News Vote Now: Polls Open in Eastern USA

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Polls have opened in the eastern USA, with many voters already participating, including those who voted early by absentee ballot. Facebook reports a significant turnout, with around 700,000 users indicating they have voted, primarily college students. Voters are experiencing varying wait times at polling places, with some reporting long lines and others minimal wait. Concerns about potential election day violence and the efficiency of voting systems, particularly electronic machines, are discussed. Overall, there's a sense of excitement and anticipation for the election results, with many hoping for a peaceful and orderly voting process.
  • #151
Astronuc said:
I doubt people making over $250K work 'hard' for it.
I'm not going to discuss the issues in this thread (it's irrelevant now anyway, isn't it?), but I'm saving that one for my avatar.
 
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  • #152
russ_watters said:
Did I read that right: everyone in Oregon votes via mail? Why is that?

Because it's easy.
 
  • #153
Wooohoooo, if Obama got Penn, we are home free!
 
  • #154
And CNN just projected that Penn goes Dem.

Can you say President Obama?
 
  • #155
  • #156
Ivan Seeking said:
Because it's easy.
Well, ok. Like I said in the related thread, I think that type of voting is extremely dangerous for security reasons.

What do the ballots look like? MSNBC had a bit on an hour ago about the connect-the-arrows ballot that turbo-1 supports, saying how unreliable they are. People circled them, put Xs in them, dots in them, etc. Lots of people made voting errors in them.
 
  • #157
Ivan Seeking said:
And CNN just projected that Penn goes Dem.

Can you say President Obama?
Online, they only show 1% of precincts reporting! It's an awful stretch to award Obama Pennsylvania on those numbers.
 
  • #158
Astronuc said:
Online, they only show 1% of precincts reporting! It's an awful stretch to award Obama Pennsylvania on those numbers.

Exit polls, demographics, voting history, critical counties...
 
  • #159
russ_watters said:
Well, ok. Like I said in the related thread, I think that type of voting is extremely dangerous for security reasons.

What do the ballots look like? MSNBC had a bit on an hour ago about the connect-the-arrows ballot that turbo-1 supports, saying how unreliable they are. People circled them, put Xs in them, dots in them, etc. Lots of people made voting errors in them.

You fill in the oval just like a college scantron test, and I have never heard a complaint.

You can deliver it to a drop-off site, and I don't see any security problems.
 
  • #160
Hagen is projected to win NC, and so ends 50 years of Bush and Dole!

That also bodes very well for Obama in NC.
 
  • #161
Astronuc said:
Online, they only show 1% of precincts reporting! It's an awful stretch to award Obama Pennsylvania on those numbers.
It's not based on those numbers, it is based on exit polls.
 
  • #162
Ivan Seeking said:
You can deliver it to a drop-off site, and I don't see any security problems.
How is ID verified?

[edit] Not going to argue in this thread, but I found some pretty severe criticism online. I may start a new thread, but you can find it in the wiki on the subject.
 
  • #163
To repeat what I said in the other thread: McCain will now need to win all tossups + CO + NV + NM + VA.

The score, according to CNN: 174 to 49

McCain still up by 3% in IN with 65% reporting, but no votes have come in yet from Lake County.

And McCain's early 10 point lead in VA is now down to 1%. Counting in Fairfax County has only just begun.

Obama's still up by 4% in FL with 50% reporting. Broward and Miami-Dade are noot yet reporting 20% and Obama looks like he might stack up a 1 million vote margin in just those two counties!
 
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  • #164
Gokul43201 said:
To repeat what I said in the other thread: McCain will now need to win all tossups + CO + NV + NM + VA.

The score, according to CNN: 174 to 49

McCain still up by 3% in IN with 65% reporting, but no votes have come in yet from Lake County.

No way that will happen. With Obama ahead in Florida and Ohio, that's a steep hill to climb.
 
  • #165
Ohio is BLUE.

GAME OVER.
 
  • #166
well i am sad to say here in georgia we are still firmly in the column of the benighted.
 
  • #167
Gokul43201 said:
Ohio is BLUE.

GAME OVER.

Agreed. Obama is defiantly going to win Cali. I can't see McCain making a comeback here.

President Barack Obama...:cry:
 
  • #168
i heard there were republican polling officials in pennsylvania? who were found to be challenging only democrats. their credentials were removed.

in georgia there was less reaction to the state's republican officer karen handel challenging more new voters than any other state in the us. perhaps that depressed the turnout.

there were also reports of robocalls to minoruty neighborhoods claiming that anyone with unpaid parking tickets would be arrested at the polls.

why didn't the dems make robocalls to wealthy neighborhoods claiming people who cheated on their tax returns would be busted?
 
  • #169
Looks like they are going to have to call Florida for Obama soon.
 
  • #170
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/7555/flowerdancepleaseal7.gif http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/46/typerhappydi6.gif
[PLAIN]http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/228/woohoo7usih7.gif[PLAIN]http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/6785/pyrodancepleaseft2.gif http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/766/cheerdx6.gif
 
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  • #171
http://aroundtampa.info/election/2894923231_f31f285a60.jpg
 
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  • #172
Fox projects Virginia for Obama.
 
  • #173
mathwonk said:
well i am sad to say here in georgia we are still firmly in the column of the benighted.

Don't feel too bad, we have come a very long way. This is a day for celebration!
 
  • #174
I'm so happy, so proud. I'm looking at the pictures of the crowd in Chicago - I wish I was there!

...have I mentioned I'm happy and proud...?
 
  • #175
Obama now leading in Indiana.
 
  • #176
lisab said:
I'm so happy, so proud. I'm looking at the pictures of the crowd in Chicago - I wish I was there!

...have I mentioned I'm happy and proud...?

It's this century's Woodstock.
 
  • #177
CNN just projected Obama the winner!
 
  • #178
Ivan Seeking said:
CNN just projected Obama the winner!

ABC as well.

What a bunch of geniuses.
 
  • #179
So did CBS. Then the CBS station in Charlotte cut away from Grant Park in Chicago to the acceptance speech of Beverly Perdue (D), who just became North Carolina's first woman governor. Her Republican opponent was the current mayor of Charlotte, who is actually a pretty nice guy and gave a very gracious concession speech.

It's kind of funny how those battleground states are still up in the air (Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana), at least according to CBS, but now they don't matter any more now that the West Coast has come in.
 
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  • #180
Virginia, Colorado, Florida have all gone to Obama.
 
  • #181
Well, I guess Obama is our new president. I'm neither excited or disappointed, just nervous.

Did anyone else see how the laws again marijuana were loosened as well? This country is so screwed.
 
  • #182
WOOT!

This is incredible!
 
  • #183
Topher925 said:
... This country is so screwed.

But that's nothing new...
 
  • #184
Congrats to Obama!, Let's hope he can live up to the people's expectations.
 
  • #185
It's Obama by the thinnest of margins. Apparently he was able to garner no more than 350 electoral votes even though there were a total 535 he could have gotten. I expect he will let us know his positions on the issues sometime in the next 4 years. As for me, I'm going to tell my boss that I don't want that raise. I can't afford it.
 
  • #186
Congratulations to President Obama!

Well, now the hard part begins...
 
  • #187
jimmysnyder said:
It's Obama by the thinnest of margins. Apparently he was able to garner no more than 350 electoral votes even though there were a total 535 he could have gotten. I expect he will let us know his positions on the issues sometime in the next 4 years. As for me, I'm going to tell my boss that I don't want that raise. I can't afford it.

350 is a sizable margin compared to the previous few elections.

In 2000 bush won the election by 1 electoral vote.

Now Obama will win by at 80 if he does get 350
 
  • #188
jimmysnyder said:
It's Obama by the thinnest of margins. Apparently he was able to garner no more than 350 electoral votes even though there were a total 535 he could have gotten.
Heh, we'll see what the final tally was, but according to CNN this minute, he won by about as much popular vote as Bush in 2004: 51-48%.

It's what I expected, which is why I'm not too upset. Like Topher said: nervous is the word.
 
  • #189
G01 said:
350 is a sizable margin compared to the previous few elections.
Previous two, yes. Clinton won 370 and 376. Bush I, 476. And before that was Reagan...

Considering the status of the economy now and in 1992 (and Bush), I'm still quite confident we are a conservative country.
 
  • #190
russ_watters said:
Heh, we'll see what the final tally was, but according to CNN this minute, he won by about as much popular vote as Bush in 2004: 51-48%.

It's what I expected, which is why I'm not too upset. Like Topher said: nervous is the word.

That doesn't include the west coast, where about 40 million votes will be cast, with a good percentage for Obama.
 
  • #191
This is not a narrow victory, it is a near landslide. He's won by a greater electoral vote than the past few presidential elections. My predictions in the "game thread" were pretty close so far but I didn't predict that Obama would win NC, MT, IN, so the landslide could be even bigger.

This is also a mandate for progressive economic policies, and the Republicans shot themselves in the foot by proclaiming Obama to be an extremist, so that's good as well if you're on the left.
 
  • #192
chasely said:
That doesn't include the west coast, where about 40 million votes will be cast, with a good percentage for Obama.
Yeah, you're probably right - CNN isn't real clear about that. And he does get the distinction of being the first Democrat since 1976 to get a majority of the popular vote (Carter got 50.1%).
 
  • #193
OrbitalPower said:
This is not a narrow victory, it is a near landslide. He's won by a greater electoral vote than the past few presidential elections.
Winning by more than two of the closest in history is how you define a landslide? Ok...

Wiki lists 6 since 1900, with the smallest being an 18% popular vote gap.
 
  • #194
russ_watters said:
Yeah, you're probably right - CNN isn't real clear about that. And he does get the distinction of being the first Democrat since 1976 to get a majority of the popular vote (Carter got 50.1%).


"Majority" means they won the greatest part of the votes cast, so in that sense Clinton did win the majority, both times.

russ_watters said:
Winning by more than two of the closest in history is how you define a landslide? Ok...

There have been numerous close elections in US history and the last two weren't even the closest in terms of the popular vote. Obama won by a greater victory than Kennedy beat Nixon, for example.

Yes, I consider it a landslide, and a mandate for progressive economics. Whether Obama governs as he said he would has yet to be seen.
 
  • #195
I'm so happy, my President is giving his acceptance speech now. My president - President Obama!
 
  • #196
russ_watters said:
Wiki lists 6 since 1900, with the smallest being an 18% popular vote gap.


LOL. What? Ok, that's enough "history" from physicsforums for today.

:smile:
 
  • #197
OrbitalPower said:
"Majority" means they won the greatest part of the votes cast, so in that sense Clinton did win the majority, both times.

Actually, it doesn't. "Majority" means greater than 50% of the votes cast.

The word you are looking for is "plurality".
 
  • #198
Ben Niehoff said:
Actually, it doesn't. "Majority" means greater than 50% of the votes cast.

Wrong. According to my "Webster's New World Dictionary", a majority is defined as 1. (therefore the most common definition) 1. The greater part or larger number.

Even on dictionary.com you also have " the greater quantity or share."

Words in English have more than one use, and you don't have to specify "plurality" when you're referring to who won the most votes, i.e., the majority.

If 3 people vote for me, 2 for you, and 2 for Russ, I would have won the "majority" of the vote. It's in common usage - and thus correct.
 
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  • #199
OrbitalPower said:
"Majority" means they won the greatest part of the votes cast, so in that sense Clinton did win the majority, both times.
Both times, Clinton won a plurality, not a majority. In 1992 he got 43% of the vote:
1992

In 1996 it was 49.2%
1996
 
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  • #200
Just about 50 years ago Rev. King said the following:

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Rev. King must be smiling in heaven. Today the country has judged President-Elect Obama by the content of his character not by the color of his skin. The dream has come true.
 

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