In the interests of doing our part to foster good citizenship, we’re providing some election day resources to help you with last minute voting preparation and tracking results. While there are only two ballot initiatives involving workers comp that hit our radar (let us know if you are aware of others), electing public officials has a downstream effect on both employers and employees. We’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite online voting resources.
Google Election Center – or simply enter “vote” into the Google search box.
Facebook Polling Place Locator
Vote 411 is a non-partisan source that offers a polling place finder. You can also select by state to find out about your state ballot and the election rules and process in your state.
Ballot Measures – a database from the National Conference of State Legislators
Guide to state ballot measures – from Stateline.org, a nonprofit, nonpartisan online news site.
Ballotpedia is a free, collaborative, online encyclopedia that focuses on state elections and ballot measures that typically receive less attention.
Open Secrets is an independent research tool that tracks the influence of money on U.S. politics. The site sheds light on who is paying to finance a candidate or an issue.
Election Forecasts: Five Thirty Eight – we like to follow statistician Nate Silver, who achieved acclaim in the 2008 election for correctly predicting the winner of 49 of the 50 states and all 35 Senate races that year.
Election Polls: Real Clear Politics – is an aggregation of the latest polls from various sources, which can be sorted by Senate, House or Governor races.
Watching results
All the major TV news and cable stations and their online websites will be providing coverage of the election results. Here are a few less obvious resources:
C-Span Politics will provide live election coverage beginning at 7 PM. This is our choice for bipartisan viewing without high drama.
NY Times Election Results will have live updates, including state-by-state and county-by-county maps, and exit polls.
Twitter Vote Report – voters can share and map their experiences and resources with one another. Learn more about how to participate. We’re not sure how this will actually play out, but it’s a real-time initiative that looks interesting.
Workers Comp on the ballot
Washington – Initiative 1082 would privatize workers comp. The state is one of four in the US that offers workers comp through a government agency. Business groups, insurers and agents support this privatization while attorneys and labor unions oppose it, and local news sources report there is sharp divide among voters. Fact Check Washington reports on the initiative’s top funders. You can also find more information at BallotPedia’s page on Initiate 1082.
Louisiana – Proposed Amendment No. 9 – Act 1051 of the 2010 Regular Legislative Session
“To provide that, in civil matters only, when a court of appeal is to modify or reverse an administrative agency determination in a workers’ compensation claim and one judge dissents, the case shall be reargued before a panel of at least five judges prior to rendition of judgment, and a majority shall concur to render judgment. (Amends Article V, Section 8(B))”
Labor & employment initiatives – Labor and Employment issues – Go to the center column and select “Labor and employment” and then search either “all” or select your state. This will call up any labor and employment related ballot initiatives.
State legislative activity – The Insurance Information Institute tracks many significant state initiatives on their workers compensation page, which is updated several times a year. This is a good resource to bookmark!
