Election Thread #1 -real version (Let's see how long we can stay on topic)

[DoTheFandango]

No, we don't.

[Facetious]

does electoral-vote.com get its current results from actual voting results or just from polls

[Vykromond]

Mystics, if you could give ANY INDICATION WHATSOEVER of where you got those numbers, that would be nice.

AFAIK, Face, there aren't any "actual voting results" that have been tabulated enough to make projections yet. Electoral-vote.com is still using the most recent pre-voting polls, although it will be updating live tonight when the votes start to be tabulated.

[Gemfire]

The one thing I don't get is that you have to register every 4 years. In Canada once registered you stay that way until you die. If for some reason you aren't registered you can vote with proof of i.d. and you sign this little waiver saying you haven't voted in this election yet. Now i know America is a way bigger scheme and the i.d. thing probably is a bad idea -- but registering every 4 years makes no sense to me, can't they just store it somewhere?

Every state is different. North Dakota isn't like that at all. You show up to the specified area to vote(the district is divided into many places to go vote - Civinc Center and schools mainly) for your mini-district and show the people who run the polls your Proof of Identification and you can go vote. You CANNOT vote in any of the wrong voting places though, the dividing up of the district you are in makes it so you cant go to multiple.


.......Did anyone understand that?



Edit: Most of the polls on news channels saying Bush is ahead by blah% are also VERY small in numbers; I remember one with only 1200 participants. Thats a REAL representative sample of the whole population, eh? More like 120,000(thats still way low, but then I'd at least look at the results. I mean 1200? COME ON)

[geekbot]

I voted for Kerry.

I am generally a conservative and have voted Republican in the past. But after watching the debates and being very disappointed with the spin and lack of information and truth coming from either candidate I was very ready to vote for 3rd party Libertarian Michael Badnarik. I am in favor of a multi-party system in the US, I didn't like either candidate and I liked Badnarik and he is on my state's ticket.

But I spent the past two days reading as much as I could about Bush and Kerry and finally decided on Kerry this morning based on three things:

1) Americans are being kidnapped and beheaded in Iraq. Things are not going well which is due in part to the arrogance of the Bush administration and the underestimation of the likelihood of our current situation.

Here's a very interesting (and long) article about our miscalculations, arrogance, and missteps in rebuilding Iraq: http://harpers.org/BaghdadYearZero.html

Politicians and those involved do need to be held accountable.

2) Kerry's service in Vietnam. Whatever anyone says, he was there, he lead his Swift Boats and he saw what war is like. I know that remembering his friends that died and the shrapnel his body will make him think twice before leading our troops into war too quickly. My first thought when I heard that we were invading is that Bush went in too quickly- the threat of war and continued diplomacy was not given a chance before we went in.

Kerry did support the resolution for war in Iraq as a senator *but* under the situlations that peaceful avenues would be taken first and the support of other nations was obtained: http://www.independentsforkerry.org/...erry-iraq.html

This is a time when we do need a leader that wants to clean up the mess and get out of Iraq as well as continue to assess the threat from Osama. Michael Badnarik does not seem to me to be a "wartime consigliere". I think Kerry has the stones to go after the terrorists but the restraint not to carelessly send our troops into unnecessary situations.

3) Kerry does have a record of uncovering and speaking out on wrongdoing in Washington DC. Including being one of those that exposed President Reagan, Ollie North, and crew by investigating the Iran-Contra connection and contra involvement in drug trafficking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_ke...985-present.29
http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/p...y/062003.shtml

So although I am in most in favor of conservatism I voted for Kerry for those reasons.

[ConcreteSchlyrd]

CNN just showed the place where Bush is either set to give his victory or concession speech. It's fucking creepy--really facist-looking.

I'm not saying that because I don't like the man (or his presidency, or his advisors), but it's got these two huge "W" banners on either side of the stage.

[Nickname]

didn't you hear? He was sent by god.

[bloodzombie]

Nice job geek... wish everyone spent that much effort deciding.

[Kolar]

cnn.com....

and just to add my opinion... I think if the race is very close right now then projected winnings just seem to be a little bit out there even with extensive analyzation. I think this is the kind of crap that added to the problems in 2000.

[Vykromond]

The first interesting projected decision is in my home state, New Jersey, which shifted between a tie and a close win for Kerry. The AP is now projecting a Kerry win in NJ. It was never really assumed that Bush would win here, but there were visits in the state by both campaigns when it was realised that the race would be a lot closer than most people thought.

The other victories have all been obvious ones- Alabama, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Connecticut, etc.

[Vykromond]

Florida is leaning Bush so far, in the 8-10 percentile range, but WHAT THE FUCK THERE'S A NEW SMILEY ON THIS BOARD? OMFG :english: NICE that's largely from Republican counties and not from the two big Democratic counties (particularly Miami-Dade, which has already had a voting-fuckup scare when some officials said that 65,000 ballots wouldn't be capable of processing until Thursday).

[Vykromond]

Looks like the entire Eastern GOP-basket, including the lands of Jerome and Facetious, are going to go for Bush again this year. The following information comes from the CNN tracking page: With 45% of precincts reporting, Virginia is about a 12-point lead. West V is up by 9% with 2% of precincts reporting; I guess they feel that it's such solid Bush country that they can project from a 2% result. Indiana is up 15 with about half done. Kentucky is up 17 with about three-quarters reporting. Tennessee is also a safe call; CNN had it before the AP did but now NPR and all the competing networks are calling it for Bush despite only 3% reporting precincts. North Carolina is pretty hopeless too (even with the Edwards effect taken into account, it's double digits we're talking here), as is SC and (especially!) GA. Oklahoma ditto; Bush is actually leading by 34% in the friggin' pan state!

None of that is particularly unexpected. We haven't gotten into any interesting situations yet except the apparent strength of the Kerry victory in NJ.

[Galleleo]

EDIT: ok taht didnt work, anyways:
Bush: 102
Kerry: 77

Taken from cnn, last updated 8:52 pm ET

[Vykromond]

NPR has 95-78 Bush. CNN and MSNBC have 102-77 Bush. The BBC has 102-78. The Associated Press website is raping me up the fucking ass, but NPR is giving me the AP projections as they come in. The AP called New Jersey surprisingly early this time, actually, for an organisation that lauds itself as the only media service not to prematurely call Florida for Bush in '00.

An interesting note about the 78-77: CNN and MSNBC both say that one elector in Maine (of all places!) is still up in the air. Apparently, Maine is one of those states were electors don't always vote in a block, because there's no constitutional mandate on that but it's common practice. Three electoral votes in Maine are definitely locked down for Kerry, and it's a Kerry-voting state, but apparently one of them can vote for whomever he/she damn pleases. I'd get more specifics for y'all but I seriously have no idea who it is.

Additionally, I just learned something amusingly horrifying: all the networks actually have called Maine for Kerry with 0% of precincts reporting. In fact, just like in the NH situation, only a few sleepy hamlets have their votes counted already- and Bush won that mini-vote 27-17!

[Vykromond]

NY just went for Kerry. If you didn't realise that would happen, your brain is a puddle. EDIT: That was an AP result.