Posted on 11/07/2006 9:55:15 AM PST by TBP
What are the conditions at your polling place? How is turnout? The weather? The voting equipment? Was checking in easy? Were there people outside electioneering? if so, who was there, Republicans or Democrats or others?
At my polling place, thigns were slow when my wife and I went to vote about 8-ish. One of the few guys passing out literature (for the newly-Republican State Senator inmy district) was saying that the turnout had been very low. (I'm going to go over there later and see how it's going.) The only people electioneering were two guys handing out literature for the Republican and Democrat candidates for the State Senate in my district and one guy working for a candidate for county office in my district. Nobody from either side of the gubernatorial or Senate races.
The weather is good. It's in the 50s and clear. No precip expected.
We have new Diebold touch-screen machines this year. They're easy to use. But where is the paper trail? How do you recount if you need to? They felt the need to put up a big sign announcing that the electronic voting is secure and it's illegal to tamper with it. We have electronic check-in too. I'm not sure I entirely trust it; it's a blue state, after all.
I grew up on lever machines and know how they can be compromised, but I miss them. At least I had a curtain so nobody could walk by and look at how I am voting.
Let's track this all day and see how it's trending.
I was fourth in line this morning when the polls opened at 7 AM MST. The electronic machines were not working and therefore, only paper ballots were used. The officials there were not prepared for this and were scrambling finding private places for people to vote (elementary school library). They were disorganized.
In Lower east Side of manhattan----not too bad for about 10 this morning. I was #68 at my voting booth.
I am in George H. Bush's old District in Houston and at my polling station is was very busy. Even busier than the 2004 elections. And we are not in any close races.
I suspect that Republicans are steaming mad and getting out to vote. My neighbors and I pulled straight Rs!
Northern Virginia - Nice steady flow of folks. Had the option of paper or electronic(only one machine however). Chose paper and saw 15 people(5 booths) vote by paper in the time it took one to vote eletronically.
Hopefully Webb can bo back to authoring more child porn instead of heading to the District.
Rural West MI:
At 9am, polling place was packed. No place to park. Went back at 11:30, and things had thinned out.
Overcast, above average temps (mid 50s). No rain expected.
Voting was pleasant enough. Took me only a few minutes (but I had my choices made before entering.)
My polling place was moderately busy at 11:30. It was out-the-door busy at 6:30 and 7:15 this morning, same with 12:30 this afternoon. At least half of the names had already been crossed off the list when i voted at 11:30. This is not necessarily a good hing, as I live in Limo-lib country.
I just posted on another thread. We're in a heavy Dem precinct and nobody is at the polls.
I voted at 6:40 this morning. (Columbus Ohio) About 20 or 30 people there to vote when I walked in. Had 5 machines. Took about 20 minutes in and out.
There was a steady stream of voters going in when I left, but no lines forming.
No one outside of polling place handing out, distributing, questioning, or otherwise bothering anyone leaving the polling area.
Ho Hum...folks in Philly get to have all the fun!
The women checking my name were surprised that many people like myself through the day were requesting in the future that voters present an ID.
Very good in Brevard county Fl, estimating 55% turnout now.
Light rain, 5-20 minute wait, we use paper ballots ( mark the widely spaced black oval) and scantronics type machine.
No problems so far
There wasn't a line at the check-in desk (although I had a hard time getting my wallet with my ID back from the granny at the desk). Most of the electronic booths were full, but I didn't have to wait. That was a little busier than normal, but it might be because this was the first general election with the electronic booths so people were voting more slowly. The machine printed a copy of my votes for confirmation and held that in the machine for recounts which smart way to do it.
My only problem was that I completely forgot my promise to literally hold my nose shut while voting for DeWine. :-(
Lively. Animated.
No one could show me where I could vote against recorded phone messages that flooded my phone over the last few days.
Also....several neighbors said those calls flipped over to their cell phones and they now have big air time charges..(.Ah! The unintended consequences of ambitious people.)
So it goes.
Everything was fine at my polling place. They have the new computer touch screens. It printed out a paper statement showing how I voted. So if they can do that to all the touch screens, that should do the job if re-counts are needed.
Unfortunately our elections will never be perfect. But having electronic equipment with a paper trail seems like an improvement.
Northeast Florida: Turn out is good, steady. No problems whatsoever. Took me 5 minutes.
I'm in San Antonio and we voted last week with touchscreens. They seemed to be working very well and there was no waiting. It was quite pleasant and the volunteers were efficient. It's been said we had 120,000 early votes but I've not heard how they went.
I voted straight ticket for the first time in my life.
This morning two men were on the access road on 281 South holding a big Bill White sign. There seems to be more traffic today than normal.
At my polling station in Joplin Mo. (Jasper County-very heavy Republican) the line was out the door at 7:45. Much longer line than in 2004 at the same time.
Just in from WTMJ....Polling places in Milwaukee not crowded some places, some congestion in others. Polling places in outlying Republican Counties reported as very heavy. The gay marriage amendment is helping bring the conservatives to the polls, hope this holds up all day.
I voted at about 7:30 am in a pretty Republican precint. There was a line of about 25 people when I went in...looked to be about the same as I left. The ONLY person working the parking lot was a young lady handing out leaflets for the Marriage Amendment...most people seemed to agreeable to her. I voted on a touchscreen machine and I can't imagine how anyone with an IQ in the double digits would have a problem voting on these machines.
is that Delay's district? If so did you write in the Lady running in his place?
Neat and orderly.
How is turnout?
Not too good.
The weather?
Light rain.
The voting equipment?
A pen and a paper ballot.
Was checking in easy?
Yes.
Were there people outside electioneering? if so, who was there, Republicans or Democrats or others?
Yes, all of the above. On my way out I put my hand on the shoulder of the 50ish lady Republican volunteer who appeared nervous and told her, "don't worry too much, we'll be just fine".
On the NW side of Houston (by 610 and 290) it was semi-busy. But I live in what I suspect is a more Democrat area. I voted Rs in the national election and Kinky for Gov.
Polls were slow with no waiting in uber-liberal Sonoma County, California. I was #50 at 9:30PST.
In my 90% Republican precinct, I was # 475 at around noon.
There was a steady trickle of voters.
Two Dems at the door (illegal in Pennsylvania) tried to talk to me as I entered. I showed them my "I LIKE IKE" vintage button and said: "I'm a proud Republican, voting straight Republican, since 1956". They slunk away.
Since I remembered to wear my lucky button today, things should go well for Republican candidates.
One of the great blessings of life in the rural mountainous south is that you don't have to live among liberals. The only liberals can be identified by their Kerry stickers--and they're so disappointed that no one keys their cars. Seldom do you see a Repub sticker or sign in my neck of the woods--what would be the point?
Our polling place was packed, and since Northern Virginia has clear weather, and we have rain, this is a very, very good sign.
Heavy voting in my community in suburban St. Louis County (Kirkwood, MO). My wife went at 7:30 and I went at 10:30 and we both had about 45 minute waits in line. In addition to the "closest senate race" in the country Jim Talant vs. Claire McCaskill) we have lots of constitutional amendments and other ballot items to wade through.
In Denver they have new polling locations...new machines..and a new computer to check to see if you are registered...it is overloaded....this will be fun to watch the Democrats blame the Republicans...as Denver is 80% Democrat...from the mayor on down....
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West suburban Boston...11AM...polls deserted,most likely because there's not a race in the state where the Republican is within 20 points of his/her RAT opponent.
Raining in S. Mi.
Heavy turnout in my Republican district.
It will be a bad day for the RATS.
I voted at 8am this morning. Maybe 15-20 people in line.
Voted on the new electronic machine, double-checked my choices on the screen but overlooked checking the paper copy. Got in my car, turned on XM listening to Glenn Beck and first thing I heard was a caller saying to be sure to check the paper ballot that some place was reporting problems with folks voting one way on screen and the paper ballot printing something different. Oh Geez! Can't trust anything or anybody anymore!
Magnificent, voted just before 10am, #266 at the ballet insertion machine.
I pulled out my list for the more local races that don't have a party affiliation, had to make sure I voted for the conservative.
Dad provided me with the list, he's magnificent too.
Down on the highway overpass a bunch of young folks were holding signs for Gil Gutnick, R MN,
geuss they know they're issues too, magnificent!
It was misting when I went in to vote at noon.
No line, no wait, showed I.D., took my paper ballot to the box and marked my circles... I was # 198.
No one was in line behind me, but a car did arrive as I was leaving the lot.
ROTFLMAO!
God bless you and your parents for voting against the Demscum Murtha/Casey/Rendell!
I didn't notice where there was any count of how many people were voting.
I voted around 11:30 in a pretty easy atmosphere. The voting machines were nearly all occupied full but I got on right away.
This was the first time I'd used a touch-screen voting machine and I thought it was impressively smooth. They gave me a card, I stuck it into the machine and they took it back. Not sure why that was or how that part works.
But voting was very easy and I thought it was well designed overall. I was able to punch a "Straight Ticket" Republican button that made voting trivial but took too much of the drama out of the process.
I'm in Carroll Township, Washington County, PA (near Pittsburgh). I happen to really not like where I live at all so I'm not sure what its political affiliation is overall. Hopefully by the next election I will have moved :-).
D
No. I am in the district next to DeLay's district. But I have a good feeling that the Republican, Shelly Sekula-Gibbs, will win DeLay's district. There are some pissed-off Republicans in that predominately Republican district and Shelly Sekula-Gibbs did a good job on TV ads to get the word out.
No problem with the equipment. They are the same touchscreens we've used before (Sierra?). One of the poll workers is a long-time family acquaintance, so we chatted a bit. Check-in process was orderly - no signs of White-Out. I appeared to be the only voter there when I arrived, but another lady was leaving the second booth as I was departing.
Rain is forecast later, and it's mild and overcast now. Our district is pretty divided, but trends Democrat now - it's been changing over time.
I was not on the list!! They had to call the court house and get a OK for me to vote.. I have voted here for 30 years, I voted on a touchscreen machine..
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