US Politics: Voting Tales and Victory Ales

[Arlingzen Bill]

I voted this morning. I was second in line, but because I was faster providing my information, I cast the first ballot in my voting district today. I didn't like my choices, but I voted.

I kind of wish I lived in Oregon where I could vote by mail. Also I would like to vote in support of hemp production. it is ridiculous that we have to import a crop that we could easily grow in the US.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

I would have cast the first ballot if the machine they placed me at didn't balk every time Intried to write in a non-listed candidate.

[Arlingzen Bill]

I would have cast the first ballot if the machine they placed me at didn't balk every time Intried to write in a non-listed candidate.

My machine was pretty slow as well. The next button was not very sensative. I actually had to hold my finger in place on it. But that getting up an hour early to vote stuff sucks.

[Xray the Enforcer]

My friend had this to say:

I'm always curious what it is about volunteering at polling sites that enables people to live past the age of 120. The lady who signed me in was wearing a "Suffragettes For Taft" pin.

[Fez]

I voted. The line at my precinct in this indigo blue county was about an hour long. I don't know how this compares to 2008 since I was still voting in New York at the time. However, despite being a Democratic stronghold in a state with a Republican governor, there were no shenanigans afoot. This is the 3rd richest county per capita in the entire country, which means a lot of very influential folks living here. The state and local authorities make every effort ensure that stuff like voting takes place quickly and efficiently.

Anyway, on the topic of Ohio in the last thread. Those county numbers don't mean anything on their own and we don't have the data necessary to properly interpret them. Counties are not homogeneous things, particularly in a state like Ohio. For all we know those numbers mean that lots of McCain voters in Obama 2008 counties are staying home and there's a ton first time voters in McCain 2008 counties coming out to vote Democratic. We just don't know, and there's no party registration in Ohio for us to find. If this is a 100,000 vote difference (and I have don't the math to be sure), then in all likelihood it means Obama's margin is ~20-40 thousand smaller than last time. Which is fine for a state that Obama won by 206,830 last time.

The only true metric we how things have gone thus far in Ohio are the polls that include early voting numbers, and according to those, things are fine. If the polls are wrong, Romney has a shot. But that's always been the situation; Romney's hope is that the polls are wrong. Historically they are right (in the aggregate), so we assume they will be again. If they aren't, than all bet's are off.

[Greywolf2375]

haven't voted yet, going to leave work early to get in when it won't be as busy and I don't have an 8 month old on my hip. If lines are any indication, turnout in my town and where I drop my kid off is much larger than 4 years ago.

Thought this was an interesting post on one of my friends FB pages - effectively said regardless of who wins, I will support the office, I may disagree with the policies and challenge them, but will not attack the president personally or consider them evil because a belief they have is different than mine.

This persons wife said they couldn't support that and would attack the president personally.

That's probably why we see them together maybe once a year.

[Whitestripe]

I voted this morning also. I was not first in line. It was busy, but I did not have to wait. This is farm country and the farmers were all up and at the Town of Marshall Town Hall before me. We had paper ballots. I haven't filled out a bubble on a paper ballot since I voted absentee against Jesse Helms when I was in college. The Town Hall also houses the Deansboro library and they had a bake sale, book sale, and raffle to support the library. Very smart, Deansboro Librarians! They were doing a brisk business in sticky buns at 7.25 am.

ETA: When I am an old lady, I want to volunteer at a polling station! :)

[awesome possum]

Ugh, went to vote and after waiting in line for 30 minutes I discovered they changed my precinct last year but never sent me the card. It doesn't even make sense to have moved me because I live within a 60 second walk of the polling station. Were it not for a small stretch of woods I would be able to see the freaking church from my living room window.

Now I have to find time to go later, but find time I will. Nothing will keep me from casting a vote against Tricky Dick Mourdock and those teabagging bastards.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

What really pisses me off about the problems with write in's is that, thanks to SC Senator Jake Knotts (just google him), a huge number of challengers were thrown off the ballot in SC so the only way for these people to run was by write in.

[MisterOJ]

I voted. Had to wait maybe 5 minutes in line. Hooray for living in a small, rural county!

Of course since there is no chance in hell of Romney losing my state, my vote for Obama didn't really matter all that much.

But, I did get to have a say in my local state representative and state senate races.

Oh, and city council. That's a big one. :)

ETA: Also voted once again without showing any kind of ID. Democracy at work!

[Larry of the Lawn]

Great idea. I'm throwing a couple of StormKings in the cooler on my way down to the polls.

[Datepalm]

I voted. The line at my precinct in this indigo blue county was about an hour long. ... The state and local authorities make every effort ensure that stuff like voting takes place quickly and efficiently.

See, that just doesn't compute to me. Last time I voted, the line was maybe five minutes. (And I don't live in the third richest county in the country.)

[Fez]

I think my favorite bond/amendment of the six Virginia faced was Question 2. It was such a minor issue, about changing the rules of the start of the state legislature's vetoing session by up to a week so that they could avoid working in a week with a federal holiday.

Both major parties support it, but I voted no because fuck these legislators. Their job is cushy enough as is, and they already usually don't work a full-week. They can stand to be in session even if Monday was Memorial day, the legislative session (which is usually only a day long anyway) starts on a Wednesday.

ETA:

See, that just doesn't compute to me. Last time I voted, the line was maybe five minutes. (And I don't live in the third richest county in the country.)

Yeah but see, in the US, home of the banana republic elections, an hour wait in the pre-regular work hours period of the day in a heavily urbanized area is incredibly good.

[sologdin]

not sure whether to vote for socialist workers, socialist equality, or socialism & liberation. the differences between these post-trotskyist splitter factions are subtle.

i'd hate to cast a vote for SEP and have them turn out to be crypto-sparts or pseudo-cliffites or meta-pabloites or something like that. can we imagine a pseudo-cliffite in office? the horror! the horror!

[Lupigis]

See, that just doesn't compute to me. Last time I voted, the line was maybe five minutes. (And I don't live in the third richest county in the country.)

This! I have voted in seven national elections in Sweden and have never had to wait more than five minutes. A one hour long line anywhere would make national news and be considered a major screwup.

[Hereward]

I've never had to wait at all. And I'm old.

[ljkeane]

I've never had to wait at all. And I'm old.

I've never had to wait either but I suppose if they're using voting machines in the US that could slow things down. An hour wait seems like a lot though.

[Tempra]

Just waited 40 minutes in below freezing weather here in VA. First time I had to wait more than 5 minutes to vote.

ETA: would have been longer if I voted electronically. Can't fathom why someone would wait an extra 10-15 minutes to vote electronically.

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

Had about 100 people ahead of me (at 7:10 when the polls opened at 7) but I was done and out in 15 minutes. Pretty well run.

Like X-Ray's friend, I noticed that all the workers were well into their retirement age...at least i know I will have something to do when I reach that age too :)

[Kosciuszko]

Voted about 45 minutes ago. Mainly interested in voting against Akin and for McCaskill. I wrote in Lizard People for at least one unopposed Republican.