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...continent away from the political battle that has surrounded Terri Schiavo, a radical experiment in end-of--life policy has unfolded much more quietly over the past seven years. Oregon's Death with Dignity Act, twice approved in statewide voter referendums, is the only statute in the U.S. allowing doctors to write lethal prescriptions for terminally ill patients who want to control the time and place of their death. The law would not affect a case like Schiavo's: patients qualify only if they are fully conscious and able to administer their own overdose. But Oregon represents a new frontier...
Advocates of assisted suicide in Vermont and California are optimistic. But the legislative history of aid-in-dying measures also gives them cause to be wary. An Oregon-type voter initiative failed by only 2 percentage points in Maine in 2001, and a similar statute was narrowly defeated in Hawaii in 2002. Recent legislation was tabled in Wisconsin, Wyoming and Arizona. But with two Academy Award--winning movies this year featuring themes of assisted suicide--Million Dollar Baby and The Sea Inside--momentum, or at least public awareness, is clearly on the rise...
...only sporadic, independent observers, human-rights groups and MDC officials say that's because Mugabe is now using more subtle means to ensure victory. ZANU-PF controls the electoral commission, and has closed most of the independent media outlets in Zimbabwe. The party also oversees the electoral count and voter rolls - which opponents allege are swollen with "ghost" voters. Ironically, even reforms urged by the MDC are being turned by ZANU-PF to its own advantage. Translucent ballot boxes, for instance, meant to symbolize an open voting system, will instead enable observers to see how people vote, warn ZANU...
First, it chains voting in local elections to voting in national elections, which people are more likely to care about and vote in. Although this may not increase voter interest in local politics, it will certainly increase participation, which in a representative democracy is almost always a good thing...
Second, a single election day will alleviate election and campaign burnout. Many voters felt overwhelmed by the November election and are turned off by the “permanent campaign” of national politics. Staggering local elections with national elections only makes this burnout worse. For example, the mayoral election in Los Angeles is the fourth major election in a year and a half (after the recall, the primary and the presidential election), and the runoff that will likely follow will be the fifth. As a result, the Los Angeles Times has reported greater voter apathy and disinterest...