It’s Not His Fault
by Lee
Kerry, face it. You lost.
Many voters in last year’s presidential election were denied access to the polls through trickery and intimidation, former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry told a voters’ group Sunday.
At an event sponsored by the state League of Women Voters, the Massachusetts senator also cited examples of how people were duped into not voting.
“Leaflets are handed out saying Democrats vote on Wednesday, Republicans vote on Tuesday. People are told in telephone calls that if you’ve ever had a parking ticket, you’re not allowed to vote,” he said.
Kerry supporters have charged that voting irregularities in largely Democratic areas made it difficult for voters to cast ballots in the November election.
I never fail to be amazed by the left-wing proclivity to explain away everything in terms of a vast conspiracy. Kerry, you lost because you were such a detestable candidate you couldn’t even beat someone as disliked by the public as Bush.
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Gee, I never saw any fliers. I mean, aside from the ones the swampies were handing out that had Bushhitlersatan plastered all over them.
Leaflets are handed out saying Democrats vote on Wednesday, Republicans vote on Tuesday. People are told in telephone calls that if you’ve ever had a parking ticket, you’re not allowed to vote
So, this shows how locking up the Idiot Vote can be a double-edged sword . . .
Anybody who is stupid enough to believe that they can’t vote on Election Day deserves to be a Democrat.
What Matthew said. And now Kerry’s all pissed off that more bases are being closed in MA than any other state. He says that there are “societal consequences” for a lack of military presence in a given area. Wonder what he means by that? Is he suggesting that people might not like or appreciate the military as much if they don’t know members of it? Gee, coming from a guy who’s pretty much spent his career (and made a career from) slandering the military, rings kinda hollow!
What a turd.
Anyone oppose this?
Earlier this year, Kerry joined Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., in filing voting reform legislation. The Count Every Vote Act would create a federal holiday for voting, require paper receipts for votes and authorize $500 million to help states upgrade voting systems and equipment.
If so, why? I’ve had a few jobs where getting out to vote convinced me to take a personal day rather than deal with the headache of having to manage my day around it. If the lines are as long as they were in Ohio, I’d be smart to do it every time I vote. But why should I?
At my old job, I’d update the foreign holidays to the system to ensure payments weren’t booked with paydates where the subcustodian (local bank in that country) wouldn’t be accepting them - and practically every country but ours had the federal ‘Election Day’ as a holiday.
I think it’s about time we make our election day a holiday as well. If everyone had the day off, everyone would get a fair chance to cast their ballot. I could pull it off and get to work now, but when I was younger and working hourly jobs, a lot of the time I wouldn’t be able to manage it. Especially when I lived in Manchester, NH and worked in Nashua - I worked a ten hour shift on election day 2000 and didn’t have a chance to cast my ballot.
That’s not right...I’m not paying lip-service to the numbskulls who got duped, but pointing out that it should be a federal holiday. It can replace Washington’s Bday or Columbus Day…
Of course, if you know you have a rough time making it to the polls, you could always just fill out an absentee ballot.
If everyone had the day off, everyone would get a fair chance to cast their ballot.
Really? How about ER staff? Police officers? Firefighters? Heck, how about truckers (like me)?
Holidays, whether federal or not, mean very little to these folks. We still have to work. People have to be treated, protected, saved, etc. Goods still have to be moved from one end of the country to another.
Early voting is available everywhere (I’m almost 100% positive). People can vote early, cast absentee ballots (as most truckers do), etc. A holiday will have absolutely no impact whatsoever. If someone won’t take the time to vote early or cast an absentee ballot if they cannot go to the ballot box on Election Day, then they certainly won’t be using the holiday to do so.
Dang it, mech_e. You beat me to it. hehe
On a related note, have you heard that Wash state is STILL finding votes?
Who won that one anyway?
I read the story today...can’t seem to find the link.
Sorry, RK. You did a fine job of ellaborating more, though. ;)
I think it’s about time we make our election day a holiday as well. If everyone had the day off, everyone would get a fair chance to cast their ballot.
Just like the all the time we spend honoring soldiers on Memorial day.
Or how we honor the American worker on Labor Day.
Holidays become just that, a day of recreation and entertainment. Not a day of responsibility.
My particular favorite was a flyer that I saw for a hip-hop themed Miami club that was throwing “da crunkest MLK day party ever” Way to honor a man who gave his life for civil rights.
Polls are open for 14 hours. If you can’t make it, absentee ballots are readily available in this country.
Really, it is not that hard.
Who won that one anyway?
Depends on how you look at it. The democratic candidate was confirmed by less then 120 votes. Interestingly enough, the first 2 counts had Rossi (the Republican) in the lead by far more than that.
Last I heard, Rossi is pushing for a new election (rather than another recount). Seems like it ain’t gonna get too far though.
Anyone oppose this?
...
If so, why?
I do.. because we have enough federally mandated days off. Even if most of us don’t get them, look at how many times gov’t people are off.. a good sign is when you don’t get mail and/or trash pickup. Way more often then most people actually get off.
I’ve had a few jobs where getting out to vote convinced me to take a personal day rather than deal with the headache of having to manage my day around it. If the lines are as long as they were in Ohio, I’d be smart to do it every time I vote. But why should I?
Go early. I voted the week before the real election. It’s up to each state to setup how their votes are done and I see this bill by dems to try to get federal hands into state’s issues.. yet again. This would likely just be the first step to them making changes later like forcing BS legislation like motor voter auto-registrations, and other things to skew the vote as much as they can.
in florida, we had early voting for a month before Nov. 2. I just waited till Nov 2, and voted right when the polls opened.
Lots of rhetoric, but nothing to back it up. Typical sore loser, talking out of his ass BS.
Only leftists figure that they really won, or that people “just didn’t understand” and would have voted for them if they just “got it”. Assholes, every one of them.
Kerry supporters have charged that voting irregularities in largely Democratic areas made it difficult for voters to cast ballots in the November election.
It’s funny how the Democrats always complain about any unusual behavior in districts that they control. I live in Seattle and the Democrats here call anyone who questions the validity of counted felon and “homeless” votes or votes that were “mysteriously overlooked” in the first two counts a whiner and paranoid. At the same time, they consider the fact that they totally control King County (where almost all of the irregularities took place) to be irrelevant and that the integrity of the system is unquestionable. So it seems that, if they are in charge and a Democrat “wins,” everything is functioning correctly, but there is some sort of conspiracy if a Republican wins. Then again, maybe they’re right; if their candidate loses a district they control, they obviously failed in their cheating.
To answer LeeFranke’s question: I saw a poll a couple of weeks ago that showed a majority of the state still wants a revote and that Rossi was holding a large lead in the polls if a revote were to take place.
I’ve read all the responses, but see only:
1. I wouldn’t get the day off so it doesn’t make sence to me
2. We already have too many federal days off
3. Someone could always fill out an absentee ballot
So:
1. Not everybody is an ER worker, police, firefighter or trucker...how about the financial services employees, federal and state employees, etc...denying everyone the opportunity for a federal voting holiday for the sake of those who voluntarily choose to work jobs that...transcend such holidays isn’t right
2. Too many holidays already...how do you figure? Comparitively, American workers work more weeks than most of the world each year anyway. If it were put to a poll, I’m quite sure the workers of this country would appreciate another day. And if that’s too much to ask, then like I said, we can replace Columbus Day or Washington’s Birthday.
3. This is true, but not necessarily a reason why a federal holiday would be inappropriate.
A federal holiday for the vote would increase voter turnout. What’s wrong with that? I think we deserve it. If it’s good enough for the rest of the developed world, it’s good enough for us.
Democrat’s need to stick with the whole Diebold voting machine story. It’s a lot less embarassing than the “complicated” butterfly ballots and the “Democrats vote on Wednesday” business.
A federal holiday for the vote would increase voter turnout.
No, it won’t. People who decide that they are going to vote do so via early voting, absentee ballot, or taking a personal day on November 2nd. People who decide not to vote are not going to change their mind just because it’s a holiday.
Before I started trucking I was in the computer industry. One of the companies I worked for had an optional company holiday for voting. You could let your supervisor know that you needed the day off to vote and that was all it took. No arguments from management.
In the 2 years I worked there, not a single person took that holiday. Every single one of us either voted early or didn’t vote at all.
everyone would get a fair chance to cast their ballot.
Every does get a fair chance to cast a ballot.
I have worked in both State and Federal elections since 1982. I have worked as an Elections Official (for the Registrar) in every California and Federal election since 2000. I have been a Precinct Inspector for three years, and expect to become a Range Inspector (in charge of 6-12 precincts) with the upcoming November State-wide election.
I have more than a passing familiarity with the machines used here in California. There is no known way to “hack” into these machines, since the cards that store the election information remains under a two-man control from half an hour before the polls open until they are turned in to be counted by the Registrar’s office.
The amount of paperwork already being done is inclredible, and any discrepancies must be accounted for. (I am proud to be able to say that I’ve never misplaced a single vote. And I can prove it, too!)
Paper ballots are more prone to forging and voter error that the electronic ballots. The touch-screen ballots allow no possibility of an overvote, and requires the voter to re-verify any undervotes by flagging them in red and requiring the voter to acknowledge the undervotes (and there are always a few), and touch a seperate clickable touch-screen button to “cast” the vote.
At that point an image (similar to a PDF) of the ballot is “captured” by the system and stored (allowing for a printout of all ballots cast on that machine if necessary), and the voter gets his or her “I voted electronically”.
If anyone is running a little late, the polls close at 8pm, and ANYONE WHO IS IN LINE AT THAT TIME WILL GET TO VOTE. It was my job to keep track of that. We are open for 13 hours, and if people simply can’t be bothered, that’s not the fault of the machine.
Also, under HAVA (Help America Vote Act) regs, if a voter wishes to cast a paper ballot, we have paper ballots all ready for anyone who wants it.
Why should we change the speed and efficiency simply because some Floridians aren’t smart enough to use a pointy stick to poke a hole through a piece of paper? Or because some Ohioans aren’t smart enough to know when to go to the polls? (It was in all the papers...)
Sorry for the typos. I took a pain pill a while back…
No, it won’t. People who decide that they are going to vote do so via early voting, absentee ballot, or taking a personal day on November 2nd. People who decide not to vote are not going to change their mind just because it’s a holiday.
Before I started trucking I was in the computer industry. One of the companies I worked for had an optional company holiday for voting. You could let your supervisor know that you needed the day off to vote and that was all it took. No arguments from management.
In the 2 years I worked there, not a single person took that holiday. Every single one of us either voted early or didn’t vote at all.
What happened at your place of employment doesn’t mean it would happen everywhere. Optional days off that nobody takes make the ones who do look bad.
Why should we change the speed and efficiency simply because some Floridians aren’t smart enough to use a pointy stick to poke a hole through a piece of paper? Or because some Ohioans aren’t smart enough to know when to go to the polls? (It was in all the papers...)
I doubt the kinks in the actual voting system are what the Dem activists make them out to be 9/10 times, but this still doesn’t equal justification for denying us a holiday.
Again...the rest of the world does it this way, so why can’t we? What is the big fear when it comes to creating a holday for the day of the big vote?
You just want a holiday just so you can make it to the polls before 8 o’clock? You’re either too fucking lazy to do it when they are open and too stupid to vote absentee, or you’re so fucking lazy you just want a paid day off, only to not bother to vote.
the rest of the world does it this way, so why can’t we?
The worst reason in the world to do ANYTHING is “just because everyone else is”. Sheeple much?
justification for denying us a holiday.
Could you please point out where you have a right to the holiday?
Again...the rest of the world does it this way, so why can’t we?
And if the rest of the world played russian roulette for fun you’d probably go for that too. Who the heck cares what the rest of the world does?
What is the big fear when it comes to creating a holday for the day of the big vote?
What is the big fear of getting off your lazy butt and voting early, or using an absentee ballot, or taking a personal day off?
There is no “fear” of an exta holiday. Where do you get that idea?
You have put forth the idea--the suggestion--that by making election day a national holiday, more people would vote and there would be less, if any, disenfranchisement. You also argue that since other countries do this, so should we.
Well, people here disagree. Either from personal experience, such as Drumwaster, or personal opinion, many readers here feel that making it a holiday would do nothing to increase voter turnout, and don’t care about an extra holiday.
Why do you think everyone is afraid? Where could you possibly get that idea?
As far as “the rest of the world does it” goes, who cares? Many countries censor their media, ban all gun ownership, have mandatory voting, and stone women for being raped. I doubt you’d want to emulate most of those practices, so what difference should it make if they have an extra holiday?
JK
Yea like us that were overseas and got our ballots october 26th.Washington state sent them a little late, thats one of the issuse for the gov. race up here. sure seems fair there hu dead. why not a saturday? why do you need to be payed to vote? If your not a fucking retard you should be able to get somewhere on time to vote. and Roadknight the election is going to get over turned and we will have a new one in november.
Umm… I don’t know about other states, but in Minnesota, it’s required by law that if you work on election day, and you want to leave work to vote, your employer has to let you take the time off. I only know because I was waiting with my friend before his polling place opened that day and while he was voting before we walked to my polling place, and I read the election laws they post on the walls.
Oh yeah, and didn’t Kerry’s campaign signs say “Vote November 2nd?” What idiot would have fallen for a flyer that said you vote a day later than the campaign signs said? If it’s true, I don’t agree with what they did, but it’s not like they slashed a campaign bus’ tires or anything…
I don’t believe that the UK gives a day off for elections, but that may have changed over the last few years.
The other problem is that if you vote on Tuesday, and get that day off, how many people will take the Monday off, and go away for a long weekend?
Government workers (or at least some of them) get a half day off already, from what I heard, not many of them spent that time rushing to the polls.
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