Let me start by saying that I tend to support getting rid of the straight-ticket lever. And I’m a math nerd, and have enjoyed reading TPublico’s analyses of recent voting patterns.

I believe that it’s incredibly important to work towards a true multi-party democracy. (I discuss this in detail here, in the context of proportional representation.)

But the notion that the straight ticket is one of the fundamental determinants of who wins elections in Rhode Island, again purveyed today in an Achorn colum, is baseless and condescending, to readers and voters. more »

The Providence Journal editorial staff has apparently been drinking the Kool-aid.  In Sunday’s editorial ‘ACORN’s voting machine’ they make no mention whatsoever of the other, much more sinister and much more likely, explanation for these sudden ‘voter fraud’ claims, even though it is exactly the same series of events that caused the Department of Justice scandal two years ago. At that time U.S. attorneys were dismissed for refusing to investigate similar phony claims due to the proximity of the upcoming election (in accordance with federal law). Keith Olbermann probed this issue recently with Robert Bauer, the Obama campaign general counsel.  The good news is we have smart people taking appropriate action. In fact, our side was expecting these dirty tricks and was prepared with a response. (Hey, this Obama guy would make a good president.) But make no mistake, this is not voter fraud by the Democrats, it’s voter suppression by the Republicans, and we’ve been down this road before.

While increased visibility is a laudable goal for any police department, this morning’s ProJo Metro edition has this startling headline regarding Providence’s finest (and curliest), “Department continues pubic roll call of officers”.