Pimp the Vote

I wanted to draw attention to Jane’s chilling post on the meaning of voting in the context of the status of individuals in other countries.

As for me: I already voted. (Yes, huge relief. PHEW.) I don’t as a rule trust the voting machines in any location, particularly since every time I’ve voted there’s been a different machine from a different manufacturer. So I am a permanent absentee in the state of New Jersey (sounds like a paranormal romance plot, doesn’t it? Permanently absent, but still there). My #2 pencil and I voted this weekend. One down, only a few million to go.

Back to your regularly scheduled romance novel banter.

Comments are Closed

  1. Charlene says:

    “I can’t blame them for not wanting to count the votes if it’s obvious they won’t change the outcome, though. “

    Not wanting, no. Not doing it: that’s illegal and wrong.

  2. Suze says:

    Still, what I thought before that particular election was: we all know who’s going to win, why bother?

    As nearly as anyone can tell, this is what happened in the last provincial election in Alberta.  All the polls seemed to indicate that the Conservatives would finally be voted out, and that the Liberals would take power.  Instead, the Conservatives won in a landslide and all other parties lost seats.

    Some analysts said that old-school Conservatives who had been disgusted by the former Conservative Premier (Ralph Klein) were excited about the new guy’s return to their core values, but others said it’s more likely that the Liberal voters felt it was tied up, and their vote wasn’t necessary, so they stayed home.

    Probably it was a combination of those reasons, but in the end, we’re stuck with the new, same old putzes.  Who promptly kowtowed before the oil companies and effectively lowered the already-low royalties we’re supposed to be receiving for the rape and pillage we’re undergoing.  Grrr.

  3. Sam says:

    Maybe I should try to vote early because I missed the primaries due to sudden illness.  I had never missed an election before and I’m cringing at the thought of how those little old ladies at the miidle school are going to look at me after they ask if I voted in the last election. This year we are getting election day off for the first time so surely I’ll find a window in there somewhere to get it done this time.

  4. Lynne says:

    I’m voting early this year because Georgia’s voting machines are notoriously screwy, and there’ll be enough traffic on election day that the whole system may have big problems. Those machines are a JOKE. A high school kid could hack them.

    If the Gods of Computer Hacking are listening, could you maybe send down a bolt of static and turn all those shitty Diebold machines into expensive bricks of plastic? Oh, and be sure to do it early enough that we could get paper ballots printed in time.

    Thanks. 😉

  5. Diane/Anonym2857 says:

    About counting the absentee ballots …

    I’m too lazy to look it up, but I am reasonably certain it’s not that the ballots aren’t counted at ALL, but that they just aren’t counted on election night if the election is already decided.  If the election is close, and it’s still mathematically possible that the absentees might effect the outcome, they’ll take the time to count the absentee ballots before announcing a winner.  If the absentees won’t effect the end result,  they don’t make people wait until everything is completely counted before making the official announcement of a winner. By the time the numbers are certified and finalized for the official record a few weeks later, all ballots are counted and included in the final tallies.

    Diane

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