The MidTerm Elections thread (2018)

[LawBeefaroni]

They say, "I voted, did you?" Always seems kind of accusatory.

As much as I post like an idiot with no sense of control here, I'm not a fan of calling attention to my presence in person. I'm not a fan "identifying" and I'm almost as much as I despise being putting "on the spot" I don't want to feel like I"m an a position to put someone else "on the spot" and the "I Voted' sticker seems to do all that. It's feels like a Heathers or "spirit week" thing. Like if someone came to you and said we're all dressing up for Halloween at work this year. This is optional. The lunch and photo session will be from noon to two. Sign up here for a dish to pass.

So the work Christmas exchange and work "such and such is pregnant so we thought we do a small informal gift and card and lunch. This is optional..." are constants in my life, usually spread by friggin H friggen R.

So what you're saying is that you wore the sticker after all? Or that you are the sticker? The adhesive?

[Archinerd]

In more pessimistic news, I only counted 4 “I voted” stickers in my undergrad class of 51 students. Even worse, two students were wearing Duke-branded clothing.

I have no urge to wear a sticker. I have a hangup against branding, unless its a concert TShirt or its the 80s and it's a free TShirt with a pack of smokes.

They give out wristbands here. The kind you get a clubs/bars.

They say, "I voted, did you?" Always seems kind of accusatory.

Ah, here's why we can't have nice things.
Pulled from a Sun Times article.

The Chicago Board of Elections eliminated “I Voted” stickers in 2012 after complaints of sticker-related vandalism from polling places reached a critical mass.

“The stickers ended up on windows and doors and created a mess for custodians having to scrape them off with razor blades the day after Election Day,” Jim Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, told the Sun-Times during the primary election in March.

But when the stickers were discontinued within Chicago city limits, first replaced by paper receipts, Allen said complaints rolled in from voters upset they didn’t receive a wearable souvenir for casting their ballot.

Inspired by admission wristbands at a Chicago music festival, a Board of Election Commission staffer suggested they try wristbands ahead of the 2016 presidential election, and they’ve been standard ever since.

[LordMortis]

It's my small rebellion against the normative demands on my interaction with humanity. Subvert the dominant paradigm... silently... from the very back corner table... facing the door... if you get around to it and it's not a bother.

[Isgrimnur]

It's my small rebellion against the normative demands on my interaction with humanity. Subvert the dominant paradigm... silently... from the very back corner table... facing the door... if you get around to it and it's not a bother.

LordMortis: Shoegazing rebel.

[Vorret]

Question, if the D are projected to gain a bunch of congress seat, why would R gain more senate seats? If you're voting D for congress why would you vote R for senate?

I'm not following the logic here !

[gbasden]

It's because of which Senate seats are up for election this year. Senators serve 6 year terms and only 1/3rd of them are up for vote. This year, most of the seats that are competitive are in very conservative states and so the odds that the Democrats can flip them are low.

[Isgrimnur]

[pr0ner]

Oh.

[Vorret]

ahh gotcha, makes more sense now! Thanks

[pr0ner]

It's weird that they consider Virginia competitive - I would be shocked if Corey Stewart's vote totals are anywhere close to Kaine's.

[malchior]

Oh.

Lol wut? I think I know what he wants to say but he is far from that.

[malchior]

It's weird that they consider Virginia competitive - I would be shocked if Corey Stewart's vote totals are anywhere close to Kaine's.

Agreed. It isn't like Arizona where the Green candidate might give it to the R. BTW how stupid is that after 2016? I don't understand being ideological to the point that you'll actively cause someone that mostly agrees with you to lose to someone who practically hates you.

[LordMortis]

LordMortis: Shoegazing rebel.

Truth

[Jeff V]

Hardest choices were positions that had R or L choices. Can I choose "no"?

All you can do is not vote for either. In some AAR, the number of people who did not vote for unopposed elephants will be determined and a significant number of abstentions might encourage the donkey's to put forth an opposing candidate.

I'm a little curious as to the nature of unopposed candidates. Since they don't really need to campaign, I never hear much about them. I'd like to think that maybe they are moderate and deemed unobjectionable by the opposing party (so little to be gained by financing a campaign against) but I don't really know.

[Carpet_pissr]

Per the anecdotal comments here, numbers also way up at my polling school. Also, why are they typically called "polling stations" vs. "voting stations" or something with "voting"?

I'm usually one of three people in non-presidential elections (but I also specifically try to go between rush hours), and the other two are typically so old they can barely walk. Today? A nice long line of mixed-age voters, 90% white. I tried to discern how they would vote based on their countenances, and I think they were trying to do the same to me. You could tell some of them were angry voters with a purpose, like "DAMMIT, liberals WILL NOT WIN THIS SHIT!! (hard punches the touch screen for straight R ticket) Actually, in my specific area, I'm very sure the Democrats will be heavy favorites. Unfortunately, most other parts of the state don't agree with our damned elitist, globalist, MSM lovin', Hillary votin', caravan creatin' selves.

Hushed voices for some reason, like church. I do wonder what would happen if somebody just yelled 'LOCK HER UP!", loud as hell, or something similar at one of these places. If you said something like "VOTE REPUBLICAN/DEMOCRAT!" I assume they could get you thrown out.

Anyhoo, I submitted my worthless vote for the PRO-gun, Afghanistan VETERAN Democrat running for Guvnah, who will get soundly trounced tonight by a ridiculous caricature of a Looney Toons Southerner. I seriously would not be surprised if the guy was interviewed tonight while watching the votes come in, wearing an all-white suit and sipping a mint julip. "I DO declayah, ME, the victa in these heah glorious pahts of this great nation." (I shit you not, that's how he actually talks/sounds).

[Holman]

There's a lot of reporting of voting machines not working in and around Atlanta: machines delivered without power cords, just plain broken, etc. Wait times are running three hours or more.

So weird that this is happening in precincts expected to favor Abrams! I hope the Secretary of State gets to the bottom of this.

[LordMortis]

Per the anecdotal comments here, numbers also way up at my polling school.

While there was no wait at noon at my precinct, i was close to the 1000th voter. That's unheard of for a midterm around here, even with a new governor on the line.

[Holman]

Per the anecdotal comments here, numbers also way up at my polling school. Also, why are they typically called "polling stations" vs. "voting stations" or something with "voting"?

I don't have time to look it up, but I believe there's an archaic distinction between "polling" the citizens on who shall be their representatives and the representatives actually "voting" as part of the work of government. (In other words, in a republic citizens are polled about who shall vote for them on laws etc.)

[malchior]

Guess it doesn't hurt when the voting location mistakes that are happening 'accidentally' help the guy supervising the election.

[Carpet_pissr]

There's a lot of reporting of voting machines not working in and around Atlanta: machines delivered without power cords, just plain broken, etc. Wait times are running three hours or more.

So weird that this is happening in precincts expected to favor Abrams! I hope the Secretary of State gets to the bottom of this.

Everytime I read or hear about that fuckery in Georgia's gubernatorial election, it pisses me off. Maybe the UN should come in and observe. Asshat is as blatant as Trump in his shenanigans, and no one on the right seems to care.

Also, there should be some kind of law against the person wholly in charge of state elections running for a state office in the same year he holds the position. That is patently and obviously a bad, horrible idea, no?

[stessier]

Anyhoo, I submitted my worthless vote for the PRO-gun, Afghanistan VETERAN Democrat running for Guvnah, who will get soundly trounced tonight by a ridiculous caricature of a Looney Toons Southerner. I seriously would not be surprised if the guy was interviewed tonight while watching the votes come in, wearing an all-white suit and sipping a mint julip. "I DO declayah, ME, the victa in these heah glorious pahts of this great nation."

I voted for him too. Last I saw, it was 55/45 for McMaster. I actually think that's pretty close, considering the state.

[Carpet_pissr]

Guess it doesn't hurt when the voting location mistakes that are happening 'accidentally' help the guy supervising the election.

[malchior]

Guess it doesn't hurt when the voting location mistakes that are happening 'accidentally' help the guy supervising the election.

More oops!

[LordMortis]

[snip]

I'd say I'd not subscribe to the conspiracy rap but I've read events leading up to this in Georgia. That whole thing is shady.

Locally....

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/ ... 901491002/

We did scantrons for years and years with no problem. Why is high cost voting scantron to much more difficult?

[Isgrimnur]

Per the anecdotal comments here, numbers also way up at my polling school. Also, why are they typically called "polling stations" vs. "voting stations" or something with "voting"?

Root word: Head, as in counting.

[malchior]

FWIW - they are reporting massive scanner issues in NYC as well. One explanation - the ballots got wet due to people handling them after being in the rain. Sounds plausible from a tech point of view. So you can't run an election if it is raining? Seems like a huge problem. Perhaps the technology shouldn't have been selected. You can't make this shit up.

Edit: I don't think I've ever heard anything like this one - the head of the NYC Council called for the job of the person supervising the elections because the election has been run so incompetently. In the middle of the day. Insane.

[Exodor]

Oregon is vote by mail but the ballot has to be in by election day - so anyone wanting to vote today has to drop off their ballot. I drove by the library on my way back to the office today and they had lanes dedicated to ballot drop off in front of the library.
I've never seen them do that before, not even for the 2016 election.

I think interest in this midterm is a little higher than usual.

[malchior]

Wish we had pervasive vote by mail on the east coast. Apparently that technology is beyond the reach of the richest states in the union.

[Isgrimnur]

Oregon is vote by mail but the ballot has to be in by election day - so anyone wanting to vote today has to drop off their ballot. I drove by the library on my way back to the office today and they had lanes dedicated to ballot drop off in front of the library.
I've never seen them do that before, not even for the 2016 election.

I think interest in this midterm is a little higher than usual.

Can't pump your own gas, but let you vote by mail...

[Holman]

First results:

Guam's gubernatorial race is a victory for the Democrat, ending a 16-year run of Republican governors.

The winner will be the first female governor in the history of the territory.

[Kurth]

Oregon is vote by mail but the ballot has to be in by election day - so anyone wanting to vote today has to drop off their ballot. I drove by the library on my way back to the office today and they had lanes dedicated to ballot drop off in front of the library.
I've never seen them do that before, not even for the 2016 election.

I think interest in this midterm is a little higher than usual.

Were there a lot of people dropping off? I love the vote by mail process out here. It's so easy, there's really no excuse, and they get the ballots to you so early, it's not like anyone can really ever say they don't have the time. Ridiculous that this is not SOP throughout the country.

Interested to see how the governor's race turns out out here. I think Kate Brown may be in trouble. She's vulnerable and has run a pretty unenthusiastic campaign. Despite some nasty last minute mailers trying to paint Knute Buehler as a mini-Trump, I think he may have a shot (albeit, a long shot) at pulling off an upset.

[Carpet_pissr]

Lock Guam up! Lock Guam up!

[Exodor]

Were there a lot of people dropping off? I love the vote by mail process out here. It's so easy, there's really no excuse, and they get the ballots to you so early, it's not like anyone can really ever say they don't have the time. Ridiculous that this is not SOP throughout the country.

None in the southbound lanes but there was a line of 6-8 cars in the northbound lane. This was around 12:30 so I'm sure a lot of Intel folks were dropping off ballots during their lunch.

I agree about how easy it is. One of my first elections in Oregon was 1998 when vote by mail was on the ballot. For some reason the voter card they sent me had the wrong voting location listed. The poll workers there tried to direct me to the right place but I wound up having to go to three polling places before I found the right one. I was pro vote-by-mail BEFORE that experience - I didn't need a demonstration of the disadvantages of tradition voting!

Interested to see how the governor's race turns out out here. I think Kate Brown may be in trouble. She's vulnerable and has run a pretty unenthusiastic campaign. Despite some nasty last minute mailers trying to paint Knute Buehler as a mini-Trump, I think he may have a shot (albeit, a long shot) at pulling off an upset.

I'm a little worried about Kate. I'm not a huge fan of hers but after Trump I'll never vote for a Republican again. I don't really want Governor Knute.

[Kurth]

From purely anecdotal evidence, our voter ID initiative is going to pass with flying colors. I've had a number of FB friends express shock and outrage that nobody asked them for a photo ID at the polls.

It's one of those "common sense" proposals that resonates with people who don't think about the true ramifications. In fact, every proposal on the ballot this year sounds at first blush like a great idea, even though at best they are completely unnecessary and at worst blatant attempts to rig things in favor of the GOP.

I will be shocked if any of them fail to pass.

My response to anyone who wants "common sense" voter ID is to ask how they feel about "common sense" firearms ID cards.

Funny thing is the group that demands for IDs for one is vehemently opposed to the other and vice versa. I say both is fine, none is fine. But having one and not the other is hypocritical.

[Holman]

In Philadelphia, it appears that this year's turnout beat the 2014 turnout even before 5 pm. (Traditionally, many voters hit the polls on the way home from work.)

This is especially interesting since it has rained like a motherfucker all day and only slacked off about 5:30.

[Kraken]

I'm a little curious as to the nature of unopposed candidates. Since they don't really need to campaign, I never hear much about them. I'd like to think that maybe they are moderate and deemed unobjectionable by the opposing party (so little to be gained by financing a campaign against) but I don't really know.

Usually the opposite. They are ideological purists in like-minded districts whose only challenge was winning their primary, or having enough money and power to prevent a same-party challenger from emerging. When they do get primaried, it's by someone more extreme, or sometimes demographically advantaged (younger, different gender, different ethnicity, more/less religious, or whatever's appealing to those voters). The opposing party doesn't have a prayer in districts like that, so they don't waste resources there.

[stessier]

Polls close here in five minutes, but you get to vote as long as you are in line before yhe deadline.

[LawBeefaroni]

There's a lot of reporting of voting machines not working in and around Atlanta: machines delivered without power cords, just plain broken, etc. Wait times are running three hours or more.

So weird that this is happening in precincts expected to favor Abrams! I hope the Secretary of State gets to the bottom of this.

Everytime I read or hear about that fuckery in Georgia's gubernatorial election, it pisses me off. Maybe the UN should come in and observe. Asshat is as blatant as Trump in his shenanigans, and no one on the right seems to care.

Also, there should be some kind of law against the person wholly in charge of state elections running for a state office in the same year he holds the position. That is patently and obviously a bad, horrible idea, no?

Didn't it just happen in Kansas or some such?

[stessier]

I'm going to bed. Hopefully we're all still here in the morning.

[gilraen]

It's weird that they consider Virginia competitive - I would be shocked if Corey Stewart's vote totals are anywhere close to Kaine's.

Yeah, they already called Virginia for Kaine - it was one of the first calls of the night.

Speaking of VA, they just called VA-10 for Wexton, so that's the first house seat flip of the night.