Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)

[Hermit]

I have voted, got the sticker and everything. Folks were friendly, one lady who was running for school board was out there (within proper distance) shaking hands and answering questions (Which I appreciate as less is known on local politics and their issues). It opened at 7ish this morning, I got there at 10, found out that roughly a 124 folks had gotten there before me but they also told me a LOT of folks had early voted so there was no telling. Lines did seem to be getting longer. I expect the real rushes will be when most can get a lunch break from work (They're supposed to have the right to take time off to vote but as a 'Hire at Will' (fire at whim) state some don't like taking risks) and after work. So the early evening crowd should get slammed IF they all haven't voted Early anyway.

 

I fear the republicans will take the state  overall and Blackburn, who I despise, will eek out a win, but I have tried, and thus have a clear conscience in b*tching about the results should it likely be necessary.

 

 

[L. Marcus]

Okay, USers -- break a leg (in the theatrical sense).

[Cygnia]

Voted.  No obvious problems at my polling place.

[Hermit]

6 minutes ago, L. Marcus said:

Okay, USers -- break a leg (in the theatrical sense).

 

I suspect we'll do far more damage than that before we are done. *Cracks knuckles*

[Hermit]

 

[Lord Liaden]

I do hope the voter turnout is big. Thus whatever the result, at least one would be legitimately able to say the people had spoken.

 

I remember during the last referendum on Quebec independence, in 1995, of the 5,087,009 registered voters, 4,757,509 cast ballots, or 93.52%. The tally was 50.58% to 49.42% against separation, a difference of only 54,288 votes. The lead kept changing back and forth throughout the night, the result not officially announced until around 2:00 AM the next morning. I consider it one of democracy's finest hours.

[archer]

47 minutes ago, Hermit said:

I have voted, got the sticker and everything. Folks were friendly, one lady who was running for school board was out there (within proper distance) shaking hands and answering questions (Which I appreciate as less is known on local politics and their issues). It opened at 7ish this morning, I got there at 10, found out that roughly a 124 folks had gotten there before me but they also told me a LOT of folks had early voted so there was no telling. Lines did seem to be getting longer. I expect the real rushes will be when most can get a lunch break from work (They're supposed to have the right to take time off to vote but as a 'Hire at Will' (fire at whim) state some don't like taking risks) and after work. So the early evening crowd should get slammed IF they all haven't voted Early anyway.

 

I fear the republicans will take the state  overall and Blackburn, who I despise, will eek out a win, but I have tried, and thus have a clear conscience in b*tching about the results should it likely be necessary.

 

 

 

You have no idea how much I appreciated the "within proper distance" part of your post. One of the things which I found most irksome about our system is election day hijinks.

 

During the primary election, I had to report the Democrat state senate candidate who was electioneering right outside the door to the polling place to the election judge. (The candidate at least made it easy to identify the culprit by putting his picture on the campaign literature which he handed me.

 

The candidate was still there arguing with the election judge after I'd voted and was leaving. I don't really know what there was to argue about since "6 inches from the entrance" was clearly closer than the "100 feet away from the entrance" which is the closest that state law allows for electioneering.

 

 

[Hermit]

25 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

I do hope the voter turnout is big. Thus whatever the result, at least one would be legitimately able to say the people had spoken.

 

I remember during the last referendum on Quebec independence, in 1995, of the 5,087,009 registered voters, 4,757,509 cast ballots, or 93.52%. The tally was 50.58% to 49.42% against separation, a difference of only 54,288 votes. The lead kept changing back and forth throughout the night, the result not officially announced until around 2:00 AM the next morning. I consider it one of democracy's finest hours.

 

Honestly, we need to stop having our elections in the US on Tuesday. I think it would help our turn out a lot. Of course, I'd also like automatic registration, free ID cards to anyone who needed them to prove voting as not aeveryone can alwayhs afford it on their own. I'd prefer alternative voting while we're at it...

and I want a pony!

 

Ok. I don't want a pony, they bite.

[Hermit]

31 minutes ago, archer said:

 

You have no idea how much I appreciated the "within proper distance" part of your post. One of the things which I found most irksome about our system is election day hijinks.

 

During the primary election, I had to report the Democrat state senate candidate who was electioneering right outside the door to the polling place to the election judge. (The candidate at least made it easy to identify the culprit by putting his picture on the campaign literature which he handed me.

 

The candidate was still there arguing with the election judge after I'd voted and was leaving. I don't really know what there was to argue about since "6 inches from the entrance" was clearly closer than the "100 feet away from the entrance" which is the closest that state law allows for electioneering.

 

 

 

 

Yeah, I saw the ones about here get shooed back about 2 years ago. Very non partisan, but a republcian and a democratic candidate got shooed by the folks running the polls so it worked

[DShomshak]

1 hour ago, Lord Liaden said:

I do hope the voter turnout is big. Thus whatever the result, at least one would be legitimately able to say the people had spoken.

 

I remember during the last referendum on Quebec independence, in 1995, of the 5,087,009 registered voters, 4,757,509 cast ballots, or 93.52%. The tally was 50.58% to 49.42% against separation, a difference of only 54,288 votes. The lead kept changing back and forth throughout the night, the result not officially announced until around 2:00 AM the next morning. I consider it one of democracy's finest hours.

 

We vote by mail here in The Other Washington, so I cast my ballot last week. Vote-by-mail has the advantages that it doesn't disenfranchise people with crazy work schedules, and it leaves a paper trail that can be checked later if necessary.

 

The word on the news last night was that the return rate was already at a record high for a midterm election -- close to that of a presidential year (though nowhere near the 93% LL cites). I look forward to hearing the turnout percentages from other parts of the country.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Lawnmower Boy]

1 hour ago, Hermit said:

 

Honestly, we need to stop having our elections in the US on Tuesday. I think it would help our turn out a lot. Of course, I'd also like automatic registration, free ID cards to anyone who needed them to prove voting as not aeveryone can alwayhs afford it on their own. I'd prefer alternative voting while we're at it...

and I want a pony!

 

Ok. I don't want a pony, they bite.

 

What you need to do is hold your voting in my bathroom, from 3:00 AM to 3:01 AM, on a day selected by me at 2:59 AM. 

 

But enough about electoral reform to make USAian elections more fair. Let's talk about my favourite legislation, the "Give All America's Money to Lawnmower Boy Act of 2018."

[archer]

1 hour ago, Hermit said:

 

Honestly, we need to stop having our elections in the US on Tuesday. I think it would help our turn out a lot. Of course, I'd also like automatic registration, free ID cards to anyone who needed them to prove voting as not aeveryone can alwayhs afford it on their own. I'd prefer alternative voting while we're at it...

and I want a pony!

 

I'd prefer a two day election, either Friday-Saturday or Saturday-Sunday and for the national election days to be official national holidays.

 

I would also really like poll workers to be trained and paid as if the job were serious and as if the people who are poll workers are professionals. Under our current system, we depend heavily on seniors in most places to fill poll worker positions because those are the people who aren't busy working on election day. Having spent time working in local party positions and spending a heck of a lot of time with people my own age, eyesight starts to go at a certain point, being able to soak in training and retain information lessens over time, and staying sharp for a 10+ hour workday is a chancy proposition. As much as I appreciate the efforts of all the seniors who are out there election after election, I think we would be better served by paying an hourly wage which would attract professional people in the prime of their lives and which would attract enough prospective workers that we could pick and choose among them.

 

Automatic registration and then de-registration when you change addresses.

 

ID required to vote and effort-free ID's available to everyone (as I once put it, "even if I have to send a gold-plated limousine to your house at three in the morning to make it happen".)

 

As for alternative voting, I really like "no excuse" absentee ballots (as I'm getting progressively less mobile, I'm figuring out exactly how brilliant my support of this position has been over the years). I'm not a fan of online voting at this point because I have major security concerns.

[Hermit]

I am all for an official holiday for election day.

[archer]

17 minutes ago, DShomshak said:

 

We vote by mail here in The Other Washington, so I cast my ballot last week. Vote-by-mail has the advantages that it doesn't disenfranchise people with crazy work schedules, and it leaves a paper trail that can be checked later if necessary.

 

The word on the news last night was that the return rate was already at a record high for a midterm election -- close to that of a presidential year (though nowhere near the 93% LL cites). I look forward to hearing the turnout percentages from other parts of the country.

 

Dean Shomshak

 

Actually I wanted to ask someone about this.

 

We have a problem here with the Post Office employing people who toss out mail on the side of the road and who steal every birthday card out of the mail hoping to find money inside.

 

After your ballot is delivered and you put it back into the mail, does some system exist which would tell you if your ballot was actually delivered to where it was supposed to go?

[Lord Liaden]

2 minutes ago, archer said:

We have a problem here with the Post Office employing people who toss out mail on the side of the road and who steal every birthday card out of the mail hoping to find money inside.

 

 

My God. I hear about that all the time in many countries, but had no idea it was a significant problem anywhere in the States.

[DShomshak]

Also here in The Other Washington, the most important races may be the initiatives. Two stand out:

 

First is an initiative that would ban cities and other local governments from taxing groceries. Lots of scary ads about politicians taxin meat, milk and vegetables. Not that this happened or anyone has proposed it... but Seattle put a tax on soft drinks that contain sugar. The initiative is of course funded by PepsiCo, Red Bull, and other such companies. I voted against it.

 

The other is for a statewide carbon tax. This is Washington's second attempt: The first try, in 2016, failed. The 2016 proposal was revenue-neutral, reducing other taxes to match the gain from the carbon tax. It failed in part because some local Native American tribes and "social justice" groups opposed it, saying they wanted a share of the money for their causes. (Fun fact I just learned from reading Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now that this put Naomi Klein, author of books advocating the abolition of capitalism, on the same team as the fossil fuel billionaire Koch brothers.)

 

The new initiative puts the carbon tax revenue in a special fund and creates a special panel to allocate the money for various projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change effects. The opposition (again, funded chiefly by fossil fuel companies) is running ads calling it a corrupt political slush fund. While I am no expert in these matters, the characterization seems fairly accurate; but since the high-minded previous attempt failed because various influence groups didn't see an immediate payoff in trying to avert climate catastrophe, I guess the slush fund ain't a bug, it's a feature. So I voted for it. I think climate change is a sufficiently important problem that if taking even the tiniest first step toward solving it requires some corrupt patronage, I'll allow it.

 

Dean Shomshak

 

[archer]

21 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

 

My God. I hear about that all the time in many countries, but had no idea it was a significant problem anywhere in the States.

 

 

Well, it's a question of what you consider to be a "problem". There's a couple of stories a year locally about bags of discarded bags of mail being discovered. I would suspect that it happens a lot more than that since not everyone working in the Post Office would be stupid enough to discard bags of mail where it would be easily found (you could for example put it into any business's dumpster and it'd go directly to the dump without anyone seeing it.

 

I know that we haven't been able to send or receive birthday cards through the mail for at least 15 years because it's always a crap shoot as to whether it will get through.

 

If post office employees are willing to steal cards looking for money, I would suspect there'd be employees there who would be willing to steal ballots, either Republicans stealing from minority communities or Democrats stealing from suburbs and rural areas. Or more likely both.

[archer]

3 minutes ago, DShomshak said:

Also here in The Other Washington, the most important races may be the initiatives. Two stand out:

 

First is an initiative that would ban cities and other local governments from taxing groceries. Lots of scary ads about politicians taxin meat, milk and vegetables. Not that this happened or anyone has proposed it... but Seattle put a tax on soft drinks that contain sugar. The initiative is of course funded by PepsiCo, Red Bull, and other such companies. I voted against it.

 

 

Groceries were taxed where I grew up but overall sales taxes were much less than the surrounding states.

 

I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't taxed on groceries on my first trip to the store. Then going to a different store, I was shocked out of my socks when I discovered that the state sales tax was more than twice what I had been paying (going from something like 3.5% to somewhere over 8%).

 

 

[DShomshak]

22 minutes ago, archer said:

 

Actually I wanted to ask someone about this.

 

We have a problem here with the Post Office employing people who toss out mail on the side of the road and who steal every birthday card out of the mail hoping to find money inside.

 

After your ballot is delivered and you put it back into the mail, does some system exist which would tell you if your ballot was actually delivered to where it was supposed to go?

I don't know. In addition to US Mail, though, there are also drop boxes where you can deposit your ballot. I don't know if the post office handles those.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Old Man]

48 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

 

My God. I hear about that all the time in many countries, but had no idea it was a significant problem anywhere in the States.

 

It has happened, but I don't think it's a widespread problem.  For all its public relations issues, the USPS is still probably the best postal service in the world.

[Old Man]

Voted this morning. Timed it perfectly--got in after the before-work rush, but before the octogenarians wheel in, so there was no line.  Did my homework last night so I just needed to fill in the appropriate bubbles and hand in the ballot.  I'd be surprised if the whole thing took five minutes.

 

Anyway, it's your turn.  That includes you, Liaden, Bazza, L. Marcus, Doc Democracy.  If dead people and Russians can vote in US elections, so can you. 

[L. Marcus]

I warn you -- in Swedish terms I'm center-left-green-feminist, so in American terms I'm a flaming pinko.

[Cygnia]

https://www.propublica.org/article/long-lines-test-voter-patience-across-the-nation?token=EN3c_ry7dSTwNn8T2~pHM7QYdOFOevOF

[IndianaJoe3]

Voted here in CT. The polling place was as busy as I've ever seen it.

[Hermit]

Parts of our state got nailed with a tornado and others had storm damage last night...not sure what affect that will have