This is our Midterm Election Open Post. Yesterday afternoon, I was like “hey, I wonder if there will be any last-minute news I can use for the Open Post.” Then Rush Limbaugh got on stage with Sean Hannity and Donald Trump and said the words, “Hillary Clinton colluded with Russia. Hillary Clinton rigged the election.” We’re completely through the looking glass. We’ve been through the looking glass for more than two years.
Rush Limbaugh says at Trump rally "Hillary Clinton colluded with Russia. Hillary Clinton rigged an election" – then leads 'Lock Her Up!' chants. pic.twitter.com/5lp2bjxseA
— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) November 6, 2018
Yes, Hillary Clinton colluded with Russia so that she could… lose the electoral college and win the popular vote and not be president. These Nazis have zero logic.
What else? Oh, yeah, just the f–king president of the United States using his Twitter account to actively intimidate voters:
Law Enforcement has been strongly notified to watch closely for any ILLEGAL VOTING which may take place in Tuesday’s Election (or Early Voting). Anyone caught will be subject to the Maximum Criminal Penalties allowed by law. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2018
Just FYI: If you go to your polling station and you know you’re registered but you’ve been purged from the voter rolls, your polling station has to give you a provisional ballot.
So… I mean, everyone is on edge and we’ll be up watching election results all night. We’ll probably be tweeting about it too – you can follow me @KaiseratCB, follow CB @Celebitchy and follow Hecate @HecateAtCB. I’m going to spend much of the afternoon panic-eating, rage-cooking and watching cable news. Go vote, peeps.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Why would she rig it to lose?
Trump-supporters have a long list of allergies from facts to logic. It doesn’t have to make sense–as long as it confirms their bias. It’s unbelievable how little respect people like Hannity or Limbaugh have for their viewers but honestly, I can’t blame them. These people are incredibly stupid and Sean and Rush know it.
Apparently, a woman collapsed at the Missouri rally last night, Dotard had to stop talking while EMTs responded to her. Some in the waiting crowd started singing Amazing Grace. The minions are seeing this as a sign from God this morning that Trump is the Chosen One. Never mind tat it is SOP in such venues that everything stops while the EMTs do their job and none of them know whether the woman is alive, dead or severely incapacitated.
And they’re all happy to ignore the Hatch Act violations of Kellyanne and Sarah of The never ending unethical breach & theft of our tax dollars that is Nagini.
JFC these people are bonkers.
Trumpsters are saying that he was referring to HIllary stealing the primaries from Bernie. But that’s also untrue and doesn’t make sense .
Yeah and she also stole candy from her grandchildren so she can rig the election. WTF. Talking in circles.
That’s the million dollar question isn’t it? I feel like these people live in Alice in Wonderland. Yeah she went in cahoots with the enemy of the state so she can lose to the orange idiot? Seriously?
Soon before the 2016 election, Trump started talking about the election being “rigged” in some vague way and also that he would accept the election results only if he won. It was unprecedented, but I thought he was just setting things up so he wouldn’t be blamed if he lost (as he expected to do, he didn’t really want to be President but was just running for leverage in getting another tv show starring himself).
People did worry at the time that he was giving the go-ahead for violent attacks after the election if, as predicted, he lost. The Republicans had already made it clear that they were going to do everything possible in Congress to prevent Hillary Clinton from getting anything done as President. She would have been given the Obama treatment. Trump had said earlier at a campaign rally that maybe the “Second Amendment” people would know what to do with Hillary and any SCOTUS nominations she might make. That one actually inspired the Secret Service to have multiple talks with Trump campaign people. They don’t like assassination threats …
So all this nonsense is just going back to those vague claims in 2016 that were just to make it seem that he lost only because the election was “rigged”. But he is a cruel and vengeful sociopathic narcissist, so he is not just accidentally inspiring violence every chance he gets. He really wants the Democrats in particular to be dead. He is a nightmare for law enforcement.
I think the 2016 election was rigged, all right, but to elect Trump…. That might explain the sudden shift of key Republicans who refused to endorse Trump to becoming Trumpies. I think at some point they knew that he would most likely win unless Hillary won enough votes to outrun the hackers, as Obama had done. I want to know what people like McConnell knew and when they knew it. We have been in deep trouble over the past two decades. Republicans are not actually the majority Party but have stayed in power for years by relentless gerrymandering of districts and voter suppression tactics (which have accelerated seriously this year) to prevent groups from voting who would be more likely to vote for Democrats. The involvement of a hostile foreign government in the 2016 election was huge and extraordinarily dangerous. And the candidate who won the White House had been groomed by Putin for years, had been encouraged to run for President by the Russians, and undoubtedly was thick as thieves with the hostile foreign government and its work to elect him.
Recounts in 2016 were shut down by Republican lawyers in court and the Democrats were too focused on being good sports to actually call for recounts themselves, although they did eventually provide some legal help to the recounts called for by the Green candidate after raising millions of dollars for that over a few days from donors across the country (only someone on the ballot can call for a recount and unless the margin is ultratiny, the state has to be paid whatever they ask for it; one year, both the Libertarian and the Green candidate fulfilled this function for us).
I hope the intelligence people are right that the Russians have not been able to mess with this election, since this time they are paying close attention. But we have had signs of vote-shifting from the Democrat to the Republican via those vulnerable machines since 2004 at least in Presidential elections. The stakes are so high that I am not convinced that this won’t happen in this particular midterm election. The Russians are not the only hackers available.
Now at least it’s being admitted that reports of vote-shifting from Democrats to Republicans by the machines actually does happen, as reports have said since 2004, but they are trying to pass it off as “glitches” in “old machines”. Those machines have been doing this since they were new, people.
Technology keeps advancing and what one person can devise another person can get around. We need to go back to paper ballots (as checkable backup for machines if people want that) and have every vote count double-checked by a hand recount of paper ballots. We know how to protect paper and recounts of paper. Nobody should just go with the first counting of ballots. Recounts should be mandatory, so nobody can ever block them again, and considered as part of the normal expense of running an election.
We must fix this election process. This isn’t optional. Everybody who is eligible to register to vote must be allowed to register, and every registered voter must be allowed to vote. Gerrymandering of districts must be banned – redrawing district lines as population shifts must be put into completely nonpartisan hands. The electoral votes assigned to states must be adjusted to current population figures so every person who votes makes the same contribution to the electoral votes for the state. Even better, have every state split their electoral votes according to the popular vote, as a couple of them do now. Shifting to a purely popular vote with runoff elections would be even better than that. But right now, a California voter’s impact on the electoral vote is two or three times less than the impact of a voter in a sparsely populated state, which is ridiculous.
Good luck everyone! Thanks to everyone who has been giving her time, energy and funds to this precious cause.
I just can’t anymore. Fuck all of these terrible people and VOTE!!!
My BF just texted me “I need a drink” and that’s all I could think of on my run into work this AM: man, I wish I had taken the day off so I could kick back and watch this shit show. But then I remind myself that today will be super-stressful and we really won’t know anything certain until tomorrow morning. I hope we can pull this off. If we can’t, then we deserve the next two years of horror.
Hugs to you, Kitten. I’ve been feeling nauseated for the last two days, just waiting for this to be all over. I feel bad because it’s hubs birthday tomorrow, and I know there’s a decent chance I’m going to wake up very disappointed. The year of the election he woke up in the middle of the night and checked his phone and was going to wake me up to tell me, but he couldn’t do it once he saw the result. Much love from Canada… I have some concerns that our citizens are leaning more and more into the kind of BS that is running rampant in the white house.
Hi Erinn-Yeah part of me is just bracing for the worst possible outcome, remembering how much it hurt in 2016. The thing is, even if we secure the House, we are still in for another two years of upheaval. But we will continue to fight because there’s no other option.
Your BF was smart to not wake you up. Wouldn’t have made a difference and if you’re anything like me, you probably wouldn’t have slept the rest of the night.
Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot.
Yup. Yup. Yup. Correct.
Yeah, pop another pill, Rush…
The GOP is that abusive husband/boyfriend who tries to convince you not to leave by saying you won’t find anyone better.
Yeah, I unfortunately grew up listening to Rush in my dad’s car on the way home from school. His absolutely psychotic rantings and ravings, which were very obvious to me even at age seven, are a big reason why I’m a democrat I think. Right wing-nut republicans always seemed like looney toons to me.
I swear hearing the crackle of AM radio still kind of gives me horrific flashbacks to being forced to listen to Rush.
Unfortunately I had to listen to him while at college in the early 70’s. They should have left him from whence he came.
Rush Limbaugh is such a disgustingly bigoted, misogynist liar. Worse, he is a part of such a big, far-reaching propaganda apparatus that preys on insecure old white men who are desperate for reassurance that the biological accident of their race and sex entitles them to be the pathetic despot kings of their own tiny spheres of influence. Fortunately I’m old enough that this all happened after I left home, but Rush and Fox played a big part in turning my somewhat narcissistic, somewhat-of-a-bully, but generally liberal father into a full-on conspiracy-loving right-wing nutter. My father knows me well enough not to trot their talking points out in my house when he comes to visit, because he doesn’t want to disconnect, but I hear about it from my poor mother (who over the years has correspondingly been radicalized in the opposite direction).
Rush Limbaugh is an evil, evil man, who has done much to destroy the fabric of our society.
I look at Rush and Trump and I think how come neither one has had a heart attack. They are beyond stressed out all the time about their crazy conspiracy theories. Plus they don’t eat well or exercise. Rush had a drug problem too. Not wishing them one, but really they just get so worked up. My mom used to say some people are too mean to get ill. Maybe Mom is right.
I’m in Maryland and I voted early. It was pleasant. The line was fairly long, but not ridiculous as we had multiple days to vote. Maryland used to be horrible about voting. Also, it was well known dead people cast ballots in Baltimore for years, not in the last 15-20 years or so, but it was a big thing for a while. Funny how the crazies keep bringing up the dead people voting now. You’re about two decades late. I wonder, if our 2/3 Democratic state votes again for our Republican governor can I say it’s because of dead people? Still everyone should have that opportunity to vote on multiple days like Maryland. If we can finally clear up our voting system so can everyone else. It’s our right as citizens.
They say dead people in Texas voted for LBJ.
There is nothing they can’t say that the deplorables won’t lap up. I read a really good piece yesterday on HuffPost, “What they [Trump supporters] object to is the sense of inferiority created when someone tells them that the things they know to be false are actually false.”, “Once a con man cons somebody, there is a bias among the marks not to admit that they’re that stupid. In this particular one, they want it to go on and on. They love it.”
Anyway, waiting for my husband to stop home so I can go vote. I’m smack in the middle of Trump loving country with various vomit inducing phrases such as “you can never have too much ammo.” Or “god, guns, and guts.” On the backs of pickups. Praying that we keep our Democrat senator but really scared that’s not going to happen. Also, the ad I keep getting at the top of this page is one to fire him, which seems weird.
You are so right on that, Mel M. My dad sent my brother an email with reasons to vote republican from GROVER NORQUIST. These reasons included that Democrats will increase the corporate tax rate and the estate tax (though ol’ Grover called it the death tax, which is a personal pet peeve of mine). Why a retiree whose estate won’t be taxable, or his 34-year-old son, whose estate is even less likely to be taxable, should care about that I don’t know. Fortunately, my brother isn’t a right-winger, and he had already voted by mail so Grover and his messenger were too late. 😈
This has not prevented my dad from calling me a radical for wanting universal healthcare (all three of my dad’s children have pre-existing conditions) and to prevent the planet from going up in smoke, but what do I know. I’m no Grover Norquist 🙄
Ugh, just smh. I honestly think you can’t be on the fence at this point and if you vote for your financial benefit only then you have no soul. My parents, in laws and probably 90% of my family are trump supporters and I’ve given up at this point. If you still support him you are one of those people Hiffpo talked about. My oldest daughter has epilepsy and is 100% dependent on us and will be for the rest of her life, however long, and my parents still don’t get it.
Yep. My parents are way more concerned about millionaires’ kids getting the entirety of their parents’ estates than they are with their own three children getting health insurance.
They’re brainwashed to the point that they’ve lost their instinct for self-preservation. See also: guns.
I took two hours off from work, got up at 5:30, drove to my polling place, and waited in line for 45 minutes to vote and have my voice heard. I wasnt the only one either, the line was snaking all the way behind the school I was at before the doors opened, and once I cast my ballot and walked outside, the line was still behind the school, and cars were parking in the street because they ran out of spaces. Do what you have to do to vote! Leave work early, park in residential areas and walk the rest of the way to your polling spot instead of turning around at the sight of a long line.
I can’t believe what a hassle it can be for some people to vote. It’s so easy for me: my polling place is literally two blocks up the street from me, I never wait because there’s never a line for my ward and precinct (there is always a line on the other side for the Navy Yard area of Charlestown), I get in and out in less that two minutes because our ballots aren’t long and I research the questions ahead of time.
After voting, I was only 3 minutes late for work today.
I just wanted to tell everyone here who has waited in long-ass lines, drove for hours, taken time off from work, or all of the above, how f*cking proud I am of all of you. Sure, you can say it’s your civic duty but so many people won’t bother voting because of the aforementioned reasons. You guys are awesome and thank you.
We really do have it lucky here. I was in and out in less than 10 minutes. My area of Malden has a large Chinese population so all the signs were in English and Mandarin. They had ballots available in English, Mandarin, Haitian Creole, and Portuguese. Some of the poll workers spoke Mandarin, Cantonese, and French/Haitian Creole. One poll worker was standing in the middle shouting that it was a two page ballot, remember to bring both pages with you to check out. And yes, we have paper ballots. Galvin does his job right; we’re so fortunate
Yes they are so well-organized here in Mass. I was really shocked to read that in some other states, polling stations close as early as 6PM. Unbelievable.
YES! The existence of these completely unnecessary long lines is a disgrace to every state where they happen, but the willingness of people to stand in them in order to participate in our democracy — that is something to take pride in.
Same, I’m in Btree and I live one block from my polling place, no lines, etc. People were streaming in, but it was quick and efficient!
Sounds like a real nightmare. We have mail-in/drop-off ballots here in Oregon and it is really slick. Our household voted about 10 days ago.
You’re such a gem, Kitten. I share your thanks for those that persevere despite challenging voting conditions.
If we valued our democracy, we’d make it as easy to vote as possible. That the GOP sees voter enfranchisement as a threat is so telling.
Precincts in southern Atlanta have only a few functioning machines. Rich white suburbs of Atlanta have many functioning machines. Jesse Jackson was in So Atlanta and was trying to motivate people to stay in line and vote. It’s how they squelch the vote.
Many school districts closed today (built it in to their calendar) to avoid parking problems.
I’m buying three bottles of red wine. Maybe even sangria because they’re in bigger bottles. My true blue vote is in. I had headphones and sunglasses on in efforts to block out stupidity. Now I’m off to buy food and alcohol. If I lived in an awesome state, instead of backwards-ass Texasville, I’d be buying a big bag of green.
I haven’t had a drink in months, just because I’m trying to loose weight and it’s really made a difference and I honestly don’t miss it, but I’m thinking of doing the same as you today. I live in red country and it’s so depressing but my vote will be in.
I’m right with you all! I live in Western Pennsyltucky and got my vote in when the polls opened at 7. At least we have hope in Wolf/Fetterman and Casey for the state, but my district levels…..well, my blue voice has been heard.
Me too! I’ve only had 2 drinks the past 4 months for weight-loss purposes, but I think tonight I’m going to indulge.
My mid-week drinking is usually Wine Wednesday but I’m thinking I need Wine and Taco Tuesday.
Mr Mabs said he’d go for me and grab some Mexican food too. Taco Tuesday it definitely is!
LMAO at “rage cooking.” What does one cook when in a rage? I was planning to try a curry ramen recipe I saw on IG but that seems more comforting than furious.
Did anyone see the SNL “midterm ad” with nervous Dems? So perfect:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdNNjCHGixE
I’m rage baking. Toffee & milk chocolate chip, lavender shortbread, Mayan mysteries (spicy dark chocolate), pumpkin cutouts, peanut butter spritz.
Wow! Yum. I have been overdoing it on the sweets lately but I’d pause my detox for some Mayan mysteries. 🙂
Yesterday I made spicy pumpkin provolone pancakes. The day before were butter cookies. Today will be sage pumpkin pancakes not sure if I will use cheddar, smoked cheddar or an Asiago, Romano & Parmesan mix. I still have potatoes, a spaghetti squash & a delicata squash. I’m just rage cooking.
Mailed my absentee ballot almost two weeks ago!
Oh yum, Cran. I had a piece of smoked cheddar from my son’s university’s dairy farm and it was amazingly flavorful in a risotto I made. I little bit went a long way and the smoky flavor was different from the parm I usually favor. Enjoy!
I’m Canadian but am chewing my fingernails waiting for the results because, well, neighbours and creeping right-wing nutters here. So last night I required comfort food, nothing but shepherd’s pie would do. With a pail of red wine. Tonight, not sure, maybe roast chicken with sweet potatoes and…wine…lots of it.
Damn, ya’ll. That sounds so delicious!!!!!
@ Esmom I’m beyond envious of your being able to get cheese from your sons dairy farm. That is a really wonderful option to have.
Just watched the SNL skit with my partner. We’re howling! Hilarious, and just the levity we need to start our election vigil. Thanks!
The cat rolling its eyes and the mom slapping Pete Davidson cracked me up. They captured the angst so well!
I think rage cooking depends on what the rager likes to cook. A baker will bake. Me? I like to cook homemade comfort food…vats of chili, lasagnas, slow-cooked pulled pork and brisket, varieties of cheese balls like fresh herbs with cream cheese rolled in toasted almonds, or different olives, several cheeses, and bacon, yummy dips like spinach or crab or roasted red pepper and sun-dried tomatoes, antipasto and crostini platters, and everything is layed out on a grazing table!
Olives! 🙄 I have a larger jar of olives I can toss with herbs, olive oil & preserved lemon purée & roast with jalapeños!
Rage cooking for the win!
Dang, girl, I bow down before the quality of your rage cooking. I usually make some pasta and call it good, but your house sounds like the place to be on election night! (I am also going to be watching from Texasville, and am steeling myself for the specter of Ted Cruz winning another term in spite of being the most hated man in the Senate. I may throw my flip-flops at the TV.)
Sounds amazing! I wish I had the energy to cook all that. I don’t eat meat but anything with cheese is my go-to comfort food. I used to make homemade pizza all the time. Maybe it’s time to rage bake some cheesy, crusty pizza!
Oh that just rage or holiday cooking and not all those mains at once! But when you use two crock pots, a roaster and an oven and use recipes which cook all day it’s easy. Cheese balls are super easy and hot dips are simply assembled and tossed in the oven. Antipasto and crostini platters require opening jars, packets, boxes and bottles and some arranging. People help themselves. What I love the most is when guests’ eyes pop out of their heads when they see the table lmao!
Yuuuuuummmm!!!!!
@ The Other Katherine I’ve always liked cooking but never had much space until the last couple of years. Fortunately I’ve a few willing taste testers and so far the only comments I’ve received are too spicy (acid reflux group) & too much garlic (mom) 🤗
Is this old wind bag still around? Go away, Rush!
Sending all my power down south to my American Celebitches today! I’m rooting for a blue wave from up here in Canada, but I am also stress eating and anxious for the results.
Californians – you can still register and vote today. California is one of the states with Same Day Voter Registration.
There are other states with Same Day Voter Registration so check for your state if you’re still interested in voting and need to register.
Tonight is going to be exciting. And stressful.
This brought me to tears. The delusion … I just can’t …. to my North American neighbours, you are in my prayers. United States will not be able to live up to their name much longer if this continues, because I believe the president of the United States is promoting war. Civil war. I think he’s cool with war, whether it’s civil or international. My heart aches whilst my mind rages. The weight of both is wearing me down…but I will never give up. We must never surrender, no matter how heavy the burdens. We must call out garbage thinking whether in the president of the United States, our neighbour, or some man at the dog food store harassing a hijab wearing woman (I didn’t call out the man, in truth, I inserted myself between them, said excuse me…then asked the woman a question about dog food that required a long answer. As I led her away towards the bags of dog food, he got bored and left). Please help your neighbours vote when you go.
That was the IDEAL way to help your hijab-wearing neighbor. Not as satisfying as reading that asshole the riot act, but you helped her without potentially subjecting her to even greater levels of rage from jerkface if she ever crosses paths with him again in the future. You reinforced her humanity to everyone around you, instead of letting her harasser objectify her, and that is a real service. You did a GOOD thing, and bless you for it. *hugs*
Thanks, @OtherKatherine ~ I hadn’t thought of it like that, I was just angry at a man being so rude to a woman and policing her clothing. You’re right though, I would have LOVED to have read him the riot act! Thank you….I need your hug today!
We *all* need hugs today.
I’ve come to a conclusion about Trump supporters. I think they are all just the types of people who need to be victims of something . It’s the only way they can feel good about their lives . They have to believe that nothing is their fault and that they’re a victim of some enemy. Can’t get a job? Blame immigrants instead of making yourself more employable. Feel stupid ? Blame the intellectual elite and hate on education instead of getting educated. Insurance rates too high ? Blame Obama instead of the insurance companies . Can’t pay your bills? Blame people on welfare for taking up your tax money instead of supporting higher wages.
It’s maddening.
Absolutely.
When one of my True Blue Dem best friends recently *turned* I immediately recognized the telltale Republican victim- complex: “You’re angry with me simply because I have a different opinion than you. You’re intolerant of me because I’m a ‘moderate’ (lols). You and ____ are ganging up on me because we disagree.” and on and on…
It was like she was incapable of understanding that it wasn’t about HER, it’s about our fucking country and every person who is being hurt by this administration.
It was crazy how much she sounded like Trump, honestly. “Everybody’s after me because of my opinions.” NOPE! I’m dropping you as a friend because your sense of morality isn’t up to my standards, straight-up. I don’t care about your political affiliation but I DO care about you defending the indefensible.
Oh @Kitten so well said ~ great clarification as to why their responses are like gas-lighting…thank you!
“I don’t care about your political affiliation but I DO care about you defending the indefensible.”
So well said!!!!!
That’s my father! Always gotta have a grievance, there’s always some conspiracy of the minority (be it coastal elites or affirmative action beneficiaries) making life harder specifically for *him*, with absolute willful blindness to the institutional biases that profoundly advantage him as a cishet white man. Loves, loves, LOVES to feel aggrieved and self-righteously defensive. Ugh. And then they have the nerve to turn around and talk about the left promoting a culture of victimhood! The amount of projection — almost always engaged in with totally sincere belief in what they’re saying! — is astounding.
I have theorized before that 45’s personality disorder(s) attract people who are dealing with personality disorders of their own, and I really do think there’s something to that. Narcissists can develop a powerful, cult-driven hold over people who are fundamentally dysfunctional in aspects of how they relate to others.
Yup, they all have a collective chip on their shoulders and a giant axe to grind simply because deep inside they feel inferior. Well Trumpers, that’s because you ARE inferior.
I’m taking sleeping pills and going to bed at 8 central time.
I will live forever with the memory of the 2016 election results coming in, and feeling so sick and horrified and disgusted.
I voted early, and sadly my gross GOP senators are not currently up for re-election. We’re stuck with Kennedy and Cassidy in Louisiana. They vote GOP anti-humanity, pro-rich white men down the board.
The crazy thing is they made me jump through hoops in the polling place. They had mulitple precints voting at my polling place and one person telling us where to go. He told me and several other people the incorrect place to go. So I ended up waiting in one line, only to be told I was in the wrong line, and then I ended up in the correct line, but that line was even longer. Once inside the voting room, I asked to vote electronically but they only had one electronic voting machine and the line for it was long. I ended up casting a paper ballot. Im glad I did it, but yeah, after voting in different states throughout the years, this was easily my worst experience AND I WOULD DO IT ALL AGAIN! VOTE!
That is a shocking level of incompetence at your polling place. You might want to report it to the elections division at your state’s Secretary of State office, if you can find the time. Google is usually the easiest way to find the reporting contact info. Something like “elections division secretary of state [your state’s name] report problem” will usually turn up the page you need.
I’m sorry you had to deal with all that, and proud of you for getting your vote in!
OMG for such a winner of a President his administration, and himself, really do keep talking about HRC quite a lot.
She was a woman who dared to go against him – and then had the audacity to win the vote that mattered to him (popular).
OMFG, Rush, just go snort a line of oxy in the backroom with your secretary and disappear already.
There have been shenanigans in my part of Northwest Indiana -a blue oasis in a red state: Polls not opening on time. No ballots at some. Trustee didn’t show up at another poll, so no voting there. Many voters leaving because they had to get to work. My hubs said the voting machine was broken at our own polling location and is to be tabulated later. One report on Facebook states the sheriff opened a location that didn’t open on time and swore in new poll worker volunteers on the spot. My state senator is attempting to get a court order to extend voting hours tonight… I’m glad I voted early. This is outrageous!
JFC. I knew this shit would happen.
This is why we should move to vote by mail system. So many problems with “live” voting every single election.
Or, you know, run it on a weekend where people won’t be forced to rearrange their work and life schedules to do their civic duty. The way it used to be before people realized they could suppress the minority vote by moving the election date to a weekday.
Having vote-by-mail as the only method of casting your ballot is VERY problematic for women in physically and/or psychologically coercive relationships, though. They get their vote hijacked by the abusive partner, who can force them to vote a certain way and sign it. It is fraud, of course, but who’s going to call the abuser on it? The victim who is already living in fear? Even with in-person voting, there are plenty of backwards-ass places where it’s common for the husband to come along and “help” his wife vote; and if that’s going on, just imagine how much more pressure gets exerted on an abused partner when the ballot is getting filled out at home with no poll workers present.
I feel like you two are trolls trolling. Of course we shouldn’t make voting easier, lets keep it hard and inaccessible for a lot of Americans because of outlier scenarios!!!!!!
@Katherine, you do realize mail in ballots are often more scrutinized than other forms of voting with several security”checkpoints” before the vote is counted? Could your scenario happen, yes but if you think a woman in that type of abusive situation is only safe if they physically show up to the polls then I have a bridge to sell you. Voting by mail is less expensive, more informative (you can research), expansive, doesn’t discriminate against minorities or WOMEN & a more secure form way of voting with a paper trail. Good luck with Russia on that one. Republicans agree with you on not voting by mail, that alone says they know it is dangerous for them because it allows people in the margins to vote.
Excuse me, but this is a very real issue. The Center for American Progress discussed at length the obstacles faced by abuse survivors in voting, *including* the problem of lack of privacy in the home for absentee ballots, in this article they published 5 days ago: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/2018/11/01/460377/obstacles-voting-survivors-intimate-partner-violence/
I’m very familiar with the advantages of hand-marked paper ballots, but thank you for your concern.
Feel free to expound on how my statement of, “Let’s return to voting polls being on the weekends” is trolling when there is a clear intent in limiting people’s access to voting by sticking it on a weekday. My point is that the poor and working classes have the hardest time getting to the polling facilities AND exercising their right to vote due to either limited transportation or the financial risk of leaving a low wage job to do so (who may or may not care about the legal right to do so). There’s a reason most industrialized nations have moved to a Sunday election date. America just loves to use economy to suppress the hell out of the poor and working class vote.
Anybody see on Twitter the issues they’re having in SC, TX and GA? Voting machines not working, people being told there will be a 2 hour wait, many people simply dropping out of line and walking away.
GAH. This is why paper ballots are the only way to go. Here is Mass you go into a little booth, fill it out with a marker, then feed it through a machine. I just hope everyone documents the issues they’re having. This is so f*cked up yet so f*cking predictable. The GOP defunded the Election Assistance Commission, the commission that fights voting machine hacking last year. They know about how disastrous the Diebold machines were. They don’t care. All they care about is winning at all costs.
WTF, that’s outrageous. My son’s campus is adjacent to that state’s capital. I saw on twitter that they were having power outages. They sad it wasn’t effecting the polls but it felt sketchy to me.
I also saw on twitter that at one polling place some Trumpster had a German Shepard on top of his car’s roof barking wildly at everyone going in. Heavy sigh. Hopefully they shut that down quickly.
I’ve been reading about the power outages you describe. Funny – there was a power outage the next county over from us – which includes Gary, Indiana (blue). Where President Obama just held a rally over the weekend. My aunt and uncle said that the were able to vote because someone brought in a power pac. They are waiting on a generator last I heard.
There are reports on Indivisible NWI that clerks are asking voters which party they are with – not supposed to do that unless it is a primary. This in the next town over from me. Indianapolis polls having some issues, too. Machines unplugged overnight, barely any staff to man the polls. WTF.
Oh man, DebraSam. It sounds like people are reporting the suppression and working to have the polls that experienced all the problems stay open later. I hope everyone gets their chance to vote. I am frantic with worry.
By the way I am familiar with NWI. I have spent many a day hiking in the IN Dunes state park. Beautiful area, great people!
Esmom: I’m worried, too. Hoping those workers will go back to the polls after they finish their shifts… And, the Dunes ARE beautiful, aren’t they:) Big political battle there as a well-connected Republican businessman is going against the community’s wishes and forcing a bar/restaurant/banquet hall into the historical pavilion building. This will disrupt the unique ecosystem we have here. The battle continues on, and that’s a whole ‘nother story!
If you’re on Twitter or FB, ProPublica is running a project called Electionland, and they are gathering and looking into reports of election problems of all kinds. They’re an excellent place to report voter intimidation and other election irregularities / voter suppression to.
Thanks, TOK. I will check it out now.
Thank You!
Yes, Hoosiers here. Very strange doings in a heavily gerrymandered state. I canvassed for Dems and Donnelly several times and volunteers were hopeful. I guess Hoosiers would rather have dim, dishonest hayseed Braun, who had no ground game but clung to drump and ran tons of lying ads. Braun who promised to gut ACA’s pre-existung conditions. Disgusting.
I’m still traumatized from the last election. I’m so afraid of the results. I sent in my absentee ballot (different state). Sadly, my roommates ballot never came (unless it comes today, she’s patiently waiting for the mail) and will probably have to use the federal write in ballot.
I woke up to one of my Republican friends wishing me a happy election day ( I think I’m one of the few liberals in his life) and wishing election day blessings. He is joyful person so its not at all coming from teasing or snark. Can’t articulate why but that means a lot to me on this day. I’m so stressed its going to be like 2016 all over again think he picked up on it. I’m a lucky dog that lives in a mail in ballot state so now its just waiting and watching.
I am so nervous! I don’t know if I should keep up with results or try to ignore it and wait for tomorrow.
OMG. Trump and Rush and the like are so awful. And I’m so stressed. The bad weather isn’t helping either. I’m about to go knock on doors in the cold, windy rain here in Wisconsin to try to bring this state back to sanity and logic.
Terrified here in OR that the gubernatorial race will be taken by the Republican candidate instead of incumbent. Local news is reporting its a dead heat within the margin of error. Also up is our state’s sanctuary status. I know these aren’t house or senate seats but still quite historic that Dems could lose a west coast state governor.
I am thankful to have been raised with an emphasis on exercising my right to vote, and to not be swayed by our mostly red voting neighbors. I have great memories of standing in line to vote with my Dad.
Dad told me about poll taxes. He explained that there had been a tax that had to be paid before one could vote, and it was hard for poor people to pay it. I mistakenly assumed this form of voter suppression had to be 75 to 100 years ago. I only recently learned it was outlawed in the mid-1960s! He grew up in Virginia, where it took a 1966 Supreme Court case to outlaw the tax.
I’m keeping my expectations low, because lately Americans have the tendency to disappoint… GREATLY. I don’t hold out hope that tonight will be any different. That country is such a dumpster fire. But who knows? Maybe enough Americans with integrity will actually get off their butts and make a difference. Fingers crossed.
Been on here for YEARS and never posted, but came on today to say you’ve all given me so much hope. I got out and voted today, 4 year old at my feet. Holding my breath from you all… living in Mike Pence’s home state makes me sick some times, and hoping today we see a blue wave.
In Austin so I’m on edge about Beto Cruz even though I know it’s such a long shot that Beto will win. I’m a native Georgian though, so my heart’s in the Stacey Abrams race .
I’m so nervous and anxious and scared. I’m pretty sure Drumpf and co will try to claim voter fraud and discredit blue wins and I’m not sure the media is equipped to handle reporting correctly on that kind of nonsense.
Trying to concentrate at work but it’s hard. I voted at 8 after dropping my son off at school this morning and it was the longest line I had ever seen at my polling place.
I am in Austin as well and I don’t think Beto will win. At least that is what I keep telling myself to not feel the disappointment of 2016. I really hope Stacey Abrams can pull the win!!!!!
Non-American but those two are the ones I care about the most and then Gillum for Florida is third for me. IF Beto or Stacey lose I will be SO SAD. I can’t wait for work to be over so I can go home and watch the election coverage.
Welp, everyone i was rooting for lost. This is why I don’t watch sports either.
I’m Canadian, but I clearly remember the night of the 2016 US election. I was working my 2nd job, at the local sports arena and a little boy who couldn’t have been more than 10 or 11 years old would come over to my bar to update me on the election results. He was genuinely afraid that Trump winning meant the end of the world and was afraid that he’d start World War 3.
I have no idea what caused that little guy to suffer such anxiety about the election in the States, but it broke my heart. Poor kid.
I hope for the best for all the American’s out there in Celebitchy-land!
I am also in Canada. I was working that night in 2016, and half way through my shift asked someone what was happening…he said Trump was winning, I was sick to my stomach until I got home, then spent a bit of time online to find out the horrific truth… then I cried. Big air-gulping, hitching sobs, for over an hour. My husband was confused. It was an election, in another country, he’s a good good man, but he could not relate to my utter despair.
Cut to today, I joined Twitter finally, just so I could troll Trump. I hate tweet him and follow pro-dem accounts, like a strange profane form of scream therapy.
As I type this I am unaware of the current results. I am nauseous, PTSD from 2016. Because I know at least 50% of the US wishes they had a different president, but I just don’t trust the system, or that people are still uncomfortable enough to get off their butts…
I want the world to be better. But instead I see it reeling, tipping to an attitude of isolation, selfishness, greed. I need something to grasp on to, that when the chips are actually down, that people will see the light and do the right thing.
Peace, dear neighbors. We are in this together, we wish you the best.
I will not survive if DeSantis wins in Florida for governor. I’m hanging by a thread here. Tonight is going to be a roller-coaster. I pray the ride is going to be a good one by the end and not a big crash. I can’t survive another night like the one I had when I realized Hillary was out and my worst nightmare won.
Gillum has to win. Nelson has to be re-elected.
And my heart is with everyone in Georgia. I was born there. I lived in Atlanta for a few years as an adult. Kemp is evil. Stacey Abrams has pulled off nothing short of a miracle in that state during this election.
Hurray for Guam and their first female Governor, Lou Leon Guerrero!
I just discovered yesterday that a long time aquaintence is not only a batshit crazy republican, but a Q conspirator too. She fully believes Trump is the messiah and that he is the only one who can save us from the “evil 4.” It really put a damper on my post-voting glow, but I am so hopeful that Gillum can pull through in my home state.
It is so nice to read the like-minded thoughts on this post as we shake and twitch down here in rural Georgia waiting for results.
I am watching the county results of our governors race on CNN. Abrams didn’t carry Jeff Davis County? I’m shocked…
Stacey Abrams is only at 28% right now ….what the F America?! 😭
She is up to 32% and that is without the higher population in-town counties reporting.
Early polls are meaningless in most states, to be honest. Only small rural communities can be counted in that short a period of time. Tomorrow’s results are what will really matter because then the major cities will be counted.
Homophobe Kim Davis goes down to her Democratic challenger in Kentucky county clerk race! Gays everywhere please have a fruity cocktail–I just poured a spiced rum and apple cider for myself and my partner!! Woo!
That’s amazing!!!!! Can’t stand that bigoted bish 😀
WOOHOO!!!! Thank you SO MUCH for posting about this, as I probably would not have heard otherwise. THAT is worth some serious celebration. What an awful, hypocritical woman — not fit to hold elected office. Delighted that she is out of a job!!!
Oh Florida, you never fail to disappoint. 😢
Heartbroken for Florida! I live in Austin and not surprised about Beto, but still sad. Still holding out for Abrams.
The always seem to be a major problems with voting and registering in the US. I come from a country where it is compulsory to vote, every citizen is required to enrol to vote once they reach 18 and you are permanently and automatically on the electoral roll until they die or renounce citizenship.
You turn up at a voting station in your registered electoral area and your name is crossed off when you are handed the ballot papers, so there is never any problem. If you don’t vote you get a heafty fine, you can request absentee or postal votes a few weeks in advance if you will be out of your area or unable to get to a station. If you are allergic to voting you can always drop a blank ballot in the box.
Electronic voting is not permitted as there is too much than can go wrong hacking/tampering/faults , each ballot is on paper and hand counted and kept for 12months or more in case of unforeseen problems.
Would it be so terrible to require every American citizen to vote, it would also void the ‘many people who aren’t eligible…….. vote’ conspiracy theory?
My country has a similar system. And the election happens on a sunday.