Posted on 11/02/2004 2:48:56 AM PST by An.American.Expatriate
I hope this is okay and can stay in breaking.
If not . . .
BTTT
Unnngh!
Do you still have the old ping list??
A bit of satire on my part . . . :-D
Voted absentee for Bush, Mike Rogers and Joe Hune.
On my way going to poll challenge now. Good luck all. I'll look at the rest of the posts tomorrow.
I just read an interesting post on DU. It was urging people to go to the polls and not be lulled into a sense of calm by early polling results.
Evidently in 2002, the Dem candidates looked good early in the day, and we all know what happened and how the Republicans came on strong later in the day.
Of course, on DU, they were preaching against complacency, but I hope on FR, we can avoid "panic" posts like were going on yesterday when a poll (Fox) came in with bad numbers.
We don't need hysteria taking up bandwith!
4:30 p.m. -- The polls close in North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia, a total of 40 electoral votes. All could be interesting, but none more than the Buckeye State, with 20 electoral votes. Both candidates have campaigned vigorously in Ohio, a state many experts believe will decide the election.
It may be worth following the returns from North Carolina just to see whether Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards, can carry his home state. And West Virginia, which surprised most analysts by supporting Bush four years ago, could spell trouble for the president if Kerry rallies there.
5 p.m. -- A chunk of 177 electoral votes will be decided when the polls close in 16 states and the District of Columbia, including the battleground states of Florida, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Of the three, Florida will bear the most watching, just as it did four years ago when Bush carried it by a mere 537 votes. Bush and Kerry have spent time and money in the Sunshine State, and its 27 electoral votes are crucial to both camps' Electoral College calculations.
New Hampshire, normally a solid Republican state, voted for Bush in 2000, but Kerry believes this could be a pickup for him. Its four electoral votes could even be decisive. Pennsylvania, with 21 electoral votes, also is crucial to Kerry, just as it was to Democrat Al Gore in 2000, and, again, if Kerry falters here, it will be hard for him to make up the difference somewhere else. The Bush camp views another state in this group, New Jersey, as an enticing prize with its 15 electoral votes. And if Kerry stumbles and cannot hold the normally Democratic Garden State, it could spell the end of his White House bid.
5:30 p.m. -- The polls close in Arkansas, which, until the final days of the campaign, appeared to put its six electoral votes solidly on Bush's side. But the polls have tightened, and the Kerry camp dispatched Arkansas native Bill Clinton to the state for a final weekend of stumping for the Democratic nominee. This could be the place Kerry breaks Bush's hold on the Solid South.
6 p.m. -- The polls close in 11 states, with a total of 130 electoral votes. Four bear watching: Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico and Wisconsin. Four years ago, the closest voting in the country occurred in New Mexico, with Gore winning the state by a mere 366 votes. The polls suggest a rerun this year in securing its five electoral votes.
Minnesota, with 10 electoral votes, and Wisconsin, also with 10, are two Democratic states Bush believes he can pick off from Kerry, but Kerry's final campaign appearance on Election Day was in Wisconsin, in an effort to spur same-day voter registration.
Kerry made a strong effort to move Colorado from the GOP column, but Bush responded.
7 p.m. -- The polls close in Arizona, Iowa, Montana, Nevada and Utah, representing 30 electoral votes. Iowa and Nevada are the most intriguing viewing. Iowa, with seven electoral votes, is another Democratic state Bush targeted, and Nevada, with five, is another Republican state Kerry targeted. The race in both states has been close.
8 p.m. -- Eighty electoral votes will be decided when the polls close in California, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon and Washington. But only Oregon, with seven electoral votes, and Washington, with 11, offer any hint of drama. Both have been trending toward Kerry in recent weeks, however.
9 p.m. -- The polls close in Alaska and Hawaii, and usually on Election Day, the outcome is known long before these two states, with only seven electoral votes combined, vote.
But this year could be different for Hawaii. The Aloha State, with four electoral votes, hasn't voted Republican since 1984, but it appeared to be in play in the final days of this campaign.
Vice President Cheney appeared there to fly the GOP flag, and the Kerry camp responded with Democratic surrogates, including Gore.
Since I advanced Voted, I will pull up my BUSH yard signs and wave them at a 50,000 car intersection, and turn it into a HORN HONK PEP RALLY FOR BUSH!
Thank you for starting the thread.
The Dems vote early in the day because they have no jobs to go to.
I voted absentee (Georgia) by Federal Express to be sure my vote arrived before the Ice Age (Canada Post is very unreliable) and I'm up here in Canada hoping that everyone will take care of business down south.
Had an interesting conversation in the elevator at work the other day. A woman who heard I had voted for Bush said that I was the only Ex Pat she had talked to who was voting Bush. A couple of questions established that her American friends were draft dodgers. "Well, that explains it," I told her, "they moved here because they hate America. I moved here because I like Canada." She conceded she had not thought of it that way before and looked impressed.
It's odd that Canadians tell me all the time that Americans don't know anything about Canada (when I point out the difficulties of socialism) yet feel qualified 100% to tell me what is wrong with the USA -- where plenty of them have never been!
Bump
Rolling in less than 2 hours.
PianoMan checking in. I woke myself up about 3 hours early to get to the polls before the line. But that's cool because I was having a weird alien dream.
Not the most dramatic part of the country, but I will report on Queens dawn turnout.
Go W!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.