New delegates should have to comply with a reasonable deadline in order to participate in balloting
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New delegates should have to comply with a reasonable deadline in order to participate in balloting
I'd agree, make it about a month before the convention to give enough time to vet them.
http://journals.aol.com/kweinschen/Veritas/
I think a deadline of being registered as a delegate a month before the convention is reasonable. People still registering after the first ballot that is ridiculous and would make a mockery of the convention.
Everyone must respect deadlines. You don't get another chance at the ballot box in general elections, neither should special rules be created for those who find out late about Unity08.
Absolutely agree with rkcoulombe and others who have voiced similar comments.
There has been plenty of media and word-of-mouth coverage (WE all found out about Unity08 in some way, and I assume we also have busy lives!) and there should be no "special rules" for late-comers.
Deadlines are important and I agree that people need to be registered before the voting begins.
In this age of electronics surely a week before the convention is long enough
Mrtek
Absolutely agree with rkcoulombe and others who have voiced similar comments.
There has been plenty of media and word-of-mouth coverage (WE all found out about Unity08 in some way, and I assume we also have busy lives!) and there should be no "special rules" for late-comers.
Set the deadline and adhere to that. Anything less will keep this effort from getting off the ground. Being firm will give this group credibility.
Vetting can be done fairly quickly. We DO want delegates who have the time to think inseriously about the candidates on the lists and come to well-considered judgments before voting, and that WILL take time. I would say.... no later than 2 weeks before voting closes.
I take it everyone else in here is a delegate and a registered voter already , right?
I certainly am.
http://journals.aol.com/kweinschen/Veritas/
Any perception that this effort is subject to fraud will torpedo the effort.
Set a reasonable deadline of 30 or 45 days.
I believe there should be a deadline. It will bring up the possibility of fraud if delegates are not checked and in order to check their authenticity, it will take time.
There should be no opportunity for people to become delegates late in the system. And late would be about two or three weeks before the convention. I realize that the possible enthusiasm for this approach to selecting candidates may appeal to citizens as the deadlines are near, but deadlines are needed. The election is on a specific date - no votes count that are offered after that date. Our system needs a suitable deadline as well.
J Byron Fanning
The rules are the rules. Exceptions cause problems not solve them. we are a young group we need to build trust in each other by obeying the rules from the start.
I believe a deadline would deter casual/uncommitted candidates and delegates. A deadline would also make voting fraud difficult and make late-delegate/candidate identity verification, which is time consuming and could be overwhelming, unneccesary.
A deadline would only be unneccesary if you didn't use it for the next election. Life is overwhelming but we still DO IT.
30 days before convention, and verify.
I gree with:"Any perception that this effort is subject to fraud will torpedo the effort.
Set a reasonable deadline of 30 or 45 days."
i agree with the consensus of 30 days prior. a deadline prior to the balloting is necessary; otherwise the "media" will make unity08 out to be fraudridden to help the cases of their mainstream candidates.
I agree with the apparent building consensus of these comments. We need rules and we need to follow them to build trust. The rules should state the latest date thata delegate can register and that date should be suffiiently before the convention and voting to tive time for verification by whatever means are determined to be best - my own preference is voter registration verification.
Rules committee has done a great job on this. However; late registrants should not be treated special. We need to hold steady on this. I support no late registration
We have a deadline, The time the polls close. I do think we are advanced enough to be able to handle what many think is a group of individuals whom are uncommited and uninterested in our society. Now, you have to remember that we can't leave any voice out.This is what our Government has been doing for years. We have the technology, don't be afraid of it. We have to use it to make it better. I have a vision of every citizen voting online for any and all bills. Once a month each citizen logs in from anywhere weather it be home or a public computer (Library or Goverment offices)and cast there vote and opinions.
Our elected politicians would become informers to the respective districs deseminating information on the pros and cons of the issues and getting that information to the voters.Some Day.
I have envisioned this also, that elected officials disseminate information to the constituients and that every week or month or bi-weekly we the people taking an oath that we are educated upon the issues at hand do intelligently cast a vote for 'x' or 'y' or 'z' and thus design our own society to live in.
yes to provisional vote to any late comers----can't leave any voices out----and snail mail verify ASAP
Unity08 has to maintain its credibility by holding to a deadline on delgate registration and voting. I think you would agree that throughout our lives there have been deadlines we have all had to meet. All matters of law and insurance have deadlines. Many of us who work, and even those who don't, have to meet deadlines if we are professionals in what we do. It shows responsibility. At the actual party conventions there are delegate credentialing rules, and I'm sure one hard and fast rule is that a delegate can't come traipsing into the hall on the third day and expect to be able to vote. All of our delegates should be especially informed of what their responsiblities are, so if one wants to be a delegate they have to come to the "party" early to participate in all the "fun".
I agree with the majority on this issue. A deadline is exactly that, a DEADLINE!Set a cutoff, and stick to it, or you lose all credibility.
Unity 08 is all inclusive and open. Late registrants should be able to register right up to the end of voting and allowed to cast a provisional ballot that is qualified before adding to the final tally of votes.
Unity 08 should not make rules that may me contrary to its core mission that tens of millions of Americans who have not been voting out of cynicism toward the current system are likely to rally to new leadership with a new approach. This would go against the whole purpose. Get elected.
I agree that late registrants be allowed to vote provisionally (put a 'P' in front of their vote)and upon snail mail verification to delete 'P' connotation....voting upon our PLATFORM should start early so that when we get to the nitty-gritty of endorsing and eliminating perspective candidates there has already been many voting opportunities and new comers can just jump in and join the fun as ful-fledge Delegates; for the last big hoorah, there ought to be a deadline so verification can be done; but I just read above that banks use credit reporting agencies and it takes but 2 minutes to confirm an ID, so I guess the deadline should be as nearly non-existent to the voting action. And you see, there ought to be a Constitutional Amendment to deal with voting on-line and that it be punishable to commit identification fraud.
I agree that there must be a deadline for registration or risk the possibility of overwhelming the vote count by supporters of one candidate through a purposeful effort to distort the process (see American Idol). Once the cutoff date is announced then proper voting can proceed without threat of uneven voting.
I think delegates must be registered to vote before the balloting begins. This may exclude folks who cannot register until after June 1 because of their age, but they can vote in the election, just not in Unity08's convention.
If the rule is allowed to remain as allowing the certification that the delegate will register before the election, no one should be allowed to register as a delegate after balloting has begun. This is a convention, not a phone in reality contest on TV.
I side with the "a deadline is a deadline". My opinion is it's the only way to go.
I agree. A deadline is a deadline. No late joiners please.
vickie dale
I'm going to have to agree with the deadline folks, tho perhaps not for all the same reasons. I don't have any problem with a provisional vote, subject to later verification, but I DO have some worries about the systems capacity for a slew of bogus (e.g. "american idol") votes. While the could easily be thrown out later, that assumes that the server isn't blown up first.
vickie dale
Woody Pidcock
Seattle
I agree with the need for a deadline to register to vote at the Unity08 on-line Convention. I leave it up to the Rules Committee to decide when the deadline should be. I recommend verification of registration to vote in the national election tied to a Unity08 username. Only one username per voter registration ID. When a Unity08 username identifies with a voter registration ID, confirmation needs to be sent to the address of record for that voter registration ID. If someone fraudulently registers someone else's voter registration ID, there should be penalties--minimum is to throw out ballots cast by fraudulantly registered Unity08 usernames. We need to be clear about this. Unity08 usernames should be vaerified similarly to eBay usernames. Unverified usernames should not be allowed to vote.
I agree that we have to stick to what ever rules are established but a couple thoughts: First, if the concern is that with publicity, there is going to be a lot of late comers, do something so the publicity hits early enough that people still have some time to register. Second, we want this kind of excitement and will get good publicity if this happens so have a rule established *in advance* that if the number of late requests for delegates that cannot be accommodated exceeds some threshhold (say 10% of previously registered delegates), then for one time only, there will be a two week extension or whatever sort of extention we would need to absorb this late group of want-to-be delegates. Third, this process needs to be well automated so we can process these people quickly and accurately. If it appears that non-US citizens are getting through the screen, we loose credibility.
eventually we will be forced to meet togeather at that time all present must have valid forms of id every american citizen has a birth certificate, and a social security number,those must be valid
and we need to check them for acuracy.
the more proof of identy the more credit a delegate would have,that would not be leverage but would help secure a desired status as an american citizen.
we will need to have a screening process that builds credibility.
and a possible biometric unity id tag.
we must have security to protect the candidate also.
I addressed this in another topic.
Not all people with social security numbers and birth certificates are registered voters.
And being a registered voter is the ONLY requirement for being a delegate.
And voter registration rolls are part of the public record.
http://journals.aol.com/kweinschen/Veritas/
Use the same process you use now, it works. Work backwards to determine how much time you need. After the first ballot allow that amount of time before the second ballot. Why? Delagates are critical to the success of our initiative.
I think the only fair process is to "lock" the list of voting delegates before the first balloting. There's too much potential for being swamped by single-interest channels in this modern internet age.
We just have to take comfort in the inevitable process of major party nomination -- the two parties are going to nominate hacks -- and that inevitability is our great recruiting tool. So we need to work very hard on recruitment immiedately after the February 5, 2024 super-dooper primary, when the hacks emerge as likely major party nominees and we have a "window" in which to sign up disgusted moderates.
That window for enrollment is NOT the first or second round of the electronic convention -- the independent campaign train has already left the station at that point. "We're asking for trouble" letting people sign in and vote DURING the process.
A lot of good ideas out there. There definitely needs to be a deadline or the Dem and Rep losers will try to overpower the system after the big primary. On the other hand some slower to act moderate voters may be important for later use. I like the two- tiered system for that reason. It is exciting to see the Internet used for good things, like trying to get our government back to being more responsive to the people. We do not need any more Bush or Clinton dynasties out there. If the best candidate doesn't have hundreds of millions of dollars, maybe they still have a chance and maybe we can get the best people running for office.
Is there a future for seting term limits and getting old senators and representatives out of Congress. I shudder everytime Ted Kennedy or W. V. senator speak on the floor or TV..
In 2024 like also election years in the last 40, the best candidates will be the ones that can not win the Rs or the Ds nomination because they did not sell-us-out. Unity 08 is an excellent opprotunity to pick up people like Richardson or Bloomberg because their party organizations are too stupid to know what they HAD!
Bill"for what we are together"
a FAXED COPY OF A LOCAL VOTER REGISTRATION CARD SHOULD ENABLE US TO SECURE THE PROCESS
I'd gladly do it, but I doubt few voters have their registation cards.
http://journals.aol.com/kweinschen/Veritas/
If they cant make the deadline they are not serious enough about this issue. Or if they are serious ask them for important personal info like SSN and Drivers liscense numbers.
Most people are not serious about it at all. Don't disallow people a voice. Allow everyone, but verify their identity.
Close deligate registration before voting begins. These earlier registrants will be more "pure" and we avoid the serious pitfalls others mention regarding registration after voting begins.
Establish a second category ("tie breaker delegates") for those wanting to register after voting begins. Their votes would be used only in the case of a tie. It lets us involve those serious enough to register late in spite of their reduced impact and helps neutralize the effect of special interest block voting. It would also offer a helpful peek into the process for use in the future. We may or may not want to publicize "tie breaker" delegate votes.
I would close the delegate process at the end of the first ballot, so that only first ballot delegates vote for the second round. We need to respect our abilities to change our own minds.
My first pick would be a deadline. I beleive failure to do so would delay our momentum in pressing for change. But, if the rules are to stay in place we'll have to take time to validate deligates as we do with everyone. I don't think we should rush this because the integrity of Unity08 must be upheld.
I agree.
And as I've said before a month or so before the convention should be adequate.
http://journals.aol.com/kweinschen/Veritas/
Everyone should be verified, it's easy, and here's how.
http://unity08.com/node/1352
Perhaps one could consider the option of requiring late registrants &/or those whose registration which couldn't be (otherwise) verified, supply Unity08 with a scanned copy of their voter registration verification. They are available at your local city/town hall in which you registered.
If you have signed up before the date set, you can vote. I completely agree that the vaguest whiff of chicanery will undermine this noble effort--Even some reality shows can limit voting to a certain number of votes per phone line and/or computer. Can Unity08 call the Geek Squad or someone who can set up something to limit voting to people who have registered on this site?
And btw, this is not going to be perfect the first time out. Let's all be okay with some growing pains; it will be worth it in the end, when the kinks are identified and worked out.