On The Ballot
Countries are rather funny about their borders. Going from one country to another is always a little bit of an adventure and these days a valid passport is the gold standard for international travel even if formal visas are not required for travel to a variety of countries.
State boundaries may not require passports but they do decide who is a resident of the state and who can vote in their jurisdiction. I just wish they were as interested about where campaign funds come from because money from out of state interests can be important factors in determining the results of various state wide and congressional offices. Drawing districts is important but not the only factor in elections.
There are estimates that between $14 and $16 million dollars was spent in the 26th district in Florida The average size of a Congressional District in Florida is about 710,000. There were 160,000 votes cast in that district the 2014 election. The candidates raised almost $6 million of the dollars. The rest of the money came from other sources and it would be interesting to see if it came from residents in the 26th district. I doubt it!
Who is electing who, and does money mean more than the elector that lives in the district. And what about the special interest that the outside money represents?
One way or another campaign finance reform is needed. I live in the 27th District in Florida. The incumbent is so entrenched that in this cycle she was reelected without opposition. The political scientist in me figures that the 27th and 26th Districts are similar and the major difference is the power of incumbency in District 27 and the amount of money she had in the bank and how much she could raise with her network. In the 26th being a first term democratic incumbent helped a little bit but it was basically an in house Cuban contest.
This isn't very satisfying. And is just another reason why I think the right direction/wrong direction question asked by pollsters generates the wrong response and somethings don't change.
State boundaries may not require passports but they do decide who is a resident of the state and who can vote in their jurisdiction. I just wish they were as interested about where campaign funds come from because money from out of state interests can be important factors in determining the results of various state wide and congressional offices. Drawing districts is important but not the only factor in elections.
There are estimates that between $14 and $16 million dollars was spent in the 26th district in Florida The average size of a Congressional District in Florida is about 710,000. There were 160,000 votes cast in that district the 2014 election. The candidates raised almost $6 million of the dollars. The rest of the money came from other sources and it would be interesting to see if it came from residents in the 26th district. I doubt it!
Who is electing who, and does money mean more than the elector that lives in the district. And what about the special interest that the outside money represents?
One way or another campaign finance reform is needed. I live in the 27th District in Florida. The incumbent is so entrenched that in this cycle she was reelected without opposition. The political scientist in me figures that the 27th and 26th Districts are similar and the major difference is the power of incumbency in District 27 and the amount of money she had in the bank and how much she could raise with her network. In the 26th being a first term democratic incumbent helped a little bit but it was basically an in house Cuban contest.
This isn't very satisfying. And is just another reason why I think the right direction/wrong direction question asked by pollsters generates the wrong response and somethings don't change.
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