US Election

[dalekboy]

These days I'm lucky if I get to skim LJ, and so may have missed other people who have the same concern I do. I think many of my friends want Obama to win, for all sorts of good reasons. Things are looking good, with many big Republicans even publically supporting him.

But while everyone seems to be hoping for an Obama victory, I have yet to hear anyone express the niggling fear I've had since day one - the bastards stole one election and got clean away with it, who is to say they won't do it again?

Comments

[nephron.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's a huge fear in large sections, especially among black and other minority voters.

[dalekboy.livejournal.com]

I'm not surprised, nor am I surprised I've missed it given the constant demands of my new lord and master :)

If the election gets stolen this time... well, America is a country overdue for another revolt. At the very least there will be massive riots.

[dortamur.livejournal.com]

I have the same fear.

After past fiasco's where the obvious winner to the sane world lost by a fraction of a margin, and after seeing numerous documentaries on the seemingly blind zealotry pockets of American societies have for, well, either side... I won't breathe a sigh of relief (or panic) until it's all over and decided for good.

At least if it goes the other way I won't have to move to Canada ^_^ - but I'm sure the outcome will certainly effect the whole world over the next few years.

[dalekboy.livejournal.com]

I think the US economy is doomed either way. But hopefully if Obama gets in, he'll look at the US as a part of the world, instead of in charge of it. That could make some difference, there and everywhere else.

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

They've apparently got teams of lawyers in places where there was disenfranchisement in previous years making sure that people who are eligible to vote don't get turned away for spurious reasons

[nephron.livejournal.com]

That said, the supervisor of elections in one area was turned away this election for a spurious reason, so...?

[dalekboy.livejournal.com]

Scary that they need teams of people to help make it a fair election, scarier that this hasn't worked already in at least one case.

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

At least one person that got turned away went to the board of elections or similar and got a court order to allow him to vote (google for Tim Robbins)

But yes, it looks as if there is still some shenanigans, of course it could be incompetence and bureaucracy

[drjon.livejournal.com]

Make that two elections. Bush lost twice.

[dafwarg.livejournal.com]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7697829.stm makes the theft look considerably less likely. I'm enjoying Obama's numbers jumping up while McCain's creep slowly. I'm glad for the Electoral College votes this year though - it'd be a much closer race if it was bases soley on people votes as Obama's only a couple of hundred thousand ahead.

[dafwarg.livejournal.com]

Except for that painful jump just then when McCain go Texas.

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

Well, that was expected, however Texas was a much closer race than anyone anticipated.

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

Ironically apparently the republicans are preparing to claim voter fraud with the voting machines. Do they think someone is going to steal their tactics?

[duntov-475hp.livejournal.com]

According to my news on my computer McCain conceded, and they're saying Obama is now The Prez.
I don't have TV, (don't have a home, actually) so I can't really comfirm or deny.

[magnapops.livejournal.com]

abc.net.au/news.

White House-bound Obama makes history

[pre-vet-girl.livejournal.com]

Yep, can confirm that Obama won with 338 electoral college votes compared to McCain's 160.
270 electoral college votes needed to gain the presidency.

I'm a bit stunned. (in a good way)

[jocko55.livejournal.com]

yay, the republicans got buried by the landslide. Obama is impressive. I have seen several great speeches and his health care plan actually seems to add up.

[mireille21.livejournal.com]

I had a similar fear. What I am most surprised by however is that each time they seem to have problems with insufficient pollings stations and/or staff meaning that people who have queued for hours may still not get to cast their vote. I've been watching some of it on TV today, and whilst I haven't seen any reports of that happening, the queues in some places have been astounding. They will never have a truly fair election until the system is set up in such a way that everyone who wants to (and is eligible to) vote, is able to do so. People getting turned away from polling places here is unheard of, it's just unthinkable that it could happen in the US.
Very happy with the result though :)

[magnapops.livejournal.com]

hey, don't pick on them. They are the 'World leaders of democracy'. Obviously they have it all worked out correctly. You need to spend huge quantities of money, in the Billions, in an effort to get elected, this causes you to be beholden to all the people who gave you the Billions of dollars and they will expect some thing in return, but, they are the 'World leaders of democracy'.

[stephen-dedman.livejournal.com]

I had the same fear. I suspect the main reason it didn't happen was that the party machine decided it wasn't worth the risk just to get a McCain/Palin victory: better to let a Democrat try to clean up Bush's mess ( http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/black_man_given_nations) and wait until 2012 to blame him for anything that couldn't be fixed.