On Tuesday, November 4, 2008 we will be choosing our next president. Voter turnout in America is perilously low. Citizens are disenfranchised from participating in the democratic process, and even those who do vote are unsure if their ballots will be counted. It is clear that our election system needs an upgrade, and it is up to all of us to ask our elected officials to reform that system.
On September 25th, 2007 we asked the original 16 presidential candidates to answer the following questions in a video response to be posted to YouTube and our website, and, in so doing, to share their views about our voting system with all Americans:
Do you agree that our voting system is broken?
If so, what specific steps would you take in the first year of your presidency to reinstill vigor and confidence in our electoral processes?
Finally, do you believe that Congress should revisit the decision made in 1845 to make “the Tuesday after the first Monday in November,” the one and only day when Americans can chose who will lead this nation?
13 of the 16 candidates responded to the Candidate Challenge, including all candidates remaining in the race!
Only Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney chose not to respond. We met up with Senator Thompson in Iowa while on the campaign trail — but two of his advisers and the candidate himself turned down the opportunity to chat with us. The video of that disappointing encounter is here. Similar story with Governor Romney. Here’s video our our attempts to speak with the Governor.
Candidate Responses:
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MANCHESTER, NH — Increasing voter turnout is vital to a healthy American democracy… or in the words of Mitt Romney a “strong America.” We rank in the bottom 20% of nations in voter turnout despite spending billions of dollars on our elections. Why isn’t Romney, like 13 other candidates, talking about it?
Dennis Kucinich, like Mike Gravel, responded to the Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge at the CNN/YouTube debate in South Carolina this summer. And also like Gravel (and Edwards and Huckabee), Kucinich doubles up on his response to the Candidate Challenge by way of 10Questions.
Congressman Kucinich endorses weekend voting in his video. He also calls […]
Mike Gravel responded to our Candidate Challenge at the CNN/YouTube debate this summer, but this morning he doubled up on his response by way of 10Questions.
Gravel reiterates what he told me at the Citadel in South Carolina, that he thinks the only way to fix our broken voting system is to have American citizens […]
JOHNSTON, IOWA — John Edwards submitted his response to the Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge last month. But last night he became the second candidate to respond to the Challenge by way of 10Questions.com, where our Challenge was one of the winning questions.
14 of the 16 presidential candidates have taken time to respond to our challenge, […]
Fourteen down, two to go! Senator John McCain became the latest presidential candidate to respond to our Candidate Challenge and chat with us about the state of our voting system. This time it was at Southern New Hampshire University at the latest MTV/MySpace Presidential Dialogue.
The Senator said he “would be glad to do anything […]
We caught up with Mike Huckabee in Iowa last month and he answered the Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge. But tonight he became the first candidate to respond to the Challenge by way of 10Questions.com, where our Challenge was one of the winning questions.
Unfortunately, Governor Huckabee doesn’t specifically say if he thinks our voting system is […]
Right now Senator Hillary Clinton is on stage at the CNN Democratic Debate, but earlier she took time to become the latest presidential candidate to respond to the Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge. That brings the total number of candidates to respond and discuss the state of our voting system to 13 out of 16! Senator […]
This just in: Senator John Edwards’ response to the Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge! That brings the total number of presidential candidates who have responded to 12 of 16. In the video, Edwards announces his support for full public financing of all congressional campaigns, paper ballots, a citizen congress and says we should “reconsider voting on […]
Last Sunday, Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Representative Tom Tancredo responded to the Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge at the Maple Street Baptist Church in Des Moines, IA. Part of his election reform plan? Barack Obama becoming the Democratic nominee!
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson is officially the first candidate to turn down an opportunity to discuss the state of America’s voting system and respond to the Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge. Why? How? Where and when did he turn us down?
I spoke with both his Senior Advisor, Rich Galen, and his midwest political director, […]
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee would consider a National Holiday for Election Day, among other election reforms he discussed with me in response to the Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge. We chatted this past weekend at the Iowa GOP’s Reagan Dinner in Des Moines. Watch the video to find out if Huckabee knows why we vote […]
Saturday night at the Iowa GOP’s Reagan Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa I had a chance to catch up with California Congressman Duncan Hunter and ask him to respond to the Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge, which he did. Continuing a similar refrain we’ve heard from the candidates, Hunter says “the best way to get voters […]
Former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel and I got into a substantive back and forth about the state of voting in America at the CNN/YouTube debate this summer. Gravel admitted he doesn’t know why we vote on Tuesday, but he says he thinks Tuesday voting is “silly.”
Because “representative governement isn’t doing the job,” and “you […]
What does U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich think about the state of our voting system? “People want their vote counted, and they want their vote to count,” he says. Like other candidates, Kucinich talks about how candidates must inspire voters to increase turnout. But he also believes Election Day should be a National Holiday.
I interviewed […]
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA — How did we get Senator Barack Obama to respond to the Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge and lay out his plan for election reform? Watch the video to find out. To read my liveblog of the day’s events at the MTV/MySpace presidential dialogue, click here.
Special thanks to Diann Smith, Elanie Girlando, and […]
This just in from the Bill Richardson camp: a response to the Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge! I’m sitting in the rafters of a theater at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, IA liveblogging the MTV/MySpace presidential forum with Barack Obama, as I type this. So you all are actually hearing Governor Richardson’s response to the challenge […]
DES MOINES — Welcome to Iowa! Tom and I are on day three of our trip here. We’re in Iowa to get as many presidential candidates as possible answering the Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge before the October 31st deadline. In first get of our trip, we caught up with Texas Congressman Ron Paul at a […]
At the CNN/YouTube debate this summer, I had a chance to catch up with U.S. Senator Chris Dodd in the spin room to hear his take on our voting system. He hasn’t yet responded to the Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge, but we’ll put this clip up in the meantime.
Last week we challenged all presidential candidates to send us a video with their plans for election reform… but waiting around for responses is boring. I ran into U.S. Senator Joe Biden at a coffee shop in Washington, D.C. and brought the Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge to him. Who’s next?
What is the Why Tuesday? […]
Why Tuesday? is an effort to make America’s democracy stronger through increased voter participation. We work to make election reform an issue that our politicians cannot afford to avoid.
