Tag: voting

On my trip over to ePluribus Media this morning I found this open thread Help Make Sure Every Voter’s Story Gets Told in 2008, not long but with very useful information that was gathered from two other sources from yesterday, one found here at daily kos about incidents at early voting polls here in North Carolina and also sourced at Andrew Sullivan at The Atlantic

Regardless of your political alignment, nobody — from any party, special interest or group, has the right to interfere with your right to vote for the candidate of your choice.

Finally! Gosh! There ya go! Well, doggone it! You Betcha! Also!

Uh, it’s not what what you think. I’m retired….so with all the other old geezers, I’m an Election judge. Gets me out of the house, what can I say?

I’m a YOUNG Election Judge! So I get to put together all the booths and set up the Optiscan and Accuvote machines….and get to play around with the “voter Blackberry” named AskEd. The others like to do the ballot counts and pass out the voter sheets and check the registrations. I also get to handle all the forms like Provisional Ballots and Signature Capture.

So I got the news….the Election Commission called and asked if I would be the Technical Judge!!! I told them sure, I’m doing it already. They were so happy!???? Now what am I in for?

Or, translated, XLI or 41, which is the amount of days left until the election.

What?!? Only 41 days?!? Scary?

Nope.

Because we gots ourselves a plan to vote…

Upfront: I’m not attached to nor have anything to do with the group below, except as an Old Voting Adult.

Yesterday I received a little booklet in the mail, I’m sure many others have as well. In case you hadn’t I thought I’d pass on who sent it and how you can get one.

I was just wondering what everyone thinks about Nader in the presidential mix?  I am not oo thrilled with him, but not for the reasons that some democrats have.  He is blamed for Gore’s loss, I hold no grudge on that matter.  I, however, have a problem with him because of his constant running for office.  While I hold must of his issues close to my heart, I do not like the fact that he seems to be a perpetual candidate.  But in the years between the elections he has little to say.  But then he revs up and all hell breaks lose.

I would like my candidate to be there even in the “off season’ fighting for the progressive agenda, not just show up every 4 years and spout some left leaning agenda and expect people like me to support him.  Nader does have a wide range of progressive stands and some are very appealing, but I just have a hard time throwing my support in his direction.

I would like to hear others thoughts about his candidacy.

With every speech Bill Clinton and Hillary count their wins and in that count is Michigan and Florida.  Is it not a bit delusional to count those contests?  And of course the Clinton campaign wants it to appear that the DNC is screwing the people of those states out of their votes.  But wait!  Is not one of the tenets of politics is that the we take responsibility for out actions?  If so then these states have NO ONE to blame but their own state apparatus.  They tried to call the “bluff” of the DNC and they will lose.

When will the Clintonistas gonna realize that Bill is a blow hard (no pun intended) and a con artist.  He was as prez and he is still that con artist.  The voter needs to place the blame where it belongs, with their state DNC.  Clintons are desperate at this point and will try any tactic, and I mean ANY tactic to try and close the gap on Obama.

Bill is trying tho foment rebellion within the party by saying such delusional crap as “the Party is dumping on the Florida voter”.  Sorry people their state reps dumped on them, please place the blame where it is deserved.  Bill keeps shouting his arrogance at the people that it will be their fault if Hil loses.  That they HAVE to win.  Or anything similar.  It is him saying that it is their birthright to be in the WH.

I will wait and see if the American people are as gullible as I hope they are not.  

I realize that the there is a lot of passion in this election cycle.  Democrats are chomping at the bit to elect one of their own to replace Bush and his band of cronies.  IMO, it is a noble and necessary cause, for we must get the neocons out of Washington.  That conservative mindset has harmed the average American voter beyond reasonable repair.

The two candidates have their passionate supporters.  Sometimes to the point of exaggeration and down right lies.  However the Democratic Party used to be the party of the people, but in recent years that has slid into a centrist, pro-business position.  The Party use to stand for principles and diversity, but that has been replaced with less progressive ideals, solely for the acquisition of power.  It has become more important to beat the Repubs than to improve the quality of life of Americans.  

If one is voting Democratic, that is great!  But if you are voting just to beat a Repub then I question your motivation.  What are you really voting for in this election?  A return of the Clinton years or the possibility of real change in the white house?  But please keep in mind that the promise does not necessarily make it so.  Voting for the most popular candidate accomplishes nothing.  We might as well hold the election on “American Idol”.  

Just voting is not enough!  Participation after the fact is necessary and is the key to a GOOD government.  The insistence that the winner keeps his/her promises is a must.  Make whoever the winner is being answerable for their actions or their inactions.  Vote from knowledge not from anger and hatred or you will most likely not be pleased with the choice you made.  The winner of the general election in November has got to be held accountable.  If not then you have pissed away your vote–YET AGAIN!

(I was originally going to write this in one post, but then I realized it was going to get way too long.  There’s a lot of ground that needs to be covered, so I’m splitting it up into a few essays.  This part introduces you to the point of view from which I’ll be writing throughout the series, and then focuses on the historical reasons behind our current election and voting systems and why I view them as separate and dependent systems.)

—-

I am a gamer.  I enjoy playing games and have done so nearly my entire life.  Of course, I don’t like all games.  Who does?  In my case, games of chance are not my cup of tea, since there’s little, if any, skill involved.  And I’m not much into sports.  (I must be un-American!)  That doesn’t mean I’m unfamiliar with those games or that I don’t appreciate them, but being that I’m uninterested in them, I haven’t taken the time to really learn their rules.  Primarily, I’m a role player, but I also enjoy board games, card games, silly games, serious games, and many other types.  I’ve been playing games since I can remember, but I wasn’t a student of games (so to speak) until after I left high school.  I want to briefly (I hope) explain why this has any bearing on elections and voting.

No. Really.

I again have a temp job at our County Elections Department. I was there for the last election, but this time it’s the BIGGY…the Presidential year.

And, I’m losing hope for our society. Our Democracy. Why you ask? Well…where do I begin.

People have no idea how to fill out a simple voter registration card. No. Really. They can’t remember where they live. They often have no idea what county they live in. Good Buddha, they can’t even remember if they are registered or the last time they voted!

Sometimes, you know, it’s not all the computer’s fault. Sometimes it’s just pure, plain ignorance that bumps people off the voting rolls.

People don’t understand what a Primary is. They are upset to be told they can’t vote for just anyone they want to in any election they want to. The customer feels that they are always in the right. Retailization, I call it. Retail outlets are forever saying their customer is always right…and the customers are buying into it.

Many folks refuse to re-register to vote because they are fearful of being called up for Jury Duty. Now, what does that say about our judicial system that people are refusing to participate in it. They’ll watch it on the TeeVee on Law and Order, but they won’t go near it in real life. “Too inconvenient” they say.

Some folks won’t even be bothered with voting. They don’t have time they say. It doesn’t matter they say. Politicians are all the same they say. What’s in it for me they say.

I don’t know. I try to put on bright smile and trudge off to work but with the morons in Sacramento who wanted to have their little Presidential Primary in the “spotlight”, they have created 3 elections to be confused about next year.

I’ll give you 5-2 that most people are going to be so sick and tired of the whole shebang by next November, most won’t want to show up.

I was just in Paris and talked to quite a few bartenders and so forth.  Suffice to say the American dollar is barely worth the paper it’s printed on, so we may have spent most of our time in the more dodgy areas of town.

That said, I believe we interviewed quite a cross-section, in our pidgeonish Franglais.  I was repeatedly told variants of the following:

1. Bush and Sarko (Sarkozy) are the same.  (usually followed by an obscene gesture)

2. Sarko won because a weak candidate ran against him.  (followed by a warning not to do the same in US)

3. Diebold voting machines are stealthily and gradually being installed in France.  (followed usually by the comment, “We don’t want to happen in France what happened in US” = stolen election(s).

4. Unions are getting weaker and demonstrations and strikes are ignored in US and France and anywhere else they’re tried, because of globalization. 

There were Chinese products everywhere, and a few suspected sweatshops, lots of immigrants “sans papiers” (& a demonstration planned to try to get preschool services for their children).  Alot of things seemed familiar (though we are still having “reverse culture shock” upon returning to America).

We were staying in the area of Paris that was formerly known for incidents such as the “storming of the Bastille,” which was inspiring, but I have no doubt that something of the like needs to be done periodically, whenever the rich get too uppity.