With 16 weeks unti the general election, there has been a noticeable increase in negative advertising by both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. According to Kantar Media, 89% of Obama’s ad buys featured an anti-Romney message, while 94% of Romney’s ads were attacking President Obama.

And these ads are just as negative as they are costly:

Absence of morality. Three Chicago teens decided to beat up a defenseless older man for fun and killed him. Bankers loot the country.

The new California open primary is, as expected, producing some unusual, tumultuous races. In the newly- drawn 30^th Congressional District, the race is between two incumbent Democrats, Howard Berman and Brad Sherman. Because this is a new seat, only one can win. In the California open primary, the top two vote getters regardless of party face each other in the general election.

The Associated Press reports that Washington State plans to launch an app next week which will allow Facbeook users to register to vote on the social media network. The application will be on the secretary of state's Facebook page and also give users the option of "liking" the application and recommending it to their friends.

To kick off our first offical post, we decided to bring some facts we found on the history of voting in America. Enjoy!

1. When the US began, only white, property owning males could vote- so not women or african americans.

2. You must be 35 years old to be president, 30 to be U.S. senator, 25 to be a U.S. House member.

3. The Republican Party was formed in 1854 out of the sentiment that slavery should be abolished.

George Washington's farewell address concerning political parties. Was he right?