PollWatch '08

Expect plenty of disagreement. Just keep it civil.
David R. Modny
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Postby David R. Modny » Tue Nov 04, 2008 11:46 am

Just got back from voting. I guess I should consider myself lucky in light of all the horror stories I'm hearing this morning. A friend of mine who lives in Macedonia had to wait in line an hour and a half. I waltzed in and out in 10 minutes. Though, I did appear to just beat the lunchtime crowd.

It was with great pleasure that I was able to cast my vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden. I bought a couple of cookies at the bake sale in the hall afterward. They gave me heartburn.

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Beatlesfan03
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Postby Beatlesfan03 » Tue Nov 04, 2008 1:46 pm

David R. Modny wrote: I bought a couple of cookies at the bake sale in the hall afterward. They gave me heartburn.


Yikes! I hope that's not a bad omen.

I have to admit it is a bit relaxing knowing that I've already completed the deed and that I don't have to rush around and wait.

My wife, on the other hand, will vote after work tonight. She's off at four so she might beat the after 5 crowd (polls here are open until 8pm) but she is bracing for a long wait.

See everyone in the election night thread with hopefully a happy ending this time.
Craig

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Rspaight
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Postby Rspaight » Tue Nov 04, 2008 2:04 pm

A coworker waited 3 hours to vote. (Unfortunately, I think it was the wrong way.)
RQOTW: "I'll make sure that our future is defined not by the letters ACLU, but by the letters USA." -- Mitt Romney

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Jeff T.
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Postby Jeff T. » Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:43 pm

I just got back from the polling place over at Pan Pacific Park. The auditorium over there is where Elvis made his west coast debut in 1957 or whenever it was. But this was in the senior center (old folks hangout) and not in the Elvis room.

Anyway found parking right in front on street and waltzed in with no lines, no wait.

I sat down at Starbucks sipping a venti latte reading over the issues one more time with the LA Weekly newspaper in hand before heading over to vote. They are pretty liberal, and I wanted to see how they see the issues. And it was "almost" exactly the way I was voting right down the line. Money for schools, rail transportation, yes on larger housing complexes for low income which makes state & fed money available where it was not always before), no on parental notification of abortions, no on banning gay marriages, yes on drug treatment, and yes on anti-gang programs.

All this stuff was pretty straight forward to me and not hard to see though like smoking bans and limits paid for by big tobacco which is always hard to see where they are going. It was all more straight forward this time.

Sarah Palin was cleared by a report released late yesterday on the Troopergate issue. So I decided at the last minute to go with McCain and Palin since both of them have been given such a hard time due to age or else Palin's remote location which is just not fair. Not really, just kidding.

I did feel walking out of there that this was the most import election I have ever voted in. Don't know if it is just my age or that we are facing a decisive moment for our country and future. It might be a little of both. But things really did spiral out of control over the last 8 years.

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Jeff T.
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Postby Jeff T. » Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:53 pm

David R. Modny wrote:I bought a couple of cookies at the bake sale in the hall afterward. They gave me heartburn.


It is the baking soda or salt in them, does it to me too, and really bad. You needed a glass of milk is all.

I'm feeling really good today. Optimistic and cheerful! I hope I'm not in for heartbreak and disappointment.

I landed an indie feature film to edit which I will be working on (Mac) as I keep up with election results (on PC). I have a few Elephant malt liquors in the fridge from Denmark. I love Carlsberg beer, and they make this Elephant brand too. Great stuff for the celebration(s) tonight. You can sip slow and get an excellent little buzz. And I kinda know I won't get much done on my movie.

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lukpac
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Postby lukpac » Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:56 pm

Polls opened at 7:00, I got there at 7:03, and was out by about 7:40. Longest line I've ever seen, although I haven't gone right when the polls opened before.
"I know because it is impossible for a tape to hold the compression levels of these treble boosted MFSL's like Something/Anything. The metal particulate on the tape would shatter and all you'd hear is distortion if even that." - VD

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Rspaight
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Postby Rspaight » Wed Nov 05, 2008 8:52 am

Once again, Rasmussen absolutely nails the final number. Those guys are either good or REALLY lucky.
RQOTW: "I'll make sure that our future is defined not by the letters ACLU, but by the letters USA." -- Mitt Romney

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Beatlesfan03
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Postby Beatlesfan03 » Wed Nov 05, 2008 12:18 pm

Rspaight wrote:Once again, Rasmussen absolutely nails the final number. Those guys are either good or REALLY lucky.


538 as well.

538 prediction: Obama 348.6 / McCain 189.4 (538 had NC in our column and not Indiana)

Actual: Obama 349 / McCain 159

Still two calls left to be made NC (which at last check, looked like ours), Missouri and District 2 in Nebraska.
Craig

David R. Modny
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Postby David R. Modny » Wed Nov 05, 2008 6:46 pm

Rspaight wrote:Once again, Rasmussen absolutely nails the final number. Those guys are either good or REALLY lucky.


It's amazing how good these pros really are at what they do. I'm glancing at the Rasmussen state charts from '04 and yesterday, and it's mind boggling how well they did - particularly with swing states. In that regard, Zogby did even better in a couple (e.g. Florida). For all the flaws that exit polls *may* have, I don't think anyone can argue against the effectiveness of the polls proper.

Check out the Rasmussen swing states here, as well as the Rasmussen/Zogby/Actual comparison chart in my other thread. Uncanny. Missouri is really what is haunting me. At one point yesterday, right near the end of the tallying, Obama was within 400 votes. Rasmussen - 49/49. Zogby - 48.8/48.8. That's scary good polling methodology!

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_ ... l_election

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_ ... orts_polls