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Tech Politics In An Off-Year Election
by Michael Martinez
The polls are closed in most states this year, but for those holding contests, it has been a busy election season.
The Republican Party celebrated earlier this month when Bobby Jindal, a Republican currently serving in the U.S. House, cruised to victory in Louisiana's gubernatorial race. All the candidates run on the same primary ballot in Louisiana, with the winner of a majority of the votes avoiding a November runoff as Jindal managed to do.
Governorships are still on the line in two other states, and the Democratic Party has a strong chance of wresting one of them away from an incumbent GOP governor. Legislative election battles also are being waged in four states, and key executive positions are up for grabs in three.
Technology-related issues are shaping many of the contests as they head down the final stretch into November. Below is a look at how some of the key races in the cities and states holding elections this fall are playing out and the implications of those campaigns on technology policies at the local, state and national levels.
Ethics And Broadband In Kentucky
The more competitive of the two remaining gubernatorial races is in Kentucky, where Republican Ernie Fletcher is in serious danger of being ousted. According to a poll released Thursday by the Lexington Herald-Leader and Action News, the Democratic challenger, former Lt. Gov. Steve Beshear, has a 15-point lead.
Fletcher has been a marked man this election cycle. He was indicted in a hiring scandal in 2006. Beshear, whose resume also includes a stint as the state's attorney general, has made ethics reform a major part of his campaign platform. He has pledged to make the state's government more transparent by requiring that all of its deals with private interests be made public.
As a revenue-generating mechanism, Beshear said he will move to secure a ballot initiative that would allow voters to decide whether to allow "limited expanded gambling." Fletcher has attacked Beshear on the issue and has accused him of promising to expand gaming whether voters want it or not.
Fletcher has made economic competitiveness a centerpiece of his agenda. The ConnectKentucky initiative, a program he has implemented to expand high-speed Internet access, has been recognized nationally. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton recently said her nationwide broadband plan will be based on the ConnectKentucky program.
Fletcher also has tried to gain traction recently by emphasizing his work on immigration-related issues. In September, he announced that Kentucky will participate in a federal program to identify and deport unlawful immigrants in state prison systems.
Health IT Lessons From Hurricane Katrina
In the other gubernatorial race on the ballot this fall, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is a heavy favorite in his quest for a second term. Barbour, a Republican and the co-founder of a Washington lobbying firm engaged on several telecommunications issues, is running against Democratic trial attorney John Eaves.
During the past several weeks, Eaves has increased his attacks on Barbour's immigration policies. Eaves' advertisements criticize Barbour's support of the Bush administration's immigration proposals, such as an expanded program with Mexico for temporary workers.
The spots allege that Barbour, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, made millions working as a lobbyist at Barbour Griffith & Rogers on behalf of companies looking for cheap labor, including Microsoft and the satellite communications firm Intelsat.
Barbour, meanwhile, has focused on his administration's performance in responding to the 2005 hurricanes that displaced millions of Gulf Coast residents. He also has called for the expanded use of health information technology.
In campaign literature, he claims that Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the state's urgent need for more timely and secure access to health information, particularly during emergency situations.
The Legislative And Executive Slates
Gubernatorial seats are not the only positions on the line this fall. Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia all are set to hold legislative elections, and Kentucky is holding elections for executive statewide offices.
Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, a Republican, is up for re-election. He has sparred lately with Attorney General Greg Stumbo over whether all of the state's voting machines are up to par. Stumbo, a Democrat, decided not to seek another term and opted instead to run for lieutenant governor on what ended up being a losing ticket.
In Mississippi, several candidates are vying to replace outgoing Secretary of State Eric Clark, who during this past year has become a key voice in the nationwide debate over the security and reliability of e-voting. Clark has told Congress that paper trails to verify votes on electronic machines would be too costly and would force many states to move away from touch-screen platforms that are more accessible to many disabled voters.
Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti, meanwhile, was knocked out of his contest during the October open primary. Political experts expect the race between Democrat James (Buddy) Caldwell and Republican Royal Alexander, the two candidates to make it to the November runoff, will go down to the wire.
In Virginia, a few lawmakers with technology ties are locked into heated races. GOP Delegate Tim Hugo, the former president of the technology association CapNet, is in a tight battle with Democratic challenger Rex Simmons. Hugo this year supported legislation barring teenager drivers from making cellular telephone calls while behind the wheel.
State Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, another Republican and the wife of U.S. Rep. Tom Davis, also is in jeopardy of losing her seat. She is running against Democrat Chap Peterson. The campaigning in that contest has turned ugly. Peterson has blasted Davis for including his telephone number and the names of his children in ads, and Devolites Davis has criticized a video posted by Peterson to YouTube that discusses the time one of her daughters spent in prison.
ICG Government, a technology company formed by former Virginia Technology Secretary Donald Upson, employs Devolites Davis on part-time basis as a consultant.
Tech Woes, Advances In California And Texas
Technology-related problems, meanwhile, could delay the results of San Francisco's municipal elections for weeks. California Secretary of State Debra Bowen earlier this year conducted a thorough review of the state's various e-voting platforms and has imposed severe restrictions on the machines. As a result, voting officials essentially must visually inspect every ballot.
Officials from Bowen's office also are probing whether Election Systems & Software sold uncertified machines to San Francisco and other California counties. The investigation may result in fines as high as $9.7 million. Contra Costa and Sacramento counties have decided to loan certified devices to San Francisco and other jurisdictions that purchased the ES&S machines.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and the champion of a sputtering citywide broadband effort, is seeking a second term. His challengers include Josh Wolf, a 25-year-old blogger who recently did time in a federal prison for refusing to give authorities video footage he shot of a violent protest.
Texans also will have a chance to vote on an initiative that would require the Lone Star State's legislature to record all votes and make them publicly available on the Internet for two years. The initiative would amend the state's constitution to require that records of the all votes in both legislative chambers be made publicly available online.
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