Blogtown, PDX

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Election 2008 Voting: A History

Posted by Ned Lannamann on Tue, May 20 at 5:15 PM

What the heck is this?

It’s an old-timey voting machine! The word “ballot” comes from the Italian word ballotta, which means little ball. (This particular machine wasn’t used in a government election, rather a social club.) But throughout American history, ballots and voting have taken many forms, and while the principle of voting hasn’t changed, the method in which it is done certainly has.

Check out more at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History’s fascinating online exhibition, Vote: The Machinery of Democracy.

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Comments

white ball= yes
black ball=no

Thus the phrase "blackballed."

I know, huh?

Posted by and, you know... | May 20, 2008 6:59 PM

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Neil Diamond After canceling his September performance in Portland, Neil Diamond is back and ready to blow us out of our seats! Fine, maybe he won’t “blow us,” but I bet he’ll come to the stage locked and loaded with hits such as “Cherry, Cherry,” “Sweet Caroline,” and “I’m a Believer.” And does anybody remember “Heartlight”? I do! WSH Rose Garden, 1 Center Court St., $55-120, 8:00 PM Universal Blobhand with Sumi Ink Club, Josh Orion Kermiet, and ERock This month, Stumptown’s downtown location boasts an impressive roster of artists. Local artist and electronic musician ERock returns to oils for a group of enormous psychedelic paintings, while fellow Portlander Josh Orion Kermiet presents a series of intricately collaged Xeroxes and ink drawings of castles and caves. If that weren’t enough, Stumptown will also be showing work by L.A.’s Sumi Ink Club: Sarah Anderson and Luke Fischbeck, who record experimental music as Lucky Dragons. Stumptown Coffee (Downtown), 128 SW 3rd Ave., Jon Raymond: Livability Portlander Jon Raymond wrote the short stories on which the films Old Joy and the recent Michelle Williams vehicle Wendy and Lucy are based. The stories in his collection Livability are, like those films, understated and captivating, full of quiet insights. Forget Chuck Palahniuk—Raymond is the local author you should be reading. AH Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 7:30 PM

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