You can learn early what early voters did
But the final count from polls will take hours and hours
By Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published November 3, 2008 at 8:04 p.m.
Updated November 4, 2008 at 7:28 a.m.
Photo by Ellen Jaskol © The Rocky
Brion McMaster holds a mail-in ballot with his mouth as he waits to drop it off at the Denver Elections Division on the day before the election, November 3, 2008.
County clerks will announce about half of their vote counts shortly after the polls close today.
But for the rest of the count, it's anyone's guess. Which means most Coloradans could be fast asleep before the final, unofficial results are in early Wednesday - if all goes well.
Election workers already have processed more than 1.3 million mail ballots and 365,000 votes cast at early voting sites statewide. That's about half of the state's registered voters.
Those results are expected to be put up on most large county Web sites just after 7 tonight. But the rest of the counting could take many more hours. Here's why:
First, hundreds of thousands of mail ballots could be dropped off today at election offices. Mail ballots take longer to count because election workers must go through multiple steps - including signature checks, unfolding and sorting.
Second, many counties have reduced the use of electronic voting machines that produce almost instantaneous counts and have gone to paper ballots.
"Do not expect results before midnight," Denver Clerk and Recorder Stephanie O'Malley said Monday. The counting will extend "well into the morning."
This year, eight counties - including Arapahoe, Weld and Mesa - will deploy only electronic terminals, although paper ballots will be on hand in case of a machine malfunction or long lines. In these counties, memory cards from the terminals will be taken to election headquarters and loaded into a computer for final tallying.
Results should be posted within a few hours after the polls close.
All the other counties are offering paper ballots - either as their primary voting method or as an alternative to e-voting.
Only Jackson and Kiowa counties plan to hand count their paper ballots. In Jefferson County, voters will fill out paper ballots and put them into scanning machines. At the end of the day, memory cards will be taken from the scanners to the central office and connected to a computer for counting.
In Denver, ballots will be taken throughout the day to be run through large machines called "central count scanners."
Unlike last year when Denver called in police to help process ballots, it has about three times the number of election judges to make the counting go faster.
kimm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2361
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November 3, 2008
9:38 p.m.
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jacknoir writes:
Here's a great political satire website to help us through the last few hours of this interminable presidential race with a little humor: http://fleetingmatters.wordpress.com/
November 3, 2008
10:26 p.m.
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arl1281 writes:
About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh , had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:
'A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government.'
'A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.'
'From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.'
'The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years'
'During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:
1. from bondage to spiritual faith;
2. from spiritual faith to great courage;
3. from courage to liberty;
4. from liberty to abundance;
5. from abundance to complacency;
6. from complacency to apathy;
7. from apathy to dependence;
8. from dependence back into bondage'
Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University School of Law, St. Paul , Minnesota , points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:
Number of States won by: Democrats: 19 Republicans: 29
Square miles of land won by: Democrats: 580,000 Republicans: 2,427,000
Population of counties won by: Democrats: 127 million Republicans: 143 million
Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Democrats: 13.2 Republicans: 2.1
Professor Olson adds: 'In aggregate, the map of the territory Republican won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country. Democrat territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare...' Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the 'complacency and apathy' phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the 'governmental dependency' phase
November 3, 2008
11:03 p.m.
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ifyem writes:
I really hope arl didn't physically type that garbage..Spare us your thesi
November 3, 2008
11:04 p.m.
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ifyem writes:
Sorry folks, touchy mousepad!! Spare us your thesis buddy!!
November 4, 2008
1:11 a.m.
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ImissColo writes:
arl1281,
Thank you for the reminder that collectively, we the people have the ability to make our lives better or worse. Your words should be looked at, read, and re-read. It appears that ifyem needs a swift kick in the pants. Have you ever written a thesis? I, for one, am not happy with the prospect of this great nation sinking to #6, but unless the obviously growing number of people who would rather live off the labours and fruits of others, with the control of their very existence in the hands of "big brother", we are going to arrive at #8 all too quickly. That would be a tragedy indeed!!!
November 4, 2008
3:20 a.m.
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LOUIE writes:
Last primary, I went to vote on 2 initatives as an unaffiliated voter; after 20 years they decided to omit my name from the precinct where I have lived 20 years, and hand me a second class ballot. Today I may just walk in, make sure they corrected their mistake, and rip the ballot up in front of the poor souls. I do not approve of those who have done nothing but screw up the vote of the people. Whether Mr Obama or Mr Mc Cain, matters not much to me, I am loyal to the office. Secondly niether are a good choice, America will still be sliding downhill with both parties whipping the horse on the way. So after making sure the Secretary of State's office, and the Denver Election Commission with their wonderful apologies have truly corrected the error, I am leaning in favor of ripping it up, and throwing it away, like the did my right to vote last time by omitting my name. I have seen enough elections mishandled by those in charge, I don't even trust the system anymore, perhaps returning a torn up ballot to the trash where it belongs will give me greater satisfaction than the candidates who are running. Which ever bum gets elected is terrible choice for America at this point anyway, I will even make greater money for those I serve, as the economy goes down in flames anyway. Thus would I not be better served if the greater of two evils win? I really don't have much respect for the manner with which elections, registrations, lost ballots, hanging chads, Supreme Court deciding the winner, electronic snafus, purging names and handing people second class ballots, mail in's (a area ripe for fraud as we sit and create new ways of corrupting the mail in's); ripping the ballot is quite appealing. My wife and I will go to vote today, and I'll decide when I get there if it's really worth the effort. A poor choice in office may make me all that much more in the collapsing economy, few men have mastered the abilities to make vast sums of money in bad times, it's a true art. I'll probably vote, but there is a part of me that wants to rip it up. Be like busting a bottle on a ship being launched out to sea, cause that where the economy, jobs, and the standard of living is going, out to sea! It's going to be a fun time for those with ability.
November 4, 2008
7:24 a.m.
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voicewithin writes:
I am a moderate Republican that is anti abortion, anti lying to the public and anti smearing other candidates who did NOT vote for McCain / Palin! I caucused for McCain but I voted for Obama / Biden. I feel good! I FEEL CLEAN! HEY! I want CHANGE!
OBAMA / BIDEN 08
For information on McCain / Palin visit http://www.ibelievethis.us
November 4, 2008
7:50 a.m.
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T1anda writes:
ImissColo totally agree!! If Obama is elected you might want to change your online ID to ImissAmerica or IgrieveforAmerica or.....
November 4, 2008
8 a.m.
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T1anda writes:
Arl1281 Excellent post!!!!!!!
November 4, 2008
8 a.m.
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Heidi writes:
arl1281,
It's a scary road we are going down. And there are many blind sheeple.
November 4, 2008
8:09 a.m.
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fishman writes:
arl1281:
Great reading your post at 10:26pm. It gives me pain to type what I'm about to.. Obama will probably win this election and America will be in great turmoil for at least 4 years. And If he does win, I will only hope that Americans that put the lefties in charge will wake up! And put the right candidate in charge of the Greatest Nation in the world.
November 4, 2008
8:16 a.m.
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FCZ writes:
Obama staffer registered in three states, voted in two.
http://www.electionjournal.org/2008/1...
November 4, 2008
8:29 a.m.
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fishman writes:
Wow! What they will do to get their man in.
November 4, 2008
8:38 a.m.
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cynical_one writes:
FCZ writes:
"Obama staffer registered in three states, voted in two.
http://www.electionjournal.org/2008/1...
If this is true, I hope she goes to jail for a long time.
November 4, 2008
8:41 a.m.
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cynical_one writes:
fishman writes:
"Wow! What they will do to get their man in."
I guess you have already forgotten Ashley Todd?
November 4, 2008
8:47 a.m.
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SlouchingTowardBoulder writes:
"I am a moderate Republican that is anti abortion ... who did NOT vote for McCain / Palin! I"
Congratulations, despite saying that you are anti-abortion you just voted for the most pro-abortion candidate who has ever run for President. Obama has stated that the first thing he will do is sign the misnamed "Freedom of Choice Act", of which he was one of the first sponsors of, which will wipe out over 35 years of state restrictions on the practice of infanticide (abortion) in one swipe of the pen.
Here you can see and hear in his own words: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf0XIR...
Obama told Planned Parenthood last year that "The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act." http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A0...
You may not have know about this law and Senator Obama's support - his highest priority - but know that you do know this information you have the moral obligation to consider it.
http://www.kofc.org/un/index.cfm
November 4, 2008
8:54 a.m.
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mgordon86 writes:
arl. We can all cut and paste.
The first part, a quote attributed to “Alexander Tyler” was sent by someone who spelled his name wrong. The person was Alexander Fraser Tytler, Scottish historian and professor who wrote several books in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Also, only part of the quote is attributed to Tytler, which is the following according to Bartleby, and even then it is tagged as unverified. Here is the real quote:
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years.”
The reason why it is unverified is that the words above could not be found in any of Tytler’s books - by me, Snopes or other folks who researched.
The second part of “Tyler’s” quote I have seen somewhere, and found it was used in a speech by Senator Strom Thurmond addressing the Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce in Aberdeen, South Carolina, January 6th, 1965, which he stated:
“I am reminded that the studies of R. G. LeTourneau show that the average age of the world’s great governments has been 200 years, and that the general steps through which they progressed were: from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from abundance to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependency; and from dependency back again to bondage.”
November 4, 2008
9:10 a.m.
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cynical_one writes:
Good omen for Obama as Steelers beat Redskins
2 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Pittsburgh's top-ranked National Football League defense dominated Washington in a 23-6 victory Monday night that served as a good omen for US presidential candidate Barack Obama's White House bid.
The Steelers shut down NFL rushing leader Clinton Portis and sacked Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell seven times. A third-quarter pickoff of a deflected Campbell pass snapped an NFL record streak of passes without an interception.
Pittsburgh improved to 6-2 while dropping the Redskins to 6-3 on the eve of the US election and thereby under the "Redskins Rule" of US politics delivered a signal that Obama rather than John McCain would win the American presidency.
For 17 consecutive US presidential ballots, the outcome of the Redskins' last home game before Election Day has predicted, some even fancifully claim has actually decided, which candidate will receive the most votes.
If the Redskins win the game, the party with the most votes in the prior presidential election wins the subsequent election. Should the Redskins lose, the party holding the US presidency loses.
The Steelers victory was therefore good news for Democratic hopeful Barack Obama and a bad sign for John McCain's hopes of replacing fellow Republican George W. Bush.
The rule has held true since 1937 when the Redskins moved from Boston to the US capital, although with a caveat in 2004.
A 2004 Green Bay win should have signalled a Bush loss, but Rule backers note that Bush lost the popular vote in a controversial 2000 election so his re-election in 2004 was not a true repeat, thus keeping the streak intact.
November 4, 2008
9:47 a.m.
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sunra23 writes:
As to ARL - this posting is bunk! it takes about 2 seconds on google to discover 2 things:
1. Professor Olson did not write this: see disclaimer on his site
http://law.hamline.edu/node/784
2. The 8 points are not referenced in Tytlers book.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes...
This is false rhetoric - the facts are not accurate. This is the type of false information that creates division in this country. Please do your research, if you CHOOSE to believe falsehoods then you may do so.
November 4, 2008
10:20 a.m.
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Heidi writes:
It doesn't matter who wrote arl's points. I have seen some of that before. It's a pretty good generalization of where this county has been and where it is going.
November 4, 2008
12:12 p.m.
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pgoody writes:
Yeah Heidi, why let the facts get in the way of a good story that fits your ideological predisposition.