VoteSwap 2004

Nader debates Dean

Justice Talking is broadcasting a debate between Howard Dean and Ralph Nader. With so much at stake in this election, now is not the time for a third party candidate. Governor Dean will make the case that anyone who cares about the future of our country and undoing the damage George Bush has done will be voting for John Kerry.

Greens choose pragmatism over protest

Xander Patterson writes that as a Green party member she choose to endorse David Cobb rather than Ralph Nader. She writes, "Greens need to be a pragmatic choice, not merely a symbolic protest vote. We need to show that we care about the real-world consequences of our actions."

Bush or Kerry: The Electoral College Map

The LA Times has a cool tool to track the electoral college on their website. Of course as with all polling results, keep a sound head and a grain of salt in your palm.

Check out the 2004 Electoral Vote Tracker

The U.S. presidential election is decided by the results of 51 electoral vote contests. In all states except Maine and Nebraska the electoral votes go to the winner of the popular vote in a "winner-take-all" system. Thus, trends in the campaign must be considered on a state-by-state basis.

Electoral Vote Changes for 2004:

After the 2000 census, seats in the House of Representatives were reallocated based on new population trends. Electoral votes are based on those numbers. Here are the changes for 2004 from 2000:

Gained Electoral Votes: Arizona (+2); Florida (+2); Georgia (+2); Texas (+2); California (+1); Colorado (+1); Nevada (+1); North Carolina (+1). All gained electoral votes are either in Bush dominated states on swing states

Lost Electoral Votes: New York (-2); Pennsylvania (-2); Connecticut (-1); Indiana (-1); Illinois (-1); Michigan (-1); Mississippi (-1); Ohio (-1); Oklahoma (-1); Wisconsin (-1).

Bush and Kerry split in key state of Florida

Poll: Bush and Kerry split in key state of Florida

Tallahassee, Florida-AP -- A new poll says President Bush and Democratic rival John Kerry are in a virtual dead heat in the state that turned into a fierce tug-of-war in the 2000 presidential election.

The poll from the Quinnipiac (KWIN'-uh-pee-ak) University Polling Institute of Connecticut says Bush and Kerry are split at 43 percent each in Florida, which holds 27 electoral votes. Five percent of the state is leaning toward Independent candidate Ralph Nader.

With Nader removed from the race, Kerry gains a two percentage point advantage. That's within the poll's three percent margin of error.

A pollster says Florida voters are "sharply polarized" -- and also that voters in the state "don't like either of the candidates very much."

Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Oregon Vote Swapper

Dan Carol is a Democratic political strategist and a founding partner of CTSG (www.ctsg.com),a progressive consulting firm based in Eugene and Washington, D.C. writes his views onvote "swapping" in Oregon in the Eugene Weekly. A satirical way to look at the importance of swing state voters in this year's presidental elections.

Is Vote-Swapping Legal?

We are back and getting ready for the 2004 elections. Make sure to check back as we get our campaign off the ground! You can also check out this blog for more updates.

Is Vote-Swapping Legal? By Jeremy Derfner

Slate, the Industry Standard, and washingtonpost.com join forces to examine the effect of the Internet on Campaign 2000.
Last week, Jamin Raskin, a law professor at American University, published an article in Slate proposing that Ralph Nader supporters who live in battleground states (such as Michigan) swap votes over the Internet with Al Gore supporters in states where the outcome of the election is an all-but-settled issue (such as Texas). That way, Nader could get the 5 percent of the popular vote he needs to secure federal matching funds for the Green Party in 2004 without tipping swing states to George W. Bush and costing Gore the electoral votes he needs to win.

It turns out a technical writer from Washington, D.C., had already thought of the idea and launched Vote Exchange Oct. 1. A Wisconsin graduate student launched a second site, Nader Trader, the same day the Raskin article appeared. Since then, the idea has exploded. At least six other trading sites have gone up: Voteswap 2000, Nader's Traders, VoteExchange, votexchange2000, nadergore.org, and WinWin Campaign. The media has given the trading trend heavy coverage, driving hundreds of thousands of visitors to these sites. Nader Trader reports that it got more than 90,000 hits on Monday alone. It seems as if vote-trading is catching on everywhere. A Democratic club in Alabama has declared Minnesota