Washington State--Take a boat to vote

[Mythsaje]

Tomorrow is going to be a sodden mess when people here in WA state go out to the polls. We're getting hit with the biggest rainstorm in decades and we're looking at severe flooding all over the place.

I'm hoping that Dems are more motivated than Repugs come tomorrow, because getting to the polls is going to be a nightmare.

[FVZA_Colonel]

1. I am somewhat concerned about this.

I voted by absentee, but I can only hope this won't effect voter turnout too much.

[Bucky]

34. Bad weather traditionally hurts Democrats, who get more public transit using voters

Going out in the rain will dissuade a few elderly, bus using, and long-hours-working voters from going out. This means we need more people to work GOTV now.

That means you.

[pscot]

2. Holy shit!

Rain in Washington in November. Whatever will we do?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. Hardy har har.

Tell it to the people getting flooded.

[Mythsaje]

4. You don't understand.

Rain is normal.

THIS is record-breaking.

[SeattleGirl]

9. We've already had over a foot of rain in just a few days.

I was just outside, and there is a tub a little over a foot deep on my back patio. It is FILLED to the brim with rainwater. Flooding all over the place. You're right, Mythsaje -- rain is normal. THIS is not. I voted absentee, but I know a lot of people still go to the polls on election day. I hope to God they can still make it.

[TechBear_Seattle]

7. You laugh but

If the prediction is for record breaking rains, we are in deep, deep water. :yoiks:

[pscot]

24. Record breaking rain?

What we have going on now is called the pineapple express. It pumps tropical moisture into Washington. The stuff can come down in buckets. You may feel like you're being waterboarded. A couple of days of hard rain and the underpasses fill up. A hillside slides somewhere. Another day and the Skokomish jumps its banks because the hills above have been clearcut. Pretty soon the eastside rivers get up. The Skagit threatens to obliterate Mount Vernon. (Unfortunately it never does.) The Snoqualmie valley may fill with water from Carnation to Duvall. Wise settlers put the cow up on blocks, pack up the cat and decamp for higher ground. If it's really raining, Centralia becomes navigable only by boat. The mighty Cedar river becomes a raging torrent, sweeping away the odd house and flooding Pickering plaza to a depth of 2 feet. Serves 'em right for putting a mall on a wetland. Of course the last time all that happened we had a million fewer residents, 300,000 fewer houses and many thousands of more acres of trees and shrubbery to absorb the run-off.

Record breaking rainfall? I doubt it. Record breaking flooding seems inevitable.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

26. "unfortunately it never does."

Let me guess, you're one of those characters who made the same sort of quip about New Orleans.

[pscot]

32. I have never been to New Orleans

I have, however, been to Mount Vernon. And now they've added Burlington, one of the most scabrous patches of ex-urban commercial sprawl in the country. If it were swept away by some biblical catastrophe I could probably manage to resign myself to the divine judgement.

[TechBear_Seattle]

28. Many of the Seattle stations are predicting record rainfall tonight and tomorrow

Or close to record, at least. I assume the experts know what they're talking about. :shrug:

[Missy Vixen]

43. We live in Duvall

>The Snoqualmie valley may fill with water from Carnation to Duvall.<

I wrote earlier that we managed to miss the Great Floods of 1990 (Duvall was landlocked for almost a week,) and 1995. I have a bad, bad feeling about November 7, 2006, and it has nothing to do with the election. It's flooding. We're 350 feet above sea level, but the valley may not dry out for days. We're also worried that at least two of the three ways out of town are already flooded.

Julie

[windbreeze]

22. no no no......we aren't talking about rain....we are

however, talking about deluge....raining cats,dogs, and elephants...we need row boats in our yards...and the creeks (cricks) and rivers are over flowing their banks...
wb

[Sapphire Blue]

36. It's not raining elephants... it's raining DONKEYS!!!

[windbreeze]

41. LOL...you are correct...it's raining DONKEYS!!

forgive me...how did I ever make such a mistake...???? (boy I know that was a faux paux...let's hope it wasn't a jinx...geeze...what was I thinking??)
windbreeze

[seabeyond]

5. i hear the dems really really like the sunshine, lol lol. ah well dems,

this one time, get a little wet. here in texas in the 70's sunny skies

[TechBear_Seattle]

6. Thats an alarming prediction

I remember a storm that came through here, I think it was two years ago. In six hours, it dumped a record amount of rain. They are expecting this one to be worse?

Fortunately, if I take the bus home from work (which I do in foul weather), I have to walk right past my polling place to get home, so rain won't dampen my civic duty. If I had a car, I'd offer to ferry my neighbors.

[Mythsaje]

13. Current predictions indicate that it might not break until Wednesday...

Bad juju.

[TechBear_Seattle]

14. Indeed, not an auspicious omen. On the other hand...

Who is more likely to brave the weather: Progressives looking to oust the regime, or conservatives looking to keep it in power?

[Bucky]

35. Not bad juju, dammit. Rove is working that weather machine of his!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. I thought just about everybody voted absentee in WA. We do.

And, have been since we moved here in '93. Mailed our ballots in last Monday.

[SeattleGirl]

11. I'm not sure what the percentage of absentee voters here is,

but I believe a lot of people still go to the polls on election day to vote. We will be moving toward all-mail-in voting eventually.

[neoblues]

10. Be very careful about touching an electronic voting machine...

while standing in a puddle; it could be your last visit to the polls (or at least result in a visit to the E.R.). (I don't really think there will be precincts in operation with standing water beneath the machines--and there's a good chance one wouldn't have an electrifying experience even then, but... if there are idiots running the polling places, anything is possible--and it's quite possible that there might be the occasional idiot running a polling place (they might be a Republican)).

[spuddonna]

12. Well, I'm here in WA, and I don't care if I have to SWIM to the polls...

... I'm voting tomorrow! And I know all my neighbors are, too!
:hi:

[Generator]

15. I already voted days ago when it was sunny

but then I live in Oregon, so vote by mail is easy and yes, if you have to drop it off a library is usually closer than work or school. Which reminds me, you still have to go to work or school regardless. I wish people looked at voting that way. I have walked to work in the fricking snow because the damn bus didn't come. Anyway, I know fighting fascism is a chore, but it must be done. Some people stood in lines for ten hours, and that was even in America! Be brave. An ice storm I understand, but rain as an excuse in the NW is not going to cut it.

[Rainscents]

16. All counties vote by mail except, King County.

[KamaAina]

30. So turnout will only be down in the biggest, Bluest county in WA?

While all the Red counties vote by mail?

:scared:

[uppityperson]

37. now, now, now. I think Jefferson is bluer.

Besides, everyone in King county can go vote since there is public transit, right? (said in a joking jesting teasing manner). Don't worry, there are lots of us in non-King county who are blue

[Mrs. Overall]

17. I have an issue with two posts here:

One: Rain in Washington in November. Whatever will we do?

Two: An ice storm I understand, but rain as an excuse in the NW is not going to cut it.

The National Weather Service just issued a Severe Weather Alert through tomorrow night, raising it from "Major" to "Record Severity". For those of us in WA State this is very serious. People are having to evacuate, cars are being swept down creeks and rivers, people may not be able to get to polling places.

I think this will have a large impact on voting! If you don't live in WA State, where it's pouring and very windy outside my window right now--don't make comments that belittle the situation!

There, end of my rain rant!!

On Edit: Glad to read above that most counties vote by mail.

[Mythsaje]

19. I know...

this isn't a "little bit" of rain. It's a deluge. If it happened anywhere else people would realize what we're all up against here.

We vote by mail in my house, but I'm worried about other people. We've got road closures, nightmare traffic, and the potential for major flooding.

[TechBear_Seattle]

23. "Glad to read above that most counties vote by mail"

Yup. Nothing says "secure elections" like handing off what is obviously a ballot to a total stranger, having it pass through the hands of who knows how many total strangers, and praying that it is actually received by an elections official. Not to mention the 67 cent poll tax, which is difficult for too many people to come up with (and how many people have 67 cent stamps at home, anyway?)

Thank you, but I would rather swim to a polling place and personally put my ballot into the chain of accountability. I can do that for free.

[Mrs. Overall]

44. I'm responding late to this since my electricity was off yesterday

and last night due to the storm.

My comment about the mail in ballot:

In light of the current situation with the flooding, the fact that most of Washington sent in ballots prior to election is probably a positive.

I have also read extensively on DU that many people who are aware of voter fraud with electronic machines actually recommend voting by mail to insure your vote is accurately counted.

I have also just been reading in the DU forums that there are extensive problems with machines today and that voter intimidation at the polling places is also being reported. When you mail in your ballot you are not turned away from voting nor are you intimidated.

It sounds like you are fear-mongering about the reliability of our mail system. Oh my god--Total Strangers!!!

Thank you, but given the circumstances today in WA State, I would rather swim to the post office and personally drop my ballot in the mailbox. I have enough spare change to pay the cost.

[TechBear_Seattle]

46. I can stand up to intimidation

And if you ever saw me, you would understand why I don't get intimidated. The "bear" part of my name ain't because I'm some Winnie-the-Pooh, I assure you. :evilgrin:

I do not trust handing off what is obviously a ballot to people outside the chain of accountability. As far as I'm concerned, that is as stupid as handing a credit card to someone off the streets and asking if they would be so kind as to run it to your mother in the grocery store around the block.

[pscot]

25. I've lived in Washington

for forty years. You must learn to take these weather forecasts with a grain of salt. The people who read these things on TV work themselves into a state of near hysteria before they go on the air. With bulging eyes and sweat popping out on ther foreheads they predict the worst-case-scenario as if they had just received it on stone tablets from god almighty. They are hardly ever right. Don't panic. And don't forget your towel.

[SeattleGirl]

31. For the most part, I would agree with you, pscot. But this time,

I think there is a lot of truth to the forecast. As I noted in an earlier post, I have a foot-deep plastic tub on my back patio, and in the last few days, it has filled to overflowing. I just went out and emptied it, to see how much more rain we get. I heard on the news earlier that a hunter was swept off the road in his pick-up near Mt. Rainier. We ARE used to rain here, but even we can get oveloaded with it once in awhile.

[pscot]

33. I used to keep a plastic pail

on my deck when I lived in Redmond. It would fill up every couple of weeks all winter long. Rain is really a localized phenomenon. A distance of a few miles can make a big difference in how much rain you get. It seemed like Redmond got 3-times the rain that was repoted at Sea-tac. However, it does tend to accumulate in the low areas. I have heard that some Wallingford basements can pump as much as ten-thousand gallons a season. More in a wet year.

[Megahurtz]

18. Send some down to So Cal.

We could use some rain in this Shithole.

[Mythsaje]

20. So what else is new?

:)

I only wish we could.

[windbreeze]

21. Voting absentee in Wash...and already mailed them babies...n/t

[Generic Other]

27. I thought 95% of us vote by mail this year

So only the postman gets wet...

I am soaked. Soaked I tell ya!!

[SeattleGirl]

29. I just had to drive to Kent and back (about 11-12 miles from me)

and I'll tell you, it is NASTY out there! New potholes in roads where there wern't any when I drove there the other day. Huge pools of water on the roadways. Nastier traffic than usual. It IS bad right now.

However, on the more hopeful sign, I stopped at the post office near my house to drop off my husband's mail-in ballot (mine went out last week), and the little post office I went to was really crowded. I saw a lot of people walking to the PO to mail their ballots; lots of the people inside the PO were buying stamps to put on their ballots to send them in. So, while it IS nasty out, it was nice to see that a lot of people are making it out to mail their ballots, and I believe a lot will go out tomorrow to vote at their polling places.

I just hope not too many people are living in areas where it's difficult, if not impossible, to get out tomorrow.

[Mythsaje]

38. The valley is particularly vulnerable...

I'd imagine that East Valley is close to impassable right now between Kent and Auburn.

[SeattleGirl]

39. It's bad. I had to go to the south end of Kent, and traffic was

already backed up at just after 1:00 pm. I was on East Valley Highway, and there were massive pools of water that slowed everything down. Hit one of those suckers to fast, and you are in for a nasty surprise.

[Mythsaje]

40. I used to do deliveries out there

and even in normal rainstorms it puddles badly. During these sorts of deluges, the cowfields stop up like a plugged drain and the whole damn thing becomes a big lake.

I also spend most of my teen years in between Auburn and Kent. When the valley floods, it really floods.

[Spirochete]

42. I voted absentee, but

this rain is absolutely hideous. It's affecting my phone service, and DSL internet. I keep getting bumped off. I called Qwest today (on a cell phone) and told them they either needed to stop the rain or fix my phone lines - whichever was easier for them.

[raysr]

45. I live in Skagit County.

I vote by mail, doesn't the whole state?