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    Scorecard for Cynics    Voter turnout data    
Vote! It's more important than reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, displaying a yellow ribbon or singing the national anthem in English.
           

The leaves have turned. The trees are getting bare. But there are still signs of fall throughout the state - election signs.

Besides the governor, U.S. representatives and state legislature races, are you aware that there are seven referenda and seven proposed amendments to the state constitution? Odds are, that you could stand to learn a bit more about some of the candidates and the issues.

Rocky Mountain Magazine can recommend two unbiased resources to help build an educated electorate:

Election day is Tuesday Nov. 7. Early voting runs from Oct. 23 to Nov. 3. The last day to register to vote has already passed.

    __________________________________________________________________________________  

In the meantime, readers who wish to have a little fun during the election season can keep score with

Rocky Mountain Magazine's Scorecard For Cynics Points
Homeland Security raises the terror level to orange. (3 points)                             
A top-level Al Qaeda operative, whom you've never heard of is captured. (4 points)  
People with brown skin are arrested with great fanfare in the U.S. doing something  
    that white people would never be arrested for. (6 points)                             
The subsequent release of the aforementioned brown skin people appears a week  
    later on page 16 of the newspaper, below the fold. (2 points)                       
A candidate appears with a demographic (age, gender, sexual orientation, race,  
    physical impairment, etc.) that he/she hasn't been near since the last time they  
    ran for office. (1 point)                                                                            
A challenger is trailing in the polls, despite the fact that the incumbent has recently  
    been indicted (2 points) or convicted (4 points).                                         
Any photo op of the candidate next to a member of the military (any enlisted or  
    officer below the rank of major) or a firefighter. (1 point)                             
Candidate spins their opponent's military service to appear un-American, despite the  
    fact that the first candidate never served in the armed forces. (5 points)      
A candidate who allows President Bush to headline a private fundraiser, then  
    distances himself/herself from the President in public. (3 points)                      
Brochure shows candidate standing in a field, even though the candidate is from the  
    city. (1 point)                                                                                        
Candidate shows up at church for the first time since the 2004 election. (2 points)   
Candidate gets a dog simply for the brochure photo. (3 points)                       
Candidate shows up at a place where people do hard work only long enough to don  
    a hard hat and lift a shovel until the photo op is finished. (2 points)             
A press conference is held to showcase a rebuilding project following a major disaster,  
    but once the cameras stop rolling, the facades and back-up generators are  
    removed and the rebuilding site sits idle for the next nine months. (4 points)   
 
Total your score here------------------------------------------------------->>>  

(Any score higher than a zero means we all lose.)

  

Now, go vote about the real issues, such as what to do about Iraq; soldiers who are serving their third or fourth year-long tour away from their families; our nation's dependence on oil when viable alternatives exist with biodiesel, celluloid ethanol, wind and solar; educating our electorate from pre-school to college; tax cuts for the rich at the expense of the poor and middle class; a Congress that continues to receive pay raises while keeping the minimum wage at an unlivable $5.15 an hour; federal tax cuts that pass the fiscal burden down to state and local governments; fiscal irresponsibility that passes the bill for current policies onto the wallets of our children and grandchildren; an economic recovery that results in lower wages and benefits for the average worker; violation and erosion of the Bill of Rights; helping oppressed people who don't have rich oil reserves; providing affordable health care and insurance for the nation; actual clean air, water and soil as opposed to polluting initiatives with deceptive names; and protecting our western way of life.
 

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2000 voter turnout in the Rocky Mountain Region (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/voting/p20-542/tab04a.xls

Table 4a.  Reported Voting and Registration of the Total Voting-Age Population, by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin, for States: November 2000    
                     
Source:  U.S. Census Bureau                      
Internet Release date:  February 27, 2002                    
                     
(In thousands)                      
              Percent     Percent  
    Population Total Percent Confidence Total registered Confidence Total voted Confidence
STATE   18 and over citizen citizen interval registered (18+) interval voted (18+) interval
                     
UNITED STATES Total 202,609 186,366 92.0 0.2 129,549 63.9 0.3 110,826 54.7 0.3
Male 97,087 88,758 91.4 0.3 60,356 62.2 0.5 51,542 53.1 0.5
Female 105,523 97,608 92.5 0.2 69,193 65.6 0.4 59,284 56.2 0.5
N-H White 148,035 144,731 97.8 0.1 103,588 70.0 0.4 89,469 60.4 0.4
N-H Black 23,587 22,409 95.0 0.5 15,156 64.3 1.1 12,749 54.1 1.2
API 8,041 4,718 58.7 2.1 2,470 30.7 1.9 2,045 25.4 1.8
Hispanic 21,598 13,159 60.9 1.6 7,546 34.9 1.5 5,934 27.5 1.4
White 168,733 157,291 93.2 0.2 110,773 65.6 0.3 95,098 56.4 0.4
Black 24,132 22,753 94.3 0.5 15,348 63.6 1.1 12,917 53.5 1.2
ALASKA Total 412 399 96.8 1.0 299 72.5 2.6 270 65.5 2.7
Male 202 197 97.4 1.3 148 73.4 3.6 133 65.7 3.9
Female 210 202 96.3 1.5 150 71.6 3.6 137 65.4 3.8
N-H White 316 309 97.7 1.0 240 75.9 2.8 222 70.1 3.0
N-H Black 13 13 (B) (B) 7 (B) (B) 7 (B) (B)
API 15 9 (B) (B) 7 (B) (B) 5 (B) (B)