Putin's United Russia Party Said to Be Using State Power to Block Out Rivals

EUROPE'S TOP ELECTION MONITORING BODY HAS REFUSED TO OBSERVE SUNDAY'S ELECTIONS SAYING PROCESS HAS BEEN UNFAIR

Reports from across Russia indicate that by various means, state authorities are pressuring organizations and institutions of all kinds to force mass voter turnout for Pres. Putin's United Russia party. The Kremlin denies the allegations, but at least one high ranking election official has said he was given orders to ensure that United Russia receive 'double' the number of votes forecast by current opinion polling.

That same official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the press that there was no way such a broad margin could be achieved without massive fraud or intimidation. Observers from NGOs, election-monitoring groups, free-press advocates and editorial circles, have expressed dismay at the tactics being used by Pres. Putin's government, to close out any substantive opposition campaign against his policies or his government. [Full Story]

California Electoral College Plan May Undermine National Election Integrity

CRITICS SAY PLAN DESIGNED TO GIVE GOP UNFAIR ADVANTAGE IN NATIONAL VOTE

The Electoral College is a procedural peculiarity enshrined in the Constitution, initially intended to protect the voting power of slave-holding states, which puts the very concept of majority rule in question. A California plan to "reform" the system would grant electoral college votes to the Republican party even if it doesn't win the state, which would rob the Democrats of votes they would not gain in any state controlled by Republicans.

A national popular vote initiative is under consideration in 47 states, and would form a new system where states agree to give their electors to the winner of the national popular vote. The Constitution empowers states to choose how members of the electoral college are chosen and how they vote. When states holding 270 electors collectively pass the plan into law, it will officially mean the winner of the popular vote will always be chosen by the Electoral College.

In 2006, both houses of the California Congress passed legislation signing onto the plan, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, vetoed the legislation. This set the stage for a very heated partisan debate, both in California and across the nation.

A fundamental question of the dedication to democratic principles comes into play when one state sets up its legislative process as a means of engineering a sway in the national presidential vote. The Constitution provides for each state to determine how its electors will vote, in legislation to be laid out before the election is held. [Full Story]