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CTM Only Sane Man from Connecticut Since: Jan, 2010
#37201: Nov 6th 2012 at 1:30:34 PM

Voted for Gary Johnson. He's the only one who makes any logical sense so unfortunately that means America doesn't want to hear about him, but I'm sticking to my guns and going down with my ship.

Easy street has no parking signs.
johnnyfog Actual Wrestling Legend from the Zocalo Since: Apr, 2010 Relationship Status: They can't hide forever. We've got satellites.
Actual Wrestling Legend
#37202: Nov 6th 2012 at 1:31:08 PM

I sign-in voted for Gary Oak.

I'm a skeptical squirrel
CTM Only Sane Man from Connecticut Since: Jan, 2010
#37203: Nov 6th 2012 at 1:34:36 PM

[up]Did you write "Ash is a loser" in parentheses next to it?

Easy street has no parking signs.
deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#37204: Nov 6th 2012 at 1:37:02 PM

[up][up][up] Eh, his social policy makes sense, but his economic policy relies too much on the free market doing good for everyone way too much.

Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#37205: Nov 6th 2012 at 1:39:44 PM

I voted straight Democratic a half hour ago. I apparently arrived just before the rush of people. We had paper ballots instead of machines which made me feel better.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#37206: Nov 6th 2012 at 1:47:54 PM

Gary Johnson and other Libertarians are living in a dreamworld of Free Market Superiority. Even though I agree with them in principle (if not in practice) on the social and military issues, I'd rather vote for a candidate who won't completely screw up the economy, even if he's a bit weaker on the other two.

It comes down to practicality in this case. I'm willing to accept the near-zero risk of being detained indefinitely as a law-abiding citizen against the risk of being enslaved in a state of perpetual economic feudalism.

edited 6th Nov '12 1:49:41 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#37207: Nov 6th 2012 at 1:49:57 PM

The BBC's Kate Dailey writes: "This year networks have agreed to withhold exit polls until each state's polls close. In 2004, exit polls favoured John Kerry, but it was George Bush who won. Election officials also worry that releasing such polls early can unduly influence the election."

Really? That seems like a strange idea. How could this influence the election?

CaissasDeathAngel House Lewis: Sanity is Relative from Dumfries, SW Scotland Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
House Lewis: Sanity is Relative
#37208: Nov 6th 2012 at 1:50:10 PM

[up][up] That being the same reason I never vote Green - their economic policies bear no resemblance to practical reality.

[up] People are influenced by the way results have already gone, it's human nature. Box office figures alone can dictate whether someone sees a film, for a vaguely sane comparison.

edited 6th Nov '12 1:51:01 PM by CaissasDeathAngel

My name is Addy. Please call me that instead of my username.
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#37209: Nov 6th 2012 at 1:52:07 PM

I suppose but I figure most people that are going to vote have already made up their mind.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#37210: Nov 6th 2012 at 1:52:50 PM

@Kostya: The risk is that the release of polling data from the eastern time zones will unduly influence voters in the western areas who haven't gone to the polls yet. Not that it will make them change their vote, but that it will make them stay home rather than contribute to an election whose outcome has already been declared.

@Cassias: The Greens' economic platform is one that would have massive benefits except to those very rich folks who are hoarding all the wealth. What makes it impractical is that it would never pass in today's political environment, not that it wouldn't work. The Libertarian agenda suffers from the exact opposite problem: far too many people showing willingness to put into law ideas that would be terribly destructive.

edited 6th Nov '12 1:53:53 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Inhopelessguy Since: Apr, 2011
#37211: Nov 6th 2012 at 1:54:04 PM

It appears that half my Politics class (and teacher) are going to be staying up late to watch The BBC's electoral coverage.

It's going to be a fun evening. tongue

So, how does the coverage work, exactly? How do the news agencies and whatever do shit?

BestOf FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC! from Finland Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: Falling within your bell curve
FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC!
#37212: Nov 6th 2012 at 1:55:43 PM

In Finland the early ballots are counted during the final election day, but the early voting results aren't published until voting has closed. So if you're watching live coverage of a Finnish election the moment that polling places close is the very same moment that all the results of early voting come out.

After that each polling station counts all the votes and publishes the results as soon as they're done.

BBC live coverage:

The BBC's Jamie Coomarasamy is at a polling station in Racine County, Wisconsin, where he says there is a round of applause after anyone identifying themselves as a first-time voter casts a ballot.

10 points to anyone who knows why I highlighted Wisconsin. (If you don't know, don't try to guess - you'll just clutter up the thread.)

Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#37213: Nov 6th 2012 at 1:56:32 PM

[up][up]They generally have a dedicated group of people called poll watchers that keep an eye on a few specific states that are assigned to them. As info comes in on them they report it to whomever's currently on the air and change the electoral map and website info accordingly. The polls don't close until 7 in most states though so we're probably not going to know which states went to who until about 10 pm eastern standard time (the West coast is three hours behind us so it will be 7 for them).

[up]That's Ryan's state?

edited 6th Nov '12 1:58:32 PM by Kostya

PotatoesRock Since: Oct, 2012
#37214: Nov 6th 2012 at 1:56:49 PM

Specifically the Libertarians rely on people being Nietzschian Ubermenschs that are extremely evolved rational people. Or rational hyper competent AI.

GearLeader from Dota Hell Since: Mar, 2011 Relationship Status: Married to the job
#37215: Nov 6th 2012 at 1:57:00 PM

Voted this morning, Obama was my main man.

We will see what happens tonight i guess.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXkI1sTDoEg
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#37216: Nov 6th 2012 at 2:00:47 PM

[up][up]It's basically social darwinism to the extreme.

ohsointocats from The Sand Wastes Since: Oct, 2011 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#37217: Nov 6th 2012 at 2:01:11 PM

I don't see why making a prediction in favor of one party or another is called partisan. It's like it's partisan to call it anything but a dead-heat.

Anyway, the "vote no" people are out in full force today. I can barely walk fifteen feet without getting asked if I voted yet today. It's really annoying. At least after today they'll be gone.

edited 6th Nov '12 2:01:35 PM by ohsointocats

Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#37218: Nov 6th 2012 at 2:02:49 PM

The 2012 presidential campaign is the most expensive ever, having passed the $2bn fundraising mark. Super PA Cs alone (independent fundraising groups) spent $416m on conservatives, with liberals at $205.4m and "other" at $7.5m...

Pretty interesting figures. The numbers for conservatives are surprising especially if they lose. I wonder how the pacs will react if their money was essentially wasted.

edit:

Earlier, we saw a pregnant woman vote while in labour. Now we have a report of a near-death experience involving a voter. A Michigan man was filling out his ballot when he apparently dropped dead, only to awake moments later, the Detroit News reports. "He had no heartbeat and he wasn't breathing. I started CPR, and after a few minutes, he revived," the man's wife told the newspaper. She added that the first question her husband asked when he once regained consciousness was: "Did I vote?"

sad

edited 6th Nov '12 2:05:58 PM by Kostya

Vertigo_High Since: May, 2010
#37219: Nov 6th 2012 at 2:07:04 PM

So

what would you do if Romney wins?

I can't help but feel like the UK would make fun of us considering Romney's infamous Olympic thing.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#37220: Nov 6th 2012 at 2:07:17 PM

I'm asking people I talk to if they've voted. I'm not being an asshole about it, though.

Pure Libertarianism comes down to the principle of "negative liberty", which can be summarized as, "Don't step on my toes and I won't step on yours." The problem is that it simply doesn't work on a large scale. Libertarianism presumes a basic form of egalitarianism that can be enforced at the individual level, but not at a national level without a strong government, which defeats the purpose. Libertarianism, like Communism, is an ideal that relies on perfectly rational individuals to function, which is patently not the case.

Libertarianism as expressed in the United States tends to get mixed up with Objectivism, which discards negative liberty in favor of the ultimate "dog eat dog" mentality. This is the Tea Party version, which then gets further stirred in with a heavy helping of social conservatism, which is neither Libertarian nor Objectivist but seems inexorably mixed up with the conservative movement.

The result is a situation in which a person can be simultaneously for small government, government-enforced morality, free markets, and social equality. That these things are contradictions seems to get lost somewhere.

@Kostya: We had some discussion a while back about how Karl Rove may just be the ultimate political shyster: conning rich people out of millions of dollars that he never spent on advertising. In any event, if Romney loses this will definitely cast doubt on the viability of dumping cash into SuperPACs.

@Vertigo High: This question was asked before in some form. If Romney wins, I'm going to shrug, sigh, and hope that his Etch-a-Sketch settles on "moderate" rather than "hardcore conservative". If the latter, I'm going to grit my teeth and pray that the country comes to its senses after four years of what he's going to do to us.

edited 6th Nov '12 2:10:49 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
LadyMomus Since: Apr, 2009
#37221: Nov 6th 2012 at 2:15:12 PM

The BBC's Kate Dailey writes: "This year networks have agreed to withhold exit polls until each state's polls close. In 2004, exit polls favoured John Kerry, but it was George Bush who won. Election officials also worry that releasing such polls early can unduly influence the election."

Really? That seems like a strange idea. How could this influence the election?

Kostya: The main thing it can do is cause people who would have voted stay home.

"Oh, the news is calling it for the other guy. Well, since my vote doesn't matter, I'll stay home."

Not a big deal in a race where one candidate is 10 points ahead, but in a close race, it can make a big difference.

PotatoesRock Since: Oct, 2012
#37222: Nov 6th 2012 at 2:15:19 PM

@Kostya: We had some discussion a while back about how Karl Rove may just be the ultimate political shyster: conning rich people out of millions of dollars that he never spent on advertising. In any event, if Romney loses this will definitely cast doubt on the viability of dumping cash into Super PA Cs.
I can't help but wonder how much this will ultimately harm the Koch family. They own some of the major Super PA Cs, and well, it would be huge amounts of money wasted. Politico I think had a piece a few weeks back that Rove and the Kochs were essentially trying to cheer up panicking donors, since it looks like it might tank.

(Hilariously, if that is true, you might see a jump in Super PAC funds for Democrats. Hrm.)

edited 6th Nov '12 2:16:10 PM by PotatoesRock

Linhasxoc Since: Jun, 2009
#37223: Nov 6th 2012 at 2:15:24 PM

Weirdly, my mom says there was next to no line at our normal polling place. And we live in Wisconsin, one of the best voter-turnout states.

Also, that link about Romney kicking the other voters out (and Biden waiting in line with everyone else) felt very Goofus and Gallant.

Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#37224: Nov 6th 2012 at 2:17:30 PM

[up][up]I hope not. Then they'll just become greedy and will kowtow to big business even more.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#37225: Nov 6th 2012 at 2:17:59 PM

Linda McMahon of Connecticut has been engaging in a false-flag operation, performing "get out the vote" operations featuring herself on a ballot next to Obama as an "independent" candidate. She is a Republican.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

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