Made it to the destination for the next #changethelist project.
Passing through Birmingham. Any guesses where we are headed for the next #changethelist story?
Help us bring change to places and issues that need it most. This CNN experiment is led by John D. Sutter.
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Hawaii ties for last in voting
(CNN) — Hawaii tied West Virginia for 49th place in voter turnout in the November election — and I’m pretty pumped about it. That may seem like a strange thing to be excited about, or even to know about, but hear me out on this: Since September, I’ve been writing about Hawaii’s lowest-of-the-low voter turnout rate for a new CNN project called Change the List. The goal, as the project name spells out in even-Ke$ha-can-understand terms (sorry, Ke$ha, I’m sure you’re smart, but that dollar sign …), was to bump Hawaii off the bottom of that list. And I wanted to do that with your help.
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Petition aims to combine Election Day with Veterans’ Day (Sign it!)
After I wrote a recent article for CNN’s Change the List about why Election Day should be a federal holiday, someone created a petititon to that effet on WhiteHouse.gov. I didn’t realize the White House’s website allowed for user-created petitions, but apparently it does, and a couple of you sent me this link on Twitter. It now has more than 7,500 signatures. Several similar petitions can be found on Change.org, but I’m highlighting the White House version because it seems to have the most support, at least at the moment. Take a look, and if you agree Election Day should be combined with Veterans Day, as The Atlantic first suggested, then take a second to sign it. I think it could go a long way toward making it logistically easier for people to vote, and symbolically reminding all of us of the sacrifices veterans made for that right.
Thanks! — John, CNN’s Change the List
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No English ballots? Try Japanese
That’s basically what happened to voters at one precinct in Hawaii after a series of unfortunate events. First, the polling place at Hokulani Elementary School on the island of Oahu ran out of ballots. A two-hour line formed as polling workers tried to shuffle hundreds of people through a single electronic voting machine.
Next, according to Mike Kratzke, who was working the election, officials delivered more ballots — but they were the wrong ones, featuring the wrong local races. “Everyone stop! The ballots are wrong!” Kratzke recalls yelling over an angry mob.
Finally: A sorta-solution. Kratzke said he passed out Japanese-language ballots to some of the English-speaking voters. By comparing the Japanese ballots with those that included the wrong candidates, he said, the people of Hawaii finally were able to vote.
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Why Election Day should be a federal holiday
As The Atlantic has suggested, Election Day could be combined with Veterans’ Day to create “Veterans’ Democracy Day.” Smart idea. Sends a strong message about the importance of voting, and the sacrifices that have made American democracy possible.
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The defeat of the [Minnesota] voter ID constitutional amendment, along with the [state] Legislature’s flip from Republican to Democratic control, is likely put that issue on indefinite hold. But it won’t end the debate over the need for some changes in state election law.
A lot of news Tuesday night, and oddly the presidential and senatorial races plus marriage equality and marijuana decriminalization initiatives got more attention than this. (Ha!)
But it’s worth noting that Minnesota’s Voter ID ballot initiative failed approximately 54 to 46 percent. In light of the fact that voter ID requirements generally are supported by upwards of 75 percent of the population, this was a huge win for voting rights activists. It just goes to prove that when you explain the issue and fight for the vote, you can win.
Even without photo ID, election system likely to see changes | Minnesota Public Radio News
(via electoraldysfunction)
Here’s the CNN Change the List story on why Minnesota is tops at voting.
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It’s now the morning after Election Day. And while it’s still unclear whether Hawaii will finish last place for voting, preliminary estimates do offer a ray of hope. According to Michael McDonald, an election results guru at George Mason University, Hawaii likely will slip past West Virginia, handing over the title of the “state that doesn’t vote.” It feels too early and too odd to celebrate, though, especially given the calamity that ensued in Hawaii on Tuesday.
Read the full CNN.com story to find out why I’m not ready to celebrate the fact that Hawaii may have bumped itself out of last place for voting. Main reasons: Not all of the numbers are in; and Election Day, according to reports, was a mess in parts of Hawaii.
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Woo-hoo! Thanks for sending in “I voted” images, Hawaii. Click on the image to see the interactive map and to send in an image of your own. Here’s another pic, from the news site Honolulu Civil Beat. The polls are still open in Hawaii. Get out there and vote!
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The majority of the (Hawaii’s) 233 precincts opened on time this morning at 7 a.m. … The only exception was in Leeward Oahu where a precinct at Mililani High School opened 10 minutes late because of “a misunderstanding” during the initial setting up process, said Rex Quidilla, state elections office spokesman.
Gregg K. Kakesako, Honolulu Star Advertiser. That’s good news, especially considering the trouble the Big Island of Hawaii had during the primary, with several polling places opening late. The bad news: Surf is high today. (Good news: You can surf AND vote).
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“Where you at, Hawaii?” After you vote, take a photo of yourself with an “I Voted” sticker (homemade or otherwise) and upload it to iReport, Instagram or Twitter. Tag it #ivotedcnn and it could end up on this CNN map. We want the Aloha State to be included in the project. And thanks for voting!
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Mahalo for voting Hawaii! The Aloha State doesn’t have to finish last for voter turnout this year. Get out there and vote! — CNN’s Change the List
