It's Too Late to Change The Minds of Some Voters - Record #s Vote Early

[Roland99]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55598-2004Oct22.html

Over the next 10 days, President Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry will spend millions of dollars on a blizzard of last-minute ads. The candidates will dash from state to state, trying to squeeze in one more rally, a few thousand more handshakes. But for a growing number of people, the effort will be wasted: They have already voted.

Voters are casting tens of thousands of ballots a day in most of the 30 states that allow residents to vote early in person or to vote absentee without an excuse, including in some of the battleground states where the presidential race hangs in the balance.

As of Friday afternoon, more than 1.3 million people had voted in eight of the swing states, records indicate. Both parties are making a huge effort to get their supporters to the polls early and are reading the tea leaves to decide what, if anything, the early turnout numbers show.

In New Mexico and Nevada, about a tenth of the electorate is already "in the bank," in campaign parlance. Republicans had cast close to the same number of early votes as Democrats in the Las Vegas area, where about 70 percent of Nevada's population resides, while Democrats were running strong in the Reno area, historically a Republican stronghold.


I'm sorry, but this really just frightens me. There just seems to be too many ways in which votes can be discarded, manipulated, lost, destroyed, or just not counted. Reports are coming in from all over about touch screen systems that select the WRONG candidate, even after multiple tries to correct. Reports are coming in about people posing as election board workers to pick up early voting ballots (who knows what's happening to them - discarded, modified)

The election system is making us look like a freakin' Banana Republic.

[Katherine2]

1. I voted early in Orange County, CA

It was electronic voting, and I didn't have the option of a paper ballot. It made me a little nervous, I must admit. This is the first time we've had early voting. I hope we don't have early voting every election. What's the point of Election Day, then? The campaign period is already at least a year too long, now they're making elections themselves last two weeks.

[DieboldMustDie]

3. On the other hand it makes it easier for people to vote...

who might have difficulty getting away from work on election day. I agree that weeks in advance is too early. Maybe the polls should be open the weekend before election day and, while we're at it, on Monday as well. :shrug:

[Buddyblazon]

2. I voted early as well...but I've been hearing that the majority...

of people voting early...are the voters that are already diehard for their candidates.

And gentlemen...if you've been pondering Viagra...please wait till AFTER you hit that "CAST VOTE" button. I know it made me feel "STRONG...LIKE BULL!". ;)

[Roland99]

4. People are anxious to Vote Bush OUT!

:D