Go Vote!

I know it's been forever since I've opened my blogger's publisher tool, but I just had to take a minute to post this message:

"Go Vote!"

And this one:

Specters Beware!

So I'm back here writing, this time post-election and looking at the changing Senate. Arlen Specter has now been retired by the Democratic voters within the state of Pennsylvania and not at the time that best suits him. Down in Arkansas Senator Lincoln was dealt a devastating blow by Bill Halter, but she still has a run-off to try and prevent a liberal from taking her place after years of serving at the behest of corporation instead of her constituency. North from there, Rand Paul, son of Ron, beat the Republican party's favorite to succeed Senator Bunning for the Republican nomination.

What does this all mean? Do we have a revolt against long-term politicians? Is everyone that's in bed with Wall Street and the rolodex of the Fortune 500 on their way out? Well one thing that is for sure, the faces, they are a changin'.

From RawStory:

Insurgent US Republican voters in Kentucky routed their party's establishment candidate and selected iconoclastic political outsider Rand Paul on Tuesday night, a clear show of anger at Washington ahead of November elections to decide control of the US Congress.

Similarly, Democrats in Pennsylvania appeared to have ended the political career of Sen. Arlen Specter, one of the state's best known politicians who became a Democrat after Obama's election in an effort to prolong his time in Congress.

Democrats also managed to hold onto the Pennsylvania congressional seat formerly held by deceased Rep. John Murtha with the victory of Mark Critz. The race was heavily watched and hyped as a predictor of voter mood in the lead-up to November's elections.

What it says, and to concur with what I mentioned yesterday morning, is that a small but dedicated bloc of voters can precipitate major changes. Reports of low voter turnout were a plenty and definitely not surprising. So in a nutshell, Americans have become extremely apathetic (even with the already low voter turnout rates from years past) and those that aren't have tremendous influence with their votes. And that is why the teabaggers get to celebrate a nominee they helped choose in Rand Paul. That is why liberals are enthused (myself among them) that Halter and Sestak did so well last night.

It just goes to show, if people wake up and participate in their government, their ability to effect change and use power is mind boggling.

Anti-Incumbency Fever Set To Hit PA, AR, KY

It's a cool, rainy and most likely uneventful political day in New York. All eyes will likely be fixed on the primary elections in nearby Pennsylvania, and Arkansas and Kentucky as well. Two incumbents are looking at serious challengers and after Senator Bob Bennett (R-UT) was booted by a more right-wing Republican, the situation has become quite serious. Two of today's races are contests on the left, while the other in Kentucky pits a teabag backed candidate versus the Republican party's choice to take over for resident loon Jim Bunning (who has spurned the establishment and backed the teabag-friendly Rand Paul).

From The Huffington Post:

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is not on the ballot in this week's primaries, nor is Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican Senate leader.

But both have a stake in intensely competitive Senate races in three states, contests testing the strength of the tea party among Kentucky Republicans and the durability of incumbent Democratic Sens. Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas and Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania.

In a fourth race of national significance, Republican Tim Burns and Democrat Mark Critz battled to fill out the term of the late Democratic Rep. John Murtha in a congressional district in southwestern Pennsylvania. Both political parties reported spending roughly $1 million to sway the race, turning it into a laboratory for the fall campaign, when all 435 House seats will be on the ballot.

Laboratories aside, the biggest issue here that isn't mentioned in the article is that turnout will likely be extremely low. Any kind of defining moment, or partisan revolution, will come from a small minority of voters who are either fearful of new blood or sick of the same old politician and wish to make a change. Of course, there'll be a big headline on every paper tomorrow morning proclaiming a mandate has been stated by the American people (living in PA, AR and KY) regardless. The truth of the matter though, is that most people simply do not care about these contests and do not see a point in bothering to make it to the ballot box.

Election Day Is Tomorrow...In Two Corners Of Louisiana

Yeah, I know, most people are sick of elections and wish we could just get a break from it all. The only thing is, every race is important and having one more Democrat in the House as opposed to a Republican is always a matter worth fighting for. Tomorrow, residents of hurricane-battered Northwest Louisiana will head to the polls to determine who their next Congressman will be.

From KATC:

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Cameos by President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President Dick Cheney have brought star power to a hurricane-delayed battle between Democrats and Republicans for an up-for-grabs U.S. House seat.

Obama recorded a radio ad to help Democrat Paul Carmouche, while Cheney helped with fundraising and GOP up-and-comer Gov. Bobby Jindal helped with a television ad for Republican candidate John Fleming.

Saturday's election in Louisiana's 4th Congressional District will determine who replaces U.S. Rep. Jim McCrery, a 10-term Republican who's retiring from Congress. The election was pushed back to December after Hurricane Gustav delayed party primaries that had been set for early September.

"The Democrats desperately want to go out on a winning note," said St. Francisville political analyst Mike Smith. "The Republicans want desperately to retain this seat so they can say they didn't have any additional slippage going into 2009."

The other race is a virtual no-contest as the crooked criminal/Congressman William Jefferson will likely retain his seat. That is certainly one Democrat that must be primaried out in two years. Back to the 4th District, it will ultimately come down to turnout and who gets more supporters to the polls than the other. Chambliss succeeded in his race for the Senate three days ago, but unlike in Georgia, Paul Carmouche stands a much better chance at winning than Jim Martin did.

And it goes without saying, if you are in the area, go volunteer and if not, you can still help phonebank!

Fired Up And Ready To Go!

I’m writing this from the F train somewhere under Queens, speeding (yes, it is the express train) to one of Jim Gennaro’s campaign offices. Jim is running against the Republican State Senator Frank Padavan. If we win this race and one other Democratic challenger in New York beats an incumbent we will take back the Senate for the first time since the 1960s. I’m looking forward to all the GOTV of the day. Though the day started hours ago when I went to vote.

As you can see, even here on the East Side of Manhattan the line to vote was already lengthy before the polls opened. I took this picture at 6:00am and was astounded by the amount of voters. This poll site is never crowded, ever. After thirty minutes outside on a thankfully warm November morning, I got inside and the one massive line broke into several smaller ones according to election district. Yet the wait was worth it, as I pulled the lever to the right and flipped the switch for Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Here in New York fusion parties are allowed (among a few other states), so I went down Row E for the Working Families Party. In a nutshell, they operate outside the two-party system but help to push Democrats into doing all the good things that they are supposed to do.

Being able to cast my vote this morning was one of the most thrilling things I’ve done in quite a while, even with all the volunteering and donating under my belt for Obama. Definitely do not underestimate the power of your vote, and if you haven't done so yet make sure you stay in line when you get there. I really, really, really feel for those that are voting in swing states today. If you are in North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, North Dakota (heh) or one of the other key states, my thoughts are with you.

And last but not least, thank you to the poll workers of Renwick Gardens for helping to make it all happen for me and my vote....and to all poll workers across the country that help facilitate this part of our democracy. I'll be saving these pictures for quite sometime, because I want to tell my future kids and grandkids that I voted for Barack Obama and here's the proof of my commitment to vote. Now it is time to get as many others to vote here for a Democratic State Senate, here's my stop and I'm ready to go!

Obama Camp Provides Useful Tips To Protect Your Vote

This five minute short is a fantastic way to learn about Republican strategies that help to suppress the vote and how to get around them. Making sure your vote counts is not only important for the integrity of the system, but also that you ensure your voice is heard tomorrow. We are working towards a new kind of politics in America where hate and bigotry do not play a role but for now we must fight against the evil with full knowledge of how the old racist and dare I say, classist system works.

FYI: When The Polls Close On Election Day

In case you haven't voted early and are wondering what time you must get to the polls, here is the map of all the states with their end time to vote, care of Swing State Project:

Just Another Election Day In Ohio

Officials in Ohio promised that today's election would go smoothly despite the expected record turnout. Of course we have to remember that this is Ohio, and things will go a little crazy no matter what. The votes have not even begun to have been counted yet, and there are already myriad problems across the state.

From RawStory:

An elections official in Ohio predicted the state would "shine" in tabulating results for Tuesday's primary elections, despite the state's history of voting problems. However, there had been scattered reports of confusion and delay by early afternoon.

One of the most dramatic problems Tuesday had nothing to do with ballot designs or electronic voting machines. A polling place at a northeast Ohio school closed for 90 minutes because of a bomb threat.

The threat was called in around 9:30 a.m., and about 14 voters were turned away while a bomb-sniffing dog searched the school, according to the Associated Press. All 14 voters said they would return to the polling place later Tuesday. No bomb was found and the school re-opened around 11 a.m.

And that was just the beginning of it. There were tabs you had to rip off that said not to rip off, people that accidentally voted for Dennis Kucinich and then there were stories of polling locations with multiple machine breakdowns and no remedies for the problem. So after almost four years since the state elections people screwed up voting for their fellow Ohioans, not much has changed....and I doubt much will happen before November either.

Just another reason to back a 50 state strategy....and not rely on one of a handful of swing states.

The Significance Of Human Error

People make mistakes all the time, its human nature. Sometimes those mistakes are trivial, like forgetting to get the key ingredient to make dinner while at the market and not realizing it till its time to add it. Then there are other examples where the outcome is incredibly important, like forgetting to count the votes of one candidate versus the other. This happened all across New York City at the beginning of the month and overwhelmingly it was to the detriment of Obama.

From The NY Times:

Black voters are heavily represented in the 94th Election District in Harlem’s 70th Assembly District. Yet according to the unofficial results from the New York Democratic primary last week, not a single vote in the district was cast for Senator Barack Obama.

That anomaly was not unique. In fact, a review by The New York Times of the unofficial results reported on primary night found about 80 election districts among the city’s 6,106 where Mr. Obama supposedly did not receive even one vote, including cases where he ran a respectable race in a nearby district.

City election officials this week said that their formal review of the results, which will not be completed for weeks, had confirmed some major discrepancies between the vote totals reported publicly — and unofficially — on primary night and the actual tally on hundreds of voting machines across the city.

Thank god they have a formal review process. Though it isn't as simple as that. See here in New York we are on our last year (supposedly) of using the old lever machines from way back in the last century. Despite the age and problems that comes with these clunkers, it is still possible to count and recount the votes.

When New York changes over for next year's local contests, the system, both human and computerized must be watched with eagle eyes to make sure that we hold the counters accountable and that results come out properly the first time.

Got Any Plans Today?

I don't know about any of you, but today is definitely a busy day here in New York City. A little on my schedule today.....going to vote this morning before heading down to the N.Y.P.I.R.G. office to go help out on the Voter Help Line for a couple hours while my day isn't too busy. I'll be helping out with info like this and much more, so if you are (godforbid) having trouble voting from 9-11am in NYC, you might just get to talk to me.

Once I step outside of their office, which just so happens to be 2mins from City Hall, I'll find myself standing in a ticker tape parade, the first one to hit NYC in several years. The Giants definitely have a lot to celebrate after their spectacular win over the Patriots. There is nothing like a great victory for the underdog...whether it is in sports or politics. Plenty of New Yorkers will be doing some combination of work, sports and politics today.

Once I get the work out of my way this afternoon, I'll meet my girlfriend at the Port Authority at 6pm and then its off to the Meadowlands to watch my (former home) team Lakers wipe the floor with the New Jersey Nets out at whatever corporation owns the Arena (I know the company but refuse to address them). And of course, like the true political junkie that I am, I'll be constantly checking my Treo for election returns as they come in....though I'll try not to look unless there's a timeout or its halftime. Thats the goal at least.

Definitely a full and exciting day, what's on tap for you? Is anyone voting out there?

Another Election, Another Democratic Romp

Although 2007 is technically an off year in politics, there were still a few races around the country yesterday. Just as the national polls have shown, the results reflected the mood that people want change from what Republican power has done to America. With a President that has the worst polls ever, people are electing Democrats by and large to try and combat the mess that Repubs have put us in.

In Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher was easily defeated by Steve Beshear. When you google Kentucky and corruption, Fletcher is all over the place. From now on, googling Governor and Kentucky will give you the Democrat that hasn't been in office in twenty years. Cheers to Kentucky for making the right choice.

Down in Virginia, the red state turned purple is becoming increasingly blue. Democrats took over the State Senate last night, sweeping out a few incumbents in the process. Next year should be even better, as Warner (R) retires, it is looking a lot better for Warner (D) to take his seat, especially with the success he had at his previous job.

Here in New York Democrats fared pretty well despite all the controversy surrounding Spitzer and his drivers license fiasco. Both sides are claiming victory, but what really counts is next year, when we take back the State Senate from the hands of the corrupt Joe Bruno. As The Albany Project put it, the GOP's perfect storm fizzled.

There May Be An Election In 2010, But There's One Today Too

While Bloomberg's supporters claim he's running against Spitzer in three years and the Mayor denies it, there is an election here in the city today. The slate is relatively slim and 2007 is an off year when you figure in Presidential, Congressional and Mayoral races, but people especially in Brooklyn should be paying attention and making a choice for who they want to represent them. The Daily News lists all the questions on the ballot (depending on where you live of course:

Incumbent Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan has faced a surprisingly strong challenge from Democrat Michael Ryan, although he is still expected to win.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown and Bronx DA Robert Johnson are facing no opposition.

City Councilman Mathieu Eugene, who won a special election in April, faces Republican challenger Clarence John in Brooklyn's 40th District, which includes parts of Crown Heights and Flatbush.

Councilman Vincent Ignizio, of Staten Island's 51st District, is running after a special election but has no opponent.

Close to 20 judicial slots are open in the five boroughs, with both Brooklyn and Staten Island choosing Surrogate's Court judges.

Former Councilman Noach Dear is poised to win a seat on the Civil Court in Brooklyn. To find out if a judge is running near you, go to www.nycourts.gov

There is one citywide question on the ballot: whether the state should give up an acre of forest preserve to create a drinking supply for an upstate hamlet.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Be sure to get your post-election results, WCBS-TV provides a host of links that will assist in combing through the numbers. Happy voting to all!

Why Do We Vote On Tuesday?

Bill Richardson has a good point here, why do we have to vote on Tuesday? Is it simply for tradition's sake? Well traditions can be broken, and moving the election to the weekend or simply by mail would enable Americans to take part in the political process with far more ease.