VOTE!

[Erin]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Glimmerglass:
People I do hope everyone understands that in Palm Beach Co. if a voter did make a mistake (ie, choosing two candidates) they merely had to alert a voting aide and a new ballot would’ve been provided. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I would guess that most people didn’t realize what they had done, unfortunately.

BTW, yes, I have heard someone on CNN (can’t remember who, for the life of me) say that the format of the PB ballot was not legal. It’s supposed to be in a format where all the candidates are listed on one page or something. It was, however, approved… which means some of these election officials didn’t know what they were doing.

Astraled, Bush is gaining votes too! There are more total votes in the count today than there were on Tuesday! Maybe this really is “fuzzy math”!

[This message has been edited by Erin (edited 11-09-2000).]

[ccoronios]

I’m so glad (I think/ I hope) that there’s a large turnout… Voting is such a major responsibility, and AHC, I agree with you completely! If you’re not willing to help solve the problem, you’re PART of the problem!

[woodbern]

Re-vote? Never happen…

[pwynnnorman]

Arrgh! Now someone just said that the missing ballot boxes are from DEMOCRATIC STRONGHOLDS! See how you just can’t count on the media for accuracy!

[Hattie]

Hmmmm…don’t Floridians read their sample ballots before they head to the polls? I would certainly hate to read those amendments the FIRST time at the polling station! Those sample ballots give instructions on HOW to vote and are available to ALL voters. Novel concept -understand what you are doing before you vote!

[Inverness]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Kryswyn:
[B]I heard a rumor that the missing votes were from all the horseshow folks taking a break before the Florida circuits started. Seems they put their absentee ballots in a tack trunk, and the grooms, thinking they were the current Coggins tests but them in the glove box of the van which was sent in to the shop for the post Indoor tuneup…

(just to keep this horse related )[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

TEE HEE, LOL Kryswyn!

[Janet]

1. I think that the ballot in Palm Beach was confusing, and that as a result, the tabulated results do not reflect “the will of the people” in that precinct. HOWEVER, both sides approved the ballot layout. Nobody made a fuss about it in the last election when a similar number of ballots were discarded for “double voting”, so it is not a new or unknown problem. If nobody saw fit to complain about it then, it is (IMHO) too late to complain about it now. I am sure there were other confusing ballots in other locations which may have had other effects.

2. However, I am concerned about reports of
   a) Registerd voters being told they weren’t on the list
   and
   b) Voters who realized they had made a mistake, and asked for a new ballot, being denied a new ballot and having their known invalid or incorrect ballot put in the box.

3. On these grounds, I think it would be valid to EITHER throw out all the ballots from that precinct, OR revote in that precinct.

4. The fact that Gore has a majority of the popular vote is irelevant in this case, everyone knew going in that the election was based on the electoral vote, not the popular vote.

5. The electoral college process is flawed, and should be revisited. That would be one good thing to come out of this mess. When I was in college, we had a math class exercise to determine what was the minimum popular vote you could get, and still win the electoral vote, and it was something like 17%.

6. If there were voting irregularities in other states, they should be investigated, not held as a threat.

With the House and Senate so evenly split, and with the presiidential vote so close (whatever the eventual solution), I don’t think it is going to make a whole lot of difference who wins. Bush isn’t going to be able to put through his “tax cut for the rich”, and Gore isn’t going to be able to put through his “tax cut for social engineering”. Bush isn’t going to be able to get any really conservative justices approved, and Gore isn’t going to be able to get any really liberal justices approved.

We are going to be facing either 4 years of constant stalemate, or 4 years of cooperation and compromise. I am afraid it is more likely to be the former.

[Snowbird]

Well we have learned two things, we have learned that every vote does count.

We have also learned that the media are not infallible and that we should not skip voting because they are so sure who will win.

I think that perhaps they have a drastic effect on the outcome of elections with all their efforts to jump the gun and be the first to validate the elections.

I think we should also have learned that polls to do not replace the vote.

[Snowbird]

Sorry I couldn’t resist sharing this with you all. I’ve been laughing for hour. <BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
<<
>> A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was
lost. She lowered altitude and spotted a man below.
She descended a bit more and shouted , “Excuse me,
can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him
an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”
> >>
>> The man consulted his GPS and replied, “You’re
are in a hot air balloon approximately 30 feet above a
ground elevation of 2346 feet above sea level. You are
31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100
degrees,49.09 minutes west longitude.”
> >>
>> “You must be a republican,” said the
balloonist.
> >>
“I am,” replied the man. “How did you know?”
“Well,” answered the balloonist, “everything
you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea
what to make of your information, and the fact is I am
still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help so
far.”
> >>
The man responded, “You must be a democrat.”
> >>
“I am,” replied the balloonist, “but how did you know?”
> >>
>> “Well,” said the man, “you don’t know where you
are or where you are going. You have risen to where
you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a
promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you
expect me to solve your problem. The fact is you are in
exactly the same position you were in before we met,
but now,somehow, it’s my fault.”
> > >> >><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[BlueGooPonyShampoo]

It is a mess!!! Shame on the media for playing the “first to announce a winner game”!!! They got it wrong twice! I think their irresponsible and cavalier attitude hurts the election process!!! Shame on you CNN, MSNBC, FOX and the rest for putting your ratings ahead of the democratic process that separates the United States from the masses of countries in this world who can not offer their citizenry a fair and unbiased election process!!!

[DMK]

Jumphigh83, The Constitution is an extraordinary document, and I don’t doubt that all of us appreciate it’s value many times throughout our lives. Personally, I am constantly amazed that a group of people (a committee, for God’s sake!) could create such an amazing and enduring document. And while, I personally, do not see evidence at this moment to change the current process, I would like to note that while the Constitution, in all its glory, is perhaps, not a perfect document. That is, occasionally the American people are called upon to “fix” it. I believe we have “fixed” it 27 times. On the 12th time, we fixed the process by which we select a president…

I suspect sometime before all the evil democrats who vote with their uterus (uterii?) and subvert this wonderful democracy into a nazi socialist party (led by Hillarious, of course), we will have cause to “fix” it once again. Perhaps it will be to prohibit ex-First Ladies from seeking the highest office?

As for the various idiots out there running their mouth? Yes, well there is always a lot of that during an election year (it’s that darn freedom of speech thing). There are also a lot of people who are quietly going about the business of working within the framework of that constitution. You or I surely do not agree with all of them, but that does not mean they are any less patriotic - or even wrong - than you or I.

[Louise]

Someone on this forum who’s opinion I really respect remarked to me that the military votes may not be as pro-Bush as everyone thinks, because of Cheney, who (my memory fails me here, was he Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of Defense or something else related to the military?) was responsible for some pretty serious military cuts, which may have angered the military absentee voters.

[system]

I also dont have an answer to your situation.
I was by no means saying that land conservation has anything to do with abortion but it just makes me angry when people get more upset about losing trees or baby animals then the killing of babies. It just doesnt make sense to me.
I know that when it comes to rape, the situation is a little different, but when it comes tp just foolin around and getting pregnant…thats when abortion is definitely not legal. People should face the consequences of their actions.
Well, thats the end of my political chat
back to horses…its alot more fun to talk about

[Hattie]

Hey I have an idea! Let’s start all over! Another national election - maybe we’ll get it right this time! LOL

[Duffy]

I received this email from a relative today. . .

WASHINGTON D.C. -
Following an emergency meeting Wednesday morning, Congress unanimously voted
to excise Florida from the United States of America. The move was a reaction
to the confusion and irregularities in the state’s voting numbers that have
totally disrupted the 2000 Presidential election.
“This is the last straw,” said Utah senator Orin Hatch. “First Elian
Gonzales, now this.”
Several congressmen told reporters the decision has been a long time in
coming.
“We’re all pretty much sick of Florida,” said representative Barney Frank.
“They’ve been a constant embarrassment for too long now.” Added Frank, “They
had Dan Marino for a while, but what have they done lately? Oh that’s right,
screw up our entire democracy. I forgot”
In a speech on the Senate floor, Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy commented
that the loss of Florida’s sizable elderly population will free up billions
of dollars in social security funds. “These are valuable funds which can now
be redirected toward national defense. We can finally rebuild our
demoralized, weakened military,” said the Senator to roaring applause.
>From her New York campaign headquarters, freshly elected senator Hilary
Clinton echoes the sentiments of her future colleagues on Capitol Hill,
calling Florida “a hurricane-addled hellhole full of scheming Cuban
immigrants.” “Learn English already, you banana boat bums,” Clinton added.
As a result of the Florida screw-up, the House and Senate decreed a new
election will take place in early December. This time, ballots in each state
will be tabulated by robots.
“It is clear that our human vote-counting system is too inherently flawed,”
said Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. “The presence of these new,
superior robot mast- err, I mean - tabulators will ensure 100% accuracy.”
“Remember,” said Hastert, “every vote counts, especially if it’s counted by
robots.”
Dynamiting will begin in Florida next Wednesday, after which the state will
be completely geographically separated from the United States.
“After that, they’re on their own,” said Hastert. “I hope they sink.”

[Jo]

I just got home from my American Dilemmas class, where the class was appropriately centered on this fiasco.

The professor got on HER soapbox and allowed the class to discuss the situation in Florida. Some membres of the class were upset about the fact that there is talk of a revote and legal action from the loser. Some classmates felt that this would result in the public viewing the loser as a sore loser – but then the professor started talking about how the popular vote and electoral college vote may not result in the same winner, and if this was the case, wouldn’t you want to fight for what you believed in and blah blah blah blah…

I’m not saying this as well as I could be, but the discussion was very interesting…

I’m honestly excited that I am old enough to appreciate what is going on; this is the first national election taking place while I’m in college, where you actual hear about different aspects of the election process. It’s one of those, “wow, chalk this up in the column with the passing of a new century” in the stories to tell the grandkids about… I haven’t watch this much CNN since the Gulf War.

[Smiles]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Erin:
[B]I was talking about this with my mom last night… she worked for the Nixon campaign in 1960 (?), when he lost to JFK by a “razor-thin” margin. Well, the esteemed Richard M. Daley was mayor in Chicago (where I’m from) at that time, and he just conveniently lost a bunch of votes from Republican precincts so that JFK would carry Illinois, and therefore, the election.

That was out-and-out fraud, but Nixon decided not to pursue it “for the good of the country”. (Not sure Nixon should exactly be a role model, but…)

Frankly, I’m torn. I think it would be terrible for Bush to be elected by mistake. But I hate to see this drag on and divide people even more than they already are.

Sigh Who knew things could get this complicated?[/B][/QUOTE

Hey ERIN what if Nixon was the third gunmen on the grassey knoll??? Maybe just maybe Nixon new something bad was going to happen to Kennedy thats why he didn’t won that election?

[Glimmerglass]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Erin:
Hey Glimmerglass, where did the info on the 16,000 ballots thrown out in 1996 come from? I’ve been looking for that info all day.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Erin, a friend who has been newhounding at home all day said it was on Fox News this afternoon. I’ll pitch the same question to my old college roommates - one is a news anchor in a large market and the other a news correspondent for a national network.

[Becca]

By what PERCENT is Gore winning the popular vote??

[heelsdown]

The staffing at the polling places in Palm Beach was, apparently, sorely wanting. There have been a few souls on the radio who realized their mistake and asked for a second ballot only to have the mistakenly marked ballot taken from their hands and placed in the box.

Buchanan, the most right winger of em’all has gone on record saying those votes are not not his.

Re Vote!