Breckenridge, Colorado tonight became the first town in the country to vote to decriminalize possession of drug paraphernalia. It also decriminalized possession of up to one ounce of marijuana for personal use.

The vote was 3 to 1, or 73 percent to 27 percent.

"This votes demonstrates that Breckenridge citizens overwhelmingly believe that adults should not be punished for making the safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol," said Sean McAllister, a Breckenridge attorney who proposed the ordinance.

Even though existing state law punishes personal possession of pot -- and bongs, pipes, etc.-- by a $100 fine rather than jail time, it still leaves those convicted with a criminal record. Thanks to voters in Breckenridge, that will no longer be the case. So it is a big deal.

The new law takes effect Jan. 1.

I have no thoughts on today's elections. None.

Hope you folks can do better than me.

BREAKING! Deeds Loses In VA! (Snark)

Bloomberg Wins

Corzine Loses In NJ

Dem Leads In NY-23. Now, if we can only get the Teabaggers to win all the GOP primaries, Dems might be sitting pretty in 2010. It is always easier to run against someone than be run against.

Newt Gingrich on C-Span this morning said he and his wife Callista may run for President in 2012:

C-SPAN: "If you were to run, what factors would you take into account? What would lead you to think about running?"

GINGRICH: "Callista and I are going to think about this in February 2011. And we are going to reach out to all of our friends around the country. And we'll decide, if there's a requirement as citizens that we run, I suspect we probably will. And if there's not a requirement, if other people have filled the vacuum, I suspect we won't." (my emphasis)

Blast from the past: Is Newt Gingrich About to Gamble on His History?

Susie Madrak echoes Ben Smith and call this from Hillary Clinton "Shermanesque:"

NBC’s ANN CURRY[:]“Will you ever run for president again? Yes or no.”

CLINTON, laughing merrily: “No.” [. . .] “No. No. I mean, this is a great job. It is a 24-7 job. And I’m looking forward to retirement at some point."

Strictly speaking, Sherman said "If nominated, I will not run, if elected I will not serve." But more practically, do you want me to find all the politicians who said they would not run for President and then did? Starting with our current President, Barack Obama? In 2009, it is silly to ask Hillary Clinton if she will run for President in 2016. Can you imagine if she had hedged on it? all the CDS it would inspire? She's Secretary of State. That's what is on her mind. Running for President is not even something to think about right now. For the record, come 2012, I think the answer will start to be "maybe." And in 2014, it will be "yes." You can call me out in 5 years if I am wrong.

Speaking for me only

Bump And Update: If you live in Manhattan, don't forget to vote tomorrow in the District Attorney's race. Richard Aborn is the candidate who will bring the office into a new era in which the criminal justice system relies less on incarceration and more on prevention and intervention, revamp juvenile justice policies, actively work to reduce racial disparities in the system and provide greater protections against wrongful convictions. He's got great, solid plans, see below. Good luck, Richard!

***

Original Post 9/11/09

The Manhattan District Attorney's race is down to the final week of campaigning. The primary will be held September 15. Since all three candidates are Democrats, the primary winner will get the job.

I'm supporting Richard Aborn. You can read why in my extensive interview of him. [More...]

A few weeks ago, I published my interview with Richard Aborn, one of the three Democratic candidates to succeed outgoing Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morganthau. No Republicans are running, so whoever wins the September 15 primary will win the job.

I praised Aborn's mostly progressive agenda and his unique perspective on using the DA's office to do more than get convictions and lock people up.

The New York Times today profiles Aborn and says he's gaining steam: [More...]

For the first time in 34 years, Manhattan will elect a new District Attorney. For decades, the office has been run by District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, who at 90, is stepping down. There are three Democrats competing to replace him in a primary that will be held September 15. With no Republicans running, the winner of the primary will get the job. The candidates are: Richard Aborn, Cyrus Vance and Leslie Crocker Snyder, each of whom worked as prosecutors in Morgenthau’s office for varying periods of time.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is huge. It prosecutes 100,000 cases a year. It employs 500 Assistant District Attorneys and 700 staff members. [More...]

Judd Legum, founder of the Center for American Progress blog, Think Progress, is running for the state legislature in Maryland.

In 2007, Judd became the research director for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. As to running for Congress, Judd says:

I learned at ThinkProgress what can be accomplished if you combine serious policy ideas with engaging political communication. I want to take what I’ve learned and bring progressive values to the state capital in Maryland.

Judd answered questions today over at Crooks and Liars. There's more over at Daily Kos.

Maryland would be fortunate to have Judd as a legislator. I hope you will go on over to his Act Blue page and contribute. His Republican opponent is an extremist, especially on marriage issues: [More...]

Here's a shocker:

A voting system used in 34 states contains a critical programming error that can cause votes to be dropped while being electronically transferred from memory cards to a central tallying point, the manufacturer acknowledges.

You knew it was Diebold (now known as Premier Election Solutions), right?

Remember Diebold?

A leading cyber-security expert and former adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says he has fresh evidence regarding election fraud on Diebold electronic voting machines during the 2002 Georgia gubernatorial and senatorial elections.

RawStory reports that a whistleblower became suspicious of this:

The first red flag went up when the computer patch was installed in person by Diebold CEO Bob Urosevich, who flew in from Texas and applied it in just two counties, DeKalb and Fulton, both Democratic strongholds. ... The whistleblower said another flag went up when it became apparent that the patch installed by Urosevich had failed to fix a problem with the computer clock, which employees from Diebold and the Georgia Secretary of State’s office had been told the patch was designed specifically to address.

Are these election results a coincidence? [more ...]

Americans who are convicted of crimes do not lose their citizenship, are not relieved of their obligation to pay taxes, and should be just as entitled to participate in the democratic process as everyone else. In Florida, however, even after felons are released from prison and from supervision, even after they've paid their fines and made restitution, there are still barriers to voting. Those barriers stem from an ugly history of disenfranchising black voters.

The issue of voting rights here has long been intertwined with race. The ban on voting by felons became part of the state Constitution in 1868, when many Southern states found ways to suppress black votes in the wake of the Civil War.

Florida's Gov. Charlie Crist has advocated a measure of reform that, since April, has reinstated voting rights for 115,232 ex-offenders. But 80 percent of them remain disenfranchised. [more ...]

USA Today has an editorial explaining how Voter ID laws suppress turnout.

The photo ID laws in seven states are problematic enough, but now several states are also looking at ways to require voters to prove U.S. citizenship. Arizona does that already, and Missouri's legislature is debating a constitutional amendment that would pave the way for requiring voters to present a driver's license or a substitute when they vote. Obtaining such an ID in Missouri requires proof of citizenship, so voters would, in effect, have to prove their citizenship to cast ballots.

To be sure, only citizens should vote. But as with photo IDs, there's little evidence that voting by illegal immigrants is a problem. Most stay as far away from government officials as they can lest they be caught and deported, and fraudulent voting is a felony. Proof-of-citizenship requirements are likely to trap legal citizens who don't have their birth certificates and would have significant trouble getting them.

Hillary Clinton issued this statement Monday opposing Voter ID laws such as the one upheld by the Supreme Court in Indiana and those contemplated by Missouri and 19 other states.[More...]