7 responses so far ↓

• 1 Kevin // Jan 30, 2008 at 7:39 am

  Wow, great timing Mr. Edwards …. I was watching the news last night and they were talking about how many people in CA have already voted by mail (around 42% http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2008/01/vote-by-mail_be.html). Those who voted for Edwards by mail (in all of the states voting on Tuesday) must be pretty angry - their votes have been thrown away.
  I’m happy my vote went to someone else.

• 2 Elaine // Jan 30, 2008 at 8:23 am

  This is one of the reasons why I don’t like the “vote by mail” option. However, if the people who choose this option (in California, anyway), would just hang on to their absentee ballots and turn them in at their polling place rather than mailing them early, all they would have to do would be to surrender their ballot at their polling place. It will be cancelled and they will then be given another ballot and can vote taking the changed circumstances into consideration. This is not conjecture on my part; I’ve been a precint officer for many elections and have had this circumstance come up a number of times.

  Then again, I’m very old school when it comes to elections, and I believe we should go back to the system where it is more difficult to get an absentee ballot and limit that option to those who are confined to home and to those who will be out of town on the day of the election. I also believe very strongly in paper ballots and don’t think there is a place for electronic voting, especially those systems that don’t leave a paper trail, in a real democracy. I’d probably be happiest if we went back to paper ballots that are marked with a pen and then have to be counted by hand. I don’t see any reason why election results have to be known within a couple of hours of the polls closing. I’d rather have an accurate count than instant gratification.

  As far as John Edwards dropping out of the race…this disappoints me a great deal. Not only was he my candidate of choice, but I was really hoping that the nominee would have to be decided at the convention rather than one candidate already having more than enough delegates to win it before the convention even begins.

  Also, now I have to rethink my choice. I won’t have a huge problem supporting either Clinton or Obama, whichever one ends up with the nomination. However, I do have some reservations about both of them and at this point I’m really not sure who I will vote for next Tuesday. I might just go ahead and mark Edwards’ name on the ballot as a protest.

• 3 Kevin // Jan 30, 2008 at 10:18 am

  I don’t really have an opinion as to how people should vote but as an American abroad I am grateful to the “Absentee Ballot” system.

• 4 Elaine // Jan 30, 2008 at 12:00 pm

  Kevin…”Abroad” definitely qualifies as “out of town”.

  Situations such as yours are what absentee ballots are for, not for people who just won’t make the time to go down to their polling place on Election Day. I don’t know about other states, but here in California the polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.. That’s thirteen hours. Additionally, employers are required by law in most states to allow their employees time off to go vote.

  I don’t know…I just feel like going down to a polling place and casting one’s vote is a tradition that shouldn’t be lost because people claim they are “too busy” to do it. If one is motivated enough to vote, they will find the time to exercise their franchise.

• 5 Kevin // Jan 30, 2008 at 12:57 pm

  “Kevin…”Abroad” definitely qualifies as “out of town”. :)”

  Agreed! I wasn’t trying to build a counter-argument
  I can say that beforehand I had always voted in person and liked the excitement of the polling places (plus you get a cool sticker!). It is one of those times when you get together with your unknown neighbors and contribute your voice.

• 6 Elaine // Jan 30, 2008 at 1:37 pm

  Well, see. It’s the little sticker that I covet, as well I’m really obnoxious about wearing it conspicuously for the rest of the day after I vote. And I’m not the only one. When I worked at a polling place in 2004 and so many people turned out, we ran out of the stickers, and some people got quite upset that they didn’t get one.

  The stickers also amuse me, becuase I’ve had people offer to buy them from me. At the commuinity college where I attended school and where I also worked in the Tutorial Center, I had offers of money for them because some of the government teachers would give extra credit for proof that their students had voted on Election Day. The little “I voted” sticker was one of the valid proofs they asked for.

  But some of the students who didn’t vote still wanted the extra credit, hence the offers to buy.

  I never sold mine, though.

  Anyway, I didn’t really think you were counter-arguing, Kevin. I just get really passionate about the whole elections process. Yeah, I know. I’m a nerd.

• 7 mel // Jan 31, 2008 at 12:26 am

  What’s the difference between voting for Edwards before or after his announcement? Net, net, bottom line: nothing. No difference. It’s still the same ol’ symbolic vote.

  I’m just glad Edwards has been in there influencing the dialog at least.

  In his concession speech he lamented the Democratic Party that cared for workers, the working class, and the middle-class. Where has it gone?

  Easy — it went the way of the unions. Unions were robust and powerful campaign contributors and organizers. Now they’re marginal. Today, Dems have to go to corporations for money just like Repubs and corporations don’t care about workers beyond maximizing their exploitation … er, profitability.

  Simple. Edwards is gone because there’s no money and resulting political clout behind his message. Sad but true.

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