BS: Lines at the Polls

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: Phil Edwards
Date: 04 Nov 08 - 07:11 PM

One would think that they know that most of the voters ain't in the M thru Z category and change it to maybe A thru P and Q thru Z but do they ever do that???

Probably just as well they don't.

Good luck America. I'm fearing the worst but hoping for the best.

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: Hollowfox
Date: 04 Nov 08 - 08:25 PM

Amy and I got up early to vote (she has a 9:00 class), got there a bit after 7:30, got in the wrong line, got in the right line, and were out by 8:40, no sweat. I had my League of Women Voters tabloid; a handy thing, that.(this is like a small newspaper that these lovely nonpartisan people put out listing the candidates, their education,occupation, etc (provided by the candidate) and a short statement by the candidate if they choose to provide one. They also list the various issues on the ballot, with the pros and cons.)
You know, it bewilders me that so many people usually wuss out on voting here in the USA, when people have died so we'd have the privilege to do so. And there are people in the world who risk, and sometimes give, their lives for the same. Excuses like a bit of bad weather, or waiting in lines, just don't cut it with me. {getting off the soapbox now}

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Nov 08 - 08:39 PM

I am so proud of my kids. They all three voted and both of my daughters called me from their polling places; one wanted to make sure of a voting guide I'd given her and the other was just calling because she knows how important it is to me that she vote AND teach her children about it, too. My son did a mail-in weeks ago and they ALL voted for Obama!! OH, and so did my brother and sisters!

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: Bobert
Date: 04 Nov 08 - 08:44 PM

Good work, Mom (kat).... I'm proud of all o' ya'lls... Sniff... Sho nuff am....

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: LilyFestre
Date: 04 Nov 08 - 09:43 PM

I was #11 this morning at about 7:05am where they were already having some trouble...the entire list of surnames beginning with the letter B were missing.....not good. Not good at all.

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 04 Nov 08 - 09:44 PM

Voted (Lin and I) 4 days ago. Early voting set up and running for a couple of weeks. Son voted about 4 days before we did, but I had to wait for info on a couple of local candidates.

I believe our place had 7 machines (Diebold but with paper print of the ballots visible as we made selections). We saw two voters(?) coming out as we drove in. There were 2 inside voting when we got to the line, and one other came in before we left. Since we prepared before going in, under two minutes there.

Word here was that 40% of eligible voters had already done the deed by the weekend, although they were expecting some waits for the other 60% today. No news reports of any long lines today - although the news is pretty well saturated with the national "predictions" and other inanities.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: jeffp
Date: 04 Nov 08 - 10:21 PM

I don't want to hear (as I did, two weeks ago, when I voted) the woman behind my glibbly confide to the Republican judge candidate campaigning outside the polling area that she voted for her on a straight ticket. I hate to think my vote was cancelled out by that twit. ;-)


Stilly, just think of it as your vote cancelling out the votes of that twit. Makes it into a positive thing.

Cheers!

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Nov 08 - 10:27 AM

It was an amazing turnout for our small town. There were actually about 2000 registered voters a week or so ago, and 2200 voted in the election. That's more than 100%! Well, about 200 more registered to vote on Election Day which is permitted in the State of Maine.

I was at the polling place until 2 am until the final votes were tallied. Obama actually carried our town with 56% of the vote, verses 60% statewide.

One of our local senate races was a cliffhanger, with 15 votes separating the two candidates from our unofficial results. We'll see what math errors we made this morning.

Judy, who works for the Clerk of the House in the state legislature didn't get in till 4 am, and now she's back to the office, having picked up 3 hours of sleep. The Democrats reinforced the majorities in both the State Senate and House.

My mother at the age of 91 was thrilled by the outcome of the Presidential race, saving she never thought she'd live to see such a win.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: Alice
Date: 05 Nov 08 - 10:34 AM

In Montana, they were announcing on tv to NOT BELIEVE THE TEXT MESSAGES that had been sent out to many Montana cell phones that Democrats had to vote on Nov 5 because the lines were too long. With an hour still before the polls closed, they had to alert people that there were bogus texts trying to block votes for Obama. Since most of the young voters in the state went for Obama, I wonder how many got that text message and believed it.

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: Alice
Date: 05 Nov 08 - 10:36 AM

Here is an image of the text message:

false text message

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: ranger1
Date: 05 Nov 08 - 11:10 AM

Jason and I went to vote around noon yesterday and the line was almost out to the street, but unlike Bobert's polling place, most people were in the L-Z category so Jason and I didn't have to wait for very long. And the school that is our polling place was having a bake sale by the door.

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: PoppaGator
Date: 05 Nov 08 - 11:35 AM

I was at work from 5am till 8:30 pm yesterday as a poll commissioner at New Orleans' 8th ward, 16th precinct. Since Katrina, our precinct no longer votes in the neighborhood school, which has not reopened. Instead, we are one of FIFTEEN precincts sharing space in a large meeting hall on the University of New Orleans campus.

When I arrived, about an hour before the polls would open, at least 200 people were lined up waiting to vote. For the first two hours (6-8) voters were arriving in a fairly steady stream. The organizers set up signs outside, one for each precinct, so folks could queue up separately by precinct, which helped immensely; the precincts in question are not nearly equal in number of voters, so folks in the less-repopulated areas (like ours) could get in and out relatively quickly. After that first two-hour rush, only two of the fifteen precincts required the lines/queues to be maintained; voters in the other thirteen could come right in and vote pretty quickly.

There was a person from the Sectetary of State's office on duty out front, equipped with a laptop, to direct voters to the correct precinct (if they didn't already know, which most don't).

After that early rush, voters come in pretty modest numbers the rest of the day. We were all anticipating (and dreading) having to remain open for hours after official closing to take care of long lines of latecomers. (As has been noted, anyone who arrives by closing time of 8 pm can vote, not matter how long the line, no matter how long it takes.) That never materialized. We didn't even experience much of a rush after 5pm, which we all expected. Between the massive "early voting" (pre-election day) and the large numbers arriving in the early morning of election day, almost every one who was going to vote at all had done so by midday.

The results in our heavily-African-American precinct: 152 voters, 150 for Obama, 1 for McCain, 1 undervote (i.e., someone who voters for one or more other offices or propositions on the ballot, but not for President).

I've been amusing myself, trying to guess who that one McCain voter might have been. Could it have been one of our six white voters? Well, I can definitely rule out five of the six: my wife and I, our two sons, and our neighbor Jane the transsexual master carpenter. That leaves the New Orleans policeman who lives on the next block and is registered as a Democrat ~ maybe him, but probably not. We had TWO black voters registered as Republicans, and man and one woman. One of those two probably cast the single vote for McCain.

Someone mentioned above that they were surprised that no one waiting to vote was talking about the candidates or the issues. That should not have been so surprising; there are rules and regulations against "campaigning" at the polling place ~ which should be understandable, when you think about it ~ which include prohibitions against wearing buttons or even clothing (t-shirts, etc.) advocating a candidiate or an issue. These laws differ, at least sligthly, from state to state, but they are pretty universal and I think most voters are aware of them and tend to observe the spirit as well as the letter of such laws by not discussing their preferences with other voters while at the polls.

McCain won the state of Louisiana, as expected, but Obama definitely carried the city of New Orleans. Im pretty hopeful about the future right now, a feeling to which I am not particularly accustomed.

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: Donuel
Date: 05 Nov 08 - 11:39 AM

20 minutes.

Only one Diebold machine had died 3 hours into the election at my polls.

This year I was allowed to vote without a provisional ballot or being a victim of ballot trickery which once lead to my ballot being tossed for an over vote infraction.

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Nov 08 - 01:11 PM

Well, it turns out there were two math errors among towns in our local senate race, transposing the results from one column to another, and now our Democratic candidate has beat the Republican incumbent by 126 votes. It's the icing on the cake.

No doubt there will be a recount but I would expect the result to hold up.

Now to go out for another van full of campaign signs. Well, maybe I'll take a nap first.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 05 Nov 08 - 06:41 PM

My local area is the most densly populated area in Australia as it's mainly apartment blocks & I have a choice of 2 Polling places in my part of this area. One is a school, the other a church & both bodies tend to use the day & the captive audiences to raise funds! As the church is on the main road most folks vote there & the lines can be long, so I tend to wander down the side street & vote at the less-crowded school & then wander back to the church as their fete is better!

Voting is compulsory in Australia, & we vote on Saturdays between 8am & 6pm, but we also have pre-polling for folks who can't attend a Polling place for religious, health or other reasons, & absentee votes for folks out of their area on the day.

Our Polling places are distinguished by posters & crowds of eager volunteers handing out leaflets. We vote using pencils & paper ballots, in shielded booths where leaflets are allowed but must be removed before the next person votes, either by the voter or an official.

More info on Australian voting here

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: GUEST,beardedbruce
Date: 06 Nov 08 - 09:41 PM

November 6, 2008
Report: '08 turnout same as or only slightly higher than '04
Posted: 01:55 PM ET

From CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart


North Carolina had the highest increase in voter turnout, according to a report released Thursday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A new report from American University's Center for the Study of the American Electorate concludes that voter turnout in Tuesday's election was the same in percentage terms as it was four years ago — or at most has risen by less than 1 percent.

The report released Thursday estimates that between 126.5 and 128.5 million Americans cast ballots in the presidential election earlier this week. Those figures represent 60.7 percent or, at most, 61.7 percent of those eligible to vote in the country.

"A downturn in the number and percentage of Republican voters going to the polls seemed to be the primary explanation for the lower than predicted turnout," the report said. Compared to 2004, Republican turnout declined by 1.3 percentage points to 28.7 percent, while Democratic turnout increased by 2.6 points from 28.7 percent in 2004 to 31.3 percent in 2008.

"Many people were fooled (including this student of politics although less so than many others) by this year's increase in registration (more than 10 million added to the rolls), citizens' willingness to stand for hours even in inclement weather to vote early, the likely rise in youth and African American voting, and the extensive grassroots organizing network of the Obama campaign into believing that turnout would be substantially higher than in 2004," Curtis Gans, the center's director, said in the report. "But we failed to realize that the registration increase was driven by Democratic and independent registration and that the long lines at the polls were mostly populated by Democrats."

Some experts also note that national turnout trends may mask higher turnout in swing states with more intensive attempts by both campaigns to get their supporters to the polls. Several large states, including California and New York, had no statewide races and virtually no advertising or get-out-the-vote efforts by either presidential campaign.

According to the report, several Southern states — North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, and Mississippi — and the District of Columbia saw the greatest increases in voter turnout.

Overall turnout was highest in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan, South Dakota and North Carolina, according to the report.

In 2004, 122 million Americans voted in the general election.

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: CarolC
Date: 06 Nov 08 - 09:48 PM

It's important to note that a large percentage of votes in several states were early votes, so I would expect that while the percentage of voters who went to the polls on Tuesday may not have significantly increased, the number of people who voted in this election would be a fair bit higher than that.

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: Ron Davies
Date: 06 Nov 08 - 10:21 PM

"downturn in number and percentage" of Republican voters.

Gee, that must mean Sarah wasn't as much of a hit as hoped. And some still feel McCain was too much of a maverick for them.

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: beardedbruce
Date: 07 Nov 08 - 05:00 PM

updated 1 hour, 5 minutes ago

   Number of votes cast set record, but voter turnout percentage didn't

Story Highlights

About 127 million votes cast, shattering 2004 record by at least 4.3 million votes

Turnout percentage about 61 percent, compared with 1960's 67 percent

Early voting tracker: 31.7 million voted early in at least 30 early voting states

North Carolina, Maine voters set record-breaking turnouts

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/06/voter.turnout/index.html

Subject: RE: BS: Lines at the Polls
From: beardedbruce
Date: 07 Nov 08 - 05:02 PM

"The percentage of registered voters casting ballots this year is projected at 60.7 to 61.7 percent, according to the center -- a figure much lower than the modern-day record set in 1960 -- 67 percent.

Democrat Barack Obama's campaign is credited with building a sophisticated organization at local levels in key states that energized voters to register and to stand for hours in line to cast early ballots.

Nationwide, early votes totaled at least 31.7 million in at least 30 early voting states, said Michael McDonald, a professor at George Mason University.

McDonald, who also produced projections of voter turnout, estimated Friday that 130.9 million ballots were cast by 61.5 percent of Americans who were eligible to vote. The final tally is expected to be counted by early December, he said."