New Voter Address Verification

Posted on by

Wisconsin Counties are required by law to send voter address verification cards to new voters. Evidently, this law is not enforced, according to this AP article.

Kevin Kennedy, executive director of the state Elections Board, said local officials have said prosecutors rarely follow up on the undeliverable cards, even though they could lead to charges if voter fraud was involved.
“Municipalities have complained for years the D.A.’s don’t do anything with it,” Kennedy said. “That’s the feedback we get when we hold training sessions.”
In Milwaukee, there have been “several hundred” cards returned as undeliverable, said Lisa Artison, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission. The cards are still arriving and have not yet been sent to the district attorney’s office, she said.
In Dane County, District Attorney Brian Blanchard said he didn’t know how many cards had been returned but noted a clerk had bundled up a 6-inch stack.

Politicians Revolving Door

Posted on by

Frank Muto forwarded an interesting look at the ongoing revolving door where officials turn into lobbyists:

Editorial: Throw sand in the revolving door

Two more, this time Democrats
Officials continue to turn into lobbyists at an alarming rate. Gregg Rothschild, key aide to Democrat John Dingell, is becoming a lobbyist for Verizon. Before Dingell, he was John Kerry’s telecom aide. Rothschild took the Dingell job in 2003, replacing Andrew Levin, who in turn had left to lobby for Clear Channel. David Svanda, former Michigan Commissioner, is persuasively arguing on behalf of the AT&T backed VON Coalition. Svanda earned respect for promoting competition in Michigan and leadership among state regulators as President of NARUC. They join a long list, including far too many FCC officials, who went directly into well paid jobs influencing their former colleagues.

Does the prospect of such lucrative careers influence the decisions of even ethical officials? Did they modify their actions in the preceding year, wondering if they were affecting their chances of a job? I have no reason to speak ill of either Rothschild of Svanda, both considered ethical. But I know how I am constantly pulled, having to report the news about advertisers that pay my rent, and think top officials do not need their consciences challenged by equivalent temptation if avoidable.

via Dave Farber

Government Weather Data: Must We Pay Twice?

Posted on by

James Fallows takes a look at the intersection of public (taxpayer funded) and private (business) interests, specifically, weather data that we’ve already paid for. Some businesses, who have made a living recycling that data, would like to continue their gatekeeper role. [We have examples of this in Madison. Access Dane offers “subscription” access to data that we’ve already paid for]. Here’s a clip from Fallows article. Read it all.

some of the most significant innovations have been made where public and private efforts touch. In its first term, the Bush team made a few important pro-technology choices. Over the next year it will signal whether it intends to stand by them.
There is a long historical background to the administration’s choices, plus a variety of recent shifts and circumstances. The history stretches to the early days of the republic, and the idea that government-sponsored research in science and technology could bolster private business growth. Progress in farming, led by the land-grant universities, demonstrated this concept in the 19th century. Sputnik-era science, culminating in the work that led to the Internet, did the same in the 20th century.

Open source weather is available here.
Create your own weather site using the NOAA’s xml web service.

Lafayette, LA Pro Fiber Blog

Posted on by

Mike Stagg:

“Whoever builds a fiber to the home network is going to have a monopoly – whoever builds it. As a practical matter, I am opposed to monopolies. But I would much rather have a monopoly that I can touch and see and feel and affect, which is [Lafayette, Louisiana municipal utility operator] LUS.”

Via David Isenberg
Madison should be thinking like this as well.

Does Not Compute: Technology Implementations….

Posted on by

Nicholas G. Carr continues his analysis of failed software projects. Carr wonders if we should scale back our technology expectations:

Equally important, they stopped trying to be creative. Rather than try to customize their software, they began looking for cheaper, off-the-shelf programs that would get the job done with a minimum of fuss. When necessary, they changed their own procedures to fit the available software. Old, generic technology may not be glamorous, but it has an important advantage: it works.
It may well turn out that the F.B.I.’s biggest problem was its desire to be innovative – to build a new wheel rather than use an old one within easy reach. When it comes to developing software today, innovation should be a last resort, not a first instinct.

Carr is mistaken in telling technology drivers to slow down with respect to innovation. The real question is whether or not top management has made the commitment to align their business processes with the technology (and provide leadership when tough decisions must be made). Carr, of course does not mention the many successful technology innovations we take for granted today, such as

  • Cell Phones
  • The Internet
  • Fast payment processing (credit cards)
  • Travel reservation systems

We take these innovations for granted, but each one required risk, leadership, mistakes and a willingness to make it work. There are no shortcuts. More on Nicholas G. Carr.

AT&T’s CTO recognizes what is required to succeed:

“The biggest challenge is not the technology,” he said, “but being able to change the culture.”