GT: 2018 US Midterm Elections

[icecube]

Originally Posted by direwolf

A polling station in a major city with only 8 voting machines? That is beyond ridiculous.

...and I get #### on all the time by the right wingers on this board about overstating the problem of systemic racism. Well the proof is in the pudding. White Supremacy is doing everything in it's grasp to keep the balance of power shifted in one direction. It's become more and more transparent that the GOP represents racial inequality.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by GGG

Paper Ballots with Electronic counting makes so much sense. You still have the documented paper trail but get all of the efficiency of electronic machines.

That's what I used today to cast my ballot. Paper ballot with electronic scanner.

[flylock shox]

Voting problems abound.

There could still be a lot of ugliness over the next couple of days or weeks as the legitimacy of the democratic process comes under fire.

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by icecube

...and I get #### on all the time by the right wingers on this board about overstating the problem of systemic racism. Well the proof is in the pudding. White Supremacy is doing everything in it's grasp to keep the balance of power shifted in one direction. It's become more and more transparent that the GOP represents racial inequality.

Not that I disagree with the premise of your actual point but sorry...

Right wingers on this board?? Who?? Haha

You mean another website? The US politics thread has been a left wing echo chamber for 2 years now. And by left wing I mean centrist because let’s be honest the US is not a healthy democracy but still. I’m pretty sure that thread isn’t filled with a bunch of righties shouting down at people. It’s kind of the other way actually and generally highly stifling of any actual meaningful debate.

[direwolf]

Originally Posted by flylock shox

Voting problems abound.

There could still be a lot of ugliness over the next couple of days or weeks as the legitimacy of the democratic process comes under fire.

Man, what a mess. It's amazing that the most powerful, technologically advanced country on earth can continually allow this kind of crap to happen. This is some serious 3rd world bulls**t, and it's clear that the GOP has their filthy fingerprints on all of it.

From the article above:

In Georgia, voters waited more than four hours to vote at an elementary school in suburban Atlanta, where some voting machines were not working at the start of the day. Reports of broken machines also surfaced in New York and Arizona.

“This was voter suppression at its finest,” said Takeye Sneeze, 35, a truck driver who said she watched 100 voters leave Annistown Elementary School after discovering the voting machines weren’t working. Sneeze said she arrived at 7 a.m. to discover a long line already formed. Voting didn’t start until after 11 a.m.

In North Dakota, a voting-rights lawyer said dozens of Native American voters were being turned away because of issues with their identification. Poll workers were rejecting identification issued by tribal officials, advising voters not to initial ballots even though the law requires it and discouraging voters from casting provisional ballots when they arrived without proper identification, according to Carla Fredericks, director of the Indian Law Clinic at the University of Colorado.

“After I caught a voter who was being denied his right to vote and told him to go back in and request a set-aside ballot, the election worker told me I was interfering and need to leave,” said Fredericks, a member of the Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation, located in central North Dakota.

Complaints also emerged of voting machines flipping voters’ choices in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Texas and Illinois, and of voters with limited English proficiency in the Houston area being blocked from bringing an interpreter with them to vote, as required under the Voting Rights Act, according to civil rights groups.

In New York, Corey Johnson, the speaker of the New York City Council, said the voting precincts were hampered by broken scanners in all five boroughs. Voters stood in lines with ballots in the rain — soaking the ballots and further complicating the process of using electronic scanners.

“I vote at the gay and lesbian center in Greenwich Village,” said Johnson. “Typically I’m in and out in less than five minutes. But today, the lines went inside the lobby, outside the courtyard and around the block. I waited in the rain in the alley for over an hour to vote.”

Johnson said the city had higher than average turnout in the primary and in the 2014 midterms, and officials should have had more or better equipment in place.

Accusations of intimidation also surfaced Monday when the Department of Homeland Security announced plans to run a “crowd-control” exercise near a Hispanic neighborhood in El Paso Tuesday — the hometown of Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who is challenging Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in a closely contested race in Texas.

On Tuesday morning, U.S. Customs and Border Protection abruptly canceled the exercise after critics raised concerns about voter suppression.

[TheIronMaiden]

At a glance the USA seems more and more dystopian by the minute.

[Incogneto]

Pa-per bal-lots!

[direwolf]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1059861717474258945

[OMG!WTF!]

I knew there would be shenanigans. I bet the GOP will win the house and gain in the senate. The stock market is fairly happy with how things look right now.

[ernie]

There is a reason the US ranks quite low on the democracy index and is currently considered a flawed democracy rather than a full democracy. This is one of the reasons and it goes along with the rampant gerrymandering the flawed electoral system etc.

This has resulted in a loss in confidence in the democracy and public institutions which is what got called out when it downgraded.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Georgia is a disaster. That result will be disputed either way long after tonight.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by direwolf

https://twitter.com/user/status/1059861717474258945

What do people in DC vote for in mid terms anyway? They don't have a senator or congressman.

[_Q_]

This country is such a disaster.

Glad I'm going to be to be back in Calgary for good in a couple weeks.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by direwolf

Man, what a mess. It's amazing that the most powerful, technologically advanced country on earth can continually allow this kind of crap to happen. This is some serious 3rd world bulls**t, and it's clear that the GOP has their filthy fingerprints on all of it.

From the article above:

In North Dakota, Georgia, and Texas, sure, you could assume that safely, but then why are there also major problems in heavily democratic New York and Washington D.C.?

I think that elections are generally problematic in the U.S. these days, regardless of political affiliation or voter suppression from the right (which is still a recognizable factor). Basically, government can't seem to get their #### together to make a smooth and well run election. It's been that way since 2000 and the whole Gore/Bush nonsense. Remember hanging chad? It's not much better now.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

What do people in DC vote for in mid terms anyway? They don't have a senator or congressman.

Many Americans vote for everything today, including city council and mayor as is the case in Washington DC.

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

In North Dakota, Georgia, and Texas, sure, you could assume that safely, but then why are there also major problems in heavily democratic New York and Washington D.C.?

I think that elections are generally problematic in the U.S. these days, regardless of political affiliation or voter suppression from the right (which is still a recognizable factor). Basically, government can't seem to get their #### together to make a smooth and well run election. It's been that way since 2000 and the whole Gore/Bush nonsense. Remember hanging chad? It's not much better now.

There is no Elections Canada type federal body in the States. The States have all the power and determine the voting laws (polling hours, stations and staff). Localizing things causes problems. Kind of like Calgary running out of ballots the last municipal election. Maybe there aren't enough staff running things?

[DuffMan]

and don't ask any questions, unless you are a white, hetero, god fearing, gun toting, maga hat wearing, person with an Merkin accent.

An election supervisor and judge in Williamson County, Texas, has stepped down after she was captured on video screaming at a black voter who was reportedly confused about where to vote.
In footage captured by a third party of the confrontation on Friday afternoon, Lila Guzman could be seen telling the voter repeatedly to leave, saying: "Get out. Get out. Get out. You are rude. You are not following the law. Go. Go."

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/newsp...uHF?li=AAggNb9

[dobbles]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Not that I disagree with the premise of your actual point but sorry...

Right wingers on this board?? Who?? Haha

You mean another website? The US politics thread has been a left wing echo chamber for 2 years now. And by left wing I mean centrist because let’s be honest the US is not a healthy democracy but still. I’m pretty sure that thread isn’t filled with a bunch of righties shouting down at people. It’s kind of the other way actually and generally highly stifling of any actual meaningful debate.

Oh c'mon, when was there an argument presented from the conservative side that didn't involve Hilarys emails or George Soros?

That thread certainly has a lot of back patting and people have been rightfully called out for always proclaiming that the gotcha moment is just around the corner. But overall its just people acknowledging how much of a s$&t show we have down here.

[Blaster86]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

Georgia is a disaster.

And this is why you don't let cousins marry.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Many Americans vote for everything today, including city council and mayor as is the case in Washington DC.

To this point, here is the list of positions I voted for today:

Federal:
Senator
House Representative (Congressman)

State Executive:
Governor/Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Chief Financial Officer
Commissioner of Agriculture

State Judicial (all questions were whether or not the person should be allowed to continue to serve or removed from the position):
Supreme Court
4th District Court of Appeals (X 3)
Circuit Court (3 separate positions with 2 or 3 candidates for each)

County:
County Commissioner
County Court Justice

Referendum Questions:
13 state referendum items with intricate language and hidden details of how it affects the public. Basically, a whole lot of research to answer these.
1 county referendum question



I filled out 4 full ballot pages as long as my arm. It's pretty crazy how much I get to be in charge of that I have no business being in charge of because of how woefully uninformed I am on what these people do. What the hell qualifies me to vote for a judge? Do I have the ability to evaluate their body of work effectively? Short answer: no.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by Blaster86

And this is why you don't let cousins marry.

Georgia isn't not Alabama or Mississippi. Not like it's some progressive utopia, but relatively speaking it is.