I Voted

[Griff]

Friggin foot so selfish.

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by Griff

Friggin foot so selfish.

huh? waht's a post count climax?

[Cloud]

I need to look at the local races before I can vote.

[Maui Nick]

I voted this afternoon at the library.

[Juniper]

I just put the postage on our ballots and hubby will stick 'em in the mail tomorrow. Yay, me.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by DanaC

I am probably being a bit thick here. I don't understand the mechanisms of American elections, but what votes are only counted in the event of a tie? Surely, either you've cast the vote or you havent?

Some votes (like mailed-in absentee votes) are more of a pain in the ass to count than others, because you have to open envelopes, run them through a machine by hand, etc. So if on election night, a candidate is ahead by, say, 10,000 votes, and there are only 2,000 absentee ballots, then they don't bother counting them because mathematically it won't matter even if every single one of them is for the underdog.

[Undertoad]

Every vote is counted 'round here, and I imagine round where you are too Clod. A precinct doesn't know what the outcome is.

[Clodfobble]

Oh yes, I just did early voting, not absentee voting, and it was on the same electronic machines that will be used in my precinct on election day. But the mail-in ones go straight to the state office, don't they?

[Radar]

Originally Posted by classicman

Don't you watch tv glatt? The elections been over for weeks.

The Presidential election was won weeks ago, but the ballot issues, judges, local politicians, and congressional candidates are still up for a vote.

[Juniper]

BTW my hubby just informed me of something mildly interesting. He's a mail carrier. He just found out today that if you mail in an absentee ballot without putting any postage on it, they will deliver it anyway. Rationale is that the USPS doesn't want to be accused of interfering with the election. Sheesh.

[ZenGum]

Meanwhile, from AFP via the ABC:

Californians have been able to cast election ballots from the comfort of their cars at a one-off drive-through voting booth.

The innovative voting system was opened in Santa Ana, south-east of Los Angeles, as part of a push to encourage eligible voters to register and vote ahead of the November 4 presidential polls.

"We want to do everything we can to take the stress off at the voting precincts on election day," Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley said.

The booth was set up at the registrar's offices in Santa Ana, with voters directed into lanes before casting their ballots at eight voting machines.

The machines used were designed to meet disability requirements, making them a good fit for vehicles, Mr Kelley said.

California election officials are forecasting a record turnout across the state for this year's polls.

Mr Kelley said the number of people registering to vote by mailed ballots had soared from some 330,000 in 2004 to 600,000 this year.

- AFP

Y'awl Americans are funny!

[DanaC]

I heard that they'd run into some technical problems with some of the new machines? Something on the radio news yesterday (I think) Can't remember where this was though. I caught the last little bit of an interview with some electiony official type, before it went back to the anchor.

Thanks for the explanation btw, though I now realise I did know but had forgotten *grins* 'cause i've had this same conversation in another thread. Thinking about it, we do have an equivalent that may not be counted initially, but I'd have to check. We have something called 'proxy votes' which are a very small number of the ballots. Most postal votes are just that, postal votes, and they are opened separately and checked as they come in each day under very similar conditions to the main count. They only count the total votes cast at that stage. They get added to the ordinary ballot papers on the day of the count. Basically,we (candidates and agents) stand about in a big hall with tables, two tellers per table, and the officials bring over box at a time of ballots. The final box that gets poured (literally) onto the table is the postal votes box.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

huh? waht's a post count climax?

You and Dana came to double zeros together. 4700 and 7500.

[DanaC]

Y'know, given that half the time I've been a dwellar, I've been studying for a degree, that's a ludicrous postcount to have built up...

[Griff]

We're edubacaitin you.