Your Official 2004 Election Day Thread

[jmcclain19]

If anyone is interested, Justice Stevens just denied the Ohio lawsuit about the use of poll watchers

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2...pdf/04a360.pdf

Although the hour is late and time is short, I have reviewed the District Court opinions and the opinions of the Circuit Judges. That reasonable judges can disagree about the issues is clear enough.

The allegations of abuse made by the plaintiffs are undoubtedly serious—the threat of voter intimidation isnot new to our electoral system—but on the record before me it is impossible to determine with any certainty the ultimate validity of the plaintiffs' claims.

Practical considerations, such as the difficulty of digesting all of the relevant filings and cases, and the challenge of properly reviewing all of the parties' submissions as a full Court in the limited timeframe available, weigh heavily against granting the extraordinary type of relief requested here. Moreover, I have faith that the elected officials and numerous election volunteers on the ground will carry out their responsibilities in a way that will enable qualified voters to cast their ballots.

[jmcclain19]

And on a similar note, if anyone is interested, here is a great election Law website, being updated like mad today

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/

[pedro]

Originally Posted by jmcclain19

And on a similar note, if anyone is interested, here is a great election Law website, being updated like mad today

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/

that's cool. thanks.

[KYRedsFan]

Originally Posted by Puffy

Dude, whatever. If young adults are voting now (and I don't care who they vote for now cause their views very well might change once they get older, with families and jobs), but if young people are voting now then it increases the chances of them staying politically active throughout their lives. I, for one, think that is awesome. So if it takes the WWE registering their fans, or MTV saying Rock the Vote, or P. Diddy saying Vote or Die, and all those people vote for Bush (hypothecially speaking as I am a Kerry supporter) I would still say it rocks for the aforementioned reasons.

The blatant partisan motivation behind these movements removes any shred of possibility that they're interested in merely improving youth participation. I really do like that it's getting young people involved, that's a good thing. The sick part is that these people throw their rhetoric around as fact under the guise of "voter education." Get real, these artists don't care what turnout is, they just want Bush out, and realized a large segment of easily influenced voters. Repeated ads lying about a draft return, etc. That's not to be admired in my opinion. Dude.

[WVRed]

Puffy, doesnt this remind you of South Park last week?.

[Puffy]

Originally Posted by WVRed

Puffy, doesnt this remind you of South Park last week?.

[jmcclain19]

Everyone can rest easy. Guam's votes are in.

http://www.guampdn.com/news/updates/9807.html

Bush wins 17,264 to Kerry's 9,540

[KYRedsFan]

Turd sandwich in 2004

[Puffy]

Originally Posted by KYRedsFan

The blatant partisan motivation behind these movements removes any shred of possibility that they're interested in merely improving youth participation. I really do like that it's getting young people involved, that's a good thing. The sick part is that these people throw their rhetoric around as fact under the guise of "voter education." Get real, these artists don't care what turnout is, they just want Bush out, and realized a large segment of easily influenced voters. Repeated ads lying about a draft return, etc. That's not to be admired in my opinion. Dude.

First off, the calling you dude, and the whatever, is just an expression I use, it was not meant to disrespect you.

Secondly, I've said what I wanted so I'm just gonna leave it as I've said twice already - - I'm glad they did this if it increases young voter turnout. It distresses me that we will probably set a record for most voters ever this year and that number will still only represent 50% of the voting age population

[Red Leader]

Originally Posted by KYRedsFan

Turd sandwich in 2004

Giant ******!

[Danny Serafini]

Originally Posted by jmcclain19

Everyone can rest easy. Guam's votes are in.

http://www.guampdn.com/news/updates/9807.html

Bush wins 17,264 to Kerry's 9,540

Did Guam get an electoral vote and I missed it? I'm just trying to picture Bush or Kerry on a campaign visit there.

[jmcclain19]

ABCNews The Note has an interesting breakdown of battleground states and weather reports

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/T...tory?id=156238

OHIO (20):

Polls open at 6:30 am ET and close at 7:30 pm ET.

Ballot Watch: Provisional ballots can be cast in the Buckeye State when a voter's name does not appear on the roster or if s/he forgot an ID. These provisional ballots can be cast only in a voter's home precinct. The counting of provisional ballots does not begin for 10 days. The majority of voters cast punch card ballots — 69 of 88 counties. The others use optical scan and electronic voting devices. Recounts are automatically triggered at a difference of one-fourth of 1 percent or less; it is up to the Secretary of State to order a statewide recount.

Vote Watch: (1) Who wins State Issue 1 (the same-sex marriage ban) and by how much — the higher the "yes" vote, the better for Bush; (2) African-American turnout in Cleveland; and (3) the vote and margins in Franklin, Stark, and Montgomery counties.

Weather: In Democratic Cleveland, "Occasional rain. Highs in the lower 60s. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph becoming northwest. Chance of rain 80 percent." Even worse in Cincinnati, where the Republicans have their eye: "Showers. Highs in the lower 70s. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph this morning. Becoming northwest this afternoon. Chance of rain 100 percent."

FLORIDA (27):

Florida's panhandle is on Central Time. Across the state, polls will open at 7:00 am ET at the earliest and close at 8:00 pm ET at the latest.

Ballot Watch: Those who vote in the wrong precinct do not have their votes counted at all. Florida uses a mix of optical scan and touch-screen voting machines, but use of the new machines has still not been perfected. In 2002 there were many flaws and some poll workers didn't know how to operate the machines. In accordance with a court order, the machines print a log of all ballots cast as a form of a paper trail. However, there is no way to be completely sure that the log is accurate and that the computer accurately tabulated the votes.

Vote Watch: (1) Bush's margin in North Florida (above 60 percent?); (2) Kerry's in Palm Beach County (high 50s or low 50s?); (3) who wins Tampa and Orlando media markets and by how much; and (4) African-American turnout.

Weather: Democratic Miami is "mostly sunny early in the morning then becoming partly sunny. A slight chance of showers." The all-important corridor between Orlando and Tampa I-4 is Florida perfection: 87 degrees, 10 mph wind. But Red Pensacola is "Cloudy. Showers and thunderstorms likely. Lows around 70. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent."

MAINE (4):

Polls open at 6:00 am ET at the earliest and close at 8:00 pm ET.

Ballot watch: Maine has not used punch card or lever voting machines for many years. The state currently uses paper ballots which are hand counted or optically scanned and tabulated by a machine.

Vote watch: Obviously, Bush's effort for a majority in the 2nd Congressional District.

Weather: In "battleground" CD 2: "Partly cloudy this morning. Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain this afternoon. Highs in the upper 40s. North winds 5 to 10 mph…Becoming east this afternoon. Chance of rain 50 percent."

NEW HAMPSHIRE (4):

Polls open at different times — the earliest at 6:00 am ET. They close at 8:00 pm ET.

Ballot Watch: Roughly 100 towns/municipalities use optical scan voting machines, including all of the heavily populated areas. The rest of New Hampshire voters perform their civic duty by marking an "X" on a paper ballot, which gets counted by hand. No punch card ballot allowed! There are no partisan canvassing boards; "moderators" count votes at the polling places in public view or at a "counting center."

Vote Watch: (1) How the Southern Tier voters who moved from Massachusetts voted; and (2) the margin of the leading candidate's lead in the towns between Manchester and Nashua.

Weather: Um&. It's New Hampshire in November. If they ain't used to it now& "Partly cloudy this morning. Then becoming cloudy. A chance of rain early this afternoon. Rain likely late. Highs in the mid 40s. North winds around 5 mph. Increasing to southeast 10 mph with gusts up to 25 mph late this morning and afternoon. Chance of precipitation 70 percent."

PENNSYLVANIA (21):

Polls open at 7:00 am ET and close at 8:00 pm ET.

Ballot Watch: Pennsylvania has not yet taken advantage of HAVA funds to upgrade its voting equipment — election officials didn't believe it would be done in time for the election. As such, the state still uses punch card, optical, lever, and direct recording voting machines. Provisional ballots can be given to those who do not appear on voter registers, or are otherwise deemed ineligible to vote. County officials will determine whether those ballots count within three days of the election.

Vote Watch: (1) How well Bush does among women in the suburbs of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh; (2) who wins and by how much in Allentown; (3) how Kerry does in Erie; and (4) African-American turnout.

Weather: The all-important Philadelphia and suburbs is "Mostly cloudy. Highs in the lower 60s. Southeast winds around 10 mph." The weather in beautiful Central City, PA , where Bush needs big margins, could be rainy: "Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain. Mainly in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 60s. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent."

MICHIGAN (17):

Polls open are various times. At their earliest, it's at 6:00 am ET. They close at 9:00 pm ET.

Ballot watch: Michigan's voting is administered locally among (literally) thousands of elections officials, making it the most decentralized system in the country. Some counties use multiple systems, especially in high population areas. There are eight different systems in use statewide. 48 hours is given for recount petitions. Pray none are filed.

Vote Watch: (1) Look at the Michigan AFL-CIO's work — the labor vote  both the contribution and vote share per candidate; and (2) how well Kerry does in Detroit and its suburbs.

Weather: Detroit, Detroit, Detroit: blustery! "Occasional showers, mainly before 9:00 am. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent. High around 56. Breezy, with a north northwest wind between 14 and 21 mph."

MINNESOTA (10):

Polls open at 8:00 am ET at the earliest, and all close at 9:00 pm ET.

Ballot Watch: In Minnesota two-thirds of the state use optical scan machines and the rest use paper ballot, most of which are read and counted by scanners. At the push of a button tabulated tallies are printed. Minnesota has no early voting, and no provisional ballots either. The state has same-day registration.

Vote Watch: (1) Will Kerry's margin in the Twin Cities help him overcome deficits in the rural part of the state? (2) Does Bush win by a larger margin in the ring around the Twin Cities than he did in 2000? (3) Can Kerry improve in Olmstead County (Rochester) from what Al Gore got?

Weather: All over the state, like San Francisco in the summer: crisp and beautiful.

NEW MEXICO (5):

Polls open at 9:00 am ET and close at 9:00 pm ET.

Ballot watch: 22 counties (including all of the larger counties) use direct-record electronic voting. (Many use the first generation electronic machines with buttons not touch-screen.) 11 counties (smaller counties for the most part) use optical scan. There were significant voting problems in Bernalillo County in 2000.

Vote watch: The margin by which the leading candidate is winning Bernalillo County and the weather in Little Texas.

Weather: Are you kidding? Sunny!

WISCONSIN (10):

Polls open at 8:00 am ET and close at 9:00 pm ET.

Ballot Watch: The state has a very decentrilized system. Voters can register on Election Day in Wisconsin. Counties with fewer than 5,000 have no rolls. Wisconsin doesn't give special consideration to overseas ballots: they must be in by the close of polls. The state uses optical scan (87 percent), paper (10 percent), lever, and punch card balloting.

Vote Watch: (1) Does Bush overperform his 2000 margin in Brown County?; (2) Kerry's margin in Milwaukee; and (3) who wins the surburbs.

Weather: Kitties and puppies in blue Milwaukee: "Occasional rain before 9:00 am, then a chance for drizzle before ending. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. High near 47. North wind between 14 and 20 mph." Green Bay is mostly cloudy.

IOWA (7):

Polls open at 8:00 am ET and close at 10:00 pm ET.

Ballot watch: Most of Iowa uses optical scan systems. Only seven counties use levers, and one has paper ballots. No punch card ballots are used.

However, there is no statewide voter database and no ID is necessary at the polls — which can set the stage for voter fraud accusations and the casting of more provisional ballots. But the state has a good reputation for clean elections, even with all those pre-election kerfluffles.

Vote watch: (1) Who wins the I-80 corridor; (2) can Bush get 45 to 50 percent of the vote in Dubuque County? (3) Does Kerry have a 15,000+ vote margin coming out of Polk?

Weather: Lazy hazy all over.

NEVADA (5):

Polls open at 10:00 am ET and close at 10:00 pm ET.

Ballot Watch: Nevada will be using Direct Recording Electronic ("DRE"— read: touch screen voting) machines statewide. These machines, unlike Florida, all print out voter verifiable receipts to allow voters to see their ballots before finalizing them. Upon approval, the vote is recorded.

Vote Watch: (1) In Nevada, watch Kerry's margin in Clark County — it needs to be superhigh, or Bush will win the state. (2) watch for the strength of Bush's margins around Reno.

Weather: Sunny.

[pedro]

Originally Posted by WVRed

The Giant Wafflehead is at the Waffle House close to Polaris.

Waffle here waffle there waffle in your hair giant wafflehead wobbling toward you. Waffle near waffle far waffle in your car, now America must brace for Project Longface.

meanwhile the president it playing tic tac toe with a chimp.

link

[WVRed]

Originally Posted by pedro

meanwhile the president it playing tic tac toe with a chimp.

link

One difference, this is a real John Kerry wafflehead-

http://www.glennbeck.com/news/09172004.shtml

Glenn Beck broadcast this on the air today(and for the past several weeks). They had already given it a purple heart after a spring came loose. They gave it two more after somebody sprayed silly string on it and something else happened. They said they would take it home if he got three purple hearts, but they let it run through Columbus anyways.

I think they said it got flipped off in different places(five times was the last count), and other Dems who saw it just tried to ignore it. Meanwhile, Repubs were honking and waving at it.

[pedro]

Originally Posted by WVRed

One difference, this is a real John Kerry wafflehead-

http://www.glennbeck.com/news/09172004.shtml

Glenn Beck broadcast this on the air today(and for the past several weeks). They had already given it a purple heart after a spring came loose. They gave it two more after somebody sprayed silly string on it and something else happened. They said they would take it home if he got three purple hearts, but they let it run through Columbus anyways.

I think they said it got flipped off in different places(five times was the last count), and other Dems who saw it just tried to ignore it. Meanwhile, Repubs were honking and waving at it.

that's some pretty constructive use of time. kind of like arguing politics on redszone. i wonder what the GOP would do if they had to actually come up with arguments that didn't include the words "waffle" or "flip-flop"? maybe they'd talk about about their stellar record of successes - like iraq!

btw- it would be funny if if wasn't so pathetic.