows that Sunshine state absentee voters will get first crack at the candidates.

This presents real problems for Democratic candidates like Hillary Clinton of New York, John Edwards of North Carolina, Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Joe Biden of Delaware, Chris Dodd of Connecticut (and, temporarily, Iowa) and Barack Obama of Illinois because they have abandoned campaigning in Florida as a result of the national party's sanctions on that state for moving its primary date up so far.

The Republican candidates--Rudy Giuliani of New York, Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, fred Thompson of Tennessee--have been steadily campaigning in Florida, where both Romney and Giuliani have already invested heavily in TV and radio advertising.

Additionally, Gronke's documents show that a strong trend toward early absentee voting all over the West is also quietly undercutting the “first in the nation” primacy of the Hawkeye and Granite states. By this measure, for instance, Iowa is merely tied for second in voting order. On Jan. 3, the night of the Iowa caucuses (and the Fiesta Bowl that might tempt some to stay home by the TV), Arizona voters can begin voting absentee.

Californians may begin voting -- either absentee or in person at select locations -- as early as Jan. 7, a day before the once-inviolate primary primary in New Hampshire now set for Jan. 8. New Mexico voters also start voting absentee before the N.H. primary, starting on Jan. 5.

Oh, and for that matter, here's an even earlier note: overseas and military voters from California have a right to get a ballot starting in five days, on this coming Friday, Dec. 7.

--Joe Mathews

Comments

[Dan Elder]

My only comment is what if Iowa just did early absentee voting next time and that would mean that they would again be the first in the nation again.

[Dee Paul]

Millions and millions of Americans from all parts of the country are coming together in support of a new nationwide movement called, "The United States of America IS a Democracy Movement". They are calling for the presidential candidates to swear all of their campaign promises under oath. It picked up steam on the "Warren Ballentine Show", a nationally syndicated radio program, last week. The author of the following text claims to be the greatest thinker in modern history. He challenges any creature born of a woman to come up with a better idea. If he or she cannot...

ONE MAN’S CHALLENGE TO THE WHOLE OF MANKIND


At the risk of sounding arrogant and/or self righteous, I will have to say, that by me putting this out, I would have to be the most intelligent human being that has ever lived in this country. Now, I have no problem totally digressing if someone else could prove that they had this idea first. Of course then, the question would become, "why were you sitting on an idea like this?' If you did have this idea before, your failure to put it out could and should be considered treasonous. With all of the filth that is being put out these days, do you mean to tell me that we do not have time to consider this? I have always hated hearing fairy tales so what kind of fool would I be if I lived one....I refuse to. I am tired of all the games people play and all of the empty talk. What you are about to read is the answer to end all of the political questions forever. I challenge anything that exists on this earth that was born of a woman to top this. If you cannot, what does that make me?
The United States of America IS a Democracy Movement
COULD YOU? WILL YOU?

…..VOTE FOR A PERSON WHO REFUSES TO MAKE HIS OR HER CAMPAIGN PROMISE TO YOU UNDER OATH
1. Every candidate for the Presidency of the United States of America shall swear under oath 7 campaign promises to each of the individual racial groups that coexist in the aforementioned country.
2. That way they will have to choose between jail and money, because they are going to be tempted in such a way that even the most steadfast man or woman, would lose his or her composure and succumb to a promise of the fulfillment of selfish carnal endeavors.
3. Each such oath shall be separate and apart from each other.
4. Each such oath shall address each issue submitted by each of the racial groups that coexist in the aforementioned country, in such away as to leave no doubt as to whether a particular action taken by the successful candidate violates any of the oaths made to that particular racial group.
5. Any individual racial group has the right to reject any oath or all oaths that to them are construed as vague and indeterminable.
6. No individual racial group shall have any say so whatever with regards to any matter concerning another individual racial group’s issues and/or oath satisfaction requirements.
7. 7 of the most important issues relevant to the particular racial group shall be delivered to the headquarters of each such candidate by the close of business December 7, 2007.
8. It is the individual racial group’s own responsibility to ensure that those 7 issues are received by the such candidate’s headquarters in a timely manner, by whatever means by them they deem appropriate.
9. The 7 issues submitted by each group shall be made available to the public by the noon December 8, 2007.
10. The 7 promises made to each of the particular racial groups shall be made public by close of business December 23, 2007 as that marks the 94th anniversary of the day the United States of America was sold into slavery.
11. Any candidate who fails to respond to any particular individual racial group’s issues shall have no power to govern over any individual in that individuals racial group as government gets its just power from the CONSENT of the gov It is a foregone conclusion that no consent will be given any such candidate.
13. Each such candidate may add to their oath sworn campaign promises made the each of the individual racial groups.
14. This is the new way to run for public office in the United States of America. Why should a candidate spend millions of dollars on commercials when they can spends hundreds or less to make sure that all of his or her sworn campaign promises get known to the American public?
Suppose a man or a woman told you that they promise to do this, that, and the other for you but when you asked them whether they would say that under oath, they respond with a firm and resounding, “NO!” What would you think about that person’s integrity then? Do not let a human being, born of a woman just like you were, regardless of race or gender deceive you, unless you like people driving your life while you are sitting in the back seat of your own life-mobile, wondering where you are going?
Q: Where does government derive its just powers?
A: From the consent of the governed. The people that have come together as a nation choose the people they think will best protect their ability to enjoy those God given inalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

[Ethan Quern]

The opinion of the author and many others floors me as to how completely either they are beholden to money driving the political process or just sloppy thinking.

IA and NH do not vote first because they are representative, that happens later in the process. IA and NH go first because THEY ARE CHEAP!

There is no way anyone except the wealthy could compete in any "representative" state. One 30 second add in LA costs more than a months worth of adversiting in IA.

The best idea I have heard is with rotating regional primaries in which one state (the cheapest) in each area would go before the others.

Otherwise you might as well hand over the keys to the White House to the Gettys.

[stew]

Excuse me but, I thought this comment section was about the primary revolt that seems to be happening across the spectrum right now?

It seems to me no party can afford to split up like this and be assured it can carry a national candidate, so why do this?

First, I think it is a very good indicator that there is a great deal of unrest across America, and the most important question to answer to me is, what is the core of this?

Is it the war? The economy? Is it this administration?

Is it that Iowa and New Hampshire do not refelct the rest of the nations prerogative and this, do or die ,in these states is no longer the accepted way of primaries any longer?

The primary season has to start somewhere, it seems to me this is possible the genisis of the issue at the heart of the rancor, and the rest of these issues and many others do have a counter balance as well.

The question is, will these influences be dynamic or imbalanced, shaking the politcal gyros of the respective party machines flingimg parts of themselves off at their own risk of complete destruction?

While punishing rogue state party machines who move up their dates by striking their delegates, is one way to attempt to stop the phenomenon, the truly progressive and successfull party would be better off to co-opt the kinetic energy of the discord into an effective harnessed and redirected laser of the politcal kind.

To be sure present day candidates, even the best finaced ones, would be hard pressed to adapt to the rapid reshuffle, the lesser financed ones would find it even harder to do with limited resources.

So who would benefit from such shenanigans?

Well?

A top tier campaign could afford the hit in terms of delegates lost and could survive maybe even benefit using stronger financiai resource to be applied elswhere instead?

But an insurgent candidate with the audacity to pull an end run on the party with nothing to lose because of low percentiles and too little money in his campaign chest who just might have a shot and the ability to sew togteher the fracteous elements?

A candidate with well thought out solutions and plans on record that address the plethora of issues, a political character pragmatic enough to know what stand to make and which to not make and the spine to take unpopular stands that reflect a profile in courage?

Now that would be a kind of Cool Hand Luke with Paul Newman like icy blue eyes , where nothing to lose would be a pretty cool hand and would be a force to be reckoned with!

Have you ever noticed how blue Joe Biden's eyes are?

[calwatch]

I think that it's not that big of a deal, since the California recall showed that many, if not most, of the people will likely wait until a week or two before the election to mail in their ballot anyway, and a sizable percentage will merely drop their ballot in on election day itself. The California erecall showed the risks of voting early, since candidates could drop out. But most voters get that and so the effect will not be that big, since I think people would prefer to vote for viable candidates to stop people they don't want from getting in.

[Steve Fallon]

It comes down to one thing: money-either you have a shed-load of it or . . . you get off your rearend and go to a small state where you can actually meet and speak to the people you hope will vote for you. Iowans and New Hampshirites take their roles very seriously. It is a sacred tradition to do so in those early states.

To those who complain that Iowa and/or New Hampshire aren't representative of the rest of the country, I say, so what. Can anyone name one state that is a complete cross section of the entire population of this vast country? How many Eskimos do you suppose live in California? Or do native Alaskans not count?

I say, stick with things as they are. This system has worked and it doesn't need fixing.

[paul gronke]

Dan

Because Iowa is a caucus state, their absentee and early voting laws are not relevant.