Who Are You Voting for Today? It's Not Who You Think It Is

As noted not long ago, elsewhere in these pages, when voters go to the polls today to cast their ballots for President and Vice President, they are not actually voting for Donald Trump or Gary Johnson or Hillary Clinton. Those candidates receive votes only indirectly.

Voters cast their ballots, instead, for slates of electors selected by the political parties (or, in the case of independent candidates, by the campaign organization).

In Virginia, each party selects two at-large electors and one from each of the eleven congressional districts. The Republican Party (and, I would guess, the Democratic Party) selected its slate of electors at the state party convention (for at-large slots) and at congressional district conventions.

The executive committee of the Libertarian Party selected its slate late in 2015 because all 13 names had to be included on the ballot access petitions that were circulated for the purpose of collecting a sufficient number of signatures to qualify the LP’s candidates for the ballot. The ballot petition included "stand-in" candidates for president and vice president, because Gary Johnson and William Weld were not nominated until nearly six months after the petitioning process began; their names were substituted after the petitions were turned in to the State Board of Elections. Presumably the Green Party followed a similar process.

Evan McMullin’s elector selection process was more opaque; even his running mate listed on the ballot, Nathan Johnson, is not McMullin’s actual running mate (Mindy Finn), although it’s unlikely that will matter by Wednesday morning.

Names of electors this year may be more relevant than in past years because of the possibility that one or more of them may go rogue and cast a ballot for candidates other than those who win the popular vote in their states. Two Washington state electors, who supported Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries, have already announced that they will not vote for Hillary Clinton if she wins in the Evergreen State.

For the sake of full transparency in the electoral process, and to document this election thoroughly for future historians, here are the names of the 65 individuals who have agreed to serve as electors if their favored candidate wins the popular vote in Virginia on November 8. (Names are followed by “city of record,” as noted by the State Board of Elections.)

Green Party electors: Audrey R. Clement, Arlington; Becker Sidney Smith, Pamplin; Clifford Barry Anderson, Radford; Daniel A. Metraux, Staunton; Edmund E. Dowe II, Virginia Beach; Gerald L. Anderson, Fredericksburg; Jana Lee Cutlip, Charlottesville; Jeffrey B. Staples, Chesapeake; Kirit Mookerjee, Washington, DC; Patrick O. Hopkins, Herndon; Richard D. Johnston, Louisa; Ryan R. Ruff, Portsmouth; William Michael Lupinacci, Oakton

Notice that the “city of record” of one Green Party elector, Kirit Mookerjee, is listed as “Washington, DC.” Is this legal?

Democratic Party electors: Bethany J. Rowland, Chesapeake; Debra Stevens Fitzgearld, Harrisonburg; James Harold Allen Boyd, Culpeper; Jasper L. Hendricks, III, Pamplin; Jeanette C. Sarver, Dublin; K. James O'Connor, Jr., Manassas; Kathy Stewart Shupe, Sterling; Keith A. Scarborough, Woodbridge; Lashrecse D. Aird, Petersburg; Susan Johnson Rowland, Chesapeake; Terry C. Frye, Bristol; Virginia L. Peters, Alexandria; Vivian J. Paige, Norfolk

Here’s an oddity: Both the Democratic Party slate and the Green Party slate include an elector whose city of record is Pamplin, a postal designation in Virginia that I’ve previously never encountered. Is that coincidence?

Republican Party electors: Alan John Cobb, Falls Church; Anne Taetzsch Fitzgerald, Staunton; Cynthia Marie Miller (Byler), Virginia Beach; Donald L. Boswell, Glen Allen; Erich D. Reimer, Charlottesville; George William Thomas, Jr., Richmond; Henry Michael Ziegenfuss, Norfolk; James G. Huber, Leesburg; John V. Rainero, Bristol; Laurie K. Tryfiates, Fredericksburg; Lynn A. Tucker, Richmond; Samuel A. Howe, Lynchburg; Sean M. Spicer, Alexandria

That last name listed for the GOP, Sean Spicer, is principal spokesman for the Republican National Committee. He’ll probably be too busy today to campaign for himself outside his home precinct in Alexandria.

Libertarian Party electors: Alvin Scott Bandy, Charlottesville; Brian A. Hiner, Roanoke; Constance Hannigan-Franck, Broadlands; David W. Saum, Falls Church; Donna L. Grebas, Chesterfield; Gregory Ivan Lloyd, North Chesterfield; James J. St. John, Norfolk; James W. Lark, III, Free Union; Juanita A. Walton Billings, Fredericksburg; M. Anne Panella, Pembroke; Robert F. Shuford, Jr., Hampton; Sanford Brotman, Fairfax; William B. Redpath, Leesburg

The Libertarian Party slate includes two former national party chairmen, Jim Lark and Bill Redpath. (Full disclosure: I was on the LP elector slate in 1992 and again in 1996, but the GOP electors were chosen by the voters those years.)

Evan McMullin/Nathan Johnson electors: Andrew Hemby, Henrico; Annie H. Pratt, Gainesville; Bruce M. Andrew, Fredericksburg; Daniel Martin Eaton, Charlottesville; Deborah Kathryn Strader, Newport News; Jonathan C. Morris, Norfolk; Joseph R. Mayes, Chester; Kelsey C. Carreon, Clifton; Matthew Phillip LaPointe, Falls Church; Monica G. Shafer, Smithfield; Nanette M. Gagnon, Woodstock; Steven D. Bridges, Marion; Wilson R. Dodge, Jr., Burke

The McMullin/Johnson slate contains nothing noteworthy, from what I can see – but if it does, please tell us in the comments section, below.

Whichever slate of electors is elected by voters tomorrow, the lucky thirteen will meet on Wednesday, December 19, at 12 o'clock noon in the Senate Chamber at the Virginia State Capitol. A limited number of tickets are available for members of the public to watch the balloting ceremony.

From the Archives: Constitution Party presidential nominee Virgil Goode talks politics on Labor Day

Publisher's note: This article was originally published on Examiner.com on September 3, 2012. The Examiner.com publishing platform was discontinued July 1, 2016, and its web site went dark on or about July 10, 2016.  I am republishing this piece in an effort to preserve it and all my other contributions to Examiner.com since April 6, 2010. It is reposted here without most of the internal links that were in the original.

Constitution Party presidential nominee Virgil Goode talks politics on Labor Day

Former Virginia congressman Virgil Goode is running a populist campaign for President as the nominee of the Constitution Party, but first he has to face a hurdle in his home state, where the Republican Party is challenging the validity of the petitions Goode circulated to place his name on the ballot.

The Republican challenge will be formally presented to the State Board of Elections at the board’s regular meeting on the morning of September 4 in Richmond.

Goode spoke to the Charlottesville Libertarian Examiner at the annual Buena Vista Labor Day parade and candidates forum, saying his campaign is preparing a response to the GOP’s attempt to get him off the ballot.

“We’re going to present a response to the State Board on [Tuesday], if they will accept it then,” Goode said.

‘Voters deserve a choice’
The Republican Party of Virginia, he explained, “is challenging the Libertarians and us. It’s really sad. They’re trying to stamp out persons who have differing views and giving the voters a choice. I think voters deserve to have a choice.”

Drawing an analogy, Goode pointed to “the squelching of Ron Paul at the Republican convention” as a similar tactic by the GOP establishment.

In Tampa, he said, Congressman Paul was faced with “changing the rules right when [he] got there after he had already met the rules. He should have had some role; he didn’t.”

Now, he said, “in Virginia they’re trying to get us off the ballot any way they can [but] I hope the State Board will see through what the Republican Party is doing.”

Goode affirmed that the State Board of Elections had found that his campaign did “have sufficient signatures statewide and in every district,” contrary to the assertions being made by Republican lawyers.

Differences with Greens and Libertarians
Unless the Republican challenges are successful, there will be three third-party presidential candidates on the ballot in Virginia: Goode, Green Party nominee Jill Stein, and Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson.

Goode said he parts company from the other two candidates.

“On social issues we differ significantly,” he said. “I’m pro-life and pro-traditional marriage and I don’t believe either of them are.”

On the other hand, he added, “I’m for balancing the budget now; I think Gary [Johnson] shares that with me.”

Restricting legal immigration
Goode pointed out that he is “the only candidate running for president who recognizes the need for jobs in America to go to American citizens first. I’m calling for a near-complete moratorium on green card admissions into the United States. Last year, for example, we had 1.2 million admitted green card holders. This takes jobs from U.S. citizens. A green card holder can get a job in about any state doing about anything. And those jobs should go to American citizens when unemployment is at 8.3 percent.”

In his speech at the Buena Vista LaborFest, Goode elaborated his stance on immigration, noting that he would maintain the ban on legal immigrants to the United States “until the unemployment rate is below 5 percent.”

Goode’s goals for his presidential campaign are modest and ideologically populist.

“We hope America eventually will wake up and say, ‘We don’t want either the Democrats or Republicans.’”

Both those parties, he explained, “are controlled by multibillionaire interests with the SuperPACs funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to both sides. We’re a grassroots [campaing] and 2012 may be the year that America says, ‘I’m tired of the big money controlling the Republicans and the big money controlling the Democrats [so] I’m going to vote for an ordinary, average citizen running a grassroots, shoe-leather campaign, Virgil Goode.’”

Western strategy
Although his career in politics in Virginia has spanned more than three decades, Goode expects to win more votes in other states.

“I think in some of the western states we’re going to do well. I think in Wyoming we’ll do well. We’ve got some support in Ohio, some support in Florida, so we’re going to do well in a number of states.”

He added that he is “hoping to be on the ballot in New York and get some votes there” and that he is “on the write-in ballot in Texas. I think we’ll get some votes in Texas and North Carolina” where he is also a write-in candidate.

Asked to reveal his preference in the U.S. Senate race in Virginia this year, where former Governors George Allen and Tim Kaine are facing each other, Goode demurred.

“I’ll be voting,” he smiled. “I like one candidate better than the other but my focus right now is on the presidential race and I’m going to be voting for Virgil Goode for president.”

Suggested Links

Libertarian author Brian Doherty compares Ron Paul and Gary Johnson
Presidential hopeful Gary Johnson on health care, marriage, and Colbert
Rasmussen Reports founder discusses opinion trends, future of polling methods
Author David Lampo brings gay-rights message to conservative Republicans
Michael Barone comments on Virginia politics, campaigns, and elections

From the Archives: Virginia elections board halts changes to voter registration form

Publisher's note: This article was originally published on Examiner.com on August 12, 2015. The Examiner.com publishing platform was discontinued July 1, 2016, and its web site is scheduled to go dark on or about July 10, 2016.  I am republishing this piece in an effort to preserve it and all my other contributions to Examiner.com since April 6, 2010. It is reposted here without most of the internal links that were in the original.

Virginia elections board halts changes to voter registration form

Virginia's State Board of Elections (SBE) has withdrawn a controversial proposal for revising voter registration forms in the face of widespread criticism by election officials and the public.

As explained on the political web site Bearing Drift by Brian Schoeneman, former secretary of the Fairfax County Electoral Board, the proposal included “fundamental changes to the material omissions policies that are codified in Virginia law and that help to both prevent fraudulent voter registrations and to provide law enforcement with information they may need to prosecute registration fraud.”

The proposed changes would have eliminated the requirement that potential voters check boxes next to statements regarding their statuses as eligible American citizens and non-felons. Instead, they could simply sign a general statement at the bottom of the form attesting to their eligibility, saying that nothing disqualifies them from registering to vote.

Objections
SBE meetings are generally quiet affairs that draw little attention from the press or public, but last month’s meeting in Midlothian attracted a standing-room-only crowd and unrelentingly negative comments about the proposed changes in the form. Members of the General Assembly encouraged their constituents to attend the meeting and also to register their objections on line. (There were eventually 1,259 comments about the proposed regulatory changes.)

In an email message distributed to electoral boards and general registrars dated August 11, SBE chairman James Alcorn wrote: “As Chair of the Board, I have reviewed the public comments submitted regarding the voter registration application and associated regulations. (http://goo.gl/UqgvWg) In response to the substantive concerns raised, I am pulling the proposal from the Board’s September agenda.”

The proposal, Alcorn explained, “needs substantive work before the Board can review any potential changes and this issue requires more time for proper analysis. I am asking staff of the Department of Elections to work in a collaborative fashion with the broader elections community to develop any future changes to the voter registration application and associated regulations.”

Applications denied
Alcorn also explained the scope of the problem that the Board was trying to address:

“Since 2011, Virginia general registrars have denied over 100,000 voter registration applications due to missing information. A person’s ability to register to vote should be judged on their legal qualifications and not on their ability to complete an administrative form.”

That problem, he said, “persists and we should work together to make it easier for all qualified Virginians to participate in the electoral process.”

Alcorn invited electoral board members and registrars to submit their “ideas about how to address this issue that affects too many Virginians.”

Further study
Finally, the SBE chairman indicated that the proposal will be studied further to determine what action should be taken, if any.

“To facilitate this discussion,” Alcorn said, “I am asking the Department of Elections to conduct an analysis on the rejection of voter registration forms; to provide findings to the Board at a future meeting; and to release the data and findings via the Department’s website so it is easily accessible to all stakeholders.”

Revisions to the voter registration application form and other types of forms are probably inevitable. For instance, the absentee ballot application, which has become particularly unwieldy as more and more excuses are approved by the General Assembly, will eventually need to be changed. This is even more likely as such documents gravitate to on-line rather than paper forms.

If this decision by the SBE to halt the revision of the voter registration form shows anything, it is that when citizens and public officials raise objections loudly and voluminously, those criticisms are heard and heeded.

SUGGESTED LINKS

Charlottesville write-ins reveal voters’ allegiance, impishness
Four priorities for election law reform in Virginia discussed by VEBA legislative chair Robin Lind
Virginia's top elections official Nancy Rodrigues says 'elections have changed forever'
Georgetown philosophy professor Jason Brennan explores ethics of voting
Porn king Larry Flynt defends free speech in Charlottesville

Original URL: http://www.examiner.com/article/virginia-elections-board-halts-changes-to-voter-registration-form