Archive for the ‘elections’ Category

NY-25 and the Mystery of the Lost Election

Posted: November 13, 2010 by datechguy in congress, elections, opinion/news, politics
Tags: , , , , , ,

You might remember Ny-25 as one of the stops on my pre-election road trip. Well strange things seem to be going on over there.

The first strange thing is the absence of media attention, apparently this is a request from the Maffei campaign that has apparently not fallen on deaf ears:

any vote totals reported before every absentee ballot is counted are grossly incomplete and premature, particularly before ballots in Onondaga County are counted…While the media has responsibility to report the daily developments during the recanvass and tallying of absentee ballots, they also have a responsibility to characterize the early steps in this process accordingly.

Please please please reporters don’t report on the count at this time.

And what is going on that they don’t want reported on? Stuff like this:.

While the reasons for this effort are unclear, many agree it could be an attempt by some to identify who each person voted for in an effort to disqualify certain eligible ballots from being counted,” Buerkle said. “I would like the public to know that my campaign is not connected to this current effort. Further, no American — in upstate New York or anywhere — is in anyway under obligation to provide information to anyone on how he or she voted in any election, including my own.”

Buerkle’s statement did not name Maffei’s campaign as the party responsible for the calls, but a spokeswoman for the Maffei campaign confirmed they are calling voters in the district.

Maffei campaign communications director Abigail Gardner said Monday that while she believes they are asking how people voted, the reason for the calls is to ensure all votes are counted.

“It’s totally legal and there’s nothing really shady about it,” Gardner said. “I think we are asking how people voted, but the most important thing is to make sure that, if somebody cast a vote, that it’s going to be counted. There have been some problems.”emphasis mine

I think we are asking how people voted? I think! You don’t know?

Sure a campaign trying to play with the secret ballot? Nothing shady about that at all. Ann Marie Burkle’s campaign put out this statement:

Buerkle calls on voters who are contacted to ask who is calling and not feel that they must reveal how they voted.

“If anyone is contacted in this effort please know that your vote is privileged and under no circumstances should an individual be pressured into revealing how their vote was cast,” she said. “If you are contacted, ask them to provide their full name, for whom they work, why they are seeking this information and if you are required to provide this information.”

I’ve been wondering why this recount hasn’t gotten the attention others like NY-1 have. As the Maffei campaign lawyers up and activists start heading up to the area to try to salvage a seat from the big red wave, I guess we know why.

More to come.

Update: Looks like that count is heading in the right direction

The difference means that Buerkle has now widened her overall lead in the four-county district to 729 votes, according to unofficial election returns.

Buerkle picked up a net gain of 24 votes in Cayuga County (59 to 35 over Maffei) from absentee ballots, according to Cayuga County Election Commissioner Kate Lacey. Buerkle also had a net gain of 18 votes in Monroe County (630 to 612 over Maffei) after absentee ballots were opened from its three towns in the district, according to figures supplied by both campaigns.

By my calculations Maffei needs to win the Absentees in Onondaga county by twice the spread that he won the vote of to come out ahead, that’s not even counting any spread in Wayne county. I think it’s looking good.

Update 2: Added missing link

The Globe discovers that Massachusetts has shot itself in the foot…AGAIN

Posted: November 12, 2010 by datechguy in congress, economy, elections, opinion/news, politics
Tags: , , , , , , ,

The Boston Globe reports that things are looking grim for Massachusetts:

Massachusetts could lose more than $200 million in funding this year — and quite possibly similar amounts each year for the foreseeable future — as the incoming Republican congressional leadership and President Obama take aim at earmarked spending projects.

At risk are a host of projects across Massachusetts. The Paul Revere House in Boston’s North End could lose $400,000 in funds for a crucial renovation project. The University of Massachusetts Amherst could see $2 million intended for a science building slip away. And a new Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate could lose $10 million — providing an unintended case study in the politics of federal spending.

Hang on a second didn’t we just hear all during the last election how much our delegation was able to “bring home the bacon” so to speak?

Massachusetts Democrats have long boasted of their ability to win hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarked funds for such projects. But speaker-in-waiting John Boehner, the Ohio Republican, has said earmarks must end,

Oh republicans are in charge in the House now where all spending much come from. Well I’m sure the Massachusetts members of the new House Majority will use what pull they have to help protect the state.

What that you say? While practically the entire country joined the big red wave Massachusetts once again elected only democrats? We don’t have any committee chairmen anymore or even a single member in the majority to try to help protect the state? Funny how the globe finds bad news now that the election is over.

Let’s be blunt. For months we have known the democratic majority in the house was doomed and as the president’s popularity continues to drop, 2012 is looking just as dark for Democrats.

Yet Massachusetts voters (perhaps with some help) choose to return Barney (Fannie/Freddie are fine) Frank and John (it was only 7 million my wife helped hide from Taxes) Tierney and the entire Massachusetts delegation. We knew about these things and voted them back in.

In a republic we always get the government we deserve. You wanted a delegation from the left. You’ve got it. As I said the day after the election:

…it will be the shock when you discover that all these democrats that you returned to congress are now in the minority and all of those tax dollars taken from you that they returned in lump sums at .82 cents on the dollar will not be coming back since they don’t have the clout to gain them and the republican house where all spending must originate is unlikely to approve them. If you had sent even a single republican to the house at least in one district there would be clout, but nope, no can do. You will miss that .82 cents on the dollar, but don’t worry the feds will meet you halfway. They will still take that dollar it was part of.

I don’t want to hear a single complaint from anyone on the left in the state over this.

And as for everyone else, you get another chance in two years. Don’t blow it.

Voter Fraud in Worcester Ma.

Posted: November 9, 2010 by datechguy in elections, politics
Tags: , , , ,

Martin Soloman bluntly says aloud what I’ve been hearing only in whispers.

Attached is a photo I took when a Neighbor to Neighbor organizer escorted a voter into the booth as an “interpreter” [See above]. Funny; the ballots were bi-lingual so I didn’t see the need for an interpreter. She was coaching voters to vote all “D’s” and on a few occasions she actually had the pen in her hand.

I was almost kicked out by the police officer who was sitting in the room when I took this photo but I told him I’d be more cooperative and sat back down. Soon after this photo the Baker legal team [Charles Baker, Republican candidate for governor] was able to convince the warden and the officer that this woman was not allowed to escort any more voters to the booths. She quickly changed tactics and started sending people in with a sample ballot filled out so the voter would just copy it. Incredible!

well that’s only one example, oh wait:

These “interpreters” were certainly the call of the day. At the location I was working, the “interpreter” was a priest — or some cat with a priest collar on from a church that sounded anything but sacred. I reported him numerous times to the two wardens who did talk to him, but argued with me about him being an interpreter. I informed them that typically interpreters don’t talk with their hands unless they’re in the deaf community. And they usually don’t need polling pens, to interpret, either. I also mentioned that the ballots were bilingual except for the names that were all over the TV, radio, lawn signs, etc. for the past year. None of this seemed to impart any wisdom on the wardens.

Read the whole thing and you won’t wonder why the results were so contrary to the polls around here.

In 2010 the Republicans have been given two gifts

Posted: November 7, 2010 by datechguy in elections, opinion/news, politics
Tags: , ,

The first was one they did not seek; The re-election of Harry Reid and the second is one they did not expect Nancy Pelosi poised to become the Democratic minority leader.

One of the many problems that the Obama administration had this cycle was they tried to make the case that the election of Republicans in congress was the return to Bush Bush Bush. This proved ineffective because president Bush has become more rather than less loved over the past two years but more importantly there is exactly a 0% chance that George Bush will ever be president again.

However as 2012 comes by, no matter how well or poorly they do with Nancy Pelosi as Minority Leader in the house and Harry Reid newly re-elected there is absolutely a 100% chance that a republican defeat will mean going back to the Pelosi/Reid agenda.

You can’t underestimate how important this is. Democrats were running away from Nancy Pelosi like there was no tomorrow in this last election. It will be interesting to see what they say in 2012 when they are running for seats again with the promise of putting Nancy Pelosi and company back in charge.

Older Entries
Newer Entries