The "I Voted" Thread

watching this today...
http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/2012/results

This year was the first time in my life I voted by absentee ballot, and given the disruption caused by Hurricane Sandy in my area, that certainly turned out to be a wise choice (although the storm had nothing to do with why I had chosen that option beforehand).

I never realized that, when you vote by absentee ballot, you give up your right to a secret ballot because my ballot had to be placed in an envelope with my name and voter info (my ED, my AD, etc.) on the outside of it. I didn't really mind that, because being able to cast my vote is my main concern, and I can understand why they might need to do that.

Also, the fact that I had even applied for an absentee ballot was apparently publicly available info. I received letters from both my state senator, and my state assemblyman, telling me they were aware I was going to vote that way, commending me on my intention to vote, and saying they hoped I'd vote for them. That did surprise me somewhat.

Live and learn.

My ballot application was mailed to me by the Republican Party.

Are you a registered Republican, edgar? Have you voted by absentee ballot in the past?

Mine was mailed to me by my member of Congress, who always sends out the applications every year several weeks before election day. I always assumed they were sent to everyone in the CD--and maybe they are. But now I'm wondering if I get them because I'm a registered Democrat and so is my member of Congress.

The state assemblyman who wrote to me, and was aware I had applied for the absentee ballot, is a Republican.

Sending out the applications, regardless of who sends them out, is a good idea. It helps to encourage voting, and it makes it a little easier to vote by absentee ballot because you already have the application form.

I vote Democrat, in most elections and primaries. When I don't vote Democrat it is usually to vote Green. The Republicans sent me the same thing four years ago.

Proof positive that they tried to suppress voting!

I live in a Teaparty dreamworld. Tomball elects jerks like Dan Patrick exclusively. There is no motive to stifle the vote here.

The tbagger express lost pretty good in Pa. Tom Smith promised how his brand of GOP business "insight" was what hed carry to DC to help the Senate .

His opponent only needed to reaffirm that this teabagger was fuckin nuts in the head

Our's is rather a funny system we have in California; we must write in our address on the envelope that already has our address on it, sign, and date it.

I don't mind that either, because I miss the line at the voting place, and can leisurely complete my ballot at home while I read and pros and cons of all the propositions.

I voted today, there were no queues, in fact my daughter and I were the only voters there. This has got to be the most apathetic election ever, and I still remain to be convinced that directly elected police commisioners are a good idea.

I don't know what's wrong with career policemen taking the job of chief constable, and the money spent on this exercise in pseudo-democracy would be better spent on front line policing. I almost spoilt my vote in protest, but ended up voting Labour just in case my spoilt vote meant the difference between a Labour or Tory victory.

Good job!

Polls haven't even opened yet on this election day in an odd-numbered year but we already know that a loudmouthed asshole Republican is going to be re-elected governor of solidly Democratic New Jersey. We also know that the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and supporter of President Clinton will be elected governor of Virginia because Republicans picked an insane Tea Party extremist as their candidate.

And until today, I didn't know the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Virginia is black and even more conservative than most white Tea Party people. He has said: "Liberalism and their ideas have done more to kill black folks whom they claim so much to love than the Ku Klux Klan, lynching and slavery and Jim Crow ever did," and "Obama clearly has Muslim sensibilities. He sees the world and Israel from a Muslim perspective." That is one dumbass brother! Of course, he's also a pastor.

Oh and there are some ballot measures about pot in other states and some of the redneck counties in Colorado are going to vote to secede and form their own state, largely just wasting time and money since it will never get approved.

I voted mid-afternoon and there were no lines at all, although there was a steady stream of people going in and out of the polling place.

All of the significant county offices were up for re-election, and those are the offices that really affect our lives most on a daily basis. So the turnout, by the time the polls close, should really be fairly substantial. There were many propositions to be voted on but I think only one of them inspired any real interest or controversy.

There were reports of Republicans being outside the polling places in some areas around here, minority areas, and trying to intimidate voters by asking them to show IDs before they could enter (ID's are not required for voting here). There were also complaints of Republicans inside the polling place challenging minority voters right to vote, based on raising questions about their place of residency, and making them take oaths, etc. before they could cast ballots. When Democrats brought these matters to the attention of a judge at the Board of Elections the Republicans knocked it off. Clearly the Republicans were trying to harass and threaten and intimidate minority voters likely to vote Democratic at at least 5 polling places in communities around here.

I'm anxiously looking forward to the results of our local elections.

A clean sweep tonight in St. Pete, Republican Mayor Bill Foster is out and Rick Kriseman is in, along with everyone else I voted for,.

James Kennedy
Darden Rice for St. Pete City Council
Amy Foster for St. Petersburg City Council
Karl Nurse

Now we have one gay man and two lesbians on our city council.

Of course I can do without the lesbians but what the heck

Our elections this year were by mail-in-ballot only this year. I'm not a big fan of the mail-in-ballot, I prefer to walk in and cast my vote. Oh well.

Results are in on the state wide measures. Amendment 66 failed, it would have raised income taxes from 4.63 percent to 5 percent for taxable income up to $75,000 a year. Income above $75,000 would have been taxed at 5.9 percent and it would have changed the money distribution formula the state uses to distribute the money to schools.

Proposition AA passed, it implements a 15% excise tax on the sale from grower to seller, plus a 10 percent sales tax. The first $40 million generated goes towards the state school construction fund.

Marty Walsh (I voted for him) is our new mayor; it was close. Here in Allston-Brighton, I think the difference between him and John Connelly was less than 1,000 votes. Yes, every vote counts, folks.

I'm happy de Blasio won by a massive landslide. But I'm kind of disappointed with the turnout of several of the ballot questions.
Casinos in New York state? Bah humbug!
Wins some/lose some.
http://project.wnyc.org/election2013/

It's a great day in St. Petersburg. Bill Foster (ineffective and miserable as Mayor) is out and Rick Kriseman is to be sworn in as Mayor at Noon. Now watch as the city blossoms. Of course I only have six months left here.

Well when you leave St. Petersburg, JC, you will know you left it off a much better place then when you moved there.

hehe some may disagree with that lol