The Opinion Blog

What does an undecided voter look like?

How can anybody still be undecided in this election? Why? How? What does that voter look like? Interesting reading today from the good folks over at the Journalist's Resource blog:

As a general rule, political scientists find that undecided voters are less involved in politics, less informed on issues, less attentive to news — and much harder to reach through media streams. Many vote in presidential election years but not in lower-profile mid-term elections; and many will, if asked, describe themselves as independent voters.

On this topic, an element of analytical caution is in order. It is worth remembering that, in September 2012, it was assumed by many in political circles that the electorate had hardened in its views and there was an increasingly narrow band of undecided voters. Yet, movement in the post-presidential debate polls strongly suggested that prior survey research underestimated the size of the undecided population – or at least those who were “persuadable.”

More here.

 

Hembree for State Senate

Wednesday’s first editorial offers our reason for supporting Greg Hembree for the S.C. Senate:

Whatever your feelings about retiring Sen. Dick Elliott – and we’ve certainly disagreed with him in the past – the gentleman knows what it takes to be a South Carolina state senator. As Horry County’s longest serving legislator, he leaves with decades of experience in the General Assembly, having outserved scores of other elected leaders. So it’s no small thing for the Democratic Elliott to endorse Republican Greg Hembree in the race to succeed him. If Elliott believes Hembree has what it takes to be a senator, it’s a good indication he does.

Ryhal for S.C. House

Wednesday’s second editorial weighs in on the race to be the first to represent Carolina Forest in the state House:

Voters in the Carolina Forest and Wampee areas of Horry County are in the enviable position of having two well-qualified candidates to represent them in their new S.C. House district. Both Dennis DiSabato Jr. and Mike Ryhal are accomplished leaders who would be strong advocates for the area. But while either would be a fine choice for voters, we give the edge to Ryhal.

WEDNESDAY OPEN FORUM

Be civil and enjoy.

Tom Rice campaign goes musical

Presented without comment:

 

Yes to the Constitutional Amendment

Tuesday’s first editorial:

It’s hard to think of a more common sense change to state law than combining the governor and lieutenant governor onto one electoral ticket. After all, the state’s lieutenant governor only has one real duty: To step in if the governor becomes incapable of fulfilling his or her duties. It makes sense that the state would be better served by a duo that works together well to minimize the confusion that could occur in such a case and smooth any transition.

No to the Georgetown Tax Increase

Tuesday’s second editorial:

It’s tempting to support the Georgetown County referendum to raise the county’s sales tax. The money would pay for long-needed and overdue dredging of the Georgetown port, a project we have long supported. And paving roads, building parks and expanding libraries are all attractive ideas.

But we can’t quite bring ourselves to get behind it. It’s not that we don’t like the projects. But we never managed to get quite comfortable with the reasoning for the tax, the list of projects or its length. And while we won’t think badly of Georgetown County voters if they do approve it – and we’ll enjoy its results as much as anyone else – we can’t bring ourselves to recommend a tax we don’t wholeheartedly support.

TUESDAY OPEN FORUM

Be civil and enjoy.

MONDAY OPEN FORUM

Be civil and enjoy.

Why We Recommend

Why do we even bother to share our thoughts on the upcoming election? Sunday’s editorial attempts to explain:

Over the coming week, The Sun News editorial board will be sharing our analyses, and our recommendations, of the candidates running for local, state and federal offices in the Nov. 6 election.

We do not call these pieces “endorsements;” nor do we think of them as such. An endorsement, in our view, is an exhortation that you vote for a particular candidate, and that’s not what we’re doing.

We simply want you to have as much information about these races as possible as you go to the polls. In these pieces, we will describe our impressions and critiques of these candidates in a way that the journalists who write in our news pages will not. (Rest assured, as always, that the two functions of newsgathering and opinion writing are separate at The Sun News.)