Vote for Good Health Election Results

Wrapping up ETV Smart Cat’s “Vote for Good Health” on-air promotion, ETV staged an election of a more mouth-watering variety. Throughout the campaign that lasted six weeks, kids of all ages had a chance to get involved in the democratic process by voting for their favorite fruit or vegetable.

Fruit and Vegetable Election Results:
Strawberry 141
Watermelon 126
Apple 95
Corn 55
Carrot 55
Peach 44
Squash 16
Lettuce 6

For more information, visit ETV Kids.

Darlington County Turnout

Of the 38,536 registered voters in Darlington County, 29,568 cast ballots, a whopping 76.73 percent!

Record Turnout

With an overwhelming number of voters participating in the voting process, the South Carolina State Election Commission estimates a record turnout that is likely to exceed the previous record set in 2004 of 70 percent.

“This is a huge testament to the citizens of South Carolina and their ability to come together at this dynamic time,” said Marci Andino, executive director of the South Carolina State Election Commission. “The fact that this state has more than 2.5 million registered voters, most of whom participated in today’s General Election, is monumental. We appreciate their preparation, enthusiasm and patience as they went to the polls and cast their ballots today.”

“More than 20,000 poll workers and election officials across the state worked diligently in the months and weeks leading up to this election to ensure the day ran as smoothly as possible and we are thankful for their tireless efforts,” added Andino.

The record for total number of voters participating in an election was set in 2004 (1,631,000 voted, 70% participation).

The record for turnout based on percentage of registered voters was set in 1992 (1,237,000 voted, 80% participation).

Election Results

The state Web site has the unofficial results updating throughout the evening too. Here.

Of course, I find it odd that with 0 of 46 counties reporting, CNN and others are calling the state already.

Vote Today!

The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today.

You have 3 minutes in the voting booth, so know ahead of time how you plan to vote. For information on the Races and state Constitutional amendments, click here.

Also, there have been reports of massive turnout in our area. One woman waited nearly an hour to vote. Be prepared to wait in line ... and bring an umbrella!

10 am Absentee Ballot Counts

As of 10 a.m. this morning, almost 350,000 people have voted absentee in South Carolina. Darlington County has seen more than 6,000 absentee votes.

Absentee voting continues at the voter registration office until 5 p.m. today.

Third Party Candidates Debate Today

A third party debate will address economic issues Thursday, October 30th at 4:30 PM at the City Club of Cleveland, 850- Euclid Ave, Cleveland.

The forum, organized by the City Club will effectively break the media blackout on viable third party candidates running in the presidential race. Third party candidates in the debate include Independent Ralph Nader, the Green Party’s Cynthia McKinney and the Libertarian Party’s Bob Barr.

C-Span will be there and should air it tonight. (Probably the only media that will be there)

Obama's 30 min. Ad

What did you think of Obama's primetime 30 minute ad?

Barr loses ballot status in Conn. due to bureaucratic failures

A U.S. Federal District Judge yesterday allowed the state of Connecticut to keep Libertarian Presidential Nominee Bob Barr off the November ballot despite Barr meeting the legislative requirements for ballot access.

The Libertarian Party of Connecticut properly submitted over 12,000 signatures to meet the 7,500-signature requirement of the state.

The state miscounted the number of petitions submitted by the Libertarian Party of Connecticut and improperly struck hundreds, if not thousands of voter signatures denying Bob Barr access to the ballot. The administrative mistakes of the state bureaucracy were quickly uncovered.

Judge Janet Hall, based her decision on the inability of the state to quickly reprogram electronic voting machines and reprint machine-readable ballots before the election.

"We are outraged by the decision of Judge Hall. To allow a candidate for the highest national office to be unlawfully excluded from an election because it would inconvenience state workers or interfere with bureaucratic procedures goes beyond the pale," stated Russ Verney, campaign manager for Bob Barr.

Verney continued, "It takes a few days to print good, old paper ballots which served us well for over 100 years. Throw the machines in the river and allow democracy and justice to take precedent over technology. If the state of Connecticut maintains a level of incompetence so great that they cannot print ballots before the election, I encourage them to look to private industry and call Kinkos."

Libertarian Party Presidential Nominee Bob Barr's name will appear before 95% of Americans when the vote on Election Day – more than any other third-party or independent candidate.

Final Presidential Debate

If you missed the last presidential debate last night, you can watch it here.
Once you have watched it, please post your comments about the debate and who you think won/lost and why in the comments.

US Senate Race Heats Up

Polls have Bob Conley edging up to 41% to incumbent Lindsey Graham's 50%. This is a phenomenal amount of support given Conley's lack of funds (and Party support) compared with Graham incumbent warchest.

The "Ron Paul" Democrat had a good showing in Saturday night's ETV debate with Graham, which focused a lot on the current economic crisis. Graham voted for the $700B bailout package while Conley opposed it. Both men stood their ground on the issues and made rebuttals often, making it more of a debate than the two presidential debates.

Most, if not all, experts consider Graham will keep his seat. Voters will have the final say on Nov. 4.

Information on the candidates:
Graham - Web site - On the Issues
Conley - Web site - On the Issues

If you missed te debate, watch it here.

Don't forget to Watch Saturday Night!

The ETV and The State Newspaper Senatorial debate between GOP incumbent Lindsey Graham and Democratic challenger Bob Conley will now take place on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. The debate, produced in Columbia, will air LIVE on all 11 ETV stations and eight ETV Radio stations. The debates will also be streamed over the Internet at www.myetv.org.

Bob Barr's Election Updates

Libertarian candidate Bob Barr will be in Charleston on Tuesday, September 30th. You are invited to a Fundraising Dinner with Bob at the Sunfire Grill in West Ashley at 7:00. With a minimum contribution of $30, you will receive dinner, a sign for your yard, and a bumper sticker. Dinner is a choice of a 10 oz Ribeye over mashed potatoes topped with a red wine demi or Pan fried stuffed chicken over mashed potatoes topped with a mushroom cream sauce. You can prepay by credit card, but contributions will also be accepted at the door. Seating is limited. Please make reservations early. Contact wwoolsey@comcast.net or call (843) 795-5062.
Barr will speak at 10:00 to Citadel cadets, to the Charleston Rotary Club at 12:30, and at the College of Charleston at 2:30.

Also, a study released today by the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) listed Bob Barr as the most fiscally responsible candidate running for president, noting a Barr presidency would cut federal spending by a whopping $200.9 billion.
The study found that Sen. John McCain would raise federal spending by nearly $100 billion, compared Sen. Barack Obama's plans that would raise spending by almost $300 billion.

The figures are compiled based on campaign statements up to September 19, and do not include bailouts proposals supported by Senators McCain and Obama.

"Both the McCain and Obama campaigns have tried to keep pace with the political issues of the day -- largely by responding with proposals for new programs and regulations that could reach deeper and deeper into taxpayers' pockets," NTUF Senior Policy Analyst Demian Brady said. "On the other side of the spectrum, Bob Barr's Libertarian philosophy is strongly reflected in a platform that is built upon cutting programs and slashing spending."

The study finds that the bulk of Barr's spending cuts comes from withdrawing troops from Iraq ($92.4 billion in annual savings) and eliminating the Department of Education ($92.4 billion in annual savings).

Bob Barr Files Suit in Texas to Remove McCain, Obama from Ballot

Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party's nominee for president, has filed a lawsuit in Texas demanding Senators John McCain and Barack Obama be removed from the ballot after they missed the official filing deadline.

"The seriousness of this issue is self-evident," the lawsuit states. "The hubris of the major parties has risen to such a level that they do not believe that the election laws of the State of Texas apply to them."

Texas election code §192.031 requires that the “written certification” of the “party’s nominees” be delivered “before 5 p.m. of the 70th day before election day.” Because neither candidate had been nominated by the official filing deadline, the Barr campaign argues it was impossible for the candidates to file under state law.

"Supreme Court justices should recognize that their responsibility is to apply the law as passed by the Legislature, and the law is clear that the candidates cannot be certified on the ballot if their filings are late," says Drew Shirley, a local attorney for the Barr campaign, who is also a Libertarian candidate for the Texas Supreme Court.

A 2006 Texas Supreme Court decision ruled that state laws "does not allow political parties or candidates to ignore statutory deadlines."

"The facts of the case are not in dispute," says Russell Verney, manager of the Barr campaign. "Republicans and Democrats missed the deadline, but were still allowed on the ballot. Third parties are not allowed on the ballot for missing deadlines, as was the case for our campaign in West Virginia, yet the Texas secretary of state's office believes Republicans and Democrats to be above the law."

Barr will be holding a press conference this Thursday at the Texas Supreme Court at 11:00 a.m.

SOURCE: Barr 2008 for President Committee

Election Updates

Innovative Campaign Idea
Baldwin/Castle '08 Campaign is looking for truck drivers, especially, but not limited to, those who are independent and who haul "over the road," to help carry the Baldwin/Castle '08 Campaign Across America. Please contact us at: contact@baldwin2008.com or call 1-800-2- VETO IRS (toll free) or (717) 390-1993 and provide us with the following information: Your name, cell phone #, email address, your state and please indicate that you are a trucker. The campaign would also like you to tell us (in just a few words) what you believe is the most important issue of the 2008 Campaign.

The Green Party Package
Cynthia McKinney is scheduled to appear on Road to the White House, scheduled to air on on CSPAN-1, Sunday, September 7 at 6:30 pm EST and again at 9:30 pm EST that same night.

Interesting email from Bob Barr

Below is an excerpt from a Bob Barr for President email newsletter:

As it stands now, Bob Barr is the Lone Candidate in the Lone Star State.
As the filing deadline passed this week, Bob Barr was the only presidential candidate legally certified on the ballot in Texas.
The new Texas law is clear:

A political party is entitled to have the names of its nominees for president and vice-president of the United States placed on the ballot in a presidential general election if . . . before 5 p.m. of the 70th day before presidential election day, the party's state chair signs and delivers to the secretary of state a written certification of the names of the party's nominees for president and vice-president . . .

Given that the deadline passed on Tuesday, Senator Obama was nominated on Wednesday, and Senator McCain has not even announced his selection for Vice President, the Republican and Democrat parties in Texas were technically unable to certify their candidates by the deadline.

--snip--

Do you think that John McCain and Barack Obama's names will eventually be printed on the ballot in Texas?

I would be willing to make an educated guess and say that we're going to have to fight our hearts out to get on the ballot in the states above while the Republican and Democrat candidates won't have to lift a finger to secure their place on the Texas ballot.

. . . that is unless we make a stand in Texas.

And that's exactly what we're going to do.

This situation in Texas is a perfect opportunity to highlight the double standard that exists in our nation.

Does that double standard matter to you? Please post your comments and discuss.

Biden picked as Dems VP nominee

Obama’s VP choice Biden a recent visitor


Delaware Sen. Joe Biden brought his own presidential campaign to Coker College in March of 2007, before bowing out. Biden was selected by Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama as his vice presidential candidate this past weekend. While at Coker, Biden, a guest of Sen. Gerald Malloy, mostly touted his exit strategy from Iraq, which he called one of the most detailed and workable plans. He also emphasized health care.

War on Drugs

At a news conference today Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader outlined his plan to empty prisons of non-violent drug offenders and fill them up with corporate criminals.

"Non-violent drug offenses are being over prosecuted and corporate crime is being under prosecuted," Nader said. "The Justice Department must begin to reverse course, crank up the crackdown on corporate crime, and end the cruel and inhumane war on non-violent drug possession."

"The criminal justice system is broken--so badly that one hardly knows where to begin describing the breakdown," Nader said. "Let's start with the war on drugs, since commentators across the political spectrum recognize its lunacy. We pour almost endless resources--roughly $50 billion every year--into catching, trying, and incarcerating people who primarily harm themselves. This insane war on drugs damages communities and drains crucial resources from the police, courts, and prisons. These resources could be better used to combat serious street and corporate crime that directly violates the public's liberty, health, safety, trust, and financial well-being. As with alcoholics and nicotine addicts, the approach to drug addicts should be rehabilitation, not incarceration."
Link to full release.

There was no separate Issue page on Obama's Web site for drugs or corporate crime. Nor was there one on McCain's. What are the candidates' positions on the "War on Drugs," rehabilitation, and corporate crime?


Do you agree with Nader? Would rehabilitation work? Is locking these folks in prison working?
Do you think this is an important issue that the other candidates should discuss?

Playing with the Presidential Race

A section devoted to the presidential election on YouTube sounds like a good idea. However, there are only two candidates listed: Barack Obama and John McCain.

Here are the rest of the candidates.

Chuck Baldwin, Constitution Party Web site
Bob Barr, Libertarian Party Web site
Cynthia McKinney Green Party Web site
Ralph Nader, Independent Web site

Please consider every candidate's stance on ALL the issues.

Also, contact YouTube, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and let them know you want complete coverage of the election – and that there are more than two parties in this country.

Don't let big corporate media take your right to know or to make this choice for you. For democracy to work, citizens must be informed.

If you want to share your thoughts with the News and Press or with the Darlington County community, post comments here or send us an email.

Presidential Election Politics

You may have noticed that a presidential election is coming up this year.
However, what you may not know is all the candidates. Sure, there's Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, but who else will be on the ballot in November?

Every year, countless voters are surprised to see a lengthy list of candidates when they go to cast their ballots. So-called third party candidates are almost completely ignored by the main-stream-media (MSM) unless the point is to get a comment about the GOP or Democrat running.

America is about freedom and choice. The people decide who to elect, and we should not stand for subpar coverage of our election.

In South Carolina, the deadline to get names on the ballot is July 15, so until then here are the "other" candidates running for president that you may see in the voting booth.

Chuck Baldwin, Constitution Party Web site
Bob Barr, Libertarian Party Web site
Cynthia McKinney Green Party Web site
Ralph Nader, Independent Web site

Exercise all your rights this election.
Learn about and consider all the candidates running for office.