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"A few weeks ago, a statewide ballot initiative petition signed by a California voter named Michael Ni was delivered -- quietly and without fanfare -- to the clerk's office in San Mateo County.
Strange as it may sound, this is no exaggeration: Ni's John Hancock may reshape American politics forever.
Ni did not sign his name on a piece of paper. His signature was electronic. He wrote his name on the petition (a measure to legalize and tax cannabis in California) using the touch screen of his iPhone. The signature was then delivered to the county clerk on a flash drive, one of those small memory storage devices you use to back up files on your computer."
Is this a new era? Imagine if no trees were killed to create a ballot measure? What if a cellphone was all you needed to "sign” an initiative to get it on the ballot?
The challenge has been made. There is one major benefit. The cost of a ballot measure would drop dramatically. Instead of those pesky people in from of Target begging for your signature, Facebook, Twitter and other modern communication programs would be used---at a fraction of the cost.
"By virtue of taking place in Silicon Valley, this battle will be a home game for the technology crowd. The San Mateo County clerk, Warren Slocum, has a national reputation for his technological savvy. His office maintains a blog and regularly updates its Twitter account. He has embraced electronic voting machines. In the name of saving money and the environment, he has fought to have printed voting materials replaced with electronic versions.
Nevertheless, Slocum will be Ni's opponent in a legal contest that could begin as soon as this week. In an interview, Slocum said that, on the advice of attorneys, he cannot accept Ni's electronic signature as valid. Without clear precedent, he doesn't know whether the state legal requirement that a voter "personally affix" his signature to an initiative petition would cover Ni's case."
This court battle will be the most important political decision in our time as to the process of politics.
The California Political News and Views will watch this carefully.
More...
Strange as it may sound, this is no exaggeration: Ni's John Hancock may reshape American politics forever.
Ni did not sign his name on a piece of paper. His signature was electronic. He wrote his name on the petition (a measure to legalize and tax cannabis in California) using the touch screen of his iPhone. The signature was then delivered to the county clerk on a flash drive, one of those small memory storage devices you use to back up files on your computer."
Is this a new era? Imagine if no trees were killed to create a ballot measure? What if a cellphone was all you needed to "sign” an initiative to get it on the ballot?
The challenge has been made. There is one major benefit. The cost of a ballot measure would drop dramatically. Instead of those pesky people in from of Target begging for your signature, Facebook, Twitter and other modern communication programs would be used---at a fraction of the cost.
"By virtue of taking place in Silicon Valley, this battle will be a home game for the technology crowd. The San Mateo County clerk, Warren Slocum, has a national reputation for his technological savvy. His office maintains a blog and regularly updates its Twitter account. He has embraced electronic voting machines. In the name of saving money and the environment, he has fought to have printed voting materials replaced with electronic versions.
Nevertheless, Slocum will be Ni's opponent in a legal contest that could begin as soon as this week. In an interview, Slocum said that, on the advice of attorneys, he cannot accept Ni's electronic signature as valid. Without clear precedent, he doesn't know whether the state legal requirement that a voter "personally affix" his signature to an initiative petition would cover Ni's case."
This court battle will be the most important political decision in our time as to the process of politics.
The California Political News and Views will watch this carefully.
More...