President Obama's Presidential Address (10/30/2010)

Sonnet Ireland
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Engineering

Election Results

Here are the results for the various Senate, Representative and Governor elections.

Some interesting laws were voted on in this election...

In Arizona, Proposition 203 to okay medical marijuana is in a dead heat with 50% for and 50% against.

In California, Proposition 19 to legalize marijuana was defeated with 54% of the votes (3,789,423).

In Colorado, Amendment 48 (which states that the right to life begins at conception) was defeated with 70% of the votes (1,122,404).

In Illinois, House Joint Constitutional Amendment 31, which would allow voters to have a hand in deciding if a governor should be recalled passed with 66% of the votes (2,107,989). This amendment was inspired by the scandal surrounding former-Gov. Tod Blagojevich. It would put the recall to a vote, allowing the citizens to decide for themselves.

In Nevada, the Eminent Domain Amendment, Question 4, which would have prohibited the taking of private property if it is to be transferred to a private party, was defeated with 67% of the votes (439,534).

In Rhode Island, Question 1, also known as the Name Change Amendment, was defeated with 78% of the votes (244,237). It would have changed the state's official name from "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations" to "Rhode Island."

In South Dakota, Initiated Measure 13 (the Medical Marijuana Act) was defeated with 64% of the votes (189,133). This would have legalized the use of medical marijuana.

In Vermont, Proposal 5 (the Voting Age Amendment), which allows 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections if they will turn 18 before the general election, passed with 81% of the votes (64,882).




Sonnet Ireland
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Engineering

Election Day

Today is Election Day, which means many of you will be heading to the polls to elect your chosen representative or senator. But did you know that there has been many pushes to make Election Day a national holiday? Here is the latest piece of legislation from the 109th Congress. Unfortunately, various incarnations of this bill have never made it very far in congress.

Just a fun bit of history. Now, go and make a difference...and keep an eye out for some of the more interesting items on the ballots across the country.

You can keep an eye on the results as they come in here.


Sonnet Ireland
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Engineering

Mid-Term Elections #4: Project Vote Smart's VoteEasy

If you enjoyed Project Vote Smart, you may enjoy one of their newest sites VoteEasy. VoteEasy is a visual tool that helps you find the candidates most like you. The site creates a candidate line up based on your location. The voter can then choose where he/she stands on various issues, causing the program to bring certain candidate pictures to the forefront while moving others to the back. If you aren't sure where you stand on an issue, you can also get more information about that particular issue (such as what it means to privatize social security).

Sonnet Ireland
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Engineering

Mid-Term Elections #3: Project Vote Smart