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He is Steve Ybarra. He's a superdelegate in California and he, now, says he's willing to take either Clinton or Obama's side but for a big price. -snip For the last eight years, I've been trying to get the Democratic Party to pay attention to the needs of voter registration and education and get out the vote to the Mexican-American community. And guess what? We managed to lose two elections because of it. So, we're coming up on an election where the Mexican-American voter will be the person who makes the decision in this upcoming election. HEMMER: How did you...

DNC Superdelegate Puts His Vote Up For Sale Steven Ybarra Wants $20 Million For His Vote SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CBS13) ― In this tight battle for the Democratic nomination we've heard a lot about the candidates courting superdelegates. But, one superdelegate is courting the candidates. He says he'll sell his vote for a price. A very high price: $20 million. Steven Ybarra of Sacramento says that eight-figure price is peanuts for the presidency.

Eight people have been charged with faking voter registration forms in St. Louis city and county in 2006, federal authorities announced today. The federal indictments were unsealed this morning. Some of the accused have not been arrested yet, so their names are being withheld. The eight people were employed as voter registration recruiters by ACORN, the not-for-profit Assoication of Community Organizations for Reform Now. ACORN ran a voter registration drive for the general election in November 2006.

Asian-American groups don't like the increased public scrutiny that Hillary Clinton's mysterious Chinese dishwasher donors are getting. To which I say, in words that should be universally understood: Boo-hoo. In the wake of eye-opening investigations by the New York Post and Los Angeles Times of more dubious foreign funny money flowing into Hillary's coffers, ethnic grievance organizations are stepping forward to condemn these stories as examples of "negligent journalism." Yep. The newspapers are guilty of "negligence" because they actually broke news instead of covering it up. Both papers uncovered dishwashers, cooks and other suspect Hillary campaign contributors in New York's...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Election Commission can continue to regulate independent political groups on a case-by-case basis and does not need to adopt new rules to govern them, a federal judge said Thursday. The decision was a blow to advocates of more restrictive campaign finance laws, who say the lack of precise rules will result in widespread abuses of campaign spending in the 2008 presidential and congressional elections. FEC lawyers argued that election commissioners were adequately policing the activities of so-called 527 groups, named after the section of the IRS code under which they are registered. These groups, which...

WASHINGTON — It is against the law for a candidate for federal office to take political contributions from foreigners. But a potential "loophole" could help at least one high-profile candidate in the 2008 presidential race: It is perfectly legal for a candidate for federal office to use personal income earned in foreign countries — or personal income earned by a spouse in foreign countries... The New York senator has access not only to her own wealth, but also to the bankroll of her wealthy husband, former President Bill Clinton, who has capitalized greatly on his résumé since leaving office in...

WASHINGTON — It is against the law for a candidate for federal office to take political contributions from foreigners. But a potential "loophole" could help at least one high-profile candidate in the 2008 presidential race: It is perfectly legal for a candidate for federal office to use personal income earned in foreign countries — or personal income earned by a spouse in foreign countries. The New York senator has access not only to her own wealth, but also to the bankroll of her wealthy husband, former President Bill Clinton, who has capitalized greatly on his résumé since leaving office in...

Against his doctor's advice, a stooped and feeble Sen. Mario Gallegos arrives at the Texas legislature each day, just to make sure lawmakers do not take up a bill requiring voters to show identification proving they are not illegal immigrants. And when the rigors of the job start to wear on the Democratic lawmaker, whose body is trying to reject a liver transplanted four months ago, he retires to a hospital-style bed — donated by a Republican colleague — in a room next to the Senate chamber. From there, he can be summoned at a moment's notice should his vote...

"Even though I honestly had not planned on doing this, I guess with a billion people watching, it's as good as time as any. So, my fellow Americans, I'm going to take this opportunity right here and now to formally announce my intention..." But suddenly the Oscars orchestra struck up its keynote tune, signalling that Gore and DiCaprio had overstayed their time and had to leave the stage

(Madison, WI)….First it was “Smokes for Votes.” Then it was “Pastries for Votes.” Now Democrats are continuing their assault on the health of voters by offering “Wieners for votes.” Democrats in Eau Claire are illegally offering free food in an effort to bribe people for their vote. Today, a complaint had to be filed against Democrat Kathleen Vinehout’s campaign for handing out free food in violation of Wisconsin’s “election bribery” law. The Executive Director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, Rick Wiley, says he doubts even free food will help Vinhout’s campaign. “Apparently, Kathleen’s campaign is so out of steam,...

If there's one thing Donovan Riley apparently learned during his time in Chicago, it was "Vote early and often." Riley, 69, the former CEO of the University of Illinois Medical Center and a former law professor at Loyola University, is running for a state senate seat in Milwaukee. On Nov. 7, 2000, the day of the big election between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush, Riley appeared at the polling place in Oconomowac, Wis., where he had registered to vote just the day before, voting records show. His ex-wife owned a home there. "Then he drove...

Dems say Hall ideal to seek old seat Studebaker's exit leaves party with need for candidate to run against Turner. By Lynn Hulsey Staff Writer Local Democrats will not only need to find a candidate to run for Congress in place of Stephanie Studebaker on less than three months notice, but they'll also need to find someone who can quickly raise the money needed to beat an incumbent. Montgomery County Democratic Party Chairman Dennis Lieberman said he thinks former U.S. Rep. Tony Hall might be just the guy. A special primary election will be held to choose a Democrat to...

From our intrepid correspondent on site down in Texas, Crawford Activist, we have this photo of Cindy Sheehan registering to vote in the local post office last Tuesday: Crawford Activist reports that Mother Sheehan then left Crawford late Tuesday afternoon to attend a conference in Seattle she is headlining. Ms. Sheehan is supposed to return to Crawford Friday morning in time to protest the RNC fundraiser near the President's ranch. Then Cindy is off again to give a speech in Washington, DC on Saturday. It seems she just can't resist those speaking fees.But hasn't our hero mother broken Texas law...

DETROIT (AP) — The city clerk plans to purge the names of nearly 55,000 dead people and those who no longer live in the city from voting rolls as part of an effort to ensure integrity in elections. Clerk Janice Winfrey bought lists of deaths from the state and city health department. Then she moved to eliminate the names of people who hadn't cast a ballot since before the 2002 election and who had been mailed voter card registration renewal forms that were returned as undeliverable. Already the names of about 33,000 deceased voters have been removed, The Detroit News...

Some states try to ensure that the winner of popular vote becomes president. SAN DIEGO Picture it: On election day in some future year, a presidential candidate ends up with the most popular votes but not enough electoral votes to win. It's a repeat of the 2000 election in which one contender, Democrat Al Gore, took the majority of the national popular vote, while the other, Republican George W. Bush, clinched the most electoral college votes and, hence, the presidency. But this time there's a twist: A bunch of states team up and give all their electoral college votes to...

"Vote early -- and often." We hear this quip every time an election rolls around, and with good reason: Electoral fraud is as old as the ballot box itself and still happens in the United States. Just last year a judge in Washington state ruled that some 1,678 illegal votes were cast in its 2004 election -- more than enough to change the outcome of the governor's race. Few concepts matter more in a republican democracy than the credibility of "one person, one vote." Yet no nationwide standard exists to prevent fraud at the voting booth. Some states, including Virginia,...

A shareholder group is gaining momentum in its efforts to pressure companies to disclose charitable giving -- with donations linked to the Rev. Jesse Jackson... The National Legal and Policy Center has stepped up efforts to require corporations to disclose more details about their donations... The Rainbow/PUSH Citizen Education Fund, which in 2001 provided payments to Jackson's former mistress. The Church Falls, Va.-based non-profit group hit two shareholders meetings this week -- Boeing on Monday and PepsiCo Inc. on Wednesday. "Many shareholders would certainly object to their money going to a controversial and divisive figure like Jesse Jackson," said Peter...

One of Chicago's most powerful aldermen has a conspiracy theory for the voting problems experienced during the March primary. Alderman Ed Burke wants to know why the Chicago board of elections would pick a Venezuelan company to supply the city's new voting machines, a company Burke believes has the ability to rig an election for political gain. Both the voting machine company and the board of elections are calling alderman Burke's suggestion of a conspiracy absurd. This happened during a city council hearing Friday on problems during last month's primary. Alderman Ed Burke, whose wife just got appointed to the...

This might be the first time Freepers and Kossacks have agreed on anything. From the conservative website Free Republic to the liberal Daily Kos, Internet users of all ideologies are uniting in opposition to federal regulation of political blogs. As early as this afternoon, the Federal Election Commission will publish regulations that, for the first time, could put limits on what bloggers can do and say in support of political candidates. The FEC is trying to define the line between offering political opinions and operating as part of a political campaign. The full commission is expected to vote Thursday on...

MONTGOMERY — Alabamians fighting overseas have as much right to vote as someone in line at the local voting booth, and election laws need to change for that to happen, officials said. At a Tuesday meeting, officials said June primary and runoff votes might be disrupted either by extending the time between the primary and the runoff or some other means to comply with new federal edicts. Attorney General Troy King, who called the meeting, said Alabama has little choice but to comply with U.S. Justice Department demands that the state correct absentee voting regulations. Justice officials said Alabama law...