(sits with Ginger).
I've not been exactly avoidy, but I haven't pursued news, either. It's an uneasy hidey-hole, under the bed. I remember the five hours I stood in line in 2004 and the wonderful observations and impromptu friendships as the sun went down and the temperature lowered from late-summer to mid-fall, for which few of us were prepared. (Space blankets in our purses and pockets would have helped!) I remember the 20 minutes in line in 2008 and the goddam couldn't-cut-it-with-a-knife positivity in the room--you could tell the Republicans by the tight-pinched mouths and rigid body language. Mailing in the ballot this year gave me lots of time to investigate and research, and gave me a distinct feeling of accomplishment, pleasure, and hope as I dropped the ballot in the box. But I did miss the comaraderie at the polls.
(One typo I can let go, more? Gotta edit)
I read that we won't see any exit polls until the polls start closing on the East coast.
I already told you the results of my own personal exit poll. Ohio: 1 for Obama!
And in Chicago voting news:
While Chicago was having some logistical problems at polling places, there was one bright spot. Only one election judge reported for duty drunk. CBS 2′s Pam Zekman reports that is down from past years.
[link]
In better election news this woman deserves a medal.
Oh man, that made me cry.
I am hearing some horror stories coming out of PA. This is just the most egregious:
[link]
A Pennsylvania electronic voting machine has been taken out of service after being captured on video changing a vote for President Obama into one for Mitt Romney, NBC News has confirmed. Republicans have also said machines have turned Romney votes into Obama ones.
I am hearing some horror stories coming out of PA. This is just the most egregious:
That's seriously scary. How the fuck can they fix that, to fix the votes already counted wrong, and do it in time?
This is just the most egregious:
I've been hearing this has happened to both sides, and that machine was mis-calibrated. Crossing my fingers that's all this is.
I'm more concerned about the OH official (Secretary of State?) putting in a last-minute, secret "experimental" software patch to OH voting machines. This was apparently illegal.
But who knows... maybe these things are related.
eta: The software patch is
not
in the voting machines themselves, but in the system that tabulates results.
I've also seen a ton on FB from people in PA who were turned away or pressured to fill out provisional ballots.
If Florida in 2000 was not enough to fix the way we do elections in this country, what will be enough?
Here's a story on the OH software patch:
Is Ohio voting software vulnerable to fraud? Court to hear Election Day case - CSMonitor.com
A federal lawsuit filed Monday in Columbus, Ohio, charges the secretary of state's office with illegally installing untested software on voting systems in dozens of counties – a step that creates a digital “back door,” which someone wishing to alter vote totals might be able to exploit.
...
The suit alleges that the secretary of state's office used a legal loophole to install software on electronic voting systems in 39 counties across the state without having it checked by the Ohio Board of Voting Machine Examiners, the state's technical board charged with reviewing elections software. State officials say they have followed federal guidelines and that the equipment is secure.
