Free Republic

Student and administrative leaders at the University of South Florida reversed the election victory of Sebastian Solano and Jessica Malanga for student body president and vice president. Solano and Malanga had 1,076 votes. The second place finishers Cesar Esmeraldi and Elizabeth Volmy had 1,011 votes. The nominal grounds for overturning the results stemmed from an instance where during the campaign the winning candidates passed out snacks and handed out fliers with a QR code linked to online voting. USF Dean of Students Danielle McDonald ruled that "the votes were very close and the violation was severe enough that I am...

Excerpts taken from: Russian PRshchiki: Snapshots from Two Regions Julie A. Corwin RFE/RL IU Russian Elections Workshop Preliminary draft – Not for citation 17 February 2004 Introduction Relatively little has been written about Russia’s spin doctors, its Lee Atwaters, James Carvilles, and Dick Morrises of Russia, although Russia’s elections themselves, particularly its national elections, have been dissected many times over. This is a curious gap in the literature given that some analysts -- as well as the participants in the elections themselves -- believe that political consultants often play pivotal election roles. Following the December 1993 State Duma elections, Russia’s...