No matter who you're voting for, get out there and do it!

To start a discussion, who's seeing long lines and how long did you wait to vote? I'm reading these incredible stories on various news sites of 2-3+ hour waits to vote. One of my more 'tin-foil hat wearing' colleagues claims that these waits are being engineered by one campaign or the other to dissuade certain people from voting. I think he's nuts, but it's an interesting point. I know I probably wouldn't stick around for 3 hours waiting to vote. Anyone here going through that? How long would you wait to vote? An hour? Two? More?

I was at the poll at about 7:15 this morning in my little podunk middle-of-nowhere Illinois town. Walked in, got my ballot, voted, turned in the ballot and walked out. Took 2 minutes .

Except that the scanner was already broken. Message on the screen said "JAM AT FEEDER". The nice little old lady running the machine didn't seem to know what to do, and so they were just collecting ballots in an 'Emergency' box. Nice. I'm an IT guy, and write software all day, but I miss the good old punched-paper ballots. Felt like you were doing something different, not just taking a 'scantron' test. Hanging chads and all...

I voted first thing this morning, but I ain't sayin' who for.

While I agree 100% that you should vote, it still isn't too late to at least try to get some education on the really key issues if you are still "undecided" or really don't know squat about either candidate outside of the fact that one of them isn't Hillary.... So while I not only think it is our right to vote, it is also our duty to take at least a few minutes to get some facts about who stands for what. You never know, you might agree with "the other guy" more than you think.

I have voted for the same party for many elections, but I still spend time looking at the issues, ignoring the mud and name-calling, and get to the core of the candidate. Unlike my parents, sister, and co-workers who blindly follow whatever party that they voted for last time. That way I know that I made what I thought to be the right choice, not just being a lemming to my previous vote, or to the vote of others around me.

Be smart, vote smart...

I started to write in 'Colquhoun-Lofft' as my Pres-VP choice. Then I remembered the whole 'US citizen' requirement in the Constitution. Bummer.

I totally agree with you, Nick. Vote, but don't just flip a coin. Read, learn, think, vote. Knowing that campaign promises are seldom reflected in actual policies.

You voted for the blue donut/red bacon guy I bet!

Wow, now that is a campaign that a Homer Simpsonphile like me could really get excited about!

mmmm ... bacon ...

Ooh! Donut!

Can we count on things that both candidates promised? Please?

I never saw that before, but I like it a lot!

Most of Washington State now votes by mail. Only the two most populous counties still have poll voting available, and only about 25% of eligible voters choose that method.

I have always enjoyed and appreciated the ritual of voting in person, with my neighbors, at a local library or school. I vote in all elections, whether it's a school bond thing, a primary or a general.

Today, I waited in line for the first time. Ever. For ~45 minutes. People all around me were smiling. I am joyful.

This is one sentiment that I really never got behind... not to be contrary, but we heard about it in our recent popularity contest federal election as well (we got 59.1% voter turnout). People have died for our right to vote, but I always felt that with that right came the responsibility of keeping yourself in-the-know about party platforms, and histories of what they've done, how they've done it, and how they've kept their promises before.

I'd rather have 50% of registered voters with a clear concept of what's going on voting than 100% of people voting with half of them voting for "the smiley guy" or "I see a lot of this person's signs around"... but I guess it's a little different here, since we vote locally, then those filled seats determine our Prime Minister.

Just something I never understood... "you should vote, even if you have no clear opinion on the matter"... kind of adds an element of chaos theory to the whole thing.

Bren R.

Is your avatar the Ohio flag? I'm confused‽

I think that Donuk Obacon wishes it were.

That's the blue donut/red bacon guy, right?

The cleverness of the Axiom board members continues to impress.

When I'm elected, I promise to give you all jobs fixing our energy problem.

See, that's why I want Ian for president. He's brought clarity, fairness, and neutrality to our home theaters at a price we can afford. I would like to see the same done for our government.

I went out and voted before noon time. I was in and out under 10 minutes. It was pretty busy at the polling place, but the volunteers they have working in there are very efficient and quick. They had both optical readers and touch screen ballots, but I chose the optical so I have a paper trail. I still don't trust the touch screens.

Bren. My mothers family had the pleasure of living under the Russians in East Germany for a short period of time before they walked away from everything to get out.

Food on the table, voting and property ownership are privileges not to be taken lightly.

I wonder what the turnout will be for this election? If the lineups are any indication, it will be up significantly. There is hope...

I just got back a few minutes ago.... At about 2PM, I walked right in. It's expected to get much more crowded as the day goes on, though.

Hey....
Since we're talking Politics (to a degree) and things are still civil ~10 posts in, let me ask this: How many think the election season should be shorter? I don't know that I'd go as far as "2 weeks" as I've heard some say, but I could see a six month season. That's still only a quarter of we sorta had know, but still lots of time to Vet people...

Whattayathink?

We were in and out in about 10 minutes; no line, just had to trade in a screwed up absentee ballot for a regular ballot.

As you can see, my son is 18 and voted as well.

I agree with Bren in some ways but from a different direction. While the freedom to vote is truly a right, an honor and holds insurmountable value, I myself had a lot of trouble deciding who to vote for in our recent Canadian federal election.

I consider myself to be fairly well versed in the issues, party histories and their plans for the future. However, without getting drug into a conversation regarding my thoughts on each party, I could not bring myself to supporting any of the four major parties (of which only two, maybe three, are normally federal contenders.)

I had strong disagreements with each of the parties platforms and most of all, I had even more serious problems with the some of the serious behaviors and scandals that both of the two main contenders have been involved in recent years while in power.

So I tried to approach it by identifying the lesser of several evils. I still could not find a way to do so.

A percentage of people this year voted for "The Green Party" (a party based on eco-friendly choices) as a sign of a new found distaste for their traditional choices but I personally do not believe in voting for a party that I don't honestly support, just out to prove a point. Actually, the Green Party is the only party I feel comfortable talking about. I'm an eco-sensitive kind of guy but this party is not yet ready to run a country. Maybe someday...

So, in short, I struggled in my head right down to the last hours of the poll openings, but in the end I did note vote this year. I honor the men and women who died to protect my right to vote, but my consciousness would not let me cast a random ballad just for the sake of doing so.

As long as no one's dictating who can vote; I want everyone to vote who wants to vote. The problem with requiring voter education or not flipping a coin, is where do you stop? Perhaps only the people with college educations get to vote? Maybe only people who are registered to a party. Maybe you have to pass a civics test to vote. Maybe you have to present your driver's license and a passport. It's a very slippery slope.

That's kind of my point... the ability to vote should be a right in a democratic society... but the requirement or pressure to vote shouldn't be. Inaction is an action in itself. I don't want to say the stupid, or uninformed or red-headed or leaf-bearing or whatever should not get a vote... but I'm told Australia has a mandatory voting system (or you're penalized on your taxes by $100AUD?), that's like walking up to my mom and saying "you have to have a Calvin peeing on something sticker... what auto manufacturer do you hate? You have to choose one"... she will choose one at random.


I did... in my riding, I voted for the person I knew from my community involvement... it was easy for me... I voted locally, even though my vote nationally meant nothing more than $1.75 in campaign funds for the next election for the party.

Bren R.

...for "change"?

I did want to echo the comments earlier about this being civilized still when politics can be very "touchy" for some people.

While I don't agree with the voting choice of several people here, I wouldn't hesitate in a second to go up to anyone voting for the other guy and say, "You know what? I still like you because we are all Americans." We live in a country free to disagree with the next guy. And while I don't like blue frosting on a donut (no comment about bacon.... mmmm.... bacon....), I'm not going to run around cursing those of you that voted for him.

And for those that hadn't seen it before, here is the donut and bacon shirt I first referenced...

got ot the poles at 6:50 am and it took about 40 minutes

That's hilarious, Nick. I had no idea that was actually a shirt.

do you mean voting for 'that one' ?

Did they give you some kielbasa, at least?

Man, that's some stamina.

Nick, I agree with your comments. I'm looking forward to this all being over so we can go back to being purple again.

Waited in line for 100 minutes on Thursday, 10:00am to vote in the "out of state on election day" polls (about 400 ahead of me)... My vote is in Indianapolis!

Got to the polls at 7 AM and it took me an hour to get in and out. There were only 20 people in front of me in line when I got there... and then I watched the two poor 70+ year-old souls working the voter validation machines fight with them for 40 minutes to no avail... not a single person moved in or out for 40 minutes... what a disaster. (and I watched as person after person bailed out of line and left)

Then, when I got to the point of being able to vote, they asked me whether I wanted electronic or paper... I figured electronic would be faster, so I chose that... WRONG.

When I got to the machine (the one and only), I found to my surprise, it was not turned on. I asked another volunteer if there was some trick I was not aware of to get it work and then watched for 10 minutes as he and his compatriots consulted with one another on how this curious machine might work... I then gave up that game, took my paper ballot, and was out 5 minutes later. (though I did pass another perplexed voter staring at the blank electronic voting machine screen on my way out, which was at least some amusement after the entire experience)

I agree with all the comments about how much we need to appreciate the freedom to vote, but today's experience did not exactly support the image of the well-oiled American voting machine.

Jason

I voted about two weeks ago at 3:00 p.m. on a Tuesday and there were about 100 people in line at that time. It moved fairly fast though and I was finished in 35 minutes. I agree that everyone should make an effort to be informed about the candidates and their platforms. I find it hard to believe that after a year and a half of campaigning there are still some folks who claim that they don't know what each presidential candidate stands for.

You've got my vote, Mark. I've never been so relieved to see a campaign end. Of course, Ohio was a battleground state so we were assaulted with ad....after ad....after negative ad. Pretty disgusting really. Then, this last week, the recorded phone calls started. 10 or more per day. They say this election season lasted 22 months. Just think! Only 26 months and it starts all over again.

Double Post

Sorry about the double post. I've been having trouble with the forum loading properly and I didn't believe my first post went through. Now it's too late to delete either. My bad.

That's OK, Jack... it's nice to have you pop in and I'll just assume that you really, really agree with me!

Trust me. I really, REALLY agree with you.

Looking in as an outsider, I hope you don't mind me saying that your election process IMHO does seem way too long and somewhat complicated.

Our Canadian media broadcast as much coverage on the US election as it does our own. Between US stations making up a large percentage of our TV packaging and Canadian news media being active in providing US election coverage, I think it's safe to say we get to see and hear every election story that you would see. At least any that invoke national coverage.

So with that in mind, I feel safe in expressing an opinion that it is indeed too long for many reasons. The reasons I won't delve into, except to say reason number 1 is that we have to endure it with you. heh heh.

I

I really want that t shirt

You can get the shirt over at Zazzle.com. I bought some custom shirts form them in the past. They are fast and the shirts are of great quality.

I thank you for your tact, but I, for one, wouldn't object if you took your shots. This is the 14th Presidential election that I can remember (though I was around for it, I don't remember Harry Truman's victory in 1948 ). I am so sick of the length of the campaigns, due mainly to the disgusting tactic of candidates, and their supporters, devoting most of their time to telling us why we shouldn't vote for the other guy, rather than telling us why we should vote for them. This year it reached a new low by actually attempting to demonize the other guy with half truths, innuendo, and flat out lies, and I'm not referring to just the Presidential candidates. I'm sick and ashamed of it. YMMV.

If it is any consolation, that is pretty much the way it goes up here as well. I think that is why there is so little voter turnout. All the advertising does nothing to improve the party's image and inform the voter, but it does turn the voters off of ever wanting to vote. I will give Kudos to Jack Layton for at least trying to get some info out and stop dragging the others through the mud during the last week of our election campaign up here, but it was too little, way too late.

I heard someone won the lottery last night

I wish it was me.

Being a software developer myself I chose paper ballot, of course. :-)
But I had a similar experience at my polling place; there was only one electronic voting machine with a line of about ten to fifteen people. I almost walked back to tell the volunteers why they are still giving the choice of a electronic ballot if there's only one very crowded machine.

I was comparing this voting "season" (which IS too long for my tastes) to those "I'm a Mac. And I'm a PC." ads.

I am not a Mac guy at all, but I really find those ads entertaining. They are very slick advertising and whomever came up with them should be congratulated, I guess. But they never really tell you how a Mac is better than a PC. They are just pointing out half truths and slinging mud about the PC world (right now bashing Vista for all of its "issues", yet I have the most *volitile* version and have ZERO problems). Both sides of the campaign did this mud-slinging and half truths. Obama's marketing team just did a lot "slicker" job of it. Of course, the Democratic party can sure pick some very "eloquent" speaking candidates, so that helps.

Heck, even big time Bush tormentor Frank Caliendo (who I find very funny) did a Clinton impression where he just finished picking on Bush, and then said something like:

"Bill Clinton is smooooth... If Bill Clinton were here, he could stand right here on stage, in front of all of you and say quite plainly, 'I am not here.' and you'd believe him."

Maybe the Republican party can work on some speaking lessons and find a younger, better looking person next time around. While I know that didn't decide the vote for most, I did read a poll where some people stated that they just couldn't stand to look at "another old man" as president. It just shows how important looks play into something like this, just like it does in non-political areas.

I blame the lack of support of the "The Plumbers"... and the hockey dads... where were they? And the Maverick vote...

- stolen from Stephen Colbert -

Bren R.

They tried that w/ Palin , didn't work this time.



I don't know what poll you referring to, but I'm positive that "I couldn't stand to look at 'another old man'" is just a coarse way of expressing that McCain simply represented old ideas that are not appealing to most of the American people anymore .... maybe I'm just too optimistic. I think looks may play a role when there's little substance behind a candidate however when there's substance, looks play almost no role at all.

I agree with those who express dismay with the direction political campaigning has taken Some of that slinging has always taken place but it sure has gotten worse over the years.

At the very beginning of McCain's consession speach when his supporters started the booing bit, I saw a look on McCain's face that I thought reflected this sentiment as well. It seemed to say "I've had enough of this". Maybe I was just imagining things.

I think that both candidates in this election are cut from a different cloth than the Bush conservatives and I see that as a good thing.

My biggest dissapointment is reserved for the press. As a group, they have turned into a bunch of unthinking note takers only to happy to spread the most popular fud.

Agree completely. My criticism was totally bipartisan in nature. Maybe we can pass a law which stipulates that a candidate and/or their supporters are not allowed to mention the other candidate. "Just tell us why we ought to vote for YOU, Mr./Ms. candidate."

Well, if you were imagining things, I was imagining the same thing. I think it's safe to say he wasn't pleased with that reaction. Neither was I.

I saw the same thing, however as much as I like John McCain as a person he should have immediately stopped reading the teleprompter and addressed the situation like any average leader would have done. That's why (IMHO) he's not the elected president.

I believe he did... he paused, rolled his eyes and made the "quiet down" hand motion and it stopped fairly quickly. I think he handled it well.

Bren R.

Yeah, I guess he did get the riffraff to quiet down for the most part. After weeks of stirring them up with volatile rhetoric.

Although I did have an autistic fantasy of him grabbing the mic and yelling, "Cut out that booing or I'm gonna dive down there and crack some heads! Seriously, shut the hell up!"

That would have been cool.

That would have been awesome. More so if Palin had stepped in.... "Hey der in da back. The booin' isn't nice. Yoo shoulda learned dat in grade school."

I guess you're right.