Fun Facts about the 2008 presidential election
November 5th, 2009 | Politics | Posted by Elise Castelli
Yes, Election Day was two days ago. And the presidential election was 365 days ago. But the Election Assistance Commission only released the results of its 2008 Election Administration and Voting Survey and its 2008 Uniformed and Overseas Voting Act Survey today.
The commission took the last year to quiz election officials, academics, community groups and voters from the 50 states, four territories and the District of Columbia. It found:
- More than 190 million Americans were registered to vote, a 14 million voter increase since 2004.
- Nearly 700,000 Americans used an online form to register to vote.
- More than 878,000 poll workers staffed approximately 132,000 polling places nationwide.
- Approximately 61 percent of voters cast their ballots in person at the polling station on Election Day; 17 percent used domestic absentee ballots; 13 percent voted early; 1.3 percent cast provisional ballots; and 0.7 percent sent in absentee ballots from overseas. (The balance falls into the very informative “other” and “not categorized” categories)
- Approximately 1 million ballots were sent to military personnel and citizens overseas. Of those, 69 percent were returned and 93.6 percent of those returned were counted.
- At home, 26 million absentee ballots were distributed and 91 percent were returned and counted.
- Electronic touch-screen machines were the most common type of voting equipment used in 2008, with 23 states reporting 218,370 touch-screen machines in use. However, the optical scan voting systems are more widespread, with 43 states using them. However, there were only 107,519 optical scanners in use.
One more word on the stimulus package
February 3rd, 2009 | Economic Stimulus Facilities Politics | Posted by Gregg Carlstrom
Steve calls out the wrongheaded argument that spending $75 million on FBI salaries is not economic stimulus.
We can go a step further: Everything on the Republican list of “wasteful projects” is stimulative. $88 million for a new Coast Guard icebreaker? Someone is getting paid to build the ship. $248 million for new furniture at DHS headquarters? Someone has to build the furniture.
Even the $400 million for the CDC’s STD prevention programs has an effect on the economy, because someone — whether feds or contractors — is getting paid to administer those programs.
You can argue that these aren’t the most stimulative types of spending, or the smartest way to spend limited funds. Personally, I’d love to see more infrastructure spending in the stimulus bill, particularly for mass transit.
But anyone who tells you that spending on government programs isn’t stimulative is being disingenuous.
Tags: stimulus
The Revolving Door: Tom Davis Edition
November 17th, 2008 | Congress Politics Procurement | Posted by Elise Castelli
There has been a lot of attention on who is coming into government these days, but let us not forget who is leaving and where they are going.
Retiring Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va, one of the few members of Congress deeply involved and interested in government information technology and procurement issues, is joining the consulting firm Deloitte, a government contractor offering financial and consulting services. While serving on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Davis has been panned by watchdogs for his close ties to industry and praised by industry for his understanding of their needs.
According to Deloitte’s press release:
Davis will advise Deloitte’s clients on major trends, opportunities and challenges facing the federal government, with a focus on technology innovation and government transformation.
So even though he’s leaving Congress, we can expect to see Davis remain a player on the federal technology and procurement scene for the foreseeable future.
Tags: Tom Davis
How do you say "Six more years" in Russian?
November 11th, 2008 | Politics | Posted by Mariah Walters
The Kremlin announced Tuesday that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has submitted an amendment to extend the presidential term from four to six years. News agencies speculate that Medvedev’s move might allow former leader, Vladimir Putin, to seek the seat ahead of scheduled 2012 elections.
As the law stands now, a president can serve two back-to-back four-year terms but then must step down. However, the law does not prohibit him from running again after that.
Why change the law? In it’s statement, the Kremlin says
Establishing a longer term of office for the President with respect to State Duma deputies speaks to the need to ensure the stable development of the country and the continuity of government policies. The achievement of this goal is rendered more difficult when there is a virtually complete turnover of power at the federal level every four years.
If that were the case here, six years might help the president. A president could focus on the country for about 4 1/2 years (if future elections are anything like this election has been) before focusing on re-election. That might help, indeed, stabilize developments.
What do you think? Would the same ruler for six years work in America? Should there be other limits/modifcations to current term rules?
Tags: president, Russia, term limits
Bush feels the love from employees
November 7th, 2008 | Executive Office of the President Politics Transition White House | Posted by Tim Kauffman
With his approval ratings at historic lows and the nation’s focus shifting to the incoming Obama administration, President Bush has a tough time garnering much attention these days.
But hundreds of career and political employees who work at the Executive Office of the President gave Bush a rousing reception yesterday on the South Lawn of the White House. Flanked by his Cabinet and joined by First Lady Laura Bush, Vice President Cheney and Cheney’s wife Lynne, Bush congratulated Barack Obama for winning the election and urged federal employees to make the transition to a new administration as smooth as possible.
Joking about his graying hair and First Dog Barney’s romps on the South Lawn, President Bush seemed at ease. He took time to shake hands with employees and even hug a few.
But he also said he intended to keep working for the American people right up until he hands over the keys to the White House on Jan. 20, and he encouraged federal employees to do the same.
As January 20th draws near, some of you may be anxious about finding a new job, or a new place to live. I know how you feel. But between now and then, we must keep our attention on the task at hand — because the American people expect no less. Earlier this year, I promised that I would sprint to the finish. I am keeping that promise, and I know I have given some of you a good workout along the way. As we head into this final stretch, I ask you to remain focused on the goals ahead. I will be honored to stand with you at the finish line.
Tags: Barack Obama, President Bush
Lame ducks and direction
November 7th, 2008 | Politics Transition | Posted by Gregg Carlstrom
President-elect Barack Obama just held his first news conference, and I was struck by how much attention is focused on him — and how little on President Bush. Obama had to remind reporters a half-dozen times that “I am not the president until Jan. 20.”
Any sitting president is a lame duck between the election and the inauguration, but it seems Bush has become especially marginalized.
How does this impact your agency? Do you feel like the focus on the next administration means a lack of direction at the end of this administration?
Tags: Barack Obama, George Bush
Vote early. Vote often. Just vote.
November 4th, 2008 | Politics Transition | Posted by Elise Castelli
Happy Election Day Feds! It is finally here. The day you get to pick your new boss.
We here at FedLine cast our ballots this morning and can report turnout is heavy at the polling stations inside the Beltway. This reporter stood in line for 62Â minutes to make her choice, which seemed pretty speedy given the fact that there were 210 people ahead of her when she started.
If you’ve headed to the polls today, or are on your way later, we want to hear from you.
Did you choose McCain? Obama? A third party candidate? How will your choice affect your office? What issues influenced what lever you pulled, button you pressed or bubble you filled? How were conditions at your polling stations?
If you are not voting at all, tell us why not.
Finally, if you need help finding your polling station, just click here.
Tags: Barack Obama, election, John McCain
One more note on campaign contributions
November 3rd, 2008 | Politics | Posted by Gregg Carlstrom
Earlier today we mentioned Barack Obama’s slight fundraising edge among federal employees in the presidential race; he’s received about 13 percent more from feds than his rival, John McCain.
In case you’re wondering how this compares to recent elections: In 2004, George W. Bush received three times as much from federal employees as John Kerry did. Bush hauled in about $249,000 from government employees, compared with Kerry’s $80,000.
If feds vote with their wallets, they’re significantly more excited about Obama’s candidacy than they were about Kerry’s.
Tags: Barack Obama, contributions, John McCain
Donations from feds skew towards Obama
November 3rd, 2008 | Politics | Posted by Gregg Carlstrom
This has been an astoundingly expensive presidential campaign — more than $1 billion spent since the primaries.
How much did federal employees contribute? We decided to take a look at the donor database for both candidates.
Barack Obama seems to have the fundraising edge among feds: his donations outpaced John McCain’s by about 13 percent.
Defense Department employees contributed nearly half of the total amount donated by feds — not surprising, since Defense is by far the largest federal agency. The Agriculture Department seems to have contributed the least: just $250 for Obama, and nothing for McCain.
The agency-by-agency numbers are after the jump.
Tags: Barack Obama, contributions, John McCain
Feds: Time to choose a new boss
November 3rd, 2008 | Politics | Posted by Gregg Carlstrom
Hard to believe, but after nearly two years of campaigning, we’re just 24 hours away from voting for a new president.
Voter turnout tomorrow is expected to reach record highs — so be prepared to spend some time waiting in line at your polling place. Not sure where that is?
Maryland: Polls are open from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. Check your polling place here.
Virginia: Polls are open from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm. Check your polling place here.
District of Columbia: Polls are open from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. Check your polling place here.
(If you live outside the D.C. metro area, go here and choose your state.)
Remember: As long as you’re in line before polls close, you will be allowed to vote.
Not sure when you can get to the polling place? Federal employees are entitled to time off to vote, but only if the polls are not open at least three hours before or after an employee’s regular work hours.
What does that mean for you? Well, if you work a 9-5 schedule, and you live in Maryland or D.C., you’re allowed to show up for work at 10:00 — giving you three hours to vote in the morning. If you live in Virginia, though, you don’t get any time off, because the polls open three hours before your work day begins.
OPM has more information on its Web site.
Still have questions? Leave a comment — we’ll be checking back here throughout the day.