November 4, 2008

Live-blog the vote.

9:04: It's a warm, sunny day, here in Madison, Wisconsin. A good day to walk to work and stop by the church that is my polling place. Will the lines be long? Will there be any adventures? I'll let you know it due time. Meanwhile, tell us about voting where you are.

10:43: I'm in my office now, having spent 43 minutes inside the church that is my polling place. I spent some of the time reading part of the assignment for today's Religion and the Constitution class. The line was calm and quiet, composed mostly of white people, disproportionately male, though directly in front of me was a young black woman, a student, who seemed to know every other black person who came through the waiting area. She was snapping flash photographs of her friends, one of whom had gotten to the front super-quick by the clever expedient of not being registered. In Madison, you can register the day you vote, and normally going through the line where you also register would slow you down, but there's been such an active effort to get everyone registered in advance, that the same-day registering folks have a shorter wait. At least, that was the case at 9:15 at the First Congregational Church of Madison.

10:51: So now you can abandon all efforts to influence me, because I've voted. You may wonder, was everyone voting at the First Congregational Church of Madison voting for Barack Obama. The answer is no. I saw a young man wearing a McCain/Palin button. He was the only person I saw wearing a button. I heard absolutely no discussion of the election inside the church. Not so much as a single voicing of the 3 syllables Obama.

351 comments:

1 – 200 of 351   Newer›   Newest»
Anonymous said...

Worked for 2 hours as an election clerk in one of the local precincts.

Good the see people of all kinds turning out to vote.

When I was a kid, billions of people didn’t have a meaningful vote. But democracies have flourished to the point that it is an expected norm.

A grand day in America, no matter how you look at the results.

Steph said...

I voted a little before 8 a.m. in Newark, Delaware, and there was only one person in line in front of me. but the workers said we'd just missed a big rush, I'm assuming, of before-work voters.

the person in front of me might not have gotten to vote, though. they had a hard time finding his name on their pieces of paper. I didn't look to see if he actually did get to vote or not.

David A. Carlson said...

Eau Claire, WI
Town of Washington
at 7:30 am, voting was quick and easy compared to 2004. About 15 minutes in line. Clerk said there was a lot of absentee ballots cast.

Leto said...

I tried to vote on the upper east side of Manhattan this morning, but there was a crush of people on line. The polls are right across the street and I have watched election days for years. However, this is a HUGE turn out. I'll go back this afternoon or evening, the polls stay open late--I'll get mine in.

Kristina said...

South Bend, IN

I got up to vote at 6:00 this morning. There was a little bit of a line, but not too bad.

I really hope people who have lines to deal with stick it out, and that employers and families are forgiving today.

Ken Stalter said...

Forty-five minute long lines in my neighborhood in New Mexico for early voting this past saturday.

froggyprager said...

Voted in Madison at 7:30. Long line out the door, took about a 30- 45 minutes. It was in a church (not the one Ann votes at) and Mary was watching over me as I voted. One interesting thing about it was that the electronic machine that you are supposed to stick your ballot into was not working so you had to put the paper ballots in a slot in a box under the machine. hopefully someone will count them later.

Unknown said...

396 votes in the first three hours (I worked the polls). This is a pretty heavily GOP district, so that means a big GOP turnout.

There were only very few "youth" voters. No exit pollers at this district, at least not now, but PA will be full of them.

Anonymous said...

I went to vote at about 7:15am, took about an hour.

Polls opened at 7:am. Place was packed, much more so than 2004!!

York City, Pa. All Obama, all the way. I could have been there till 8:pm and still I'd be the only McCain voter in the place is my guess.

Voters - 1/3 black-hispanic, 2/3 White. 99+% Obama is my guess.

All the talk was every cliche - "change", "historic".

If the White Republican areas don't have a huge turn out then Obama will win the land of the Gun and Bible clingers by 15% easy.

chickelit said...

It's drizzling in Oceanside, CA but don't think that will dampen the turnout. I'm heading to the polls in about 30 minutes.

Anonymous said...

Rightwing:
"There were only very few "youth" voters. No exit pollers at this district, at least not now, but PA will be full of them."

Do you know anything about GOP poll watchers being evicted from polls in Philly? (I'm inferring you are a PA res from your post)

MadisonMan said...

I've reported on my voting on other threads, but I wanted to note that there were actually young pollworkers at my precinct. I talked to one (A high school senior whom I've known forEVER) and she said they had a American Govt Class (@ Edgewood) and that working in the polls was credit for the class (and it got them out of school) or something like that. One of the students had a most excellent spiked mohawk.

Simon said...

The weather is nice here. I hope to get in a round of golf between the end of the day and the polls close. Might try to sneak out early. I have a feeling I'm going to have to retreat to the golf course and pretend that Obama hasn't done something unbearably idiotic a lot these next few years.

rhhardin said...

In Ohio we vote this morning with red or blue tennis balls.

There are no clam shells in the midwest.

Rube said...

West Union S.C. Our local precinct was packed all morning, but moving smoothly. The new electronic voting machines are fast and easy to use. The upstate of SC is usually very conservative, I think it may be a little closer this time around. But not close enough to change the outcome here.

MadisonMan said...

396 votes in the first three hours

Yes, I read about the turnout in the online CDT and even saw a quote from a friend's Mom who lost out on being #1 in line! I'll have to call the parents tonight and get the report from my old Elementary School, where they vote. (I think EP is still the polling place).

Unknown said...

I early voted last week.

It feels weird not to be voting today.

OTOH, I'm glad I didn't learn anything over the weekend that would have made me regret one of my votes.

John said...

I voted in Harlem (121st and Lex) at 8:45 this morning - in and out in 15 minutes. From the Obama signs on every storefront I thought there would be delays and lines - guess they're waiting for the night shift or think it's already in the bag.

Justin said...

I voted last Saturday (10/19). Since I'm registered in Harris County (Houston), I was able to vote at any early voting location in the county. I chose a community center near my house. It smelled funny.

I was in and out in 30 minutes. There were state congress candidates standing outside asking for votes. I assume they were standing far enough away from the entrance to avoid violating election laws. No one told them to leave.

It took me longer in the booth than I expected. There were a lot of judges on the ballot, and most I had never heard of, even though I looked up a sample ballot online beforehand. Oh, well.

I declined to answer the exit poll.

Synova said...

Forty-five minute long lines in my neighborhood in New Mexico for early voting this past saturday.

I've heard a lot of long lines in early voting in NM. I don't know if it's just my precinct or not, but I've never waited in line to vote on election day. Got there at 8am this morning which should have been busy. There were no lines at all.

All the kids got today off of school.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I haven't voted yet, but I'm sure it will be the same as every year. Same ladies as poll workers for the last 20 years. Line of about 5 people, maxiumum,that I know personally.

Seriously, election day should be a holiday so people in more populated areas can spread out their voting during the day. In addition, each polling place should use the "SAME" rules, ballots and procedures for tallying votes. I'm really afraid that no matter which side wins, that the people will have zero confidence in the integrity of the election. The screaming from either side that the "election was stolen" will be loud and probably will be accurate.

Actually, I really don't care anymore since the entire process is corrupt from beginning (with the media) to end (with fraudlent voting and intimidation at the polls).

Pastafarian said...

I'll go cancel out one of the 200,000 fraudulent Obama votes in Ohio in the next few minutes.

Yay democracy. What an inspiring and historic day.

Yay.

integrity said...

jdeeripper said...
I went to vote at about 7:15am, took about an hour.

Polls opened at 7:am. Place was packed, much more so than 2004!!

York City, Pa. All Obama, all the way. I could have been there till 8:pm and still I'd be the only McCain voter in the place is my guess.

Voters - 1/3 black-hispanic, 2/3 White. 99+% Obama is my guess.

All the talk was every cliche - "change", "historic".

If the White Republican areas don't have a huge turn out then Obama will win the land of the Gun and Bible clingers by 15% easy.



Is that near York? One of my closest friends from college lives there, I visited in the early 90's and loved it.

Glad to hear they are voting for Obama.

Gobama!

Pastafarian said...

Only in America, can a young black man rise up from humble beginnings in private schools, Columbia, and Harvard, to win the presidency through fraud and coercion.

Well, America, and Zimbabwe, maybe.

What a proud day this is.

Justin said...

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Seriously, election day should be a holiday so people in more populated areas can spread out their voting during the day.

I've never heard a convincing argument for why everyone has to vote on the same day. We had early voting for two weeks. It was very convenient. Especially since I didn't have to vote in my precinct.

Brian Doyle said...

I'll go cancel out one of the 200,000 fraudulent Obama votes in Ohio in the next few minutes.

Yeah, McCain's really winning in Ohio. It's just those cheating Democrats!

Keep hope alive, douchebag.

garage mahal said...

Actually, I really don't care anymore since the entire process is corrupt from beginning (with the media) to end (with fraudlent voting and intimidation at the polls).

Translation: Your party is getting run out of town on a rail.

Hazy Dave said...

I think I'll wait and vote tomorrow, when it won't be so crowded.

Anonymous said...

Blogginheadstv's top Obamadroid in Charge Bob Wright: "What if McCain wins....I'm not ruling that out?"

Mickey Kaus responds.

The bloggingheads of Bob Wright and Mickey Kaus are about to experience simultaneous cranial paralysis.

Bob Wright: "So we think there is at least some chance McCain will win.

Mickey the K: "I can't even get my head around the incredible nervous breakdown that would happen among my friends if McCain wins.

Pastafarian said...

Doyle, the last poll on Ohio that I saw had McCain up by one; the one before that, dead even. With the systematic oversampling of Democrats and the Bradley effect factored in, yes, I think that McCain would win, if not for 200,000 fraudulent votes.

Bush won Ohio in 2004 by something like 120,000 votes.

But I'm sure you know much more about Ohio than I do; you flew over it a few times.

Perhaps you'd like to explain what prompted the out-of-left-field "douchebag."

Anonymous said...

integrity said...Is that near York? One of my closest friends from college lives there, I visited in the early 90's and loved it.

Central York city.

Synova said...

I've never heard a convincing argument for why everyone has to vote on the same day. We had early voting for two weeks. It was very convenient. Especially since I didn't have to vote in my precinct.

I think that early voting and absentee voting should be available, but I really like the idea of voting together... that it's a corporate activity. Politics *is* divisive, but I think that doing even just this one part of it *together* with people who may disagree with us strongly, helps it to be a unifying activity.

Susan said...

Only a few people in line at my very conservative precinct (also a church) in central Florida.

After I marked my ballot for my candidate I almost asked for a new one. But I knew either way I'd have regrets.

To do my part to keep a divided government I had to vote for our incumbent Republican Representative, that f***ing little slimeball Ric Keller.

The only bright spot: as I was walking from the parking lot into the church, an older black woman (kind of a rarity in this precinct) gave me a big smile and said "God is great today!" This was a day she's waited for all her life.

Synova said...

Perhaps you'd like to explain what prompted the out-of-left-field "douchebag."


The coming out of LEFT field part, of course.

Dumb Plumber said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
al said...

My wife and I voted at 6:10am. We got to the poll at 6:01 and there were ~10 people ahead of us in our precinct. The other two in the school cafeteria had longer lines. When we left at 6:15 the lines were getting long.

Drove by several other polling places on the way to work. Lots of cars in the parking lots. Maybe Illinois will go Red! (Hey a guy can hope. For change)

Our polling place is at the same middle school (back then it was junior high) that my wife and I attended and that both our kids attended. One of my daughters P.E. instructors was a classmate of mine.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Translation: Your party is getting run out of town on a rail.

Well, Duh....that happens every year. I live in California the original home of the liberal moonbat. I'm used to it.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Dust Bunny

Just to make you more depressed, I have it on good authority that the Obama Administration will be raising taxes on World of Warcraft gold accounts above 3000 gold to 38.9%. The new tax will be levied in order to help those newer players who don't want to spend the time farming to get some quick easy money so they can gear up when WothLK comes out.

Oh and there will also be a ban on all Merciless Gladiator weaponry since it's too unbalancing in PvP and warlocks will be removed from the game because they're OP. Players with Warlocks will be given a refundable gold tax credit and a complimentary gnome warrior.

I'm certain he'll be going after the Everquest folks next.

Brian Doyle said...

Perhaps you'd like to explain what prompted the out-of-left-field "douchebag."

The pitiful bitching about massive voter fraud that doesn't exist. Take it like a man, for God's sake.

KLDAVIS said...

Voted this morning (for McCain) on the south side of Chicago (about 10 blocks south of Obama's house, in Woodlawn). I didn't ask how many times I was allowed to vote, though I was tempted.

Voting was at a glacial pace. If/when they have a rush, I expect the wait at that polling place would be multi-hour. They had one old lady working the verification book, and she would turn page by page to get to your name. It only took us about 30 minutes due to a rather slow turnout this morning.

The percentage of those in attendance who were in the wrong place but wanted to vote anyway was staggering...happily I did not see any blatant voter fraud. "But, I moved," was answered curtly with, "Did you change your registration?" If the answer was no, they were told to go to their old polling place.

One anecdote: a gentleman scanned his ballot and it reported that he had 'over-voted'. The poll worker explained that he had voted for more candidates for some office than the number allowed. They asked him if he wanted to recast his ballot, or just strike the over-voted section. He said, "Whatever." and walked out.

Hoosier Daddy said...

I like this article from the AP about Kenyan's praying for an Obama victory. This line made me laugh out loud.

Many Africans hope an Obama presidency will help the continent.

Evidently they think he's the Messiah too.

Ger said...

Virginia Beach, VA
cloudy, rainy about 60 degrees.

My wife voted this morning - got in line about 0630 and had to wait 3 1/2 hours. Some people were getting quite upset and some yelling was heard but most just stood patiently and quietly.

I voted absentee by mail last week - took 10 minutes.

Why don't all states do what Oregon does - everybody votes by mail.

I'm going to be writing all my state legislators to see if we can change Virgina to a vote by mail system.

Brian Doyle said...

They asked him if he wanted to recast his ballot, or just strike the over-voted section. He said, "Whatever." and walked out.

Democracy doesn't work, I tells ya!

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Just to make you more depressed, I have it on good authority that the Obama Administration will be raising taxes on World of Warcraft gold accounts above 3000 gold to 38.9%. The new tax will be levied in order to help those newer players who don't want to spend the time farming to get some quick easy money so they can gear up when WothLK comes out.

Well, it's a good thing that I am voluntarily spreading the wealth amongst my 7 other alts so we can all stay under the poverty line and get some free gold. (Saving the ninth slot for my Death Knight)

Henry said...

On my bike ride to work I overheard a middle-aged man ask an older woman:

"Where do I go to vote?"

"It depends where you live."

"I live near you."

I'll go with my wife and kids to vote tonight at our son's elementary school. Luckily the kids can't vote. For some reason they're full of beans about Obama.

My wife and I will cancel each other out, but it doesn't matter. Rhode Island will go for Obama.

In any case I will take a wait-and-see attitude about the next president.

The local mayoral race is more dramatic. An independent is running a very aggressive campaign against the sluglike incumbent. It's a rematch of the Democratic primary. The independent has promised the moon, but the incumbent has damaged our bond rating so I'm voting against him.

The one vote I'm proud to cast is for a lone Republican running for an at-large city council seat. Very smart guy running on fiscal issues. He's going to lose, though.

Kirby Olson said...

I live in a small village in the Catskills (pop. 3000). I went into the voting center and was out in about five minutes. I knew at least half of the thirty people who were in there, so I didn't even have to show an ID. Everyone said hi Kirby when I walked in.

I thought the voting machines were going to be different. They have a red handle that you pull over and then a cloth curtain closes behind you. You then push down all the tiny levers indicating your choices, and then you pull the red handle again, and the curtain opens up, and you're on your way.

The whole thing took less than five minutes.

Justin said...

Synova said...

...I really like the idea of voting together...

It's a nice idea, but I'm still not convinced.

I skipped a few elections because it was so inconvenient. I live and work in a congested metro area and I have always worked very far from my precinct. So I have choose between being late to work, leaving work in the middle of the day, or leaving work early. Either way, I end up waiting in line for over an hour.

I guess I wouldn't mind single-day voting if it was more convenient. Let's put voting machines in gas stations and grocery stores. They can go right next to the lottery machines. Just scan your driver license, touch the screen, and vote. It works for DVD rentals.

Host with the Most said...

Inland Empire, Southern Cal:

6:35 am: in line at Tanning Salon/Polling Place for 7 am open. I am #22 in line.

Your choice: paper ballot or wait for the 1 electronic machine. I choose paper ballot, finish in 90 seconds. at a dozen in line for the electronic machine want to change to paper ballot as I walk out in less than 2 1/2 minutes.

At least 100 people in line outside as I leave at 7:16 am.

Starbucks across the street - free coffee if you voted. Enjoying coffee and a cheese danish and a Wall Street Journal. Over 40 people in line at Starbucks as I leave at 7:48 am.

My ballot:

McCain/Palin
Yes on 4 (parental notification)
Tes on 8 (traditional marriage)
Yes on 11 (state congressional redistricting)

No on everything else.

Off to work.

garage mahal said...

Well, Duh....that happens every year. I live in California the original home of the liberal moonbat. I'm used to it.

Well good for you then. It's not every year a conservative center right country will overwhelmingly elect a radical terrorist loving socialist for Prez though.

Host with the Most said...

ABC News,8:38 AM



CHICAGO, Ill. -- Among the other voters who have shown up to vote at Shoesmith Elementary School this morning, where Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., will vote:

Louis Farrakhan and William Ayers.

Seriously.

Welcome to the South Side of Chicago.

Pastafarian said...

"The pitiful bitching about massive voter fraud that doesn't exist. Take it like a man, for God's sake."

Well, that takes a load off of my mind. When I heard that there were 200,000 registrations that didn't match up to SSN or BMV records, and that all of those 200,000 might have already voted thanks to early voting, and that there were several videos of interviews with actual people testifying that they'd voted 70 or 80 times for Obama and that they'd been paid $10 by an ACORN worker to do it, and that thousands of visitors from blue states were flooding the state and voting here, pretending that this was their permanent residence...

Well, I guess I just hastily assumed that Obama was trying to steal the election. That's how we typical white people are -- we're just afraid of anything new and unfamiliar, and we're always quick to accuse black men of theft.

I'm glad you set me straight, that this voter fraud doesn't exist. I'm so glad that there's someone like you out there to shine your light of wisdom on poor ignorant white people like me.

Thanks, Doyle.

Barry said...

Voted at 7:15am in Saukville, WI. Took about 45 minutes. My ward line is the longest. Actually three wards in one. Other wards were pretty much non-existent lines. They'll have to fix that in the future. Voting this time at the YMCA. Previous elections were always at the VFW which is right off of a busy state highway. I guess in 2004 there were a lot of logistical problems with that. I will be returning to the Y at 6pm for my son's swim lessons so I'll get to see the hundreds of people trying to vote in the final hours. Glad I did it this AM.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

My ballot:

McCain/Palin
Yes on 4 (parental notification)
Tes on 8 (traditional marriage)
Yes on 11 (state congressional redistricting)

No on everything else.


Mine too.

Justin. One reason to vote on the same day, besides the solidarity of the action is that many things can happen in the last few days before the election that might have made you change your mind.

What I don't understand is the giant rush to get the results out well before all the ballots have been tallied. The rush to declare a winner when not everyone's vote has been counted and before the polls in other time zones have even been closed.

If you like vote by mail, then realize that it takes days and days to verify the signatures on the mailed in ballots. In my area, when the polls close, the ballots have to be transported to the county seat to be counted which normally is the next day (well after midnight) because it is an hour and half drive in good weather.

What's the rush?

Brian Doyle said...

Well, that takes a load off of my mind. When I heard that there were 200,000 registrations that didn't match up to SSN or BMV records, and that all of those 200,000 might have already voted thanks to early voting

The first part (fraudulent registrations) is definitely happening, because organizations that register give incentives based on volume. Hence "Mickey Mouse" registering to vote.

HOWEVER, the concern that a significant percentage, let alone all of those fraudulent registrations actually resulted in fraudulent VOTES is unwarranted, because people don't actually try to show up to vote as Mickey Mouse.

There is overwhelming evidence that Voter Fraud is a phony epidemic cooked up by Republicans to try to suppress legitimate Democratic votes.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Pastafarian:

Is Ohio voting electronic or paper ballot?

If paper, is the voter's name name on the ballot? I am curious if a ballot can be related to a specific voter? You may have heard Obama's campaign spokesperson voted illegally then rescinded her vote. So I was curious how that could be tracked.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

HOWEVER, the concern that a significant percentage, let alone all of those fraudulent registrations actually resulted in fraudulent VOTES is unwarranted,

So, if I print up several hundred checks with fraudulent names on them or even with your name on them, you won't be in the least bit worried, right? After all, I haven't actually written any of those checks......yet.

reader_iam said...

What's the rush?

The trajectory of the television narrative?

A general societal tendency to prefer instant gratification?

A desire to hit the bars to celebrate before last call?

vbspurs said...

Registered: Republican
Voted: Sunday, November 2, 2008
Locale: South Florida
Neighbourhood: Miami Beach
Composition: European expats, Jewish, Gay
Waited to Vote: 6 hours (arrived shortly after 3 PM, left at 8:58 PM)
Voter Support: Overwhelmingly Obama
Voted For: John McCain - Sarah Palin

Afterwards, attended midnight McCain rally at the University of Miami. There were 12,000 people there. It was my second rally in two weeks.

Photos, videos below. You can also see what a Florida ballot looks like, as I posted one with a bubbled in "McCain-Palin".

Road to Victory

I put all my heart and soul as an American citizen into that post. I hope to be here later at 7 PM, after polls close in EST.

Cheers,
Victoria

Anonymous said...

"Among the other voters who have shown up to vote at Shoesmith Elementary School this morning, where Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., will vote:

Louis Farrakhan and William Ayers"

Too bad they didn't coordinate the arrival times...could have been a great group photo opportunity.

reader_iam said...

Seriously, it sounds like a question for rh hardin ... .

Brian Doyle said...

DBQ -

They've looked into whether there are lots of fraudulent votes getting cast in elections and there just aren't. You can worry if you want but it's irrational.

vbspurs said...

Oh, incidentally, I have seen one MUST-READ post for today, already. It's the most comprehensive blogpost on polling I have read.

Do not pass this one up, guys!

Toast

Terry Grant said...

I'm in Oregon. We all vote by mail. I voted a week ago. It is nice to sit with a cup of coffee and the voters pamphlet and vote at your leisure. I do miss going to the polls--such a ritual--but in the old days I'd often hear on the radio that winners were already projected before I'd even gotten to vote. Now, at least, I know i've voted even if it hasn't been counted yet.

Pastafarian said...

AJ -- I voted on paper; I didn't notice whether an electronic option was available. And no, of course there's no way to relate the voter to the ballot once it's cast.

Doyle -- perhaps you don't know quite as much about Ohio as you thought. You see, Einstein, here in Ohio, for the very first time this year, you can go in and register and then vote AT THE VERY SAME TIME, immediately after registering, before the registration is even verified.

Courtesy of Gov. Ted Strickland (D), Secretary of State Brunner (D), and all the other Ds that make up the state government at the moment.

But I'm sure that these people that turned these things in were much too principled to actually use them to vote. Yes, I'm sure that you're right.

And I'm sure that polling places in Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati aren't staffed by partisan hacks just itching to stuff the ballot boxes with any registered name on their lists that doesn't vote by closing time. Couldn't happen.

Douchebag.

Titusjustvoted said...

Good day fellow voters.

I just voted and it felt fabulous.

Can I tell you how fabulous the line was in my precint?

Fabulous haircuts, clothes, rare dogs, the gay cop, treats for the rare dogs, babies in designer clothes, residents of my building giving each other big kisses and hugs.

It was so festive.

It was like a giant party.

I heard there was a cruisy bathroom by the voting booths but I didn't partake as I had the rare clumbers with me-sporting Obama bandanas.

How are you?

Brian Doyle said...

You see, Einstein, here in Ohio, for the very first time this year, you can go in and register and then vote AT THE VERY SAME TIME

That must be why McCain's going to lose in Ohio.

Sloanasaurus said...

I voted in Minnesota today. The lines were the longest I have ever seen. In fact I waited for over an hour. The last time I waited an hour is when I foolishly voted for Ed Garvey in 1986.

The mood was grim, however. There aren't too many Obama supporters in my nieghborhood.

Be that as it may. I am aready gearing up to oppose Obama's Herbert Hoover plans to raise taxes on the job creating class and limit free trade going into this recession.

The new call sign will be Obama = Hoover. I can't wait.

Pastafarian said...

And the fact that 105% of eligible voters in Indianapolis, Indiana are registered? That's just enthusiasm, is all. They're 105% behind their guy. No, there's no fraud out there at all.

Unknown said...

I voted in Northern Virginia. Got there about 5:45 am or 15 minutes before the polling place opened. There were probably 250 people in front of me. Took me an hour to get through the line. When I left there were probably 600 people in line.

Brian Doyle said...

And the fact that 105% of eligible voters in Indianapolis, Indiana are registered?

I knew one explanation of the difference between registration fraud and vote fraud wouldn't be enough.

Rich B said...

I know how much Ann likes quotes, so here's an old favorite from Mencken:

"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard."

Sure seems like Obama has a lot of supporters who insist that he won't really do what he says he will do. They may be unpleasantly surprised.

I liked Tom Maguire's take at JOM-

"What does Obama really believe? Let's elect him and find out!"

Hoosier Daddy said...

The first part (fraudulent registrations) is definitely happening, because organizations that register give incentives based on volume.

And I bet if those organizations were being held accountable you'd be pissing down your pant leg.

The plain and simple way to void voter fraud is voter ID like we have in Indiana. If you need an ID to rent a move at Blockbuster or withdraw money from the bank, it certainly is reasonable to have one in order to prove you're the person on the voter rolls.

Brian Doyle said...

"What does Obama really believe? Let's elect him and find out!"

Meanwhile McCain flipped on progressive taxation (for it before he was against it), comprehensive immigration reform (ditto), whether we were "winning" in Iraq in 2004...

The guy even flirted with the other party. But he's a very principled man!

Hoosier Daddy said...

I knew one explanation of the difference between registration fraud and vote fraud wouldn't be enough.

Again, this is exactly why many of us in Indiana pressed for voter ID laws. You can have all the fraudulent registrations you want but the ID requirement nullifies that.

Brian Doyle said...

If you need an ID to rent a move at Blockbuster or withdraw money from the bank, it certainly is reasonable to have one in order to prove you're the person on the voter rolls.

True, except for the part about being able to rent movies being a fundamental human right.

ricpic said...

The only way to be a really withit person from here on in will be not only to note but to voice how many white people black people and who knows? dun colored people are anywhere at anytime doing anything.

dbp said...

Ann,

I went back to your posts for election day 2004 to see what long-time commenters were saying then v. now. It looks as if all the comments are missing now.

I know you didn't get as many comments then as you now do, but you must have gotten more than zero!

Darcy said...

Well, that was fun to read, Victoria! Thanks. And cheers.:)

Brian Doyle said...

So of all the horrible decisions that the McCain campaign made, what do you guys think was the single worst?

Pastafarian said...

You're right, Doyle, you're going to have to explain it to me again, slowly, because I'm so thick:

When Ohio allows voters to register and then immediately vote before their registration has been verified, how can we assume that a large number of those 200,000 fraudulent registrations haven't already resulted in a vote?

When it's been proven that hundreds of Obama volunteers from other states have cast ballots here in Ohio by pretending that this was their permanent address, how is that not voter fraud?

When multiple people have been interviewed on camera admitting to having voted 70 or 80 times for Obama and having been paid by ACORN to do so, how is that not voter fraud?

I'll just sit back and wait for your very well-reasoned and thorough explanation of each of these three points; I'm sure that you won't excerpt some small portion of this and reply with some snide one-liner.

Bill said...

Voted this morning at 8AM in Sacramento, CA. No lines. Sunny morning with ducks floating on the lake near my polling place. The ballot scanner said 79 people had already voted there. I've been trying to prepare myself for the disappointment I'll feel if Prop 8 (the anti-gay marriage amendment) passes (as seems likely). So in this subdued mood, I was thrilled to see three No on 8 volunteers with signs a short distance from the polling place. These enthusiastic young people really cheered me up no matter what happens. Thanks Professor Althouse for your terrific blog.

Rich B said...

Doyle-

Thanks for putting your finger on another excellence of the Obama. If you don't know what he stands for, you certainly can't accuse him of changing his position.

Apparently many of his followers expect that after the election.

I can't wait for that trademark Doyle "so's your mother" comeback. You certainly make up in consistency what you lack in creativity.

Titusjustvoted said...

Demographics of my precint from what i saw in the line.

I waited two hours. I estimate there were about 500 people in line when I got there. It was a good opportunity to cruise. Lots of big arms, nice asses, tight t shirts, defined pecs.

50% homos
30% jews and or jew homos
20% blacks or black homos
10% latins
30% fabulous couples with babies
70% make over 250k
90% under 50
50% under 30
100% fabulous.

Donn said...

Doyle:
There is overwhelming evidence that Voter Fraud is a phony epidemic cooked up by Republicans to try to suppress legitimate Democratic votes.

Not that you don't often say ridiculous things, but certainly, this one takes the cake.

MadisonMan said...

You see, Einstein, here in Ohio, for the very first time this year, you can go in and register and then vote AT THE VERY SAME TIME, immediately after registering, before the registration is even verified.

It's been that way forever in Wisconsin.

Another good quote: The democratic theory is that if you accumulate enough ignorance at the polls, you produce intelligence. (Philo Vance)

MadisonMan said...

...and let me add that I did not have to show ID this morning. Just told them my street address and my name.

Pastafarian said...

Madisonman -- maybe that partly explains why Wisconsin goes Democrat every time.

vbspurs said...

Well, that was fun to read, Victoria! Thanks. And cheers.:)

Hey, Darcy! Nice to see you again!

Thanks for taking the time to read the blogpost. It's a long one, God knows. Catch you later, on the flipside tonight. ;)

Cheers,
Victoria

vbspurs said...

50% under 30

Same in Miami Beach. But from what my friends have texted me and emailed today, you can't find anyone under 25 in those early lines.

They will probably come out later...

Simon said...

Sloanasaurus said...
"The mood was grim, however."

Yep. As Obama's depressing sunset logo reminds us, we stand today in the twilight of the Republic.

"Be that as it may. I am aready gearing up to oppose Obama's Herbert Hoover plans to raise taxes on the job creating class and limit free trade going into this recession."

If he wins, we are going to need to rapidly formulate a clear-eyed and realistic strategy to delay or derail as much of his agenda as possible. We will need to determine exactly what tools seem likely to be available (litigation, procedural tactics in the Senate and the rulemaking process), what others can be forged (for example, can the Berg case be resurrected with appropriate plaintiffs), and so forth. Fred Barnes is correct: they will move quickly. If Obama is elected President today, tomorrow morning we go to work to destroy him and anyone who goes to work for him using any tool that is legal and ethical. We're going to give him every bit as much deference and respect as the left has afforded Bush and Palin.

"The new call sign will be Obama = Hoover. I can't wait."

"Obama is Swahili for Hoover."

Synova said...

There is overwhelming evidence that Voter Fraud is a phony epidemic cooked up by Republicans to try to suppress legitimate Democratic votes.

You know, Doyle, that the only possible way this is true is if Democrats, far more than Republicans, are hopelessly unable to manage simple requirements like bothering to get an ID card *even* when they are provided free of charge.

Stupid people... really REALLY stupid people vote Democrat?

Titusjustvoted said...

At my polling place there was a special fabulous play room set up for the trust fund babies.

Some of the rare dog owners complained that there wasn't any play are set up for the rare, expensive dogs (that would be me).

I detected a couple of women that had their tits augmented. Also, there was some cosmetic surgery in my line-I am positive of that.

Lots of special fancy coffees were being drank in line.

Also, in line were Prada bags with Yoga Matts hanging out.

The shoes I observed were Cole Haan, Prada, Gucci, Ferragamo, Puma, Tiger Retro, Diesel, Addidas.

I also saw the cutest little Mui Mui over the shoulder number.

MadisonMan said...

Riiight. Tommy Thompson was a Democrat.

David A. Carlson said...

I don't know about elsewhere, but in Wisconsin they can track every vote by person

You enter and get a number
You give the number to the folks with the ballot
They mark that ballot with the number
You vote
You run the ballot through the machine

It's easy to back check anyones vote

Titusjustvoted said...

Oh and I also saw a couple of my tricks.

Hi.

David A. Carlson said...

oh, and that number goes into the list of voters, next to your name/address

MadisonMan said...

The best shoes in my line were worn by a little girl who was in a princess costume. She had red high heels with white polka dots on them.

Cedarford said...

Republicans lost whole regions of the country by not being inclusionary enough - New England, Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes States, West Coast. New England might be without a single Republican elected to the House, a “fact” not ever occuring before - dating to when Abraham Lincoln was alive.
They are seeing further erosion in the Southwest, Rocky Mountain States, even the South.
The Party is now the Party of the Rich instead of the working Reagan Democrat or the Middle Class. The Party of reckless spending, voodoo economics, gutting America of factories and good-paying blue collar and increasingly white collar jobs, Big Government Growth, and “deficits don’t matter”. The Party of the get rick quick schemes, rather than the voice of fiscal restraint and thrift and creating new good jobs.

You now have a Party dominated by the Religious Right - driving white women, hispanics off with their particular evangelical theology and extreme views on creationism, life. They have decided to start a war with Mormons, a critical part of the Coalition Reagan built.

This will be an Augean Stables level cleanup - so much lost so fast to so few special interest groups that perverted my REpublican Party. Wall Street, the Neocons, the Religious Right, the Corrupticans...

Anonymous said...

Here in Astoria, Queens, I got in and out in around five minutes (at 11:45 a.m. EST). I only had to wait for a young Indian family using the booth for my district (an old-fashioned one with a big curtain and the handle you pull and the tiny levers). The two kids, their heads reaching up to about the father's pocket, went in with the parents, all of them fairly brimming with civic pride. Kind of nice.

I chatted with the poll workers and they told me that they had an early rush in the morning, but since then it had quieted down.

The weather in New York is unseasonably warm for early November. Beautiful day.

*

knox said...

***BREAKING NEWS***

ZPS JUST QUOTED ON "RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOW"


Regarding how nervous he and other democrats are about the election.

Congrats, Zach, you're famous, sort of.

Christy said...

Baltimore County, cloudy and spitting rain

Voted at 11 a.m. and encountered no campaign workers handing out material, just Girl Scouts selling cookies. Longest line I've seen at that location (high school of Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps) but still not long. I'm told the line was longer before 8 a.m. Poll workers shared laminated sheets detailing the ballot issues to those waiting in line. One older lady passed out at the machine and things slowed down as poll workers helped her until the EMTs arrived. A table with a big yellow cardboard screen proclaiming "Provisional" was set up and I don't recall every seeing one before.

I voted against early voting. Register-when-you-vote issues elsewhere associated with early voting strikes me as enabling voter fraud. Voted against slots.

This is our last Touch Screen election. We go back to paper ballots next time. The discarded electronic voting machines will be paid for in 2012.

Simon said...

Cedarford, I think I speak for the overwhelming majority of commenters, left and right, Obama supporters, McCain supporters and Palin supporters alike, in asking you to kindly go and fuck yourself, and to do so somewhere else, you vile, misogynist, anti-intellectual anti-semitic pig.

Titusjustvoted said...

Hair styles in my line were for the most part fabulous.

Tons of shaved heads of course.

Many of the women's hair were dyed blonde or some blonde/black combo.

Makeup was fierce and expensive.

Babies were dressed to die for.

Baby carriages were outrageous and expensive.

Accoutrements on the women were appropriate and stunning.

Lots of jew guys wearing the beanies on their heads. I fantasize about doing a jew while he is wearing a beanie. That would be hot.

Women's tits were sized appropriately, well formed, nice curves and contours and tight little t's to show them off.

Darcy said...

Sounds like good times for you, Cedarford. I can't imagine what you're looking for in the Democrats, but so be it.

Chris said...

Well, congratulations to everyone who does vote this time around. I know so many "What's the point, my vote doesn't count" American friends. I just want to scream when I hear that. Here's hoping for a record turnout, and best of luck to you all whoever wins.

vbspurs said...

Congrats, Zach, you're famous, sort of.

Wow, super congrats, Zach! Now THAT is the ultimate Instalanche. :P

Cheers,
Victoria

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Voted at 11:00am CST. In and out in 5 minutes. One person ahead of me in the line for my ward. Everything was very sedate. I've now earned the right to criticize Obozo every step of the way through the next four years.

MadisonMan said...

Re: Election fraud in WI. Despite the best efforts of the Atty General to show it is rampant, I have to ask: why aren't there more convictions?

For example, this little episode made headlines. But convictions? Nope.

Most of the fraudulent voters in WI seem to be convicted felons who vote before their rights are reinstated. And there was vote-buying scheme with sleazeball McGhee in Milwaukee -- was that 2 years ago?

Rampant? Hardly? Occasional? Maybe -- but even that could be a stretch given the conviction record.

vbspurs said...

you vile, misogynist, anti-intellectual anti-semitic pig.

He was banned from Ace ages ago, for precisely this.

You certainly speak for me, Simon.

Donn said...

Simon:
Cedarford, I think I speak for the overwhelming majority of commenters, left and right, Obama supporters, McCain supporters and Palin supporters alike, in asking you to kindly go and fuck yourself, and to do so somewhere else, you vile, misogynist, anti-intellectual anti-semitic pig.

Well put Simon!

Simon said...

If the dems are so confident, why are they still trying to rig it?

William said...

I got in line at the YMHA on Manhattan's upper east side at exactly 7:25 a.m. I left the polling booth at 8:35. Everyone was very pleasant and studiously apolitical in their small talk. I'm sure they were all (except me) Obama voters but the cluster around me seemed to be very decent people--not at all like those rowdy drunks you meet while waiting in the tat parlor. I hope the good things they see in Obama come to fruition and the doubts I have about him prove to be, in the later judgement of history, totally unfounded. In the end, one can only vote and hope that you are as smart as most people or that most people are as smart as you.

knox said...

I feel bad for doyle. Just think of all the time he's wasted insisting cedarford is on the right.

Zachary Sire said...

KNOX-

Was Rush mocking me and other "nervous" Dems, or was he just being anecdotal? I need to know if Rush Limbaugh made fun of me! That would be amazing.

In case anyone's wondering, he got my quote from this LA Times article which the LA Times interviewed me for yesterday after reading this post on my blog.

Brian Doyle said...

I feel bad for doyle. Just think of all the time he's wasted insisting cedarford is on the right.

I would think about all that time if I could remember spending any time doing that. Having determined almost instantly that he's an idiot and a rabid bigot I stopped giving a shit beyond that.

Hoosier Daddy said...

True, except for the part about being able to rent movies being a fundamental human right.

That's cute Doyle. I suppose since voting in US Presidential elections is a fundamental human right, I take you you'd be open to allowing anyone to vote. I mean why should foreigners be denied that basic fundamental human right.

Brian Doyle said...

I suppose since voting in US Presidential elections is a fundamental human right, I take you you'd be open to allowing anyone to vote. I mean why should foreigners be denied that basic fundamental human right.

Wow. I guess I'm a little out of my league, here, debate-wise, but here goes:

Being foreign (or, say, a convicted felon) are strong reasons why someone should be precluded from voting. Having lost or not having acquired a particular document is not.

An Edjamikated Redneck said...

Voted this morning at the firehouse, took about 10 minutes. I got there about 7:45 and left about 7:55. The polls ahd been open about 2 hours when I left and I heard the poll workers talking about turnout- there had been about 200 voters in about 2 hours, a little higher than normal.

When it comes to voter fraud I agree with Pastafarian- the voter fraud in Ohio is a mess, and Madison Man- why never any prosecution? Because whose going to investgate? The WINNERS???

Hoosier Daddy said...

So of all the horrible decisions that the McCain campaign made, what do you guys think was the single worst?

Well I would say not not having a mom who dumped him off with grandma so she could travel the world, having a racist preacher for a spiritual mentor for twenty years, and not being buddies with unrepentant right-wing terrorist bombers since having those seemed to raise Obama's stock among his followers.

An Edjamikated Redneck said...

Doyle said... Being foreign (or, say, a convicted felon) are strong reasons why someone should be precluded from voting. Having lost or not having acquired a particular document is not.

Okay, but how do you prove you ar enot foreign or a convicted felon (or even registered to vote) WITHOUT that particular document?

Just curious.

Brian Doyle said...

not being buddies with unrepentant right-wing terrorist bombers

Oh no?

ricpic said...

For Uncle Sam, Titus' district would be a foreign country, which it is.

Brian Doyle said...

Look don't get too hung up on the mechanics, folks. Just lie back and enjoy it.

Synova said...

Silly people. Doyle understands what "fundamental human right" means!

Sort of the same way that Obama understands what a Constitutional individual Right to bear arms means.

It means it's a Right, except when it's NOT.

Get with the program!

Brian Doyle said...

Sort of the same way that Obama understands what a Constitutional individual Right to bear arms means.

Uh, I'm pretty sure he does. It just doesn't mean AR-15s for everybody like Joe the Plumber-types might prefer.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Being foreign (or, say, a convicted felon) are strong reasons why someone should be precluded from voting. Having lost or not having acquired a particular document is not.

Oh ok. I just wanted to clear up the fundamental human right thing.

So then with no voter ID law, I guess nothing stops me from registering in say, three different precincts and voting accordingly.

But of course no one would think of doing with with all those fraudulent registrations. No worries there folks.

Sometimes I wonder if it is possible for you to be more of a parody.

Synova said...

Okay, but how do you prove you ar enot foreign or a convicted felon (or even registered to vote) WITHOUT that particular document?

Asking people to prove stuff suppresses their vote. It intimidates them.

And that is very naughty.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Having lost or not having acquired a particular document is not.

So, not having bothered to apply for a driver's license or take a driving test is, Ok? You have the fundamental right to drive anyway.

If your doctor decided not to get a particular document or register to practice in your state, I assume you think he has a fundamental right to take out your appendix.

This fundamental right/suppression argument is specious at best and basically STUPID. If you don't have enough responsibility to register to vote, get an identification card you shouldn't be allowed to have your vote count until you can be verified. These provisional votes are causing no end of problems and generating false results.

Question: why is it Democrats who can't seem to follow the rules? Stupidity? or intentional fraud? or both?

Brian Doyle said...

Question: why is it Democrats who can't seem to follow the rules?

LOL. I'm just not even going to dignify that.

ricpic said...

Vicky was spotted patrolling the line at her polling place, dressed in jodphurs and black thigh high boots, (quite innapropriate for jodphurs I might add, but her fashion statement) and a whip; cracking the whip and yelling RACIST at any of the whites in line who dared object when any black in the line spat at them.

Good work enforcer Vicky, say I.

Brian Doyle said...

I didn't know Synova was Linda Tripp.

john said...

The YMHA? Young Men's ... Association?

Anyway, I voted midmorning at the nearby middle school. There was maybe 10 people in line waiting for 8-10 voting desks. The only thing that took time was voting not to retain a whole shitload of superior court judges. Maybe I need to get downtown more often, as I don't have a clue what all those judges would actually do.

The voting crowd was in great spirits, as were the officials. It was fun. I think I'll do it again.

Zachary - good for you, you're almost famous.

chuck b. said...

Well, I enjoy Cedarford as a web creature, which is not to say that I like or endorse his views. (I'm a "cum gulping pederast" after all; I just don't take it personally.)

His best comments are hilarious and I think the place would be diminished without him. (Not a lot diminished, but definitely somewhat diminished.) He offends with flare and I think it's quite helpful to have someone around with such a...bold, crisp perspective.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Let's face it. Voter fraud won't be stopped until Republicans adopt the same tactics. Until then, Democrats have no incentive to stop it. Sad but true.

Cedarford said...

justin - I've never heard a convincing argument for why everyone has to vote on the same day. We had early voting for two weeks. It was very convenient. Especially since I didn't have to vote in my precinct.

The main argument is that unlike the eternal Presidential contest, local candidates only have the resources or ability to get away from their day jobs for a short campaign. Early voting stretches campaigns. You have to start earlier to get the early voter contingent, but then you can't wrap things up and have to go back to the store, office, factory and wait the last two weeks out since you have burned up most your vacation time/comp days...because the bulk of voters still have to vote, and maybe your opponent is a housewife of affluenece who isn't time-limited. All for a State House seat or deputy mayor in a medium-sized town slot? No - the rationale and support breaks down on a local level.
People who volunteer as poll workers also encounter similar restraint.

As America is growingly less competitive in trade and education, it doesn't need yet another "holiday".

One thing that should be looked at is abandoning the tradition of Tuesday for the weekend, to vote.

Brian Doyle said...

I'm a "cum gulping pederast" after all; I just don't take it personally.

Doctor, give me 800cc's of self-respect, STAT!

Synova said...

Uh, I'm pretty sure he does. It just doesn't mean AR-15s for everybody like Joe the Plumber-types might prefer.

Glad you agree with me, Doyle.

A Right is a Right for as long as we like it. Thus a "fundamental human right" can be denied to people so long as we come up with a reason to deny it.

I don't use the word "Right" that way, but Obama seems to, announcing that health care is a "Right." What medical care do people have a "right" to and who will provide it? And he easily announces that people have an individual right to bear arms, it's there in the constitution, and in the very same sentence will add that the right to bear arms extends only until a city government decides to limit that right. Because they want to.

Are our rights to free speech just as mushy?

Titusjustvoted said...

I did not observe any camel toes in my line but I could see some hogs and sacs hanging in tight jeans. They were kind of hot.

My foreign country precint lost many actual Americans on 9/11 Ripic.

Brian Doyle said...

Voter fraud won't be stopped until Republicans adopt the same tactics.

Like the massive purge of voter rolls in Florida in 2000? Where the Republican FL DoS instructed a private company to remove any names that were even similar to those of convicted felons?

How about those voting machines in Ohio?

Republicans are accomplished election riggers, they just aren't good enough to stop their huge losses in 2006 and 2008, because the party is just that fucking loathesome.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Are our rights to free speech just as mushy?

Well you'll see when they try and get the Fairness Doctrine passed again. Can't have all that conservative speech out there. It hurts their sensitive ears.

Synova said...

Purging voter roles is suppressing the vote.

All names should be kept on the rolls forever. People who have moved. People who are felons. People who have died.

Err in the direction of inclusion, I say!

Brian Doyle said...

Can't have all that conservative speech out there.

Hey did you hear the uber-liberal CNN just hired Stephen Hayes?

Dust Bunny Queen said...

No possiblity of voter fraud here

Our election system is so sloppy and riddled with errors that allow out and out fraud.

If Obama wins, I have no faith that this was in anyway a fair election given all the thuggery in the caucuses, the fraudulent registrations, the duplicate registrations in several states, the lack of any accountability at all or the ability to indentify voters.

When you have Black Panthers weilding nightsticks at the entrance to polls intimidating voters and poll watchers being thrown out of the polling places so they cannot monitor to make sure there is no ballot box stuffing or intimidation....we have entered third world banana republic status.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Like the massive purge of voter rolls in Florida in 2000?

Nice try but no cigar.

Hey Doyle, if your electorate was smarter then the third graders who had no problem with the butterfly ballot your boy would have won in 2000. Maybe you guys should do ballots like bingo cards.

Keep it simple stupid and all that.

ricpic said...

The arab street is warming up to do the wallawallawalla dance should there boy Obama win.

Brian Doyle said...

Nice try but no cigar.


Look it up.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Just voted in Lower Merion Township outside Phila in Pennsyltucky.

The clerk of elections told me about 1,100 people are registered to vote in my district (2-3 machines) and so far about 50% have voted. I was 499 in fact. Maybe I will have to play that number in the lottery when Obama and Rep. Moran take away everyone's wealth.

Come to think of it, it must be a damn easy life financially when a member of Congress is paid about $160K per year, gets 100% paid health insurance and fully paid generous pension.

Probably is a bit like Althouse's financial life. It has to make one think a bit differently about household economics. I don't know how they can relate to the average person IMO. Though Althouse at least is surely grateful for what her hard work and talent have gotten her.

Most members of Congress should thank God everyday for their dumb luck.

Brian Doyle said...

The arab street is warming up to do the wallawallawalla dance should there [sic] boy Obama win.

Better that than the ignorant hick street.

former law student said...

You may wonder, was everyone voting at the First Congregational Church of Madison voting for Barack Obama. The answer is no. I saw a young man wearing a McCain/Palin button.

Hah! Illegal electioneering -- must stop 100 feet from the polls. Figures it would be a Republican doing it.

Hoosier beats the photo ID drum once again...

If you need an ID to rent a move at Blockbuster or withdraw money from the bank, it certainly is reasonable to have one in order to prove you're the person on the voter rolls.

while Kirby shows why it's unnecessary:

I went into the voting center and was out in about five minutes. I knew at least half of the thirty people who were in there, so I didn't even have to show an ID. Everyone said hi Kirby when I walked in.

Apparently New York State is still living in the 50s:

I thought the voting machines were going to be different. They have a red handle that you pull over and then a cloth curtain closes behind you. You then push down all the tiny levers indicating your choices, and then you pull the red handle again, and the curtain opens up, and you're on your way.

Such machines keep track of votes using mechanical counters that look like odometers. Cheating is carried out by incrementing counters for the favored candidates before delivery. The counters should be checked to read 00000000 before the day's voting begins.

Fearing long lines at the polls, we got there (public library) by 6:45, to be third and fourth in line at our precinct. Connecting the arrows with a ball-point was surprisingly difficult. Got our free tall (i.e. small) drip coffee from Starbucks, but bought cakes to compensate for their good will.

Make sure you know your precinct before you stand in (the wrong) line, in multiprecinct polling places.

On to Ben and Jerry's!

Simon said...

ricpic said...
"Vicky was spotted patrolling the line at her polling place, dressed in jodphurs and black thigh high boots, (quite innapropriate for jodphurs I might add, but her fashion statement) and a whip...."

Well, that image brightened my day a little. Of course, I have no idea what Victoria looked like, so my mind jumped to put Tina Fey in that getup, and it was tres racy.

For some reason, much to my detriment, I can't quite picture Althouse in that getup.

Synova said...
"Silly people. Doyle understands what 'fundamental human right' means!"

Isn't it strange how the Constitution rights that liberals invent - the right to vote in a Presidential election, the right to kill one's unborn offspring - are absolute and cannot be infringed under any circumstances, whereas even the rights that are actually in the Constitution aren't so absolute. Even the First Amendment, perhaps the strictest of all the restrictions, as the court has interpreted it, allows reasonable regulations, even when the result is that someone's speech may be limited. At any rate, I had my say on voter ID laws here, and have little to add. I have no problem in abstracto with asking people to jump minor hurdles before voting. Honestly, I'd go further: as I've said before, I'd like a 100% write-in ballot where you just get a list of positions and you have to write in your preferred candidate's name. If you haven't been following the race closely enough to know who the GOP candidate is, you don't need to be voting.

Titusjustvoted said...

Voting makes me horny.

Brian Doyle said...

Isn't it strange how the Constitution rights that liberals invent - the right to vote in a Presidential election

So you're saying liberals invented Democracy... and that's a bad thing?

Hoosier Daddy said...

Hoosier beats the photo ID drum once again...

while Kirby shows why it's unnecessary:


Oh yes, anecdotal evidence from...who the hell is Kirby?

Half the 30 poeple? Well there were probably 400 at my station and I recognized 5 which I guess by your standards is ample evidence why proving who you are isn't necessary.

I still think its hysterical that the ones who are so cavalier over fraudulent voter registrations fight tooth and nail over requiring an ID to vote.

Titusjustvoted said...

I am getting hard just thinking about voting.

chuck b. said...

I'm a "cum gulping pederast" after all; I just don't take it personally.

Doctor, give me 800cc's of self-respect, STAT!

***

I don't lack self-respect. Cedarford would be no more or less absurd if he called me "blue". Both are equally false, but one makes me laugh and the other does not.

Original Mike said...

I voted about noon. It was pretty empty. The woman in front of me fed several ballots into the scanner while the poll worker maning the machine read a book. Don't know what that was about, but I'm sure there was a innocent explanation.

Hoosier Daddy said...

So you're saying liberals invented Democracy... and that's a bad thing?

Doyle proving once again that reading comprehension is not his strong suit.

mrs whatsit said...

My voting experience in bitter, clinging, rural upstate NY: The main street was jammed with cars when my husband and I drove into the tiny hamlet where we vote. We were briefly alarmed by the prospect of lines, but no: everybody was there for the annual Election Day Dinner at the Methodist Church. (Great pies!)

Down the hill at Town Hall there were three parked cars -- well, one car and two pickup trucks. Inside there were four people: our friend Connie signing in the voters, two other officials, and one voter, who was being congratulated as voter #200 for the day as we walked in. (That's high turnout for noon in a town with 700 registered voters, according to Connie.) However, when Voter #200 was done voting, she couldn't get out of the booth. (It's our last year with the old machines here in New York before we move on to some new technological wonder.) The lever that is supposed to open the velvet curtains to let her out while simultaneously registering her votes would not work. One of the election officials leapt to the rescue, reaching over the top of the booth to shift the lever to the right while explaining that she hadn't pushed it over hard enough when she first stepped in. Demonstrating the necessary oomph, he shoved so hard that the whole booth rocked and a makeshift light clamped to the booth's other side to illuminate its dim interior came loose and smashed on the floor. Everybody yelped, especially the hapless voter still inside the curtains. "You still alive in there?" the official demanded, and then while Connie was sweeping up the broken light bulb he explained to Voter #200 that she should reset all her voting levers and try again. This time the lever worked and she emerged, looking distinctly relieved, to a round of laughter and congratulations on her survival from the rest of us. By this time quite a line of waiting voters had accumulated: four people. That old machine is clearly on its last legs, but it worked just fine for the rest of us.

Henry said...

How about we:

a) make it easy to register;
b) require picture ID to vote;
c) make it convenient for non-drivers to get that picture ID (e.g. locations in every community of a state, well in advance of any election);
d) require transparency and timeliness for efforts to purge voter roles of people who have moved/died/committed felonies;
e) move to universal optical-scan paper ballots;
f) assign state and local election administration to non-partisan professionals (or mixed-party committees);
g) do the same for redistricting.

There really is no defense for practices that cast doubt on the validity of our elections, when the remedies are obvious and easy.

Roberto said...

I visited one of my Acorn reps this morning and got to vote 15 times!!!

Simon said...

Doyle said...
"So of all the horrible decisions that the McCain campaign made, what do you guys think was the single worst?"

Oh, easily his reaction to the financial crisis (if we can represent that collection of decisions as "a" worst decision). When you look at the polling, that's indisputable; his numbers were static through most of the year, attained near-vertical liftoff after the Palin pick, flamed out when AIG failed, and went into freefall when he did that asinine "I'm suspending my campaign" gamble.

Anonymous said...

"Honestly, I'd go further: as I've said before, I'd like a 100% write-in ballot where you just get a list of positions and you have to write in your preferred candidate's name. If you haven't been following the race closely enough to know who the GOP candidate is, you don't need to be voting."

Doyle should be for this. He has shown us repeatedly know the Democrats are smarter ergo better spellers. Fill-in-the-blank tests would be an impossible hurdle for the members of the GOP.

snark/off

Roberto said...

We should be able to vote from Friday until Tuesday.

It makes absolutely no sense to limit most voting to one single day.

Titusjustvoted said...

I am thinking of having some election day sex.

The thought of knowing that I can have sex any time I want is very exciting and rewarding to me.

I feel bad for people that can't have sex because they may not be attractive and no one will do them. That must suck.

Brian Doyle said...

Doyle should be for this. He has shown us repeatedly know the Democrats are smarter ergo better spellers. Fill-in-the-blank tests would be an impossible hurdle for the members of the GOP.

Well in the interest of fairness I'd allow for Republicans to "make their mark" by writing "Cletus X" or whatever. But it would get confusing.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Pastafarian:

Thanks - so if she too had a paper ballot process, there is no way Obama's Ohio spokesperson could have rescinded her vote.

That is what I suspected.

former law student said...

Simon said...

Cedarford, ... you vile, misogynist, anti-intellectual anti-semitic pig.

Cedarford's post, to which Simon responded, was remarkably free of anti-Semitism, misogyny, and anti-intellectualism. So what crawled up Simon's butt?

Roberto said...

Doyle said..."So of all the horrible decisions that the McCain campaign made, what do you guys think was the single worst?"

Oh, easily his choice of Sarah Palin...but his flip-flopping on many issues make him look indecisive.

Her approval ratings have plummeted, those who think she's qualified to be V.P. has plummeted and her consistent inability to understand the office and responsibilities make her look foolish.

Not understanding the 1st Amendment doesn't bode well either.

Simon said...

Doyle said...
"[Simon said, 'Isn't it strange how the Constitution rights that liberals invent - the right to vote in a Presidential election'] So you're saying liberals invented Democracy... and that's a bad thing?"

No, I'm saying you just invented a non-existent right to vote in a Presidential election. Even Michael Dorf admits that the Constitution contains no such right. As the court explained more than a century ago, the appointment of Presidential electors is "placed absolutely and wholly with the legislatures of the several states. They may be chosen by the legislature, or the legislature may provide that they shall be elected by the people of the state at large, or in districts, as are members of congress.... This power ... cannot be taken from them or modified by their state constitutions any more than can their power to elect senators of the United States. Whatever provisions may be made by statute, or by the state constitution, to choose electors by the people, there is no doubt of the right of the legislature to resume the power at any time, for it can neither be taken away nor abdicated." McPherson v. Blacker, 146 U.S. 1, 34-5 (1892).

Synova said...

So you're saying liberals invented Democracy... and that's a bad thing?

Inventing "rights" is a bad thing.

Because it weakens the word to mean nothing at all. Case in point: you.

"Right" has come to mean something like "a good idea" instead of something that is, truly, a god given (or "natural") human right that exists despite majority rule, despite tyranny of any sort. Our constitution starts out by listing the rights that our founders recognized... in short, the right to what is in our own heads, our right of conscience. So, association, speech, religion, assembly, self-defense... those things. Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness.

The "right" to health care (for example) isn't a right to our own conscience and associations... it's a "right" to *get* something.

The "right" to bear arms that ends just as soon as a city mayor, council, police chief, or majority vote decides to take that right away, is not a "right" at all.

The "right" to marry doesn't exist for *anyone*.

Brian Doyle said...

Oh, easily his choice of Sarah Palin

Agreed. In the pre-campaign category, he could have helped himself by opposing the Iraq War. And no, it wouldn't be the first US military intervention he opposed.

Darcy said...

I don't fully agree with that, Simon. Though I see why you feel that way. I think suspending his campaign to deal with the crisis was reasonable and admirable, but I think the media spin was what he wasn't prepared for.

I would say, if he loses, that is what I would point to as McCain's biggest mistake. Believing the MSM was honorable in any way, and counting on some fairness.

Brian Doyle said...


Inventing "rights" is a bad thing.


I guess I didn't know that the right to vote wasn't actually a "right" in a Democracy. My mistake!

Titusjustvoted said...

I enjoy the right to receive a really good blowjob.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Henry:

Your ideas have my support.

I'd add this one. States can not have ballot initiatives or bond issues on low turnout primary ballots. These things must be on general election only.

Here in Pennsylvania, Gov. Rendell loves to put ginormous bond issues on the primary ballot in years when there are no big elective races (i.e federal offices). So less than 10% of registered voters bother to vote and of course Rendell gets his drones and party faithful to show up. To me, that is almost as bad as communist "elections".

Roberto said...

FLS: "Cedarford's post, to which Simon responded, was remarkably free of anti-Semitism, misogyny, and anti-intellectualism. So what crawled up Simon's butt?"

I agree.

Where does he exhibit any of what Simon whines about?

Donn said...

I love this comment at The Corner:

Virginia Congressman Jim Moran's money quote:

For the last seven years we have had the highest corporate profit ever in American history. . . But it hasn't been shared, and that's the problem, because we have been guided by a Republican Administration who believes in the simplistic notion that people who have wealth are entitled to keep it. They have an antipathy toward the means of redistributing wealth. And they may be able to sustain that for a while, but it doesn't work in the long run.

Roberto said...

If McCain had selected Ridge (or even Romney) he would be leading and probably the next President.

Whoever talked him into Palin should consider another profession.

garage mahal said...

Black Panthers!

This day may be better than even I hoped.

Roberto said...

Speaking of "money quotes," here's one from a major hack:

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said Monday that the United States will "lose a lot of stature throughout the world" if Barack Obama is elected president.

Looking forward to a potential Obama administration in an interview with CNN, Hatch said, "...We're going to lose a lot of stature throughout the world because we have somebody who, though eloquent and a very nice person, who I like, who doesn't know what he's talking about."

As if our "stature" is sky high at present.

Duh.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Oh, easily his choice of Sarah Palin

It's even funnier when a bunch of moonbats actually think they know what motivates conservative voters.

Yep you guys are dead one. That's why those massive pre-Palin McCain rallies disipated to three or four guys yelling Kill Him! when she joined the ticket.

But hey, don't let the facts get in the way. It's never stopped you all before.

DaLawGiver said...

Hey, Michael the meatsack is back for another heaping helping of This post has been removed by a blog administrator.

I wonder what it hates more, being ignored or being deleted?

Either way it's all good, what a wonderful day to be an American!

Brian Doyle said...

It's even funnier when a bunch of moonbats actually think they know what motivates conservative voters.

Their pricks and the reptilian core of their brains?

Synova said...

I guess I didn't know that the right to vote wasn't actually a "right" in a Democracy. My mistake!

Of course you didn't, Doyle. Because you think that a right is any thing that is legal or desirable or good.

Thus a higher level of, well, we use the word "right", does not exist.

Unless you can think of a better word to use for those things that we are, by virtue of being human, endowed with by our Creator as "things" that can not (not shouldn't be, but *can* not) be removed even by a majority vote. Things that, if there is a law against them, still exist and still must be expressed.

Because the word "right" seems to be being used for something else.

Ray Fowler said...

My wife and I both went to vote about 9:30 a.m. We didn't have to wait in line. We walked right in, voted and walked right out again. I have heard of longer lines at other precincts in our town, however.

Roberto said...

"It's even funnier when a bunch of moonbats actually think they know what motivates conservative voters."

Yeah, McCain's REALLY GOT 'EM ROLLING!!

Want to bet on who is the next President?

P.S. lawgiver: Suck my dick.

former law student said...

Black Panthers!

This day may be better than even I hoped.


Yes, if it were 1968 again, I would have put the moves on the busty blue-eyed blonde I had the monster crush on when we were in Eighth Grade.

Brian Doyle said...

Because you think that a right is any thing that is legal or desirable or good.

Of course I do. I'm so naive that I need conservative legal scholars like you and Simon to explain why disenfranchisement is actually part of God's plan.

chickelit said...

Michael wrote: I agree.

He (Cedarford) is all yours now- enjoy!

Synova said...

Hey, does Michael get to post if he doesn't start with a description of his voting, where and when and stuff? Who he saw there?

Titusjustvoted said...

Let's not argue today and fellow Americans and lovers of the Bush Doctrine.

Let's celebrate this day.

No more fighting. Let's all promote LOVE.

I think a big group hug is in order.

You are all special wonderful creations of God.

Bringing in the sheets
Bringing in the sheets
We will come rejoicing
Brining in the sheets.

Thank you.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Hey, Michael the meatsack is back for another heaping helping of This post has been removed by a blog administrator.

Michaels is like herpes. It goes away for awhile and then flares back up. That shit never goes away.

Simon said...

Synova said...
"Inventing "rights" is a bad thing."

In addition to the examples you list, there's a serious structural problem with inventing Constitutional rights. Constitutional rights aren't coextensive with natural rights; they are specific, direct restraints on what government can do vis-a-vis the people. They subtract from general grants of power - so, for example, a law imposing a watermark requirement for printing presses might be sustained as within Congress' general grant of power as an incident to regulating the interstate market in printed materials, but might still fall afoul of the First Amendment. The partial birth abortion law is a recent example: the plaintiffs maintained that Congress had general power to pass laws regulating abortion, but this law regulating abortion violated the Constitutional right to abortion. (They were wrong on both points, but the court only rebuffed the latter contention, not its assumption; Justices Scalia and Thomas went out of their way to reserve the other question.)

The point to get to is once you see Constitutional rights for what they are, you realize that every time you invent a new Constitution right (or actually amend the Constitution to create a right), you're putting the issue outside of the realm of self-government. You're saying that this issue can no longer be debated, argued over, compromised on. You might think that it's a good idea that convicted felons can't run for Congress, but that issue is off the table. There's no point in arguing about it; the Constitution settles the question until it's amended. Maybe Miranda is a really bad idea, that it helps criminals and makes life harder for law enforcement, but it's off the table. Constitutional rights are not an unqualified good, but liberals never seem to understand that these days. They once did, back in the Lochner days, when the courts made up an imaginary Constitutional right to freedom of contract and used it to strike down all manner of perfectly valid liberal legislation. That was wrong, too, but most liberals show little aptitude to learn from history.

Darcy said...
"I don't fully agree with that, Simon. Though I see why you feel that way. I think suspending his campaign to deal with the crisis was reasonable and admirable, but I think the media spin was what he wasn't prepared for."

I suppose it was a gamble, and if it had paid off, if he'd been able to negotiate a deal, maybe he'd have profited. But it seemed to me - a supporter! - like a cheap, cynical, political ploy, and I think most voters very quickly formed the same opinion.

Synova said...

Hey, Doyle, you're the one who said that a "fundamental human right" to vote could be taken away for a bunch of reasons.

Who's preaching disenfranchisement?

We just pointed out to you (bwaa ha ha ha... like that worked) that you had an odd idea of what a "right" was, since you felt it could be taken away so easily.

dbp said...

Just voted here in Chelmsford Mass.
There are 9 precincts and I made a note of the counter on the machine that you feed the paper ballot into. 1308. 9 times that is 11,772, which I figure is pretty good for half-way through the day in a town of 34,000.

Brian Doyle said...

Synova -

Quit wanking. How about if I said "It's more important that eligible voters be able to vote than it is that eligible movie renters be allowed to rent movies." No insufferable disquisition on what makes a "right."

Obviously I didn't mean that voting in US elections is a right afforded to every human being. Don't be so fucking stupid when you can help it. It's something that Americans of voting age are generally entitled to do.

former law student said...

I'm saying you just invented a non-existent right to vote in a Presidential election.

While Simon is of course correct, the equal protection clause means that laws that disadvantage some voters more than others must withstand an appropriate degree of scrutiny.(e.g. Bush v. Gore)

Simon said...

Doyle said...
"I guess I didn't know that the right to vote wasn't actually a 'right' in a Democracy. My mistake!"

See, that's the mistake you make. You assume that we're a democracy and everything you rest on that flawed assumption is unsound. I don't know if this state or that state is a democracy, that's their business, but the United States are a federal republic; we use democratic processes for the selection of some parts of the federal apparatus and other methods for selecting other parts.

Democracy has its uses and its place, but I don't understand the fetishization of it, the weird idea that somehow the paramount goal is more democracy. How can a process be seen as an end result? To my mind, the paramount goal is a government under the control of the governed that most efficiently balances liberty and order. There are inherent tensions in that goal, and democracy is usually the most efficient and effective way to secure that end. But not always, and it bears particular note that when our priorities are set in the correct order - when democracy is seen as the means not the end - it becomes irrational to say that more democracy must always be better. Sometimes more democracy is worse: some states elect judges, for example. And sometimes, a measure that infinitesimally constricts or burdens democracy actually promotes the efficient functioning of the system. Voter ID laws fall easily into the latter class.

Roberto said...

As for Palin, I absolutely believe she motivated specific Republican and conservative voters, but her lack of qualifications scared the hell out of too many who would have otherwise supported McCain.

I also do not think she'll be a major force going forward.

This was her 15 minutes of fame and she'll end up right back where she came from...before taking a job with Fox of course.

And there are way too many qualified individuals who have served for many years and will expect to be rewarded for their service to the party.

Synova said...

but her lack of qualifications scared the hell out of too many who would have otherwise supported McCain.

And so, instead, they vote for Obama.

Even though by any measure except going to Harvard, he is even less qualified for President than Palin is qualified for President.

Gotta love logic.

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