Elections and Voting

December 12, 2006 - The 16 percent of eligible voters who bothered to cast ballots in yesterday's congressional runoff election in the New Orleans area sent Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) back to Washington for a ninth term, handing the ethically challenged politician a decisive 57 percent of the vote in his race against attorney and state Rep.

December 7, 2006 - Of the many ways that people are fleeced by financial institutions, one of the most egregious is "payday lending," which gives cash-strapped consumers an advance -- with exorbitant interest rates -- on their paychecks.

November 30, 2006 - Update from NC-8: Democratic challenger Larry Kissell has conceded to Rep. Robin Hayes halfway through the recount after finding only two new votes. You may recall that Rep.

November 29, 2006 - The audit of voting machines begun yesterday in Sarasota County, Florida was supposed to help clarify when happened to the 18,000 ballots which "undervotes" that didn't register a choice for Congress. But puzzling glitches and criticisms of the audit itself means the battle over the U.S.

November 28, 2006 - As Chris mentioned here last week, voting problems in Sarasota County for the Florida 13th Congressional District race may change the future of e-voting in America.

November 23, 2006 - The legal battle brewing in Florida District 13, where Dem. Christine Jennings is contending that 18,000 "undervotes" cost her the election vs. Republican Vern Buchanan, could have implications well beyond Florida.

November 22, 2006 - Before the 2006 mid-terms, there was plenty of speculation about what would happen with religious voters. The "God gap" that favored Republicans in previous contests was at risk, as concern grew of a demoralized religious right.

November 20, 2006 - Do you remember the "purple maps" from the 2004 elections? They showed that -- contrary to the "red state" vs. "blue state" hype -- in reality, our country was deeply divided. In most of the country, states weren't solidly Democratic or Republican, but a rich blend of both.

November 18, 2006 - The historic walk-out of workers at a Smithfield Foods operation in Tarheel, N.C. -- the largest pork processing plant in the country, known for its checkered labor history -- that we reported on yesterday continues.

November 17, 2006 - If organized labor does indeed start pushing for trade agreements that better protect workers' rights, as my fellow Facing South blogger R. Neal reports, it will likely find support from an electorate that's proven to be deeply concerned about fair-trade issues.