Election - Precinct Report

October 7, 2003 | Hildy

[Hildy]

I thought it would be fun to have people report back after voting. My neighborhood is comprised of middle-aged to older voters. Judging by the breakdown given to me by the Republican Party (I'm a poll watcher today) the area is predominantly Democrat. The workers said that for the first time they could remember there was a line out the door when they opened this morning! The only thing I'm a little nervous about is with all the Schwartzenegger buzz, people are forgetting to vote YES on the recall. It's the first question on the first page and since Arnie is on the last page people have the tendency of just going right to the page with his name. Even my husband almost forgot. People have been calling the radio shows saying the same thing. A few cried and said they forgot. Oh well...hopefully it will all even out at the end. I plan to call all the Reps on my list to remind them to vote YES on the recall.

[Hildy]

By the way, I'm in Spring Valley East of San Diego.

[So Cal Rocket]

Report it here:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2003/09/25/question_form.txt

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[Republic Rocker]

After all this how can people forget to vote on the RECALL? Really people!

[Hildy]

Report what? That people are too stupid to remember to vote on the recall question?

[mvpel]

PROBLEMS IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY:

Calling 299-VOTE and selecting "0" for a voter-services rep loops you back to the initial voice menu prompts, and does not transfer you to a rep.

Precinct 1751 has not posted directional signs on nearby streets as they have in every previous election, the poll worker claiming that they only have to go out 100 yards. Are they trying to manufacture a crisis of people unable to find the polling place?

[pbear8]

We live in the middle of enemy territory in Northern Cali and for the first time there was a real line at our regular polling place.

I saw the usual lib types, one guy with a voter pamphlet, something about "No on Recall" to remind himself how to vote.

There was an older Asian lady in front of us in line, she turned and said, "This whole election makes me mad".

There was the stupid voter who was exasperated because she 'finally' found the polling place.

We vote by Optiscan sheets with number two pencils so no chads here.

[pbear8]

Sorry, I forgot to add the most important thing - we saw at least five people in the short time we were there voting with 'provisional ballots'. This may be a Dem voter fraud scheme.

[Hildy]

What's a provisional ballot?

[Hildy]

Two years ago they went to the same place. Again, if people are so stupid, they can't find out on their own where their polling place is...

[mvpel]

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Here's a link for the Field Inspector's Handbook for this election.

Please print out a copy of it and let's each of us make sure that all our polling places are toeing the line, and not attempting to manufacture a crisis to spoil this election.

Find out your local county's polling place reporting line, in Santa Clara it is 408-299-POLL, and the website is http://www.sccvote.org/.

[pbear8]

That's for someone who comes in and says "But I know I'm registered, I always vote here" or "They told me to come here at the other polling place" or "Well this is where I think I'm supposed to be" or "Hey, I want to vote".

The poll workers are supposed to allow them to vote with a pink 'provisional' ballot which the County Registrar is supposed to check later to see if the person is actually registered, etc.

It would be pretty easy to abuse this system.

[moodyskeptic]

Crowded this morning. Unusually quiet. I've worked recent elections as a pollworker, but moved recently so I'm at a new place as a "normal voter".

Take it easy on those workers, folks. They have a hard day, 6 am to 9 pm, and mostly newbies. Crossreferencing address with name is unweildy under pressure from a long line of impatient voters.

These are not pros, they are just like you, under pressure in a sometimes FUBAR system. Large crowds feel good, people are involved, this is democracy at work.

[Hildy]

I see...thank you.

[showme_the_Glory]

EXTREME DISENFRANCHISATION..... You have been tricked!

[moodyskeptic]

Forgot to mention that in previous elections, as a poll worker with the infamous punch card machines, we had only a handful ( 5 to 10) loose or hanging chads show up while sorting and stacking thousands of cards.

How Florida produced its anomolies is very suspicious. I suspect intentional Democrat batch fraud.

[WestCoastGal]

I'm lucky enough to live in Riverside County which uses the computer touch screen method of voting. An added bonus is that we can go to a computer voting center early which I did last week. The first screen is whether to recall or not Yes or NO, no reason to make a mistake. The rest of the ballot was about 6-7 pages to page through by pushing next on the screen to get to the last page where I voted for Arnold.

I decided it's time to put an end to the dirty politics of the left and he is the surest bet to do that. I hope he goes to Sacramento and kicks their butts!!!

And, I hope the LA Times goes broke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cyncooper]

The only thing I'm a little nervous about is with all the Schwartzenegger buzz, people are forgetting to vote YES on the recall. It's the first question on the first page and since Arnie is on the last page people have the tendency of just going right to the page with his name. Even my husband almost forgot. People have been calling the radio shows saying the same thing. A few cried and said they forgot.

Eek!

Good for you for being a poll watcher, Hildy.

Geeze, now we'll fret all day about the Recall question.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

Well I can remember few times that I've felt good since the rise of the New Left in the 1960s and the liberals' of that day (now neocons) denial of conservatives' access to the media using the FCC "Fairness Doctrine."

One was the election of Reagan, two was the 1994 election results, and three was today seeing so many at our little community's only polling place. I put Middle East military victories in a different but no less important category.

So I don't see bragging about our vote is bigger than yours as stupid. Our little community of about 800 people (not Carmichael, CA) had 138 absentee votes and by 0900 had 38 in-person votes with a steady flow. I bet every registered voter votes. This is the America I remember.

Of course, after the election that is not likely to go the Democrats' way it's back to reality. Today's liberals and leftist pukes MauMauing the courts, the Democrat hack running the Dept. of State dragging his feet certifing the election, and the Democrat hack running the Dept of Justice "investigating" the womens' charges against Schwarzenegger.

[Hildy]

This morning Cinemax aired TRUE LIES...and I couldn't help but feel the comparison of Arnold the actor on the Horse slaying the bad guys and Arnold the man kicking the butts of the politicians in Sacramento. When you really think about it, it's quite a story!

[Mike Darancette]

Voted in Rancho Cucamonga at 9:15 am and my wife and I were the only ones there with 9-10 having voted earlier.

[Hildy]

Don't fret. I truly believe that with the turnout the way it's going...it's going to be a landslide which will put the kibosh on the shenanigans Gray is planning post election day. WE THE PEOPLE WILL SPEAK!!!!

[cyncooper]

How Florida produced its anomolies is very suspicious. I suspect intentional Democrat batch fraud.

The minute that dem was caught with the voting machine in his car that should have ended the demands for more recounts. The state required the one recount and that should have been it. That machine tainted the whole thing and was the best piece of evidence of mischief, not the ballot design.

[Weimdog]

Checking in from Fullerton (North Orange County)...

I voted at my normal polling place, but because there are fewer polling places set-up, it was really crowded.

I usually walk right in and vote, today I waited in line for almost an hour.

Voting was done on a single page, fill in the blank with an ink pen ballot. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood even waiting in line for so long.

Recall Davis, Vote Schwarzenegger!

[veronica]

Got to the polls at 7:30 AM. All the booths were full, and there was a small waiting line. The folks running the voting said there were more people than they expected so early in the AM. The area I am currently living in is an up-scale California burg, with a fair number of older retirees, mixed in with families. I think the area tends to be on the liberal side. One of the poll workers said to her co-worker, "if this keeps up it will be a landslide." Don't know what she meant though....

Great idea for a thread, Hildy.

[heleny]

people are forgetting to vote YES on the recall.

Yes, it happens. I talked with someone who voted absentee and still forgot about the recall question (even from the comfort of home!).

Everyone should be sure to punch 4 holes.

[MayflowerMadam]

The recall issue is rather obscure on the ballot. Could be a good thing, depending on the I.Q. of the voter.

At my polling place, one of the workers had thrown a big pile of "virgin" un-voted sheets of ballots haphazardly under the table where anyone could have picked up one, or several, without being noticed in all the chaos. Then, when my husband gave his name to the lady checking the list (no I.D. required, mind you) she checked off someone else's name. Luckily, he was watching closely! The guy ahead of us checking in said something to the precinct worker and she responded, "Oh. You want to vote?" What's he going to say: "No. I want to order a hamburger and a Coke."? Sheeeesh!!

When I got to work I called our county's Division of Elections' main number and the recording said something like "All lines are busy. Please try your call again later." CLICK. Didn't even give the option to be placed on hold. It took a few minutes to find a number where a person answered and I did report the unsecured ballots. On the up-side, the person did seem concerned about it. Don't know if the problem was corrected, though.

[veronica]

Where I voted the "recall" section of the ballot, I think, and was a different color than the rest, and was separated from the other sections. The whole thing was a tad confusing, frankly. But I took my time to do it all very carefully.

[California74]

I live in Burbank and voted this morning around 8:30. Pretty good turnout! The folks couldn't keep up. There were about 15 booths to vote in but most were empty because it took longer to get signed in than it did to vote!

I remembered to vote YES on the recall.

I think those who aren't voting for Arnold must be very quiet or something because 9 out of 10 people I have talked to have said they voted for or will vote for Arnold.

[ex-Texan]

Of course it is a Dim Fraud scheme. People just need to show up at the polls and claim they are "new move ins." They take a sample ballot with them and have a mailing label to prove their "new address." Goes on all the time. Most polling places do not ask for identification. Jose Juarez votes and then shows up as Juan Valdez in another spot. Perhaps each slimeball will keep voting all day long.

Bet many of these people are union members that came in by train or greyhound bus in the past two days.

[Hildy]

YIPPEEE!!!! What a great day...Gray Davis on his way out...and Yasser on his way out (literally!). Couldn't be happier!

[BJungNan]

All smooth at our polling site. All parking spaces filled up. People parking on the street. Looks to be heavy turnout. There were lines inside. We, btw, vote electronically on touch screen. Very easy for not very reassuring. No paper printout with our electronic machines.

[California74]

"pink" provisional ballot?

My ballot was pink but I wasn't a provisional voter. Maybe (I hope) it's a different color each county.

By the way, a friend of mine moved within the city earlier this year and didn't re-register with her new address so she didn't know where to go to vote (they moved her usual polling place). She went to 2 different places and neither had her name.

Neither of those places offered her a provisional ballot!! I told her to go back to the polling place after work with 2 forms of ID and ask for a provisional ballot.

[Publius6961]

After all this how can people forget to vote on the RECALL? Really people!

Stupid is as stupid does.

They have been so busy yelling Schwartzenneger/McClintock at each other they forgot that this election is about a recall

D'OH!

[AFPhys]

I've not followed this whole CA thing very closely lately, but if my memory is accurate, months ago I heard that a vote for a replacement candidate counts whether or not you vote on the recall question.

What's the scoop on this - from some FReeper who is educated about this?

[MineralMan]

"I've not followed this whole CA thing very closely lately, but if my memory is accurate, months ago I heard that a vote for a replacement candidate counts whether or not you vote on the recall question. "

You are correct. However, if you do not vote for or against the recall, your vote on that issue isn't counted, since you didn't vote. However, if the recall passes, your vote for the candidate still counts.

[BFO]

I voted this morning in the Orange/Villa Park area of Orange County. The ballot is a single sheet, blacken the box affair, pretty straight forward. I had no problem remembering to vote yes on the recall but did almost forget to vote on the 2 propositions.

The line was out the door at 7:50 am when I arrived, and was still out the door at 8:30 when I left. The system they used was very time consuming, and I did see a few folks leave out of frustration but, geez, a half hour is nothing compared to the prospect of 3 more years of Gov. Clousseau.

Final note to the LA Times - For the first time in my life, I contributed $$ to a particular candidate - Tom McClintock, early in the campaign. However, I am so determined to counter the LA Times hit pieces in this election, that I voted for Arnold. We need a mandate to repudiate this dirty tricks crowd.

[heleny]

I heard that a vote for a replacement candidate counts whether or not you vote on the recall question.

Yes. You can vote yes, vote no, or abstain on the recall question and still have a valid vote on the replacement question.

And, if we're on the topic of political earthquakes, I'm sure I felt an earthquake about five minutes ago (10:38). My lamp was shaking, too. I'm in La Jolla (San Diego), CA. But, I can't find anything on the list of recent earthquakes for CA and NV.

[heleny]

I found the quake:
MAP 3.9 2003/10/07 10:35:51 32.553N 117.112W 16.3 6 km ( 4 mi) W of San Ysidro, CA

[Naspino]

And, if we're on the topic of political earthquakes, I'm sure I felt an earthquake about five minutes ago (10:38). My lamp was shaking, too.

Probably just a herd of dims scurring back to their rocks.

[California74]

Glad you're ok.

Looks like there's more than one kind of earthquake going on in CA today! Let's hope for no larger ones today, though - save the BIG ONE for Arnold.

[My2Cents]

You'd think the election officials would have all of this down by now. Geez, they only work maybe one day a year.

[The KG9 Kid]

We live in Dogpatch, San Francisco. It's an industrial area at the bottom of Potrero Hill. It's not the 'conservative' part of the city, that's for sure.

Only three other voters at our polling place when we arrived. One, a white kid with dreadlocks, another with hippie shoes and an Amish-style beard, and the last one a guy that looked like a heavy-equipment mechanic.

We have a digital counter on our ballot boxes, and I was voter #180 when I added mine. Turnout seemed lower than average.

Saw an exit poller (probably SF Chronicle) across the street wearing a blue blazer and Levi jeans holding a clipboard while leaning against a car smoking a cigarette and talking on his cell phone. He didn't engage us in conversation.

[Grampa Dave]

Good point I will email and call my friends and relatives who might tired and forget to vote yest on the recall first this evening after work.

[jetson]

I almost missed the yes on recall box myself. If you have not voted yet be sure to look at the very first check box.

[Hildy]

Good..I wouldn't mind if voter turnout was low in your area!!!!

[js1138]

Arnie is on the last page people have the tendency of just going right to the page with his name. Even my husband almost forgot. People have been calling the radio shows saying the same thing. A few cried and said they forgot.

Oh please. This is the kind of thing -- almost word for word -- that the dems pulled in Florida. If Republicans are to stupid to vote then let them lose.

[Hildy]

Don't get pissed off...I'm just reporting...and yes, I agree...it people are too stupid...but I think it'll even out between reps and dems.

[The KG9 Kid]

Although the number of voters was up to 180 in my precinct, the signature book looked pretty sparsely signed. They have to flip to the back of the book to get my name, and it looked like page after page of one to three signatures per sheet.