Seven years after one of the closest presidential elections in American history, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that it was OK for swing-state voters who wanted to vote for Ralph Nader or Pat Buchanan to agree to "swap" their protest votes with voters in lopsided states (this means you, Idaho) where the outcome was virtually certain. That way, organizers argued, Nader would have a better shot at getting the 5 percent needed for federal funding in future elections while Al Gore's odds of winning improved in critical battleground states, including Washington -- Rich Roesler/Eye On Olympia.
D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.
Appeals ruled today that it was OK for swing-state voters who wanted to vote for Ralph Nader or Pat Buchanan to agree to "swap" their protest votes with voters in lopsided states (this means you, Idaho) where the outcome was virtually certain. That way, organizers argued, Nader would have a better shot at getting the 5 percent needed for federal funding in future elections while Al Gore's odds of winning improved in critical battleground states, including Washington -- Rich Roesler/Eye On Olympia.
