Things Overheard While Voting...

[Selena_Kitt]

Thing I overheard this morning while voting:

"I love that Sarah Palin. She believes everything I do. I'm so lucky."

"I'm just voting the way God told me to vote."

"I saw on the TV this morning, there were long lines in Detroit already, before the polls even opened."
"Really? What color were they?"
"It was Detroit, what color do you THINK they were?"
"Jeez, are you sure it wasn't the welfare line?"


I got home and told hubbie. He asked, "Are you making this up?"

*snerk*

Like I could make this stuff up!?

 

[DesertPirate]

There are a lot of stupid people around that vote.
Look at the Thundering Herd of Dumbass in Congress for proof!

 

[TheeGoatPig]

Like I could make this stuff up!?

Well you are a writer

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

SELENA

Obama might not win tonight.

Florida has a new voting system. A clerk swipes your drivers license and the computer pulls up your criminal history. It disqualifies about 1/3 of Democrats.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

SELENA

Obama might not win tonight.

I never assumed he would.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

SELENA.

No! Seriously! Some cities around the country are issuing riot gear to their cops because they know how THE USUAL SUSPECTS are.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

SELENA.

No! Seriously! Some cities around the country are issuing riot gear...

Detroit is.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

SELENA

St. Pete will go crazy, just for practice (even if Obama wins).

 

[off2bed]

SELENA

Obama might not win tonight.

Florida has a new voting system. A clerk swipes your drivers license and the computer pulls up your criminal history. It disqualifies about 1/3 of Democrats.

Where? They didn't do that to me. They looked at my voter registration card, my drivers license, and verified my home address on the printed list, next to which which I signed my name, and that I hadn't already sent in an absentee ballot or voted early. Pretty old fashioned.

 

[oggbashan]

We had a facility that offered free entrance to local residents.

One resident proved residency by producing a summons for non-payment of local taxes. He was admitted free.

Og

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Every county uses different methods. My county has a computer with a swiper. They swipe your license, it checks your address and criminal status. Then it prints a ticket you hand to the ballot guy. The Democrats are raising hell about it.

I couldnt figure out why the Democrats were upset about people using a state license or official ID, but its the criminal records thing that upsets them.

 

[off2bed]

but its the criminal records thing that upsets them.

I can't imagine why!

 

[cloudy]

I can't imagine why!

Even people with criminal records are STILL citizens, and should still be able to vote. The election affects them, too.

 

[oggbashan]

Even people with criminal records are STILL citizens, and should still be able to vote. The election affects them, too.

In the UK, the only people disqualified from voting are those who are Members of the House of Lords, convicted criminals actually in prison at the time of the election, and people detained in mental hospitals by court order.

Ex-prisoners and those in mental hospitals voluntarily can vote if they have registered on the electoral roll.

A criminal record will not disqualify a UK citizen from voting even if they are on bail awaiting trial, or attending court during their trial, or held on remand in prison awaiting trial.

Og

 

[Selena_Kitt]

Even people with criminal records are STILL citizens, and should still be able to vote. The election affects them, too.

I think the felon thing varies state by state. Prisoners can't vote in MI, I'm pretty sure. But my ex's new wife was in jail for six months for a DUI, she got out in July, and she's able to vote...

 

[cloudy]

I think the felon thing varies state by state. Prisoners can't vote in MI, I'm pretty sure. But my ex's new wife was in jail for six months for a DUI, she got out in July, and she's able to vote...

Actually, in EVERY state, someone that has served their time/done their probation/paid their fines can petition to get their voting rights back. It's fairly simple, but it's not something that they automatically tell you about.

 

[shereads]

In 2000, Florida purged voter rolls of 30,000 names that matched the names on criminal records - without bothering to verify identities. About 5000 people whose names were wrongly added to the list didn't know about it until election day, when they arrived at their polling places and were told they had invalid registrations.

Too bad Republicans aren't nearly as concerned with criminals holding office as they are with purging voter rolls.

 

[shereads]

Question: Did Ted Stevens lose the right to vote for himself?

 

[epiphany65]

Even people with criminal records are STILL citizens, and should still be able to vote. The election affects them, too.

I agree completely. In Canada the list of people who cannot vote is pretty much the same as it is in England. As an aside here are some embarrassing, shameful facts about the history of voting in Canada:

"In 1948, Canadians of Asian origin were finally allowed to vote, Inuit people followed suit in 1953, and registered Indians living on reserves earned the franchise in 1960."

 

[Selena_Kitt]

"In 1948, Canadians of Asian origin were finally allowed to vote, Inuit people followed suit in 1953, and registered Indians living on reserves earned the franchise in 1960."

OMG. That's shocking.

 

[epiphany65]

OMG. That's shocking.

I was embarrassed when I saw it and had to read it twice to make sure I understood. Canadians don't wear their patriotism on their sleeves. We don't fly flags in our yard or wear them on our lapels. We don't say "God bless Canada." But we have a quiet smugness that ours is the greatest country in the world. It's all part of an inferiority complex that comes from living next to The U.S.. Reading those facts should take the wind out of a lot of patriotic Canadians' sails. It did mine.

 

[oggbashan]

OMG. That's shocking.

In England being a prisoner disqualifies you from voting because you are deemed to have lost your rights as a citizen.

In the past, people deemed to have lost their rights as citizens were:

Jews,
Roman Catholics
Protestants not communicant members of the Church of England
Athiests
Women, then women not owning property, then women under 30.

Why women "under 30"? Because the then Government, after the slaughter of World War 1, knew that if women had the same voting rights as men they would be a majority of the electorate, and might vote against the Government who had opposed women getting the vote at all...

One good point for England - the colour of your skin has never been a reason to disqualify you from voting.

Og

 

[epiphany65]

In England being a prisoner disqualifies you from voting because you are deemed to have lost your rights as a citizen.

In the past, people deemed to have lost their rights as citizens were:

Jews,
Roman Catholics
Protestants not communicant members of the Church of England
Athiests
Women, then women not owning property, then women under 30.

Why women "under 30"? Because the then Government, after the slaughter of World War 1, knew that if women had the same voting rights as men they would be a majority of the electorate, and might vote against the Government who had opposed women getting the vote at all...

One good point for England - the colour of your skin has never been a reason to disqualify you from voting.

Og

Just to play devil's advocate here, mainly anyway, I'd posit that was because England for most of it's history was WASP. Was denying Jews the right to vote any different than denying blacks?

 

[oggbashan]

Just to play devil's advocate here, mainly anyway, I'd posit that was because England for most of it's history was WASP. Was denying Jews the right to vote any different than denying blacks?

Any Jew who became a communicant member of the Church of England could get the vote.

During the 19th Century the City of London elected a Jew as Lord Mayor. The Houses of Parliament then disqualified him - because he was a Jew, and ordered another election to be held. The City of London elected him again, and again, until the law was changed to benefit Jews, and Protestants but NOT Roman Catholics.

Every time the newly elected Lord Mayor couldn't take up his post because he was disqualified by Parliament - he had to pay a fine. He and his friends paid it willingly just to get a change to the laws banning Jews.

One of our Nineteenth Century Prime Ministers, Disraeli, was the son of a Jew but because he himself was Church of England he could become a Member of Parliament and eventually Prime Minister.

Og

PS. Disraeli's father's name was D'Israeli = from Israel. The slight change of name to Disraeli deceived no one, nor was it intended to. Everyone knew that the Prime Minister was Jewish-born but he was the best man for the job (according to his party managers).

 

[epiphany65]

Any Jew who became a communicant member of the Church of England could get the vote.

During the 19th Century the City of London elected a Jew as Lord Mayor. The Houses of Parliament then disqualified him - because he was a Jew, and ordered another election to be held. The City of London elected him again, and again, until the law was changed to benefit Jews, and Protestants but NOT Roman Catholics.

Every time the newly elected Lord Mayor couldn't take up his post because he was disqualified by Parliament - he had to pay a fine. He and his friends paid it willingly just to get a change to the laws banning Jews.

One of our Nineteenth Century Prime Ministers, Disraeli, was the son of a Jew but because he himself was Church of England he could become a Member of Parliament and eventually Prime Minister.

Og

PS. Disraeli's father's name was D'Israeli = from Israel. The slight change of name to Disraeli deceived no one, nor was it intended to. Everyone knew that the Prime Minister was Jewish-born but he was the best man for the job (according to his party managers).

That IS progress. Seriously -- no sarcasm. Sometimes, unfortunately, these things are made in baby steps and at least some attempted them.