Official Election Day 2005 Watch [Live Thread]

Shameless Vanity Post | November 8, 2005 | BillyBoy

[BillyBoy]

My Fellow FReepers,

As it now past midnight (well at least for those of us in Central Standard Time) and I did a general search and couldn't find a single thread dedicated to election 2005, I have taken the liberty of creating one.

THIS is the place to post all your updates and discussions on '05 races around the country. From the Boston Mayoral Race to the fight for Virginia Attorney General, keep the adrenaline flowing here.

Will the GOP make a midterm gubernatorial comeback after suffering through the 2001 "mistakes" of McGreeley and Mark Warner? Will Ahnuld, the CA Dummycrats, or independent minded conservatives emerge triumph in California's latest (but not greatest!) "special election"? Will the liberal incumbent crush his equally liberal challenger in New York? And do conservatives even care?

Let's get the discussion rolling folks. You heard it here first!

[TeleStraightShooter]

I don't trust the dem legislature,...
Then you should vote for 77 because voting no leaves it to them only.

...but in CA who can trust ANY judge, retired or otherwise?
I'll take judges AND the people over (D) political hacks.

[SFinmate]

I voted in San Francisco. The poll worker was a young Asian girl who could barely speak English and couldn't find my name because she also apparently couldn't understand English. I had to write it down for her.

She then turned the list around so I could point out which one was me. No ID required of course.

Then they gave me two of the same voter forms, one of which I returned.

If you have to be able to speak and write English to become a citizen why is the voting material in so many languages? I guess that's for the illegals...

[TeleStraightShooter]

great - prop 77 is not perfect but it beats the stonecold lock on the statehouse the (D)s will have under the current you just gave your blessing to.

[TeleStraightShooter]

Back in 1990 California voters approved a constitutional amendment that mandates 55% of the budget goes to public education. Sounds good except most of that money does not get spent on classrooms and teachers. The administration costs are outrageous political payola.

Prop 76 corrects that.

[La Enchiladita]

Depressing story.

[Yaelle]

You guys might find this interesting: for the new (larger district in this special election) polling place in my Los Angeles county district, they picked a hidden community center with an official address that does not reflect where the place actually is. Only the official address is on the Sample Ballot.

I drove around for 10 minutes, even asked a policeman who happened to be in a parking lot, who could not help me, and was nearly frustrated to tears.

Finally I returned to that same policeman and he now had a little map and had been telling a few people where to find this place. It was hidden in a very sorry part of town. I had no idea there was an area of the hood with people living squished together in trailers and RVs, and I've lived here 8 years.

For the few minutes that I was at this little center, I was amazed at the number of Mercedes and Lexus cars in the small, decrepit parking lot. Mindblowing. Maybe they all had GPS! I am curious to see what it will be like when my husband goes in after work. We live in a very mixed race neighborhood, but I wasn't seeing any face darker than ivory this noontime.

I would hate to think that this place was chosen deliberately for its hidden location. I wouldn't like that whole "Disenfranchised!" argument. I figure that those who will vote or die, like me, will find it eventually. Anyone healfhearted about voting may not put in the circling and asking that it takes.

[Yaelle]

Bill Handel read the entire vetting process for these judges. Basically, Wapner is lying (Apologies to Rainman). There is a fairly rigorous process they must go through. I would rather have fair elections than have those few "saved" seats.

[Republican Red]

I just voted for Alpharetta City Council here in Georgia.

Pathetic, I know but I went to vote none the less and was thrilled to do so. I love voting. I should be a democrat so I could vote again and again.

[HKMk23]

I cast my vote strictly upon the principle I previously stated and now reiterate:
NOTHING submitted to the people of the State of California for a vote shall EVER, FOR ANY REASON, become effective until said vote has been cast and the majority shall be found to have voted in favor.

Upon THAT basis, and that basis ONLY, I voted NO on 77 and, frankly, I'm still shaking my head that the authors of the measure were such MORONS as to cripple this measure in that way. It's SO elementary, and SO bad that it almost seems an act of political sabotage; as if they wrote it to take effect before being approved by the voters JUST so that people would vote it down in this election.

Whatever the case, feel free to target the logical object(S) of your scorn, and email the author(s) of the Proposition to lambast them for their idiocy.

[birbear]

Calif. Absentee voter here.

Like most of you, voted yes on 73-78, no on 79 and 80.

I dunno how my polling places are doing. Like a previous poster, one year I couldn't find my polling place, so I've been absentee voter ever since.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the OC Register today:

If the election were held today, would you vote to re-elect Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Yes		65 %
No		35 %

[birbear]

Anybody have a website for the Calif. returns this evening?

[HKMk23]

Nothing up there, yet, (too early) but I'm betting it'll show up here later on:

http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/elections.htm

[CounterCounterCulture]

Anybody have a website for the Calif. returns this evening?

http://vote2005.ss.ca.gov
Nothing yet here.

[kingu]

In California, 87th to vote this morning in a very Republican district.

73: Yes - it doesn't require permission, only notification, which is less than what is needed to watch an R rated movie in a classroom or to have an aspirin at school. The excuse that some might be affected because they are in abusive households is inane. You don't outlaw murder as a crime because someone might be justified. Prop 73 has beyond reasonable exceptions and loop holes big enough to drive a truck through.

74: I wish there was a third option - ending of tenure period. I don't like jobs for life concepts; if you can't do the job, you should be fired, not have to get paid to resign. Again, doesn't go far enough for my taste, but I happily voted yes to get somewhere near where it needs to go.

75: Absolutely voted yes on this. This should have been in place ever since the California Supreme Court determined that unions could not force members to contribute for political purposes. Again, it doesn't go far enough - too easy for the union to say 'this money went for non-political and this money went for political.'

76: Yes. Another symbolic measure which doesn't go far enough and it puts the state more in debt, but it is better than nothing and with nothing, I get higher taxes. A lot of cities are watching this one. Their viewpoint is that if 76 fails, citizens will be indicating that higher assessment taxes won't be a problem.

77: Yes. No brainer here - the opportunity to vote accept/reject on the insanely drawn district lines in California? Absolutely. As to 'accountability' - what a joke. When you have zero competitive districts in a state, there is zero accountability. Do what I want or we'll see you fired? Yeah, right. As to if things will get better or not.. Who knows. It'll have a chance at getting better, which is far better than zero chance.

78 & 79 & 80: No to each. Government never does a better job than the free market. Ever. If drug prices are too high, find someplace that sells it cheaper. It is called 'market forces' and without market forces, prices go up without limitation. 80 has to do with re-regulation of power - this is just CALPERS trying to ensure that they can get back to the assured dividends they used to get. Sorry, no more public subsidizing through utility bills of the insane retirement benefits of this state.

[COBOL2Java]

The Mrs. and I voted this afternoon in Virginia (in liberal Northern Virginia). Asked voting official how things were going today - he told me turnout has been moderate but steady all day.

Surprisingly, as I entered the polling place, the ratio of Democrat to Republican electioneers were: 1 lone Democrat to 5 Republicans. The Dem approached me first, and I politely refused her "Voting guide" and turned to the Republicans for theirs.

Mrs. COBOL2Java and I proudly cast our votes for Kilgore, Bolling, McConnell, and Albo.

[eureka!]

marking

[djreece]

marking

[Heartofsong83]

That should be a no-brainer. If it gets less than 70% support, I'd call it a loss for our side.

[Heartofsong83]

My view on each of those propositions:

Proposition 73 - YES
Proposition 74 - no position
Proposition 75 - YES
Proposition 76 - YES
Proposition 77 - NOOOOOO!!!!!!
Proposition 78 - NO
Proposition 79 - NO
Proposition 80 - NO