The Democratic National Committee has announced a schedule of six presidential primary debates, beginning on October 13. 2015 in Nevada.

The party made the announcement on the same day that the Republican candidates are set to debate for the first time in Cleveland, Ohio.

Just four of the Democratic debates will be held before the key early nominating contests begin early next year.

After the October debate in Nevada, which will be hosted by CNN, the next Democratic debates are: November 14 in Des Moines, IA (hosted by CBS, KCCI and the Des Moines Register); December 19 in Manchester, NH (hosted by ABC and WMUR); and January 17 in Charleston, SC (hosted by NBC News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute).

Debates are also scheduled to be held in February or March in both Miami and Wisconsin, with dates to be announced.

Two of Clinton’s rivals have said they are upset about the way the party has scheduled the debates.

“By inserting themselves into the debate process, the DNC has ironically made it less democratic. The schedule they have proposed does not give voters—nationally, and especially in early states—ample opportunity to hear from the Democratic candidates for President,” former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said in a statement.

Read more at: nbcnews.com.

The post 2016 Democratic Party Debates appeared first on Follow My Vote.

Recently there were comments made by Gov. Rick Scott and his administration in an attempt to stymie what will surely be a huge step forward for the digital democracy. We will continue to watch Florida closely!

The Scott administration’s behind-the-scenes opposition has opened a new rift between Scott’s office and county supervisors and stirred new speculation that Scott may not want to take steps that would expand the pool of voters as he explores a possible U.S. Senate bid in 2018.

Florida would become the 25th state with an online voter registration program under a bill (SB 228) sponsored by Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth. The idea has broad bipartisan support as well as the backing of AARP, the League of Women Voters and Disability Rights of Florida, and it unanimously passed a Senate committee Thursday.

But a staff report of the bill by Scott’s Division of Elections refers to the bill as a “mandate (that) presents potential risks and challenges” at a time when the state’s voter registration and driver license databases are both undergoing extensive changes. Florida relies on driver license information to verify voters’ identities.

The report says: “Malicious cyber-attacks and non-malicious malfunctions could potentially wreak havoc on an online voter registration system” and online registrations “could potentially increase the chances of votes being cast by someone other than the people actually registered to vote.”

Read Full Article Here.

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President Obama recently proposed a $3.9 trillion blueprint for spending that would go into place in October, if it passes. However, his proposal has drawn sharp criticism from Republicans, as they cite figures that demonstrate the irresponsibility of such a plan.

The spending proposal by the president will represent approximately 22% of the U.S. gross domestic product for the fiscal year and has many skeptical about its practicality in helping the economy or reducing the deficit in any way.

In December, Republican Paul Ryan and Democrat Patty Murphy co-developed a bipartisan spending bill to finance the government for the next two years that helped to avoid yet another fiscal crisis for a lack of a budget by the December 13th deadline.

Obama’s proposal adds an additional $56 billion in spending on programs, such as education and welfare, by cutting tax breaks for wealthy retirees.

It is important to understand the make up for a federal spending budget, as the government spending is broken up into two categories that show how our money is appropriated.

Mandatory spending is largely made up of entitlement spending and earned benefit programs, whereas discretionary spending refers to the portion of the budget that goes through appropriations process every year. Examples of discretionary spending are military spending, education, energy, and veterans’ benefits.

With President Obama’s new spending proposal, less than one third of the spending would go to discretionary programs, such as the military and domestic ventures. The majority of the spending is budgeted for entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

These major entitlements make up 45% of total U.S. spending, with defense taking up 19%. Federal spending is projected to keep growing as entitlement programs become more costly due to the aging of the population and President Obama’s focus to keep them large.

Obama has proposed tax hikes and ending tax breaks for the wealthy, in order to pay for the increased spending on entitlement programs; but, many Republicans feel that this practice is not sustainable nor the solution to spending problems.

It is clear that entitlement spending has been President Obama’s highest priority, with over 64% of our nation’s spending being focused on it. However, with statistics showing that this spending is not sustainable it is imperative that both the President and Congress engage in a budget plan that is not only short term, like the Ryan-Murray deal, but one that addresses the core issues of achieving a balanced budget through responsible spending that benefits the American people.

Sources:
nytimes.com
dailysignal.com
nationalpriorities.org

The post It’s All About the Money: Fiscal Crisis and Budget in 2014 appeared first on Follow My Vote.

Ukraine: With both the Senate and House unable to reach a conclusion on a policy on how to move forward with the Ukrainian situation and how to combat Russia’s aggression in the Crimean region, there has been little intervention by the US into Russia’s aggression in the region.

The Senate seeks a comprehensive package that invokes an aid package for Ukraine as well as sanctions. They call for shifting billions of dollars from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) crisis account into the general fund to help Ukraine, which many Senate and House Republicans oppose. They also argue that payment for this bill comes at the cost of the Pentagon and Sate Department’s budgets.

The House has come up with a less comprehensive plan that focuses more on an aid package to the country without shifting the funds in the IMF.

A plan has yet to be voted on.

Obamacare: The administration states that numbers for sign-ups into coverage plans through the Affordable Care Act are at approximately 4.2 million, which is well short of its six million person sign-up goal, by the end of March. The administration needs more people to sign up in order to balance out and pay for the lower income and elderly families that are currently signed up for coverage under Obamacare.

Obama took to comedy in his latest effort to promote the new healthcare act in an interview with Zach Galifianakis on his show “Between Two Ferns.”

This show by the president has many critics screaming desperate, as participation numbers continue to grow at a much slower rate than needed. The administration is standing behind their hopes of the magic six million number being attainable by March 31st; but many remain skeptical.

Approval Ratings: President Obama’s approval rating has sunk to the lowest of his presidency with his rating dropping to around 41% approval. Many criticize his handling of the crisis in Ukraine and the rollout of Obamacare even with over 20% of Democrats now showing unfavorable ratings.

The Congressional approval rating is sitting at 15% approval, which is a March record low in a midterm year, as the public continues to show gross dissatisfaction in the way they haven’t been able to compromise on important issues and roll out legislation.

WE at Follow My Vote want to know. What are you most concerned about with the way Congress and the administration are handling these important issues?

The post Obamacare Delays, Approval Ratings, and Comedy Acts appeared first on Follow My Vote.

President Obama argued in his State of the Union Address that executive action may be necessary in 2014 to ensure that this does not become a lame duck year, where Congress doesn’t pass much legislation during a time in this country when improving economic conditions  is desperately needed.

However, many argue that, by simply bypassing Congress to pass legislation that the president and his supporters feel is needed, defeats the entire purpose of having a separation of powers. In other words, by bypassing Congress, the president will be bypassing the representatives of the people that have been elected to make laws.

Obama insisted that his priorities must be passed in order to keep the U.S. economy on the track of improvement and meet the needs of the American people. He has issued 168 executive orders to date, which by standards of past presidents is fewest, yet his varied much more in scope than his predecessors.  His orders extend from delaying enforcement of his health care act, legislation created to limit carbon emissions, deferring deportation of younger illegal aliens, to orders for drone strikes.

Obama argues that Congress is refusing to act out of spite and he will bypass them where he has to pass legislation. When taking into account the amount of bills that Congress passed last year, 72 in total, it is evident that the 113^th Congress had an ineffective 2013. But, should the president’s response to an ineffective Congress be to bypass them altogether?

WE at Follow My Vote believe that, in a democratic system of government where there is supposed to be a separation of powers, having a healthy debate and being willing to negotiate with those that think differently in an effort to compromise on outcomes the majority of people will support is the best way to keep the American people’s views relevant and our system of government protected.

Our government was intended to be for the people by the people, to serve our interests and protect our rights, which is why we must demand that The President of the United States and Congress debate, negotiate, and be willing to compromise in 2014, in order to protect the interests of “We the People” and preserve our democratic system of government.

Billy Sharp

The post Executive Action in 2014: The Phone and the Pen appeared first on Follow My Vote.

It is already evident that both parties want to be on the “right” side of popular issues so as to ensure their reelection and party control in both houses of Congress for the next two years.Democrats are walking a fine ideological line to maintain control of the Senate while Republicans seek to remain in control in the House and make a push for control of the Senate.

However, this has and continues to lead to gridlock in Washington and the death of much needed legislation that sits in limbo, as both house debate but refuse to budge on key issues. An obvious example of this gridlock is seen in the way that Congress has passed an all-time low of 72 bills this year, which falls short of the next lowest by 16 bills. This is unprecedented, as even in 2007, when President Bush dealt with a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress, he was able to pass 180 bills.

This failure of Congress to act on even minor legislation stems from the widening divide between both parties as neither will budge on major issues to compromise in the name of creating successful policy.It seems our elected officials would rather stick to their guns and block votes on legislation to prove points and refuse to make adjustments to bills based on principle disagreements. This only hurts the American public, as the most efficient forms of bills are  created and principle issues continue to be left open ended and unsolved.

Regardless of what side you are on, I think we can all agree that the people don’t want an ineffective gridlocked government. Thus, when you stop and think about it, this highlights the notion that candidates campaign to connect with the people, win over their hearts, minds, and ultimately get their votes; but, once they get elected, they seem to disconnect from the people and connect with their colleagues within their party in Washington vote along party lines, despite what the people want.

Sadly, due to the nature of things in Washington, even minor adjustments to laws necessary for the more efficient operation of the government are being left to die in the Congressional chambers and gridlock prevents any improvement.It’s time Congress realized that compromise and negotiation are in the best interests of the American people and regardless of party position; it is the people’s opinion and welfare that should be driving government action.

The time to step out of party corners and out of gridlock is now, for the good of this country and every person in it.  I encourage every American to vote. Vote to make a change, to have an impact, to ensure that our government remains in our hands so that we can have policies that will not be best for a party but best for the people of the United States of America.

Billy Sharp

The post Congressional Gridlock Stifles Efficiency of Government appeared first on Follow My Vote.

Thankfully, due to the rare compromise from our elected officials, we just avoided crashing through the United States’ debt ceiling, an event with potentially catastrophic consequences, one that could have sent the US and global economy into yet another damaging recession.

Although our elected officials can’t seem to agree on anything these days, a new study NBC is conducting argues that the people of the United States of America, “We the People”, actually tend to agree on much more than we disagree when it comes to the issues. Yet, due to partisan politics in the United States, “We the People” have been led to believe differently.

At the end of the day, if we want to progress as a society, building on what we have in common in order to prevent things like this happening again, “We the People” must begin holding our elected officials accountable.

Follow My Vote is a nonpartisan organization aiming to bridge the gap between the citizens of the United States and our elected officials to ensure that “We the People” are accurately represented as a society moving forward. In doing so, our hope is that we put an end to partisan politics in the United States and make way for progress that “We the People” truly support.

If you believe in our cause, please help us spread the word and/or contribute to our crowdfunding campaign today!

Source:
washingtonpost.com
nbcnews.com

The post Too Close For Comfort appeared first on Follow My Vote.

To make matters worse, all of the commotion occurring in Washington D.C. seems to have created a lot of confusion among Americans with respect to what raising the debt ceiling actually means.

To be clear, raising the debt ceiling in the United States would only allow the federal government to pay its outstanding bills, for things like military pay and Social Security. However, it does NOT give the government authority to increasing spending.

The harsh reality is that if an agreement can’t be reached in Washington D.C. by October 17^th, the United States debt ceiling will expire, our nation will default on our outstanding loans, our credit rating will be lowered, and our currency will be devalued.

Being that such an event would have catastrophic effects on the United States economy and the global economy at large, Congress has raised the debt ceiling a total of 94 times since 1940 without much of a fuss. But, for one reason or another, this time is different.

Since the shutdown began, talks between President Obama and top GOP officials in the House of Representatives went virtually nowhere. As the deadline grows near, however, “We the People” are actively exercising our right to speak freely.

Yesterday, crowds gathered in Washington D.C. to speak out against the federal government’s inability to work together to reach a resolution. Both liberal and conservative demonstrators held protests at many of Washington D.C.’s landmarks, voicing their frustrations with the current situation. Tea Party enthusiasts were even seen toppling barricades and stacking them right in front of the White House lawn. Generally, it seems the consensus among citizens of the United States is that the federal government is broken and something must be done in order to fix it.

At this point, it seems that our best chance to reach a resolution lies in the hands of the United States Senate, with talks between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell scheduled to resume today. Although Harry Reid was recently quoted as saying “I’m optimistic about the prospects of a positive conclusion,” senators seem to be squarely divided over how much federal spending should be permitted in a budget extension that would reopen the federal government and how long any new borrowing limit should last. The thing is that. even if the Senate reaches an agreement in the next few days, there’s no telling how the House of Representatives will respond.

With the debt ceiling deadline swiftly approaching, one thing is clear: “We the People” are running out of patience.

Some Americans have even taken matters into their own hands and have chosen to pick up where the government left off. John and Laura Arnold, for instance, have donated $10M to Head Start, where their doors have been reopened and children are now getting the education they need.

We at Follow My Vote believe that “We the People” should be able to take all governmental matters into our hands at all times, especially to prevent situations like this from occurring in the future.

We envision our mobile app, which is currently in development, as being the only viable long-term solution for true accountability in Washington D.C.

Our journey through the long and winding road to true freedom will not be easy and will likely be a costly endeavor.

On that note, we recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the continued development of our mobile application beyond the initial version, in order to support much more functionality and an improved user experience based on customer feedback.

If you’d like this to be the last shutdown “We the People” in the United States are forced to go through, please contribute to our crowdfunding campaign today!

The post Shutdown Showdown appeared first on Follow My Vote.