Defending the 2020 election against hacking: 5 questions answered

  Editor’s note: Journalist Bob Woodward reports in his new book, “Rage,” that the NSA and CIA have classified evidence that the Russian intelligence services placed malware in the election registration systems of at least two Florida counties in 2016 and that the malware was sophisticated and could erase voters. This appears to confirm earlier reports. Meanwhile, Russian intelligence agents and other foreign players are already at work interfering in the 2020 presidential election. Douglas W. Jones, Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Iowa and co-author of the book “Broken Ballots: Will Your Vote Count?,” describes the vulnerabilities of the U.S. election system in light of this news.

Whose votes count the least in the Electoral College?

  In the days following the 2016 presidential election, many pundits and voters alike were stunned by the disparity between the popular vote, which went for Hillary Clinton, and the Electoral College, which favored Donald Trump.

  If the president were elected by popular vote, every voter’s ballot would have been given equal weight, or influence, over the outcome, and Hillary Clinton would have won. But, as evidenced by Donald Trump’s victory, the Electoral College gives different weights to votes cast in different states. What are these weights, and how can we best compare them?

Liz Kennedy: Voter suppression laws cost Americans their voices at the polls

  The integrity of U.S. elections depends on every eligible American being able to cast a vote that is counted. Yet this year, the first presidential election in 50 years without the full protection of the Voting Rights Act, many Americans across the country were blocked from having their voices heard in the democratic process.

Hank Sanders: Senate Sketches #1533: The power of being prepared!

  She was prepared. I saw it in her cream-colored pant suit. She was prepared. I saw it in her steps as she marched out on the stage. She was prepared.

  I saw it in how she smiled and waved. She was prepared. I saw it in her handshake with the moderator. She was prepared, and it manifested itself in so many ways.  When we were growing up over sixty some years ago, we had a term that said so much. This moment reflected the sum of that statement.  I saw it in her entire being. She was, as we used to say, “cool, calm and collected.” She was prepared.

The Path to 270 in 2016

  When discussing elections, political analysts and commentators frequently talk about overarching fundamentals—such as the state of the economy, demographic shifts, trends in partisanship, and the popularity of the sitting president—that together indicate the contours and likely outcome of a particular race. In the political science community, these factors are generally believed to matter more than the specific tactics of campaigns or the characteristics of candidates. With the nomination of businessman Donald Trump as the Republican candidate for president, these assumptions are being seriously tested in 2016.

Josh Carples: The myth of election cycle values

  Churches in the South get political. I’m not accusing them of violating their nonprofit statuses en masse, but growing up, there were always the voter guides provided by organizations like the Christian Coalition, which always leaned heavily conservative and heavily towards the Republican Party.

  Of course, they would never claim to be endorsing a specific candidate, just a set of values, as they would argue. And of course, that is their right.

  From the Jerry Falwell types and the Moral Majority to the 2004 election where every news show talked of "values voters" to the ongoing summits held by such a name, it was ingrained from an early age - character matters, values matter.

  So after all these decades of preaching about voting for good character and family values, I must ask my Christian friends: what happened?

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Will the running mates matter?

  Political experts and historians have consistently chronicled the fact that vice presidential choices have no significant effect on the outcome of the presidential race.

  However, this has been a very unconventional presidential political year. My assessment is that the selection of Mike Pence by Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton’s choosing Tim Kaine were extremely wise and helpful decisions. If for nothing else, I believe that Pence insures Indiana for the GOP and Kaine sews up the pivotal swing state of Virginia for Hillary. They are both very popular in their home states and are capable and stable choices.

Charles C. Haynes: Republicans, Democrats and the stakes for religious freedom

  As this strange, unorthodox and downright scary presidential campaign heads into the final stretch, let’s pause to consider what’s at stake for religious freedom in this election.

  Like motherhood and apple pie, religious freedom is universally popular with members of both major parties. But you don’t have to read far in the party platforms to discover that Republican and Democratic definitions of religious freedom could not be farther apart in meaning and application.

  According to the GOP platform, religious freedom involves, among other things:  Defending marriage as the union between one man and one woman; passing laws protecting people of faith who refuse service to same-sex couples; and displaying the Ten Commandments in public places.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: The race is on

  As if we have not been inundated enough with politics this year, hold on to your seats. Over the next few weeks that is all you will hear, read or see. The Republican Convention is set for July 18-22 in Cleveland, and the Democratic Convention will begin on July 25 in Philadelphia.

  After a full year of primaries, caucuses and delegate collecting, the field is finally set for the fall campaign for president. After the July conventions are over, the race is on between Democrat Hillary Clinton and the Republican standard bearer, Donald Trump.

Survey shows presidential campaign leading to widespread fear, bullying in schools

  A survey of approximately 2,000 teachers by the Southern Poverty Law Center indicates that the presidential campaign is having a profoundly negative impact on schoolchildren across the country, according to a report released today.

  The report – The Trump Effect: The Impact of the Presidential Campaign on our Nation’s Schools – found that the campaign is producing an alarming level of fear and anxiety among children of color and inflaming racial and ethnic tensions in the classroom. Many students worry about being deported.

  Teachers also reported an increase in the bullying, harassment and intimidation of students whose races, religions or nationalities have been the verbal targets of candidates.

Charles C. Haynes: Trump and the future of the First Amendment

  After Super Tuesday, what was once unthinkable may now be inevitable: Donald Trump, Republican nominee for president of the United States.

  That’s my cue to join the hundreds of other columnists and pundits scrambling to inform Republican primary voters so that when they vote, they understand the implications of their vote. Of course, the joke is on us. The more we pile on Trump, the more he piles up votes.

  Nevertheless, we have a civic duty at moments like this “to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties,” to quote James Madison. There are troubling signs in this campaign that a Trump presidency could be a disaster for First Amendment freedoms.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: What Congressional redistricting and the Electoral College mean to us today

  You know the outcomes of our presidential primaries yesterday. I do too, today; however, this column had to go to press a few days prior to the primary. Therefore, I will have to report and analyze your voting in a later column.

  One thing I do know is that we had a lot more attention paid to us in the Heart of Dixie because we had an early primary. The legislature is to be applauded for moving us up to participate in the March 1st "SEC" primary.

  It was fun while it lasted, but we can say goodbye to presidential candidates in the Heart of Dixie for the remainder of the campaign. Whoever wins the nominations will have to concentrate on the 10 battleground states during the fall.

Darrio Melton: I'm with her, and I hope you are too

  Each time we go to the polls to vote, I think about how meaningful the opportunity is to cast a ballot for a candidate I truly believe in. When I think back about how far we've come--from jelly beans in a jar to bubbles in a bar of soap, to billy clubs on a bridge--I can't help but view the right to vote as an obligation, not just a privilege.

  That's why I'm voting for a candidate who will continue to build on the economic progress made by President Obama. When President Bush left office, he left behind a mess. We were hemorrhaging jobs and facing the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression. President Obama turned America's economic climate around and set the record for the longest streak of private sector job growth.

Jacob G. Hornberger: The Pope was right about Trump

  Referring to GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall along the Southern border to keep out illegal immigrants, Pope Francis declared, “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges is not Christian. This is not in the Gospel.”

Darrio Melton: Put the personal attacks aside for the primary

  March 1 is right around the corner, and Alabama's primary races are heating up. We've seen contentious rhetoric in the presidential nomination races, but the same tone is trickling down to our local primaries and communities.

  The primary process has produced a lot of negativity, especially with how closely Secretary Clinton and Senator Sanders are performing in early states. It's easy to sit back and throw rocks at the super-delegates and talk about "party insiders" when both candidates are campaigning for a job that is, by definition, a "party insider."

  What people might forget is that the Democratic primary is the most democratic that it's ever been, and that speaks volumes about our party and the way that we choose the top of the ticket.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: The Trump factor

  The presidential primary parade has been colorful and fun to watch this year. It has been even more amusing because of the pervasive presence of one Donald Trump and the fact that those of us in the Heart of Dixie have a front row seat to the show.

  Since we will have an early vote in the presidential fray due to being one of the seven southeastern states holding our preference primary on March 1, we will be able to have an impact on the process. We will be voting for president in less than two weeks.

  Over the past few weeks I’ve been asked on TV and during radio interviews if the inevitable nominees will be Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. I would not use the word inevitable yet, but I would say they are the clear favorites.

Joseph O. Patton: Back to your corners, Democrats

  Timeout.

  What follows can only be described in Deep South vernacular as a "come to Jesus meeting," only I'm writing here and haven't thrown anything at anyone so far.

  Presidential primaries are spirited endeavors - political punches are thrown, false claims are made, stupid-ass memes are circulated, feelings are hurt, and ultimately a political party chooses its nominee for the general election.

  But the tone of many participants in the Democratic Party's primary to choose a nominee is rapidly descending into a truly ugly, divisive screeching match that holds a serious risk of damaging the party's eventual nominee, especially if the toxic blah, blah, blah on social media is any indication.

Sam Fulwood III: Saving the best for last

  As President Barack Obama delivered his seventh—and final—State of the Union address Tuesday night, I looked on with amazement that bordered upon disorientation. Did this really happen, a black president of the United States completing the circuit of his duties with a valedictory speech?

  Or have I spent these past few years on htraE, a Bizzaro world where everything is oddly opposite of all that we know to be true on this planet? After all, it was only a decade ago that I—and, dare I say, nearly every other person on Earth—believed it impossible that this nation, conceived with chattel slavery endorsed in its Constitution, would ever elect a black American as its leader.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Is Bush the GOP's only hope in 2016?

  Last week we discussed the presidential race. The GOP race for the nomination has been one of the most illuminating in history. Never before have political novices been the frontrunners. It is obvious that voters prefer an outsider with no governmental experience. Donald Trump and Ben Carson would both be considered outsiders, both lacking in political experience and skills and Trump lacking tact. No matter what they say or the amateurish blunders they make, they doggedly cling to their lead in the polls.

  Over the years I have been able to predict Alabama political races with some accuracy -  national and presidential politics, not so much. A prime example would be the presidential race eight years ago. In 2008, I looked at Fred Thompson and saw a presidential winner. He was tall with a deep gravelly voice. He had charisma and gravitas, not to mention a perfect resume and bio to be president.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: GOP primary a toss-up, but Hillary seems poised to win it all

  Folks, we are in the midst of a presidential race. It has been ongoing for well over a year. We will select a new president in November. Barack Obama has served his eight year limit. Thus, the parade of candidates seeking to occupy the Oval Office has been long, especially on the Republican side.

  You may have noticed that in the previous paragraph I used the word "select" rather than "elect." That would be the proper term since we do not elect our president. The Electoral College selects him or her. It does not matter if one person receives more votes than the other nationwide. The candidate who carries the proper number of states and garners the most electoral votes from those states is declared the president.