Steve E Posted November 6, 2012 Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 Hi folks. Well, it's that time again. The last time we did this (2008) the Storyist Forums had a much less international flavor. Maybe today's Storyists are less interested in US politics. In any event, I've started this thread for us to have someplace to put their Election Day stories. Perhaps they'll be inspirational. Perhaps not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 Okay. I voted around 4PM (EST) and the place was crowded. We have a new system at our poling place where you sign in and they give you a ballot. You go to a desk where you fill out the ballot and then stand on a second line where you put your ballot into a machine. Two bits of weirdness: 1) A young woman at the sign-in desk asked me if I had a picture ID. I asked her why. She shrugged and said that it's faster that way. I asked her how. She shrugged and let me sign in anyway. It would have been no faster if I had shown her ID. I pointed her out to the security guards. They did nothing. 2) The machine that reads the ballot lets you but the ballot in upside down and backwards. It doesn't care. A man standing at the machine insisted that I put it in right side up so he could see how I voted. So much for a secret ballot. Tiring of the process. -T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 Because of Sandy, New Jersey has announced that it won't finished counting it's votes until Friday. I wonder what Congress will have to say about that? NJ's 14 electoral votes could easily turn the election one way or the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted November 6, 2012 Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 I voted around 1 pm. Turnout had been high (I was no. 457 or so, as compared to 160-something in a slow year), although the lines weren't long when I got there. The entire nation has followed the absurdity of PA's attempt to prevent "voter fraud" (meaning ballots cast by voters unlikely to support the dominant party in the state legislature), which was on full display. I presented my driver's license to my next-door neighbor and asked him if that was sufficient ID or whether I needed a passport. While he was laughing, the guy next to him, who didn't get the joke, told me they would take whatever ID I had. Apparently he hadn't heard that they'd have had to let me vote even without an ID, since the State Supreme Court judge put the law on hold.... And now it turns out that in certain PA precincts, you can tap Obama's name, but the machine records it as a vote for Romney. That, of course, would be considered "vote fraud" in most places, but not in PA! The joys of democracy—which, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, is the worst form of government, except for all the other forms that have been tried from time to time. M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orrenm Posted November 6, 2012 Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 Because of Sandy, New Jersey has announced that it won't finished counting it's votes until Friday. I wonder what Congress will have to say about that? I'm sure that all the lawsuits over voting irregularities will be going on long past Friday, so it won't cause any undo delay in a process that I fear will likely take the rest of November. Voting in my district in California was very pleasant. I knew some of the volunteers, we chatted about family. We have electronic voting machines that have you select your choices with a scroll wheel. After you vote, you get a screen showing what you chose, waiting for you to verify it before it becomes official. As you verify, a paper print out also shows you your vote, so you have double confirmation and a paper trail as to your vote. Then you accept it, the paper also is logged, and you're done. It didn't take long, and I appreciate the redundancy. Orren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orrenm Posted November 6, 2012 Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 And now it turns out that in certain PA precincts, you can tap Obama's name, but the machine records it as a vote for Romney. That, of course, would be considered "vote fraud" in most places, but not in PA! This is the most "video phone-able" election in our history. CNN and others have open email addresses for emailing videos of voter fraud. Facebook has their own voter fraud address for those who take Facebook video. Twitter hashtags for voter irregularities and fraud abound. You can't log into a social network without the hotline for voter fraud being thrown at you. People are recording EVERYTHING. You can be sure that every errant machine, worker, you name it, is going to be recorded and publicized. And the lawsuits and objections will continue for a long, long time. The hope is that the losing candidate will concede at some point, because even if there's a "winner apparent" tonight I'm sure that the cases will go on for a very long time, at least through November, maybe even longer. Orren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 ...And now it turns out that in certain PA precincts, you can tap Obama's name, but the machine records it as a vote for Romney. That, of course, would be considered "vote fraud" in most places, but not in PA!... Shades of The Simpsons! ...The hope is that the losing candidate will concede at some point, because even if there's a "winner apparent" tonight I'm sure that the cases will go on for a very long time, at least through November, maybe even longer. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if this election is contested well into 2013. (I like your polling place. Maybe I should move to Orange County.) Current Electoral Score: President Obama 3, Governor Romney 24. 270 Electoral Votes needed to win. Sigh. -T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 A lot of the races are two early to call. Many East Coast polls won't close for an hour. But... Current Electoral Score: President Obama 61, Governor Romney 56. 270 Electoral Votes needed to win. -T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 Current Electoral Score: President Obama 124, Governor Romney 154. 270 Electoral Votes needed to win. -T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 Current Electoral Score: President Obama 158, Governor Romney 163. 270 Electoral Votes needed to win. Very close. -T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 Current Electoral Score: President Obama 163, Governor Romney 163. 270 Electoral Votes needed to win. Even Closer. -T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted November 7, 2012 Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 Yes, but California has yet to come in: 55 electoral votes. Also Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii. And Florida still has people waiting in line to vote, 2.5 hours after the polls "closed," most of them in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.... Virginia and Ohio also teetering. Hope you have some No-Doz handy, 'coz it's gonna be a long night. M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted November 7, 2012 Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 MS-NBC just called Ohio, and with it the race, for Obama. Note that Nate Silver's predictions have so far been correct for every state that is not still considered too close to call (he expects Florida, Virginia, and Colorado eventually to go to Obama). The Dems keep the Senate, too, although they don't recapture the House. Best, M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 Yes, but California has yet to come in: 55 electoral votes. Also Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii. And Florida still has people waiting in line to vote, 2.5 hours after the polls "closed," most of them in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.... Virginia and Ohio also teetering. Hope you have some No-Doz handy, 'coz it's gonna be a long night. M California's in! Florida (29 electoral votes) and Colorado (9) are leaning towards Obama. Virginia (13) is leaning towards Romney. Nevada (6) is up for grabs but its polls are closed. The polls in Alaska (3) are still open. Note: Ohio went for Obama (no Republican ever won the presidency without Ohio, for some obscure reason). Current Electoral Score: President Obama 275 THE WINNER (and before Florida's polls closed), Governor Romney 203. 270 Electoral Votes needed to win so its all over but for the lawsuits (as Orren pointed out). Good night. -T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 MS-NBC just called Ohio, and with it the race, for Obama. Note that Nate Silver's predictions have so far been correct for every state that is not still considered too close to call (he expects Florida, Virginia, and Colorado eventually to go to Obama). The Dems keep the Senate, too, although they don't recapture the House. Best, M Ah. Sorry. You posted while I was writing my last post. (Quick fingers, you.) Yes, a win for the Dems. But you know they're going to protest the New Jersey votes. And even though the Florida numbers aren't official yet, after all the shenanigans going on there (e.g., voter disenfranchisement) I think it's a moral victory for the Dems as well. You cannot beat the American voter! (Yay!) I would like to thank you, Marguerite and Orren, for participating. And a tip of my hat to our dozen or so lurkers. And people wonder how I can have over four thousand posts. -T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orrenm Posted November 7, 2012 Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 I would like to thank you, Marguerite and Orren, for participating. And a tip of my hat to our dozen or so lurkers. My pleasure. I'd been Tweeting and Facebooking as I'd watched live results on the PBS Newshour, watched The Daily Show live, and then Romney's concession and Obamas victory speeches. Personally, I felt Romney's speech came across as gracious, but a bit sore. Also a bit light—insiders said it was hurriedly put together and it felt that way. Nevertheless I feared he wouldn't concede at all, even if it was an obvious outcome, so the fact that he did, and the fact that he also live streamed the transcript of Obama's speech on the Romney website, was welcome and classy. Speaking of Obama's speech, it hit all the right notes. It reminded us of the sort of inspiring speeches he's capable of, when he puts his mind to it. Now I hope that he's got the fight in him to make good on his pledges to get to work. He's still got a hostile House of Representatives that seeks to thwart him at every turn... Orren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 Good morning Orren. ....Personally, I felt Romney's speech came across as gracious, but a bit sore.... ....Speaking of Obama's speech, it hit all the right notes. It reminded us of the sort of inspiring speeches he's capable of, when he puts his mind to it.... ....Now I hope that he's got the fight in him to make good on his pledges to get to work. He's still got a hostile House of Representatives that seeks to thwart him at every turn.... Agreed on all points. Although perhaps since the House has failed to "make Obama a one term president," it may stop its childishness and not threaten to shut down the government every time it doesn't get its way. We'll see. It's interesting to note that while the Electoral College has Obama winning in a slam dunk at 303 to 206 (many states are still counting and Florida, while leaning Obama's way, is still in play) the popular vote is a much closer 59,621,436 to 56,989,709 or 50.3% to 48.1%. The President still won the popular vote but clearly we still live in a republic divided. In any event, I'm glad it's (mostly) over. -Thoth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steakpirate Posted November 8, 2012 Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 I had to vote by mail because I'm staying outside my registered county. No sticker for me. I don't think the House is going to be any less childish, but I do hope that Obama—now that he has nothing to lose—will kick their asses by giving addresses asking the public to get involved (IE: Inundate your congressman), vetoing where needed, giving speeches on the House and Senate floors, and etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 Hi SP. I had to vote by mail because I'm staying outside my registered county. No sticker for me. Do you get some sort of confirmation by mail? I don't think the House is going to be any less childish, but I do hope that Obama—now that he has nothing to lose—will kick their asses by giving addresses asking the public to get involved (IE: Inundate your congressman), vetoing where needed, giving speeches on the House and Senate floors, and etc. You'll recall, the last time President Obama gave a speech on the House floor someone shouted "liar" up at him, which was both rude and false. It might have made him a bit skittish. -T BTW: Florida is still counting. (What's wrong with those people?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orrenm Posted November 8, 2012 Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 Do you get some sort of confirmation by mail? I think SP is in California, and no, we don't, unfortunately. But in general, I give very serious props to the California Election Commission (or whatever there official name is). They bought very good machines, they're very organized, the voting stations are always very stocked with provisional ballots and the volunteers are prepped for how to handle edge and contingency cases, etc. Our state has a lot of problems, as many or more than others I'm sure, but I generally believe that elections here are handled well—although mail confirmation would be nice! BTW, as you may know, California has had a horrible budget problem that's been going on for years now. Our property tax is some of the very lowest in the nation (1% to 1.25% I believe), our State Income Tax is very low, and yet we demand a level of social services that are way too expensive for our taxation level. Add to that a massive housing crash and unemployment levels since 2008, and we've been nearly bankrupt for years, every year. Schwarzenegger cut the budget all he could but you have to raise revenue as well; of course, the Republicans in the state senate have always knee-jerk rejected any revenue increase. So we've ended up with education slashed to lowest-in-the-nation levels (I think we're about where Mississippi is...) and still nearly bankrupt. This election two wonderful things happened: first, Governor Brown's proposition to raise taxes for education specifically passed. And then the Democrats won a supermajority of the State Senate. So at this point, they can pass a budget without a single Republican vote. It sounds funny to say that I'm looking forward to taxes going up, but honestly, I am. I don't mind paying more when I feel it's going to causes that I wholeheartedly support, and I think our current leadership in our State has their heads and their hearts in the right place. You'll recall, the last time President Obama gave a speech on the House floor someone shouted "liar" up at him, which was both rude and false. It might have made him a bit skittish. I hope Obama feels emboldened by the fact that he doesn't have any more elections to worry about. Also, if this election proved anything, overt racism, sexism, etc. doesn't go very far anymore... (you just knew that when that Southern Republican yelled "you lie" he just barely stopped himself before appending "boy"...) Orren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 ...I generally believe that elections here are handled well—although mail confirmation would be nice! Thanks for the input. Of course, if things were perfect you'd have nothing to strive for. This election two wonderful things happened: first, Governor Brown's proposition to raise taxes for education specifically passed. And then the Democrats won a supermajority of the State Senate. So at this point, they can pass a budget without a single Republican vote. Which may just get your budget problems straightened out. Here's hoping. I hope Obama feels emboldened by the fact that he doesn't have any more elections to worry about. Also, if this election proved anything, overt racism, sexism, etc. doesn't go very far anymore... Amen. (you just knew that when that Southern Republican yelled "you lie" he just barely stopped himself before appending "boy"...) All day Republican Talking Heads have been blaming their loss on the increasing scarcity of Angry White Men—the life's blood of the party. They could be right. Here's hoping. We got slushy snow (in the Fall) here in the northeast. Just glad that it didn't come down two days earlier. -Thoth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 Special Bulletin: Florida (29 electoral votes) has finally been called for President Obama. Current Electoral Score: President Obama 332, STILL THE WINNER. Governor Romney 206. Popular vote: Obama 60,893,112 (50.4%) Romney 57,956,750 (48.0%) -T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.