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Donna Edwards 
Thu Sep 28, 2006 at 09:03:40 AM MDT
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Earlier this week, Donna Edwards (interviewed earlier, here) conceded her primary race against Albert Wynn for the House seat in Maryland’s Fourth District. She had run a tough campaign against the seven-term incumbent, making a buzz in the blogosphere, emphasizing her opposition to the Iraq war and her claim that Wynn was not fighting for health care, the environment, and other issues that impact people’s daily lives.
The race was a true squeaker, with the final vote count showing Edwards losing by fewer than 3,000 votes. Election Day in Maryland was fraught with voting problems, ranging from disappearing voting cards to machine malfunctions, with echoes of the infamous disarray of the Florida vote back in 2000 between Al Gore and George W. Bush. The race got national attention and the outcome was held up until all absentee and provisional votes could be counted.
I caught up with her and asked her about her experience—and what it might portend for voters in Colorado, where the vulnerability of electronic voting machines has been in the news. (Disclosure: I first met Donna some 15 years ago, when she worked in the office next door at the consumer watchdog group Public Citizen.)
When you decided to run for Congress, did you ever expect to find yourself in your own private Florida?
(Laughs) No! It’s just so shocking to look at the numbers of different kinds of failures that happened on Election Day—especially because this is work that in my day job I’ve funded [at the Arca Foundation, as executive director]. To be in the middle of this kind of craziness was pretty unbelievable. The entire system really does such a disservice to voters. You can see why people get fed up and say, “my vote doesn’t count.” We have a big responsibility to regain the confidence of voters to trust the system—not just the results, but also the process.
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Thu Sep 21, 2006 at 12:45:27 PM MDT
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MyDD asks "Who's doing the election counting? FEMA?" in a post about how Maryland officials are continuing to count thousands of provisional paper ballots cast in the recent primaries.
Hanging in the balance is the fate of the close race between challenger and Muckraking Mom Donna Edwards and incumbent Rep. Albert Wynn, along with other local races.
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Thu Sep 14, 2006 at 14:10:42 PM MDT
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Donna Edwards is not giving up. She released this statement after Tuesday's election:
I salute my supporters and everyone who struggled to vote on Tuesday.
I have heard from voters who made several trips to vote, some waited and waited in lines and still others had to cast provisional ballots.
In our democracy, voters expect to have their ballots counted. I am determined to know what happened in both Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties.
Thousands of voters made a tremendous effort to cast their ballot.
Voters need to have confidence that their vote counted. I will fight for answers and make sure every ballot is counted.
Our democracy demands it.
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Wed Sep 13, 2006 at 12:01:06 PM MDT
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Sigh.
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Wed Sep 13, 2006 at 06:45:40 AM MDT
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With 75 percent of precincts reporting, Edwards and Wynn each have 48 percent of the vote. Edwards is ahead by 16, yes that's 16 votes. Stay tuned.
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Tue Sep 12, 2006 at 21:38:25 PM MDT
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With 42 percent of precincts reporting at 11:40 am Eastern time, Albert Wynn is leading Donna Edwards by 54 to 42 percent.
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Wed Aug 09, 2006 at 09:20:24 AM MDT
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(Today is the big day--Donna Edwards faces Albert Wynn at the polls in the Maryland Democratic primary. Unfortunately there is already at least one report of the electronic voting machines not being ready for the big day. Stay tuned.
Matt Stoller of MyDD writes about Donna Edwards' campaign for Congress in Maryland, comparing it to the Lamont v. Lieberman battle in Connecticut. He also links to Muckraking Mom's interview of Edwards. Edwards earned the endorsement of The Washington Post today. - promoted by Nancy Watzman)
When Donna Fern Edwards announced she was taking on seven-term incumbent Rep. Albert Wynn (D-MD) in the Democratic primary for Maryland’s 4th Congressional District, a buzz started in the blogosphere. It’s a rare thing indeed when some one mounts a serious primary challenge to a lawmaker who has served so long in Congress.
Edwards, who is centering her campaign on opposition to the war in Iraq, which Wynn originally supported, managed to raise $191,000 in just six weeks, mostly from individuals. Edwards is an attorney, community activist, and long-time toiler for the public interest, working on issues such as campaign finance reform and violence against women, as well as being executive director of the Arca Foundation.
Disclosure: Donna’s office was next door to mine 15 years ago when we both worked for Public Citizen, and we've been friends since. I talked to Edwards about her campaign for Congress—and why she is a Muckraking Mom.
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