simpswr

Early voting in Texas . . all done . . now just kickin' back!!

Chode

There I was, within about 500 ft. of the county courthouse no less than 4 times today and still didn't do it. Tomorrow for sure! I hope

40sondacurb

No results? Which president? which congressman? what propositions/measures? Don't be a tease man!

simpswr

We had no Propositions or questions on the ballot this time . . which is a little unusual, I guess everyone is wrapped up with the Presidential election.

The last time I voted Democratic was for Lyndon Johnson . . While I do not agree with the recent shift to the far Right, and particularly do not like the nutcases that Rove and Co. courted to win the 2000 election, my positiion on the role of the federal government is much closer to that of the Republican than the Democrat party.

Having said that, I find myself in that 60% of those voting Republican who beleive McCain has absolutely no chance of winning. I don't look forward to the Democratic sweep of the White House and the Legislature, we ( Republicans ) have no one to blame but ourselves for this.

I noticed last nite that the Republican congressional candidates are not mentioning the party affiliation in their ads now . . . First we had McCain running from Bush, and now the congressional candidates trying to separate themselves from McCain. . Pitifull!!

yustr

How about THIS for distancing yourself from both Bush and McCain???

Manager: "So young man, you're applying for a job here. Where did you get your degree?"

Applicant: "I have a degree from the Aggies."

Chode

I took time to vote today, and I was really surprised at the number of people voting. Like simpswr said, there were no propositions, etc. on the ballot. We voted for some County offices like Sheriff, Texas State Congressmen, Texas Supreme Court Judgeship, and Texas Railroad Commissioners. Contrary to what non-Texans might think, the main function of the Railroad Commission is actually to regulate oil and gas production. Other than this being a Presidential year, there wasn't really any excitement about the ballot.

simpswr

Yep . . not much excitement here either, but the lines are getting longer . . I voted on Tuesday and walked right in . . drove by this afternoon and the line was around the corner of the library

k2skier

Texas will be a red state like always.

simpswr

. . not always . .

mommabear

I know this is a long one, but I'm still on a high about it.

Indianapolis-Marion County had to open a couple more satellite polls because the City-County building is being inundated with early voters.

We went to N. Central HS and the poll was in a Voc Ed building on the campus. It was the size of an elementary school by itself. We got there at 1:30 and the line was just outside the door.

What we didn't see until we got inside was that the line of people wound its way down the right side of a long hallway and then back around to the center, where we came in. We then repeated it going up the left hall and back down to to the center again, to get into the room for voting. It was basically a very elongated figure 8 journey. We'd heard it could take a couple of hours. This won't be so bad.

At the two hour mark we finally made it to the center of the building for the first half of our figure 8. We were there four hours!

At our halfway mark, the computers went down. Not for voting. But for cross matching our districts and precincts to give us the correct ballots when we finally got into the room to vote. We had paper ballots that would be optically scanned on election day. They announced that for those who couldn't wait until the computers were back up, they would mark these sheets we filled out for satellite voting and they'd set up a dedicated line tomorrow (and for the next 4 days) so people could "go to the head of the line" when they came back. A very few people decided to leave. The rest of us stayed and waited it out.

At that time I decided to take a break and went outside. The line was now down to the end of the building. Many people had come directly from the earlier Obama Rally in downtown Indianapolis.

Now, about the people. I'd say it was about 50/50 racially. There were old people, young people. Families had their kids with them. Several crying babies. lol! Businessmen and women...you could tell from their clothes and briefcases they tugged along. LOTS of people with physical difficulties of one kind or another, especially for the elderly. They got out chairs for them to sit in or push along as we wound our way down the hall. The more able-bodied people would tell them to sit tight. They'd make the walk around and then when they got back to the other side, they'd let the people in the chairs get back in their place in line. People sat on the floor to rest their tired feet and aching backs.

We had a couple in front of us, in their late 60's, early 70's. She was deaf but could read lips and talk. He was on oxygen. He was born with a heart condition, wasn't expected to make it to 30. He'd been operated on many times. He'd been in the hospital earlier this year for more surgery, but he knew his body was finally giving out and this would be his last vote. We worried about him because he just wanted to talk so much, and talking exhausted him. They were a funny couple, the two of them. Lovingly bickering between themselves as couples who've been married so many years do. It was an honor to meet them.

In our general area, I never heard anyone actually say who they were voting for. But you could pick up clues from the conversations. The crowd was overwhelmingly for Obama. One lady close to me said she really didn't care for either one. That's as close as I got to hearing from a possible McCain voter. lol!

Anyway, Marion Co is probably Democratic for the most part. But polls are showing that even in the more red areas of the state Obama is gaining or taking the lead.

I'm telling you. I think something big is happening. It's not so much about Dem vs Rep. It was the attitudes I saw in the crowd. FOUR HOURS! Yet no one got really upset. Nobody screamed at the poll workers about the time it was taking. Everybody was kind and respectful to each other. That's the message from Obama. And I think it's catching on.

I'm so proud of myself and everyone who was there yesterday. It was amazing. It really was.

Tumbleweed36

Oh NO! I had no idea you were from the great State of Indiana too! Thanks for the update in the Indy area (my son lives in Indy also, and I am in Muncie) and have a great weekend!

mommabear

Have a great weekend too...if ya can. Indy weather, you know. lol! It's cold and damp. That's a Hoosier-way weather report.

simpswr

The lines get longer every day here in Houston area . . predictions are that about three times as many votes will be cast as in 2004 . . and my casual observation, is that the majority of the new votes are Democratic.

Texas makes straight party voting very easy ( one click . . confirm. . and you are out of the booth) and so I'm guessing that most of the ballots will go that way. If so, it's gonna be a major butt kicking for the Republicans . . even in Texas!

I supose we have it comming, but that does not make it any easier to swallow!

sobeit

lines are long everywhere, I am going to early vote next week. I just wonder how may lawsuits there will be over early voting after the election.

simpswr

. . why over early voteing?

sobeit

there will be claims that many early voters will vote again under other names or in other states.

simpswr

I C . . The Lyndon Johnson mantra . . . Vote early and vote often!!!