WoW! President Bush Called Me Today!! And Then Laura Called Too!!

[Hershey]

So, sorry, Mr. President, but I didn't pick up the phone. You and The First Lady had to talk to my answering machine. Somehow I knew you weren't exactly inviting me to dinner at the White House. Sure enough, you were urging me to vote for Republicans tomorrow.

I am so sick of this election stuff, esp. the negative campaign ads. It used to be that I wouldn't vote for a candidate who did dirty sleazy negative campaign ads, but nowadays, if I didn't, then I wouldn't vote for anyone at all, except maybe a few write-ins. I can't wait til Wednesday when the calls, pamphlets at my door, awful TV commercials with statements taken out of context (by both parties), etc. ENDS!!! Campaigns in this country have gotten sickening! Although I must admit, the election this year is interesting with so many close races and longtime incumbents probably losing their jobs. More interesting than in most years. But I'll be so glad when the campaigning ends!

[Skeeter]

I'm tired of the mudslinging, too.......but haven't received many calls lately. Wonder if that's because I turned off my answering machine??? LOL

Shouldn't the calls end TONIGHT? Are they allowed to call/advertise on election day? I guess I always thought they did, but never really paid attention.....

:)

Skeeter

[kitten4762]

The Senate race here in VA has gotten extremely ugly. I don't think either one of the candidates deserve to be elected. Jim Webb is the lesser of two evils I guess.

[PK...]

Whoa... Ain't it the truth...

But, shucks, Hershey, I must be on the wrong lists, LOL... I just pick up and say hello about 5 times and hang up... Perhaps I am inadvertly dissing the first family before the computer kicks in with the message??

LOL... I was so frustrated today, I said hello in a pretty sarcastic voice after the 4th call, and scared hubby to death... I explained, and he told me to be sure and vote tomorrow, and then brought home lobster tails and shrimp to put me in a better mood... (It worked!)

I think the calls will continue at least through noon tomorrow...

;0))

PK can only shudder about the presidential election in two years!

[Skeeter]

LOL I just got one of those calls!!! LOL

[Curvigirl]

The calls will continue tomorrow if you're in a district with a tight race, reminding you it's election day. If they're confident you'll vote for their candidate, they may even offer you a ride to your local polling place.

Where I live the Democratic candidates run with almost no competition, because the Republicans know there's no point, so we're mostly bombarded with local measures--vote Yes on No, Up on Down, etc.--and mayors, city council, etc. I'll be glad when it's over too!

[pebbles]

I just heard that lots of those robo-calls are made purposely to annoy voters of the opposite party. And there could be huge fines for those tactics. I sure hope they go after them. I have an unlisted no. and it is worth what we pay extra for it. I got only one call and that was from a legitimate poll.

[PK...]

I have gotten a lot of calls in the last few days that only rang twice... That may be the ploy to NOT get a machine... Today, I was right by the phone, and picked up after one ring, evidently before their machine had a chance to click in...

I really don't buy into the annoy the other party factor... I am equally annoyed by both parties calling, LOL... JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!

;0))

PK

[Acura]

I will be glad when it is over also.

[Garnet333]

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Hershey:
So, sorry, Mr. President, but I didn't pick up the phone. You and The First Lady had to talk to my answering machine. Somehow I knew you weren't exactly inviting me to dinner at the White House. Sure enough, you were urging me to vote for Republicans tomorrow.

I am so sick of this election stuff, esp. the negative campaign ads. It used to be that I wouldn't vote for a candidate who did dirty sleazy negative campaign ads, but nowadays, if I didn't, then I wouldn't vote for anyone at all, except maybe a few write-ins. I can't wait til Wednesday when the calls, pamphlets at my door, awful TV commercials with statements taken out of context (by both parties), etc. ENDS!!! Campaigns in this country have gotten sickening! Although I must admit, the election this year is interesting with so many close races and longtime incumbents probably losing their jobs. More interesting than in most years. But I'll be so glad when the campaigning ends!
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No wonder I couldn't get you on the phone tonight, you were talking to the President. LOL

[amber]

lol that's so cool herhsey

[kittyinthecity]

I have been bombarded by those pre-recorded calls all weekend and even worse today. Mostly about the tight Senate race in MO. I had George, Laura, Sen. McCain, Kit Bond, Jim Talent, Claire McCaskill and many others I don't even remember. I feel its an invasion of privacy.

[Novalee]

I feel cheated, only Ed Rendell called me. lol

[pandagirl]

I'm sick of the negative campaigning, too, but I hope it doesn't stop anybody from voting!

[Novalee]

Panda, the girl I work with was on the verge of exploding when she came in this morning. She had stopped to vote before work, and she was unable to. She couldn't get a straight answer, just that "things aren't working right". Whatever that means. I guess it's problems with the new machines. I've been hearing predictions about this all week on talk radio, and some people were dismissing it as conspiracy theory. Well, at least in this area, it's happening. It's on the website of the local TV stations, so her area isn't the only one. :(

[pebbles]

OMG!!! Those damned machines. Didn't they have a paper ballot for her? I heard that they must give you a paper ballot if there is a problem with the machines. There will be a huge scandal if people can't vote. There will be hell to pay if I have a problem.

[Novalee]

Pebbles, I thought about you and Mel when she told me this morning. I just asked her about the paper ballot, and she said she had asked and they told her no, just stop back. I just riled her up again. lol

Anyhow, I'm not making light of the situation, I'm just wondering what it will be like when I go later. I was hoping it was something we could point to and laugh and say it was being blown out of proportion. There's a very important Senate race here.

[Sparks]

Hershey~ Those are just recordings, they didn't really call you!!

[Rowan]

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Sparks:
Hershey~ Those are just recordings, they didn't really call you!!

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I think we all know it's just a recording on the other end of the phone.......

[hoosiergirl]

I love our Indiana "Do not Call" law. Here if a call is made, there must be a live person on the other end who must ask you if you will listen to a recorded message. That's stopped a bunch of this crap cold. It's been challenged in the courts and the law has been upheld.

[Hershey]

I just voted - no line, I was surprised by that.
Now I want to scream at the phone calls "Stop! I've voted already!"
Our machines worked great; I really like electronic voting and the review given before I cast my vote to make sure I've marked the ballot correctly.

Sparks, of course I know that's a recording. Nevertheless, it was still Bush and Laura.

Rowan, LOL. Thanks.

[beekeeper]

How do they get around the "no-call" list?!?

I voted last week (absentee). LOVED not having to deal with crowds of people!

[pebbles]

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Novalee:
Pebbles, I thought about you and Mel when she told me this morning. I just asked her about the paper ballot, and she said she had asked and they told her no, just stop back. I just riled her up again. lol

Anyhow, I'm not making light of the situation, I'm just wondering what it will be like when I go later. I was hoping it was something we could point to and laugh and say it was being blown out of proportion. There's a very important Senate race here.
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We had problems here during the primary. They couldn't locate names on the voting lists and there weren't enough cards or they didn't work. I don't trust machines with no paper trail. Frankly, I don't trust these machines at all.

[Hershey]

Pebbles, our electronic voting machines have a paper trail.

[Novalee]

Hershey, I'm really glad you didn't have any problems. I hope everything is worked out here before I go after work.

Pebbles, I don't like the idea of the machines, either, especially after watching the HBO special the other night.

[Curvigirl]

Turn on the TV--widespread problems. And isn't it interesting that the problems are in pivotal areas with hotly contested races?

[PK...]

Short lines at our polling place, even though they combined a couple of precincts and moved to the local gym... Took about an hour, but a good half of that was travel time...

No fancy machines for us... Paper ballots, but they did have a new machine that the ballots were fed into... (LOL, hope it wasn't a shredder)... And there was a running tape that advanced with each ballot... In the past, we just folded them and stuck them through a slot into a box...

;0))

PK

[Hershey]

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PK...:
Short lines at our polling place, even though they combined a couple of precincts and moved to the local gym... Took about an hour, but a good half of that was travel time...

No fancy machines for us... Paper ballots, but they did have a new machine that the ballots were fed into... (LOL, hope it wasn't a shredder)... And there was a running tape that advanced with each ballot... In the past, we just folded them and stuck them through a slot into a box...

;0))

PK
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Paper ballots, folded and stuck through a slot until this year???
Wow -I didn't know any place in the country still voted like that!
Blast from the past!

[Novalee]

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Curvigirl:
Turn on the TV--widespread problems. And isn't it interesting that the problems are in pivotal areas with hotly contested races?
www.tvtalkshows.com/board/showpost.php?p=1583605
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Curvi, interesting and scary.

[kitten4762]

Who has seen that documentary "Hacking Democracy" on HBO? I will never trust election results again.

[Hershey]

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kitten4762:
Who has seen that documentary "Hacking Democracy" on HBO? I will never trust election results again.
www.tvtalkshows.com/board/showpost.php?p=1583676
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I saw some of Diebold's response, and according to Deibold anyway, some things were flat out wrong in that documentary.

[PK...]

Hershey

Paper ballots, folded and stuck through a slot until this year???
Wow -I didn't know any place in the country still voted like that!
Blast from the past!
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Rural America is alive and kicking, Hershey...

The expense of machines is senseless when the precincts are so small...

;0))

PK

[Curvigirl]

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PK...:
Hershey

Paper ballots, folded and stuck through a slot until this year???
Wow -I didn't know any place in the country still voted like that!
Blast from the past!
www.tvtalkshows.com/board/showpost.php?p=1583662
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Rural America is alive and kicking, Hershey...

The expense of machines is senseless when the precincts are so small...

;0))

PK
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Forget Rural America...

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, in a densely populated, urban city. We've always had paper ballots, and I think we'll be one of the last areas to be automated. It's a given my area will vote D, and that an R win would be met with such an uproar and investigation that the games would be exposed. Thus, since our elections can't be messed with, this area is a low priority for the Diebold crowd.

[pebbles]

My husband and I both had problems at the polls today. They had the numbers in my address transposed and had to confer to decide whether to let me vote. Steam was coming out of my ears at that point. They let me vote but I had to fill out a "change of address" form. Then, after my husband voted, the last page of his ballot didn't come up. A poll worker fiddled with the machine and it never worked. He had to move to another machine. My neighbor told me that she was told to fill out an absentee ballot although she never requested one and she's also a longtime voter.
Folks, I have been voting for a lonnnngggg time and I have never seen irregularities like these before.

[kitten4762]

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Hershey:
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kitten4762:
Who has seen that documentary "Hacking Democracy" on HBO? I will never trust election results again.
www.tvtalkshows.com/board/showpost.php?p=1583676
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I saw some of Diebold's response, and according to Deibold anyway, some things were flat out wrong in that documentary.
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Of course Diebold is going to say anything to defend their product..millions of dollars and their jobs are at stake. Bottom line..it was proven that it was possible to pre-program their equipment to pre-determine votes...with no trace.

[pandagirl]

Paper ballots in DC, too. And I am VERY uncomfortable with voting technology.

pebbles, I would have had steam coming out of my ears, too!

I voted with no problems (paper ballot with optical scanner). A poll worker told me they had a heavy turnout this morning. I'd assume they will after work, too.

[Novalee]

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kitten4762:
Who has seen that documentary "Hacking Democracy" on HBO? I will never trust election results again.
www.tvtalkshows.com/board/showpost.php?p=1583676
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I have, kitten, it's what I was referring to above. Scary, isn't it?

Edited to say: Pebbles, I'm really sorry you had trouble. I'm not sure what to expect when I get there today.

[kitten4762]

Very scary. I trust the old "Survivor" style paper ballot in the box much more than all this new technology.

[HHIgirl]

I am in Cuyahoga County in Ohio and I got turned away and told to come back later. In my tiny little town outside of Cleveland those machines are "fritzing" away.

[PK...]

I saw they had problems there, HHIgirl...

Some of the problems were so silly, and there is no reason for them happening... For instance... The person with the key to the polling place overslept and was a half hour late, LOL...

Hopefully the glitches have all been fixed by now, and any polling places with earlier problems will be open late to compensate... This IS the deadline for instituting upgrades to the voting system... Sounds as if some of the technology and the 'users' were not ready for it...

Yes, after reading today, that "machine" I spoke of is, indeed, an optical scanner to read our paper ballots, that was my thought, but wasn't sure... Whoo Hoo! We have joined the 21st century...

;0))

PK

[pandagirl]

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HHIgirl:
I am in Cuyahoga County in Ohio and I got turned away and told to come back later. In my tiny little town outside of Cleveland those machines are "fritzing" away.
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I think that's truly disgraceful, HHIgirl!

You know a lot of people WON'T come back.

[HHIgirl]

It has been raining off and on here all day and I know that makes a difference in voter turn-out. It is almost 4:30 here and dark as night and raining and I am trying to force myself to go out again...

I know this is bad but at this point I just feel like my vote won't make a difference anyhow. Do I vote what I want and what I feel or do the opposite to "fool" the machines? Isn't that crazy thinking? Anyone else feel like that?

[pebbles]

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HHIgirl:
It has been raining off and on here all day and I know that makes a difference in voter turn-out. It is almost 4:30 here and dark as night and raining and I am trying to force myself to go out again...

I know this is bad but at this point I just feel like my vote won't make a difference anyhow. Do I vote what I want and what I feel or do the opposite to "fool" the machines? Isn't that crazy thinking? Anyone else feel like that?
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Oh, no. Please vote. Every vote does count. Remember when they were counting those hanging chads? It can come down to that. Don't try to outsmart the machines. Just vote for the candidates of your choice.
People died for our right to vote. Don't let rain keep you away from the polls.

[Hershey]

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HHIgirl:
Do I vote what I want and what I feel or do the opposite to "fool" the machines? Isn't that crazy thinking?
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Yes, that is crazy thinking.

[Skeeter]

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PK...:
No fancy machines for us... Paper ballots, but they did have a new machine that the ballots were fed into... (LOL, hope it wasn't a shredder)... And there was a running tape that advanced with each ballot... In the past, we just folded them and stuck them through a slot into a box...

;0))

PK
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Ditto, PK.....except (I removed this part from your post inadvertantly) -- the lines were long -- there are 3 precincts that vote at my polling place and, of course, my precinct had the longest line. I waited almost 3/4 of an hour to vote. And then I had the paper and the black pen -- color the circles. I feel like we are going back in time.......and I don't like it one bit!

:)

Skeeter

[Hershey]

At times like this I'm grateful for QVC and other shopping networks. While I really do want to know election results, I do not want to hear the endless yammering and speculation from the "pundits." So, I'll watch network TV when the returns are in - much later.

[PK...]

Hah...

I was used to coloring the circles, but we had to fill in the shaft on the arrow... I was briefly stymied, looking for circles... LOL... Then, as usual, when all else failed, I read the directions...

We are lined up according to the initial of our last name (three lines), and both precincts went in the same lines... The Poll People had the responsibility of separating them out... The other precinct was actually split on school districts, from what I could hear...

But all went smoothly... Other than the space was a little small - we weren't in the actual Gym, but in the "lobby" space, and there wasn't enough room for the lines... In fact, our old polling place was larger????

;0))

PK will say there was not a single phone call today relating to voting!!!!!!!

[PK...]

On a slightly different note...

Has anyone here ever been interviewed on an exit poll?? The media keeps saying how important they are, and how necessary they are in the scheme of things, but I have never been interviewed, nor have I ever known anyone who has... Just who are these people??

;0))

PK

[Curvigirl]

If exit polls were accurate predictors, Al Gore would have gotten the most votes in 2000.

Oops, that's right--he did.

[Rebel_Mom]

Apparently a lot of towns in CT have gone to paper balloting. I was so happy when I walked in to vote this morning and saw our old mechanical machines. From what I understand the technology on these machines is 125 years old, they never break down and the counts are accurate. Sometimes low tech is good.

[pebbles]

The race for Senate in VA proves that every vote counts. They will probably have a mandatory re-count. It's that close.

[Novalee]

I have to say that I liked the new voting machine in spite of myself. I really wanted not to like it, but it was so clear and concise. As Hershey said, I also had the opportunity to review exactly what I had chosen. Assuming that what I chose was counted exactly that way, I don't have any complaints about the machine I used.

[sam king cat]

WOW ! B R E A K I N G N E W S !!!!! Donald Rumsfeld stepping down !!!

[Hershey]

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sam king cat:
WOW ! B R E A K I N G N E W S !!!!! Donald Rumsfeld stepping down !!!
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Yes, Curvigirl has a thread devoted to this. Rumsfeld didn't call me yesterday, by the way, but he was one of the few Republicans who didn't.

[sam king cat]

Thanks for the "heads up" -- saw it right after I hit... I am sort ...surprised he stepped down so quickly.