Malletts Creek Branch will host an open house on Thursday, Sept. 18, 1-4 pm for anyone with a disability, to practice using the AutoMark vote marking machine. Every voting precinct in Michigan will have an AutoMark for the Nov. 4 national election. Ann Arbor City Clerk, Jacqueline Beaudry, will give a short talk at 1:00 about the accomplishments of the Ann Arbor Coalition for Voter Access. You can register to vote at this event, and a small snack will be available free of charge.

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The voters have spoken and the Washtenaw County Clerk's office has the August 5, 2008 Primary results. You can also view the results on CTN Channel 19 or read a roundup of results in the Ann Arbor News, which includes results by race. Stay tuned for info on the Nov. 5th general election ballot.

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The August 5th Primary Election is fast upon us and the Ann Arbor City Clerk reminds voters:
-Polling places are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
-Don't forget to vote on BOTH the front and the back of your ballot
-Don't forget your photo I.D.
Click here for more details on absentee ballots, who's on the ballot, where to vote.

Why vote? The League of Women Voters has Ten Reasons to Vote and every one of them counts, so get to the polls and be counted.

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The August 5th Primary Election is fast approaching and CTN Channel 19 will air candidate forums throughout July. The 15th District Court Judges Forum will replay beginning July 12th. The League of Women Voters Ann Arbor Mayoral and City Council candidate debates and Washtenaw County commissoner candidate forums live coverage begins July 22nd on CTN.

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What better way to commemorate the spirit of the Declaration of Independence than by registering to vote. Ann Arbor city residents can register to vote in person at the City Clerk's Office - 2nd Floor of City Hall. Voter registration is also accepted at any Secretary of State Branch Office, the Washtenaw County Clerk's Office, and the Washtenaw County Dept. of Human Services Office. The deadline for registering to vote in the August 5th primary is Monday, July 7th.

On his visit to Michigan this week, Barack Obama advocated spending billions on the "green economy,” a subject also covered in a new book Green: Our Place in the New Energy Revolution by Jane Hoffman and Michael Hoffman. Jane Hoffman is a policy wonk on consumer issues and domestic policy who has advised all the major 2008 Democratic Presidental candidates on energy issues.

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Michigan law now requires voters to present valid photo identification on Election Day in order to vote! Before you head to the polls Tuesday, May 6th check the Michigan Voter Information Center to find out where you vote and check the Washtenaw County Elections Page for a list of candidates and proposals on the ballot.

If you check out Amazon's business bestseller page, you'll spot an as-yet-unpublished volume on the so-called fair tax leading the pack. Even if you're not a tax policy wonk, you may have heard the term. And you likely heard it from Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee, who wants to implement such a plan.

Fair tax proponents want to eliminate the IRS and the income tax. They want to replace them with a nationwide sales tax of about 23%. The advantages of the tax, supporters say, is that it's much simpler and won't discourage saving. Not so fast, say critics. The less fortunate among us spend more of our income, so the tax ends up being regressive, even if you include rebates for the poor. Still, with tax season in full swing, many Americans may invite a simpler tax system, even if it's not quite perfect.

Want to learn more? Boortz & Linder, authors of the new book, have delved into this topic before. You can check out their first book from us!

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The Ann Arbor City Clerks Office, Washtenaw County Clerk and the State of Michigan have posted voter information regarding the Michigan Presidential Primary Tuesday, January 15, 2008. Since no unlisted candidates filed an affidavit of identity with the Secretary of State by January 4, write-in votes WILL NOT COUNT even though there is a place on the ballot to enter write-ins.

As always, the 2008 presidential election brings us some, shall we say, interesting characters. When it comes to economics, though, few are quite as interesting as Republican Ron Paul. In addition to abolishing the IRS, Mr. Paul hopes to bring back the gold standard as the basis for U.S monetary policy. Ben Bernanke is indubitably shaking in his boots.

Currently, our money is basically as good as our word; other countries accept dollars because they trust that we're willing to trade it for other goods & services. The gold standard, however, makes each one of those dollars equivalent to a specified amount of gold. Paul argues that, in the era of the declining dollar, perhaps we need that gold standard back.

Of course, there are plenty of good reasons why we abandoned the gold standard. But one has to give Paul some props for some unconventional economic thinking. Of course, recent economic news may have people clamoring for someone unconventional, just not quite as unconventional as Ron Paul.