Get out and vote today!!!!!!!!!!

[JIPJOBXX]

It's still one thing that is free and it does make a difference. God bless America!!!!! And I thank god that I was born in this country.

[greg g]

I looked at my sample ballot. There is no selection for "None of the Above", that I think would be an important addition for just about everywhere. Voting for the least of the evils is not what living in a democracy should be about.

Our news just had a story about how the board of elections was facing a shortage of polling place workers. A couple years ago my wife and I were interested in helping.

We were told that since we were not registered with one of the major parties, our services were not welcomed.

But off we go!!

[JoelOkie]

Just got back.....something of a social event in a small community like this. Good turnout here so far....I was 121, and not yet 10 a.m. For a poll place that usually goes somewhere around 300 votes on a brisk presidential election year, not too bad.

A lot of State questions this year. One rejecting International, or Sheria (spelling?) Law in the State of Oklahoma. Another to make sure that English is the official State language. Yet another giving Oklahoma citizens the right to opt out of Government mandated Health Care. Strange to be voting on issues like that. Joel

[1940plymouth]

Greg,

If I didn't like either canidate, then I left the circle blank, my ballot went thru with no problem. I was #80 at about 9:30 this morning, with a line behind me. Good turnout here also, compared to other off year elections

[49 Dodge Dude]

Too many take this simple act for granted. In other parts of the world they die for this right. With all its faults, I'm still glad I was born in this country

[Don Coatney]

I agree Greg everyone should be able to vote for or against. And the against votes should be subtracted from the for votes. That would make for an interesting outcome.

This morning I had two recorded phone calls, one from a politician and one from a "party". For calling me on the phone that I pay for and then using a canned message both of these would get an against vote from me if I could cast such a vote.

[Captain Neon]

When much of the logic in to day's political process is "Vote X to Stop Y," may be we should be voting for the candidate we hate the most, and the winner is the candidate that receives the least votes.

[TodFitch]

...snip...This morning I had two recorded phone calls, one from a politician and one from a "party". For calling me on the phone that I pay for and then using a canned message both of these would get an against vote from me if I could cast such a vote.

I have a phone setup where I can block numbers based on caller ID. Some still get through but I do get surprised at the number of blocked calls from political organizations that are listed on the report at the end of the month. "Call me once, shame on you. Call me twice and shame on me for not blocking you".

The vast majority of voters in my county have switched to the "permanent absentee" (i.e. mail in) ballots. As of two years ago one news report put it at 68% of the voters. My ballot went in a while back and the county's web site shows that they received it back and processed it last week. Kind of makes you wonder about all the money spent on ads and such the last couple of days if nearly everyone has already voted.

[dezeldoc]

Just did the deed! not that it will do much good though.

[Plymouthy Adams]

been there and done that..now I have b'ing rights..

[greg g]

We have one of the more colorful, out of the group of them, candidates running for Governor. he's the one who threatened to "take out" a reporter because he didn't like his question, and has allegedly sent out derogutory and pronographic emails, and has several fits of pique videoed during the course of the campaign. Yesterday he left no fewer than seven messages on our phone urging us to support him.

Funny thing, today I, as a courtesy, called his office in order to respond to his calls ( obviously he really wanted to get in touch with me badly with that number of calls)So I have called 5 or 6 times and they won't put me through. And as of the last call have not so politely asked me to stop calling. Which only inspires me to make a few more attempts to get in touch with him.

Imagine!! Me actually believing that dealing with a politician might be a two way street.

As for Todd's comment about the money spent and wasted, I believe you should not be able to spend more money on the campaigning than the job pays for the elected term. That would certainly keep this limited and to the point.

If its a 90K job for 6 years, spending on the campaign would be capped at $540,000. Not 5.4 million or more as things go today. You know when things get that twisted up that something fishy somewhere.

Perhaps if I try tomorrow he won;t be quite so busy.....

Edited November 2, 2010 by greg g

[Niel Hoback]

It does sound like he's gonna have plenty of free time to respond to your calls. You may be lucky if he doesn't.

[oldodge41]

I voted. I thank those that gave and those that continue to give so I can!!

[Captain Neon]

I don't know where the guy gets the money as an independent. When I ran for US Senate in '06, I would have loved to have had just enough money to call every registered voter in my state just once much less 5x. When one called my "office" they got the candidate him self or voice mail, as it was my cell phone. In Minnesota, in 1996, it was estimated that a winning campaign would cost >US$10 million. I would hazard a guess that a state-wide campaign in New York is into the hundreds of millions of FRNs by now. Upon viewing the cost/vote totals in the '06 US Senate race, I estimated that to just get 5% (instant party-wide ballot access for '08), that a state-wide campaign had to be prepared to spend $1.5 million. Any state-wide Minnesota candidate not prepared to raise and spend over $2 million in 2010 is wasting their time and some one else's money. The money you are talking about, now ($5.4 million), Greg, might elect a Congressman.

Edited November 2, 2010 by Captain Neon