turnout reports, voting problems, and last minute dirty tricks

[J. J.]

KYW reported long lines in Chinatown.  (Yes, Philadelphia has a Chinatown.)

No doubting that, but... Philadelphia has a K station?

Yep and a television station.  It predates the Mississippi divide.  KDKA is in Pittsburgh.  Same story. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KYW_(AM)

Just reporting about 75 at a Temple University polling place.

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

KYW reported long lines in Chinatown.  (Yes, Philadelphia has a Chinatown.)

No doubting that, but... Philadelphia has a K station?

Yep and a television station.  It predates the Mississippi divide.  KDKA is in Pittsburgh.  Same story. 

I knew about the Pittsburgh one.  There are a few others on this side of the river.  Fond du Lac, WI has one, oddly enough (KFIZ).

[J. J.]

I had to have missed something.  No line at 10:10 AM.  I cannot believe turnout is really that much down.

[Brittain33]

Few or short lines in Georgia:

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/11/04/turnout_election.html

There are a couple of interpretations here, but useless without knowing what these precincts are like. Obviously if no one voted in Georgia today, Obama wins by a nice margin.

[Meeker]

Turnout here in Tacoma and the Tacoma suburbs is overwhelming

[ucscgaldamez]

J.J. Where do you live? Is it an overwhelming Dem or Rep. precinct?

[minionofmidas]

J.J. Where do you live? Is it an overwhelming Dem or Rep. precinct?

It is an overwhelmingly Black Dem precinct - everybody has voted early.

[Franzl]

J.J. Where do you live? Is it an overwhelming Dem or Rep. precinct?

It is an overwhelmingly Black Dem precinct - everybody has voted early.

in PA??

[J. J.]

J.J. Where do you live? Is it an overwhelming Dem or Rep. precinct?

North Philadelphia.  90%+ Democratic, 90%+ African American.  I am the closest thing to a Caucasian on my block (part Amerindian, mostly white).

[J. J.]

J.J. Where do you live? Is it an overwhelming Dem or Rep. precinct?

It is an overwhelmingly Black Dem precinct - everybody has voted early.

in PA??

No early voting and no lines, except at 7:00 AM.  It's two election districts and there wasn't a line halfway down the block (10-20 including the poll workers).  I'll get a count at 2:00 PM.

[Sbane]

J.J. Where do you live? Is it an overwhelming Dem or Rep. precinct?

It is an overwhelmingly Black Dem precinct - everybody has voted early.

I don't think PA has early voting. The reason why JJ is scaring me a little. His precinct should be overflowing right now.... I guess we still win with VA,CO and NV if PA decides to be racist.

[davajuan]

Turnout in my precinct in suburban Detroit was very typical. I'm frankly quite surprised. I voted in 10 minutes at 8:30 am.

[Tender Branson]

7am: Over 1.000 students line up at Penn State.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/04/over-1000-students-lined_n_140859.html

[Lunar]

Alexandria:

I live in bluest part of Blue NoVA, Alexandria City. In 2004, my polling place went 80-20 for Kerry. 2,886 votes were cast in that election. I got in a long line in the dark this morning at 5:55am, I was voter number 2,531.

Colorado:

I voted early here in Colorado, which was a fairy uneventful experience. But my canvassing for Obama did turn up some interested scenes -- the highlight being the ACORN workers who were all living in a home together and were absolutely floored that I was VOLUNTEERING for Obama and not getting paid! To quote the one Marlboro red smoking, heavily tattooed lady "I love Obama, but I'm not doing sh**t without some money!" By the end of our conversation, all I could think was 'Thank god these women never found their way in front of a television camera.'

Lubbock:

I voted this morning in Lubbock, Texas, a town that was disappointed to be named only the second most conservative city in America. I thought there would be lines -- for the primary, there was a long line and a long wait. But this morning, there was no line at all, no wait at all, only one of 15 voting machines was in use. We are using a "super precinct" for voting this time -- instead of voting at a specific assigned voting place, voters can go to any of a large number of locations in town. My four-year-old daughter and I voted at an elementary school in our neighborhood. I can't decide if the apparently low turnout is because with a 70/30 Rep/Dem split, there's no point in anyone voting here, or because the Republicans are depressed.

Harlem:

I'm a 37 year old African American woman. I grew up in Harlem and have lived here most of my life. In the 20 years I've been voting at the same polling place, I've never had to stand in line. Usually there were more election workers than voters. Today is the day that changed. There were about 100 people waiting in line. Most of them were young, old and even older African Americans.

I overheard a conversation one woman was having with a mother pushing her son in a stroller. The mother mentioned she told her son she would be voting for the first black president. His response was, "I want to be a black president too!" The other woman and I laughed. It was not a laugh that ridiculed or dismissed the moment, but a laugh of amazement and delight of the infinite possibilities Barack Obama's candidacy represents to the young people in the African American community.

Northern New Jersey:

My father, a lifelong Republican, voted for his first Democrat for president this morning. He falls under the category of "racists for Obama" … his first act after voting was to call me in his worst stereotypical black voice and ask "I voted for Obama, now where do I pick up my free bucket of chicken?" Strange guy. Anyway, his reason for voting Obama was simple -- how much worse can he be than the guys I've been voting for all these years? It shocked me he voted Obama as he'd normally fall under the "McCain is good for Israel so I'm voting for McCain" crowd.

Chester County, PA:

It's very passionate here. Many of the residents are former Delawarians and tend to run more Democratic. But the majority of residents are life long locals, and they are very Republican. It was the first time I had fun going to the polling place. We vote in a church...and normally, the mood is quite reserved. This morning you could spot the  Obama voters - we were laughing and chatting and smiling. Still, it  did seem that the majority of early AM voters were voting McCain - or  maybe Republicans unhappily voting for Obama? Who knows - but the  difference in their mood was obvious. Grim, quiet, lots of hostile  looks shot at the happy Obama voters. It is so obviously polarized  here! The turnout was about 3-4X normal according to one of the poll workers, but certainly not overwhelming just yet.

[Lunar]

The photo above is from what a reader describes as a small, out of the way polling station in northern Kentucky:

I arrived 20 minutes before polls opened, expecting that the combination of early arrival, couple with the fact that it is a relatively small precinct, would mean that I would be able to vote quickly and get to work. I am standing at the approximate halfway point of the line, and the picture captures about half to two thirds of the back HALF of the line. This is KENTUCKY, not even a battleground state! Then again, Bruce Lunsford and Mitch McConnell are on the ballot as well.
Petersburg, Virginia:

At 5:20am, I arrived at the poll in Petersburg, VA (20 miles south of Richmond)

I was about the fiftieth person in line. Only 3 of 6 electronic machines worked initially. Those three conked out at about 6:15am. After a 20 min delay the election officials switched to paper ballots.

I'm black, male, educated, 33. My neighbor who stood in line next to me is white, male, 60s voted for Obama. He hasn't voted for a Dem since Lyndon Johnson!

There were black people aged 18 to 81. Lots of young urban people.
North Carolina:

I checked the 2 voting sites closest to my house. One is in Catawba Co. The other one is Burke Co. Not much going on. It may be the result of early voting.

NoVa:

Got to the northern Virginia polling place to volunteer with the Obama campaign at 5:30 this morning. Had the pleasure of meeting an elderly man (70s-80s) who had a hip replacement in September. He walks with a walker and came with his wife today. He refused to cut the line (as elderly and disabled are allowed to do) and waited for over 2 hours in line because he wanted to be a part of history.
Delaware:

I am 28 and this is my 3rd Presidential election. I voted for Sen. Obama in the primary and again today. In all the elections I have voted in since I turned 18 I have never stood in line to vote. This morning I waited an hour and a half to vote. I felt the rush of history as I entered the school gym to vote. Above the door were portraits of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas imploring students "To Die or Be Free." It always feels good to vote but this election it is particularly true.
 

D.C.

I voted in Glover Park this morning. The line wrapped around the entire polling place--the SEIU on the corner of Wisconsin and Calvert. The line moved extremely fast, but the voters just kept on coming. I was in and out in 45 minutes.

One interesting side note: Glover Park has to be about 75-25 or 80-20 for Obama, but there wasn't a single Obama sign or volunteer outside the polling center. There was, however, a trio of McCain supporters with signs and handouts. Go figure.

[ucscgaldamez]

I just voted!

Report from San Fernando valley precinct. over 95% Latino.


Long lines, people outside the school auditorium forming two separate lines.

It was very hard to find parking.

Obama is indeed doing well among Latinos based on what I saw.

I was really surprised! More people lined up than in 2004.

Hopefully the sleeping giant wakes up across other states.

[Lunar]

lol @ Lunar's "anecdotes".  He is such a damn hack it's unbelievable.

Come on, Lunar, these stories are being spoon-fed to you by the Obama campaign.  "OMG, Republicans are depressed! Obama is winning states that NO ONE THOUGHT POSSIBLE!  Even RACISTS are voting for Obama!  McCain's campaign is collapsing!"  Just the typical crap.

god you're really getting annoying as your candidate is about to lose.  you define the essence of an annoying poor loser.

I posted every story there was on Politico's blogs, even the ones unfavorable to my candidate.  Obviously they have a strong "I posted this online" Democratic bias.

[Tender Branson]

The space vote is already in:

(Bloomberg) -- Two U.S. astronauts with an unrivaled view of the nation's electoral landscape cast early ballots today aboard the International Space Station.

Commander E. Michael Fincke and flight engineer Greg Chamitoff made their choices on a laptop computer with a secure connection, said James Hartsfield, a spokesman at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

It's the second time U.S. astronauts have voted for president from space, the first being in 2004. Today's votes will be tabulated by clerks' offices in Harris and Brazoria counties, Texas, where the astronauts live.

"I'm not sure whether it's an absentee ballot,'' Hartsfield said by telephone. "It's considered a vote from space.''

The astronauts didn't reveal whether they favored Republican John McCain, the senator from Arizona, or his Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, Hartsfield said. Election Day is tomorrow.

Fincke, 41, has been on the space station since mid-October, arriving on a Russian Soyuz vehicle. He'll remain aboard until April.

Chamitoff, 46, reached the orbiting outpost in June via the space shuttle that delivered the Japanese-built Kibo science lab. He'll return from his mission late this month.

The Texas legislature approved in-orbit votes in 1997, clearing the way for the Houston-based astronaut corps to join the democratic process while in space.

Civic Duty

The county clerk's office first sends a secure ballot to the astronaut's e-mail. He or she then fills it out and sends it back to the government official, Hartsfield said.

The first U.S. astronaut to cast a vote in orbit was David Wolf aboard the Russian space station Mir in 1997.

The astronauts encouraged citizens to fulfill their civic duty tomorrow.

"If we can vote from up here, so can you,'' Chamitoff said in a televised message on NASA TV.

He and Fincke then pushed away from laptops affixed to a wall and floated away down a station corridor.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aYMAqf0WSvgM&refer=us

[Sam Spade]

With Texas and North Carolina, early voting is so common, no lines are expected.

[Keystone Phil]

We're at a little over 300 in my division. We have 1,025 registered voters. This is insane turnout for my precinct at this time (and we even had a few minor problems).

[J. J.]

This is not necessarily indicative.  I drove past four precincts to get lunch.  The only line I saw was that KFC.  In three of the four precincts, there were no voters coming or going; the fourth has a couple leaving.  This was at about 11:30 AM to noon.

There could have been a lot of early voters.

The Chinatown precinct, previously mentioned, is the largest in the city.  Temple University is the only other one with moderately high numbers.

At 12:15 PM we had rain.

[Moooooo]

We're at a little over 300 in my division. We have 1,025 registered voters. This is insane turnout for my precinct at this time (and we even had a few minor problems).

You're in one of the more conservative precincts, right?

[Lunar]

MSNBC says that no precincts in Philadelphia are reporting difficulties handling turnout.

[Franzl]

MSNBC says that no precincts in Philadelphia are reporting difficulties handling turnout.

not good

[Lunar]

George Mason University:


First:

-----Original Message-----
From: ANNOUNCE04-L on behalf of Office of the Provost
Sent: Tue 11/4/2008 1:16 AM
To: ANNOUNCE04-L@mail04.gmu.edu
Subject: Election Day Update

To the Mason Community:

Please note that election day has been moved to November 5th. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Peter N. Stearns
Provost

And then:

-----Original Message-----
From: Office of the Provost on behalf of Office of the Provost
Sent: Tue 11/4/2008 8:08 AM
To: PROVOSTOFFICE-L@mail04.gmu.edu
Subject: Urgent Voting Information

Dear Colleagues,

It has come to my attention early this morning that a message was hacked into the system fraudulently stating that election day has been moved. I am sure everybody realizes this is a hoax, it is also a serious offense and we are looking into it. Please be reminded that election day is today, November 4th.

Peter N. Stearns
Provost