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Cuneiformist
The Imperfectionist
USA
4955 Posts |
 Posted - 11/03/2008 : 13:05:45
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Let this serve as the general comments thread for the US elections that take place on November 4. Tell us if you voted, or any experiences you had, or comments you have as you watch the evening's results!
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pleco
SFN Addict
USA
2998 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2008 : 14:30:01 [Permalink]
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| I will be voting in a Red State, so my vote will not count. Thanks winner-take-all system! |
by Filthy
The neo-con methane machine will soon be running at full fart. |
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astropin
SFN Regular
USA
970 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2008 : 14:43:19 [Permalink]
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Can we make predictions?
Obama by at least 300 electoral votes.....and it's basically over by 8pm Eastern. Yeah I know....not much a limb I'm going out on :) |
I would rather face a cold reality than delude myself with comforting fantasies.
You are free to believe what you want to believe and I am free to ridicule you for it.
Atheism:
The result of an unbiased and rational search for the truth.
Infinitus est numerus stultorum |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2008 : 15:11:25 [Permalink]
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From Ed Brayton:If you go to the polls tomorrow and have problems with voter suppression or intimidation of any kind, this is what you should do: call 1-866-OUR-VOTE. This is the national election protection hotline set up by the the ACLU, the National Lawyers Committee and other groups. They will intervene and even dispatch mobile legal teams if necessary. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Chippewa
SFN Regular
USA
1496 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2008 : 15:43:19 [Permalink]
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I voted several days ago. It feels good to do it. The line wasn't too long though the absentee center was crowded. In, for example, Florida it appears the lines are so long it is (as Rachel Maddow pointed out on her show yesterday,) the new Poll Tax. i.e. Poorer people who can only get off work for a short time, are forced to wait many hours in line and tempted to abandon their wait. Those folks tend to be Democrats by the way.
In California, maybe everywhere, on absentee ballots you don't get a receipt indicating that you voted. At a normal polling place on election day someone always takes your paper ballot and tears off a tab for you. Not with an absentee ballot.
You do however get the little "I Voted" sticker for your lapel.  |
Diversity, independence, innovation and imagination are progressive concepts ultimately alien to the conservative mind.
"TAX AND SPEND" IS GOOD! (TAX: Wealthy corporations who won't go poor even after taxes. SPEND: On public works programs, education, the environment, improvements.) |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2008 : 16:24:07 [Permalink]
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Went to vote yesterday but couldn't find a parking place within my too-short walking distance. That's the biggest crowd I've ever seen in Oxford, NC.
I'll go to the regular polls at the fire house in Providence early tomorrow. Then in due course, I'll either celebrate with some homemade kim-chi & good booze, or drown my sorrows with with the same booze and the same home-made, kim-chi whilst considering seeking political asylum in Canada.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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Cuneiformist
The Imperfectionist
USA
4955 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2008 : 18:47:55 [Permalink]
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I'm trying to think of my past (presidential) voting experiences. In '92, I voted absentee. In '96, I was in an OK college town and voting was pretty quick and easy. In '00 I was in Baltimore, but didn't recall waiting long. In '04, I was still in Baltimore and actually did wait for about an hour. (Bonus for that was me standing three people back from a local news anchor. Turns out, she's like 4' 10" or so. Who knew?)
I voted in '06 in my new home in Upstate, NY with no problem in terms of lines, parking, etc., and I don't expect one tomorrow, either. In fact, I may just go by after the gym in the morning. |
| Edited by - Cuneiformist on 11/03/2008 19:51:38 |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2008 : 19:08:46 [Permalink]
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| I have never had to wait more than a few minutes to vote. I expect that to change tomorrow... |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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chefcrsh
Skeptic Friend
Hong Kong
380 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2008 : 19:20:05 [Permalink]
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I never have to wait to vote...though sometimes I have to wait in line at the HK Post Office register the delivery.
I'm voting for Obama. if he turns the US into a socialist state, I'll probably be living in one here anyway. It's not as bad as the led us to believe back in the day of the commie pinko. |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 11/04/2008 : 05:01:12 [Permalink]
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'Tis done & 'tis done.
Remembering the cheek-b'jowl fiasco of yesterday, I got to the Providence Fire House at 6 am and found myself second in line. The guy ahead of me said he'd been camping out since 5:30, as he too, feared a huge crowd and didn't want to be late for work. Our fears were groundless, as it appeared that it would be pretty much an average polling in our sleepy, little wide spot in the road (one convience store, the Fire House and a Baptist church).
I got good & wet standing in the rain for a 1/2 hour, but that's ok. Now I won't have to take a bath 'till next week, soonest.
If you ain't voted yet, get your ass in gear!
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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moakley
SFN Regular
USA
1888 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2008 : 05:27:52 [Permalink]
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I voted last Wednesday. I took a magazine with me which was fortunate because it took 3 hours from the time I stepped into line to the time I finally voted. The early voting numbers from NC are still about 2-1 Dems-Reps. 40% of the registered voters cast early ballots.
I would like to see the race decided by 8pm or a least by 10.
edited to add: Just received a call from my wife. She got to the polls 20 minutes early and there were already over 100 people in line. Some had been standing in line since 5am. In 2004 I arrived 30+ minutes early and was 10th in line.
I'm in Mechlenburg cty, Charlotte, NC. |
Life is good
Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned. -Anonymous |
| Edited by - moakley on 11/04/2008 05:42:54 |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2008 : 05:36:19 [Permalink]
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| Got there at 5:40 a.m., and took my wife home because she didn't want to wait as she works earlier than I do. Got back about 5:55, and that trip cost me about a half hour wait. Waited about an hour in the rain and twenty minutes inside. Not too bad. |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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| Edited by - Gorgo on 11/04/2008 05:38:13 |
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Vic Daring
New Member
49 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2008 : 07:03:31 [Permalink]
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I voted at 8 a.m., an hour after the polls opened. I was the 113th voter at my precinct. This is a precinct that, in an non-presidential year, might not crack 200 voters total.
My prediction:
Obama: 311 EV
McCain: 227 EV |
The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed. |
| Edited by - Vic Daring on 11/04/2008 07:04:50 |
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pleco
SFN Addict
USA
2998 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2008 : 07:52:35 [Permalink]
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| I voted (at a church AGAIN - still makes me mad) - long line - took 45 minutes. Talked to a couple of people - very upbeat. Weather was great. I was voter 376 at my particular machine. We use bubble forms, and I wrote myself in for several elections where there was only one candidate. |
by Filthy
The neo-con methane machine will soon be running at full fart. |
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Robb
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2008 : 07:53:39 [Permalink]
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| I voted last Thursday in Texas, I waited about 15 minutes in line. My 1st grader was part of a nationwide mock election. The results at her school were 70% McCain and 30% Obama. Overall district wide it was McCain 60% and Obama 40%. The statewide results were 55% Obama and 42% McCain and the national results were 60% Obama and 35% McCain. Seems pretty represenattive of what most likely will happen today. |
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. - George Washington |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2008 : 08:11:53 [Permalink]
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Here's Fivethirtyeight.com's current projections:
These have bee going up and down a little over the last week or so, but never any extreme movement. The page is also covering House & Senate contests.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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The Official SFN US Elections Thread
