Fewer people should be voting, not more. Simply being 18 and not a convicted felon is hardly good reason to grant franchise. Record numbers of people who have no clue about the issues or the candidates will be voting this year.

10/31/2008 3:59:27 PM

Concur, but I can't conceive of any good way to restrict it, other than maybe a basic quiz to qualify you, and even that's probably not a good idea.

[Edited on October 31, 2008 at 4:11 PM. Reason : Voting "Yes" to retain Justice Wells of FL Supreme Court]

10/31/2008 4:08:14 PM

Require federal service of some kind, whether military in another fashion (postal, FBI, etc.) for federal elections, allow the states to determine their own requirements for state positions.

10/31/2008 4:11:31 PM

I don't see why that should be a prerequisite, and I don't see how that would substantially improve the quality of the average voter.

[Edited on October 31, 2008 at 4:14 PM. Reason : the intent shouldn't be to EARN the right to vote...just to demonstrate requisite knowledge.]

10/31/2008 4:12:35 PM

Taking personal responsibility for the safety of the citizenry. If you don't want the right to vote earned then I think the only palatable choice is an intelligence test since there's no good reason for a 16 year old genius not to be allowed to vote but a 40 year old retard to be allowed.

I don't think it ought to be something everybody, or even most people get to do, but then again I also have an incredibly low opinion of my fellow man and of the very idea of government.

10/31/2008 4:16:55 PM

I voted for McCain/Palin (after saying a brief "prayer" that the old bastard doesn't die anytime soon).

For Congress I voted for Dana Walsh (R) over Nancy Pelosi and Cindy Sheehan (what a circus!).

In other news I voted for abortion notification, against eliminating gay marriage, for legalizing prostitution, against requiring hens to have leg room in their cages, against light rail from SF to LA, for renaming the sewage treatment plant to George W. Bush Sewage Plant, for restoring JROTC in SF, against the city's official policy to oppose the Iraq War, against various Green Energy boondoggles, ...

The list goes on and on. The ballot was very long. Gotta love California and SF in particular.

10/31/2008 4:23:53 PM

Sounds like good calls pretty much all the way around. I just couldn't bring myself to vote for McCain after his turn for the worse. I waited all this time to get the chance to help elect him to the Presidency, and then he fucked it up. I'd rather see him get elected than Obama, I guess, but whatever.



from Joe Scarborough:

Scarborough predicted that the Democrats will make gains in the House and Senate comparable to the post-Watergate 1974 election and the GOP “revolution” that brought him into Congress in 1994. He said his party has “shattered its brand” with scandals and reckless spending.

“The Republicans have failed on about every front,” said Scarborough. “The Republican Party should have gotten a wake-up call in 2006. They’re going to get one next Tuesday.”

10/31/2008 4:27:31 PM

In and out in 5 minutes.

10/31/2008 4:38:31 PM

Quote :

"In other news I voted for abortion notification, against eliminating gay marriage, for legalizing prostitution, against requiring hens to have leg room in their cages, against light rail from SF to LA, for renaming the sewage treatment plant to George W. Bush Sewage Plant, for restoring JROTC in SF, against the city's official policy to oppose the Iraq War, against various Green Energy boondoggles, ..."

lol, i thought this was a joke, then i looked up a sample ballot from San Francisco. What an awesome city

10/31/2008 4:39:23 PM

Quote :

"They’re going to get one next Tuesday."

Unfortunately, the wrong one. Barack Obama is a very talented demagogue, most likely a liberal Reagan, and therefore he will be a transforming president who sets the Titanic well on its way towards the iceberg.

The Republicans deserve some whiplash, but I think the punishment should be proportional to the crimes. President Obama is way out of proportion -- we're supposed to punish the Republican party into reform, not ruin the whole country's prospects.

So -- in that light McCain is an easy vote for me. He is bad at running national campaigns, probably a mediocre executive, but he has a good sense of what the country is about. He has unwavering support for the military, one of our most important institutions. And he talks very sensibly about the interplay between the economic crisis and foreign policy. As to Sarah Palin, well, on the positive side -- she has a son in Iraq and almost has to get the previous point on some level (even if it's just personal and not ideological).

Quote :

"i thought this was a joke"

Well, to be fair, I think sewage treatment is a valuable public service, ...

10/31/2008 4:52:05 PM

Done.

11/1/2008 1:44:30 AM

Done on 10/25

Early voting % for NC is insane this year. We're breaking new ground with this, and it's going to be interesting to see how things shake out in the end.

11/1/2008 8:57:25 AM

Done. Voted today. Obamanos!

Durham County had 72k come out and early vote on Wed.

78k came out on Thurs.

88k came out yesterday.

Today will shatter that.

...and from where I was voting, it was clearly Pro-Obama!

11/1/2008 2:23:35 PM

I voted early on 10/28

11/1/2008 3:33:57 PM

I voted yesterday. I don't know how it will be today, but there was virtually no line at the early voting place in Garner.

11/1/2008 3:45:06 PM

I voted today.

11/1/2008 5:12:39 PM

i voted this afternoon. waited about 45 minutes at the pullen park arts center.

11/1/2008 5:39:21 PM

I'm proud to admit that I will not vote this year. I want the GOP to realize just how dissatisfied I am with them, so they can see that I came out to the primaries and did NOT come out to the general election. If they keep it up, then they can continue to count on me not supporting them

11/1/2008 6:51:15 PM

Quote :

"I'm proud to admit that I will not vote this year. I want the GOP to realize just how dissatisfied I am with them, so they can see that I came out to the primaries and did NOT come out to the general election. If they keep it up, then they can continue to count on me not supporting them"

What about the other races? Those are equally if not more important than the presidential. If you don't vote, don't complain about anything the next 4 years.

You can never be proud to not vote, that pisses me off

11/1/2008 8:10:18 PM

aha. I love that argument. I can't complain if I don't agree with equally shitty candidates. Seems to me that those who perpetuate the existence of shitty politicians are the ones who can't complain about anything. Way to buy into the 2-party-koolaid, buddy

11/1/2008 8:14:15 PM

Quote :

"aha. I love that argument. I can't complain if I don't agree with equally shitty candidates. Seems to me that those who perpetuate the existence of shitty politicians are the ones who can't complain about anything. Way to buy into the 2-party-koolaid, buddy"

what other say in the government does the average person have? Vote outside your party lines. vote based on merit and experience. Like I said, what about the other positions? Don't give me this crap. If you want to vote 3rd party, go ahead. If you seriously hate everyone running for every position, that at least go put in your ballot without any votes. That way at least you prove you went to the polls and then you get to talk.

11/1/2008 8:30:55 PM

I voted in Kinston this morning. I had to wait a little more than an hour. The wait was more than two hours when I left. As of Wednesday afternoon, some 13,000 out of 36,000 registered voters in Lenoir County had already voted.

11/1/2008 8:40:24 PM

Quote :

"If you seriously hate everyone running for every position, that at least go put in your ballot without any votes. That way at least you prove you went to the polls and then you get to talk. "

that's what I did for President. About a 50/50 mix of Republican and abstain for the rest of races (some of them were people I couldn't find any real information on, and in the cases where I didn't like either candidate, there wasn't a write in option other than in the Presidential race).

I essentially voted fiscally conservative and socially liberal on all the referendum items. Maybe there was an exception or two...I can't remember.

11/1/2008 9:29:22 PM

Voted. Happy to report that a gang of 12 of my close friends and I all checked the ballot for Obama and Hagan. 3 were registered republicans.

Next Tuesday here we come!

11/1/2008 10:35:16 PM

Voted yesterday. A little over an hour wait.

11/1/2008 10:49:12 PM

Quote :

"what other say in the government does the average person have? Vote outside your party lines. vote based on merit and experience. Like I said, what about the other positions? Don't give me this crap. If you want to vote 3rd party, go ahead. If you seriously hate everyone running for every position, that at least go put in your ballot without any votes. That way at least you prove you went to the polls and then you get to talk."

yes, by all means. go out and vote. continue to prove to the 2 parties in charge that they don't have to do anything right. What do you think would say more: absolutely no one voting, or everyone voting? But, sure, keep buying in to the bullshit that is the "you can't complain." I damned well can complain, because I refuse to vote for a turd sandwich or a giant douche; nor will I even have the appearance that I did.

11/1/2008 11:56:21 PM

i voted early in atlanta yesterday. i waited 6.5 hours to vote.

11/1/2008 11:58:39 PM

^ are you retarded? did you even read the very thing you quoted?

11/2/2008 5:14:34 AM

Absentee ballot

11/2/2008 5:23:02 AM

I voted on Oct 17

11/2/2008 8:53:21 AM

Quote :

"I'm proud to admit that I will not vote this year. I want the GOP to realize just how dissatisfied I am with them, so they can see that I came out to the primaries and did NOT come out to the general election. If they keep it up, then they can continue to count on me not supporting them"

In the new world of data analysis I think aaronburro has a point.

If one wants to measure "real republicans" one way to do it is look at registered republicans who voted in the primary.

If for some reason you got more registered Republicans voting in the Primary than voted in the General that would be a strong signal.

11/2/2008 10:34:01 AM

I voted for Cherie Berry on Friday.

11/2/2008 11:28:31 AM

Quote :

"Fewer people should be voting, not more. Simply being 18 and not a convicted felon is hardly good reason to grant franchise. Record numbers of people who have no clue about the issues or the candidates will be voting this year. Require federal service of some kind, whether military in another fashion (postal, FBI, etc.) for federal elections, allow the states to determine their own requirements for state positions. Taking personal responsibility for the safety of the citizenry. If you don't want the right to vote earned then I think the only palatable choice is an intelligence test since there's no good reason for a 16 year old genius not to be allowed to vote but a 40 year old retard to be allowed. I don't think it ought to be something everybody, or even most people get to do, but then again I also have an incredibly low opinion of my fellow man and of the very idea of government."

Kurtis disenfranchising himself in this very thread.

11/2/2008 11:44:07 AM

Voted last week.

11/2/2008 2:33:44 PM

Quote :

"BridgetSPK: I placed my most historical vote Thursday, October 16 at 2:05 PM."

I meant to say "historic," not "historical."

I always ruin everything.

11/2/2008 3:17:07 PM

as you proved with your vote, too. good work

11/2/2008 3:20:18 PM

+1 Obama,

by my unofficial poll of minorities and yankees at my polling place in Cary, Obama wins

11/4/2008 7:15:16 AM

I voted. And judging by the turnout obama will easily win this station. however, it was at a school named after the housing projects it serves. So i had a REAL interesting time. haha

Oh, is it illegal to have people go around outside, give people a cheat sheet, and show them how to vote a straight ticket? he skipped me though... LOL I wonder why.

11/4/2008 7:22:02 AM

i voted....on October 25th

11/4/2008 7:30:30 AM

^^ That's a tricky one. I would say if he was in front of the "no campaigning" sign then it is perfectly okay. If he was behind it, that becomes a lot more sketchy. I would say in that case it is most likely not legal and you should call the Board of Elections or ask to speak to the election judge who is presiding over the polling location.

Where was the guy in relation to the sign?


[Edited on November 4, 2008 at 7:40 AM. Reason : .]

11/4/2008 7:32:35 AM

I didnt see any signs.(but it was dark) I first thought he was a mccain volunteer bc when i first arrived he was carrying a mccain sign. I guess he was just taking it down. They moved my voting station this year and it was A LOT different than the last.

11/4/2008 7:40:36 AM

Usually it will look something like this:



or this:



So it might be easy for the average voter to miss depending on what it looks like. But anyone campaigning (which this guy obviously was) knows damn well where that sign is because they can get in a shitload of trouble for violating it.

In other words, if he was breaking the campaigning border, he's either a dumbass or is hoping no one will report him.

[Edited on November 4, 2008 at 7:44 AM. Reason : .]

11/4/2008 7:44:06 AM

id say that station was 90% democrat, so I doubt anyone would report him. I didnt see any of those signs either.

I just found it odd he would stop only to the AAs and then show them this is where you vote for obama, warner, perriello... bc that is what obama wants you to do, he has endorsed them all.

He didnt say this is where you make YOUR selection for president, senate, house.. But i guess he knew who he was dealing with.

11/4/2008 7:47:45 AM

i just voted. walked right in, no lines, voted n left. the longest part was the filling in the bubbles.



am I supposed to feel this dirty afterwards?

11/4/2008 8:36:33 AM

I voted.

11/4/2008 8:52:49 AM

took about 45 mins at poll opening time (7am)

11/4/2008 9:13:16 AM

They had electronic voting out here in Alamance County. The comforting thing is that as you made your selection it made a print copy on what looked like a receipt.

In other news, I am organizing a protest rally against my roommate. She did not vote for Cherie Berry! (Only because she didn't know better)

11/4/2008 9:40:41 AM

i voted for john mccain

i did not vote for cherrie berry because i have no clue what sec of labor does i left it blank

11/4/2008 9:56:55 AM

Quote :

"Oh, is it illegal to have people go around outside, give people a cheat sheet, and show them how to vote a straight ticket? he skipped me though... LOL I wonder why."

I don't think this is illegal, unless is past the "no campaigning" sign (which was about 30 ft from the door at the place I vote). The past couple times i've voted, there's been someone outside offering me a "conservative voting guide."

[Edited on November 4, 2008 at 10:08 AM. Reason : ]

11/4/2008 10:07:45 AM

Like I said, i didnt see any signs posted to stop where you can talk to people. He was going down the line, asking if you would like to see a copy of the ballot. When they did, he said. "this is where you vote for obama, this is where you vote for warner, this is where you would vote for petrellio. Obama wants you to vote a straight democratic ticket and has endorsed these guys."

It was his approach that was troubling, but I guess he knew who we was targeting.

11/4/2008 10:32:47 AM