The Other Electorate

What the presidential election has to do with aliens and coffee cups.

The presidential election is almost upon us, and next leader of the free world is only a few million ballots away. And as important as voting is in shaping the future of the nation, its impact goes far beyond the domestic sphere. Because, after all, electing the so-called “leader of the free world” impacts the “free world” in its non-American entirety. Which is why it’s interesting to see what said “free world” would do if it had a say in the American election.

Enter If The World Could Vote, a politically independent site that lets people from all over the world cast an imaginary Obama/McCain vote in the presidential election. Originally a modest curiosity-inspired initiative by three guys from Iceland, the project has reached critical mass with close to 250,000 international votes to date, a number getting interestingly close to the U.S. population. We won’t gloat and tell you whom the overwhelming majority voted for, but you can see for yourself.

So go ahead, cast your vote (in the great words of a certain someone, yes you can, even if you’re in the U.S.) and join the Facebook group.

Meanwhile, let’s not forget the voiceless group most powerfully impacted by the presidential election — the  nation’s 29.1 million (that’s 10% of the population, for the mathematically-challenged) home-owning, tax-paying aliens who don’t have the right to vote. (Taxation without representation, anyone?) That’s where Aliens Vote comes in — a site that gives people living in the U.S. who are not American citizens (both permanent residents and visa holders) a chance to cast a “what-if” vote for Obama, McCain, or neither.

The project comes from Cuban Council, a small American digital design shop including a number of non-America employees. Results will be revealed after the election, but if you’re anxious for an unofficial prediction, there’s always the fallback option of the infamous 7-11 predictive cups poll.

(And, of course, if you’re not content with just guessing outcomes, make sure you influence them, too: Vote.)

>>> via GOOD, Sun Sentinel

Spotlight Series: Gimme Moore

Why P2P file-sharing can spell the demise of the Bush administration and how not to let American Idol take over the White House.

MOORE VS. BUSH, ROUND 2

We’re doing something a little different today — because today is the day filmmaker-slash-activist Michael Moore’s latest movie, Slacker Uprising, comes out. (Plus, it’s a nice transition from last week’s themes of P2P revolutions and the current White House being easily mistaken for a potato.)

And just like us today, Moore is doing something different with this himself: He’s giving the movie away as a free download, making it the first major feature-length film to debut legally as a free internet download. In his typical convention-defying, sticking-it-to-the-man style, he’s offering not one but five ways to snag it — from iTunes and Amazon Digital downloads to a number of live streaming options.

He’s doing it for two reasons: To get the word out and thus further the film’s ultimate goal of getting more young voters out on November 4, and to thank all his supporters over the years with a free gift on the 20th anniversary of his first film, Roger & Me.

The film was shot over 42 days leading up to the 2004 election, when Moore toured 62 cities across America with the same mission: Turning out a record number of young voters, which he considers a success given young adults voted in greater numbers than they ever had historically, and the youth segment was the only demographic group Kerry won.

(We, on the other hand, are less generous with the acclaim for a year in which American Idol still received more votes than the presidential election — quite the eye-opener when the American public finds a marginally talented popster to be a better idol than the nation’s leader.)

So go download the movie or find a screening near you so you can rub elbows with like-minded potato-haters. (Heck, host one, even.)

And, um, go vote on November 4, mmmkay?