Elephants on Bicycles

As I mentioned last night I’ll be blogging all day today (into the wee hours) mostly here on Elephants on Bicycles but also on Twitter @chivespa1 and helping out Scott on WOSU’s Blog. As for this live post I’ll keep updating it with a time stamp, first post at the bottom.

12:36 P.M.

I went off the grid, the win was in the bag, the election is over, the right candidate won – America is beautiful once again.

http://isobamapresident.com/

Thank you for all of your putting up with my politics over the past 2 years. They won’t be gone from this blog but I’ll probably focus on a few other things going forward. I love you all.

9:15 P.M.

F==K’N FOX CALLS OHIO FOR OBAMA! Can’t believe they were the first to jump the call but I’m all for it.

So far all of my homes, past and present, are going Obama – Michigan, Illinois and now Ohio. Looking good, Obama is under 100 electoral votes for victory.

Jamie at Bike Commuting in Columbus wrote:

I would pee myself laughing if Alaska and Arizona went to the Dems.

I couldn’t agree more!

Rudy trying to explain that it was “someone elses” fault that he said such horrible vile things during the campaign. He also seems to think that if Obama wins all of the horid racist remakes McCain Palin supporters have expressed will suddenly disappear and the US will no longer have to worry about racism. What a jackass. How anyone ever respected that guy is beyond me.

9:00 P.M.

Issue votes that I’m so happy to report are that it looks like Issue 6 is going down in flames, Issue 5 is likely to hold against the PayDay lenders, Issue 51 in UA is going to pass (meaning the Tremont rezoning will stand). The night isn’t over but it is looking good.

Early voting has Obama with a devastating lead over McCain here in Ohio. Courdray is going to win AG which is well deserved. I’ll give you more information as it comes in…

8:44 P.M.

Just detoured out of the house down to my precinct to check the machine tape. This is totally inconclusive because of the lack of paper count but it is a representative sampling. With that being said it looks like Rankin is going to win the UA vote – hopefully Celeste is strong in the other areas. McCain edged Obama by 3 votes. Kilroy is beating Stivers.

NPR and ABC seem to be calling things somewhat early but no one else is really disagreeing with them so I’ll keep going with NPR’s results. Right now we’re looking at 103 electoral for Obama to 34 for McCain. Those are numbers that make me happier but until we hit 270 I’m not going to breathe easy. I’m very happy to see that Dole went down to Hagan – for the stunt she pulled she deserved to lose.

Felt good to be on my bicycle for a few minutes tonite as well, that always helps the stress levels. 

6:55 P.M.

The polls are moving people in and out quickly although there continues to be an unusually high number of people being forced to vote provisional which is still a concern. The provisional votes are easily challenged and often require more effort to defend on the part of the voter. The first polls will close in moments with the Ohio polls closing at 7:30 P.M. I’ll run down the street then to get an idea as to how my precinct voted.

So this is certainly exploitation, if not brainwashing, which probably makes us bad parents. At least now we understand why those kids on Jesus Camp are so willing to kill for Jesus. Here’s Sophie.

6:15

We’re 45 minutes away from the bulk of the East Coast states polls closing. Shortly there after we’ll start getting the early returns which will put us all into a tizzy of, well, maybe excitement. If Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania fall for Obama there’s no chance of McCain coming back – at least that’s the conjecture of FiveThirtyEight.com (and thus everyone else too).

My friend Professor Matthew put the situation better than I have so far. From his blog he writes:

Fuck being nice. If you don’t vote for Obama then fuck you for ruining the country I love.

I just couldn’t hold it in any more.

5:15

Sorry for the radio silence as it were. Stopped off at the park to play with Sophie – my primary reason for wanting to change the direction of our nation – and now I’m about to make us a pizza.

Blue Bexley is predicting a +2 seat majority in the Ohio House for the Democrats. I’m hoping they’re right but I’m not willing to make the same prediction yet. Click Here For The Story.

3:00 P.M.

The Free Press reports on voting issues being followed through Central Ohio so far.

A spot check of inner city precinct vote totals as of 11am or so, reveals that there is an extraordinarily high number of people being forced to vote provisional ballots. The three reasons for the provisionals, as explained by the pollworkers, are names not the pollbook, people who requested absentees but decided to vote in person, and ID problems where the addresses do not match. It is not clear if all the pollworkers know the policies regarding provisional ballots.

The Columbus Underground is, of course, blowing up with personal stories of the election so far. Here is an exchange I just had with one voter out there. It appears this is happening all over the place though which is a problem.

bobrich wrote:
Had about a 5 minute wait (@~9:30am) out in the boonies in Marysville. Had to vote provisionally b/c of a recent address change, but it was fairly painless. Everybody was super nice, although it’s clear that some additional training would give the poll workers a little more confidence in handling miscellaneous issues.

chivespa1 wrote:
Actually you should have been allowed to vote a normal ballot, the poll worker should have asked for your last 4 ssn and writen that in the poll book instead of making you vote provisionally. THIS IS WHY ALL OF THESE CRAZY ID LAWS ARE DISENFRANCHISING VOTERS. No body seems to know what the rules are. I won’t argue having ID rules or not but I’ll argue to my death that all of the extra steps in the process are not good for democracy. Make it simple already…

2:07 P.M.

One more local blogger update.

This Woman’s Work writes:

They played India.Arie’s song at the Dublin rally and I’ve been listening to it an awful lot since then: There’s Hope

1:55 P.M.

What am I listening to at this hour, well Z-Trip Obama Mix of course. Well worth the download time – check it HERE!

So what is the mood of the people I am friends with and follow? Here’s a run down of Columbus blogs who have weighed in over the past 24 hours or there-abouts on what is going down today in Ohio; in the USA. Take some time to browse through these posts, they’re powerful.

Urban Infill writes:

And maybe today is the day that the American conversation takes up from where it left off.  Maybe today is the day that Americans re-engage in democracy.   There is a striking sense of optimism on the streets today and I really have missed that.

CMHGourmand writes:

In the New York Times link below, Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) spells out some top down shifts in mindset and government policy to help these changes happen.  This is a long read, but worth the investment of time.  It would be wonderful if our government (as well as ourselves) had the will to follow through on many of these ideas. To help this along – we need to pester people in office to place food on the political table, which means cutting a lot of pork.

The 270 writes:

Today, our grey guy, the Columbus Dispatch officially endorsed John McCain for President. As the Publisher of the270, I am proud to announce this blogs’ continued neutral stance. We understand the devisivness that comes with politics, and thus will not formally endorse a candidate, even though Barak Obama is the better qualified candidate. So please continue to enjoy this blog, which will never impose the views of its authors on our valuable ten or so readers.

American Family writes:

I had to stop at home to put some tissues in my pocket.  I keep getting weepy over the significance of this election.

Blue Bexley writes (also live blogging today):

In other news, I’m getting word that pollworkers in Reynoldsburg STILL don’t know how to handle a Driver’s License with an address that doesn’tr match the pollbook (hint: give the voter a REGULAR ballot, write down the last 4 digits of their DL# in the book)

Downtown Columbus writes:

Aw, just kidding.  There are no losers here at 43215.  In this year’s election, there are just winners… and winners of interesting distinctions. GREEN PARTY PRIZE For those who have given up the polluting automobile in favor of an eco-friendly bicycle:  good news.  You don’t need a driver’s license in order to vote.

Jody HealthBlog Girl writes:

This is a call I received from the McCain campaign; It is sad that they are abusing technology to spread fear.  Is this really a tactic to show how you would lead if you were to win the U.S. Presidency?   Leading by example??

Status Qua writes:

I am probably crazy for admitting this.  I’m sorry Mom and Dad, I’m sorry Internet, and I’m sorry USA, but I’m still undecided in the Presidential Election with less than 24 hours left before I exercise my right and duty at the voting booth.  It’s like trying to decide if Santa’s real or not on Christmas Eve.  I have largely tried to keep this weblog bipartisan or unpartisan, but I feel the time has come for me to admit my indecisiveness.

Tiny Mantras writes:

I’ve tried to explain what the president of the USA does, that some people like one man and some the other, and how elections work. He came back at me with “I like Barack Obama. I like John McCain. I like the two Americans.” You know, if I could only bottle that and put it in the water supply.

Tongue and Groove writes:

I can hardly believe we’re just one day away from this historic election.  I’m excited and filled with anticipation and a little bit nervous and very emotional.  Anyone who visits here regularly knows what this election means to me–I don’t have to tell you.  I simply have to encourage you to go out and vote on Tuesday (if you haven’t already).  Whoever you choose to vote for, be an active participant in our democracy and make your voice heard.  Let’s take back our country.  After all, it belongs to us.

Angelo Mandato writes:

Even though I’ve voted, I’m not done yet with the election. I will be volunteering one more time for the Obama campaign this afternoon. Only after will I be able to say I’m done with the election and just sit back and watch how the chips fall.

12:30 P.M.

So I was just outside in downtown Columbus, enjoying an opportunity to meet with my friend Jeff for some free Starbucks Coffee, taking in the beautiful election day sunshine. Sitting outside of Starbucks was a table of 4 high school students on break from their Youth the Vote duties at the Franklin County Board of Elections. When asked how things were going they stated that the phones are ringing off the hooks down there with voter and polling place problems. This doesn’t surprise me, I think this is endemic of “modern” elections here in the US. I’m hearing more and more stories about people being forced to vote provisional due to minor discrepencies in their ID. I’ve also had conversations with a couple coworkers who are concerned about the ID they have with them. Remember, ID law don’t necessarily do a better job of protecting our elections from fraud then the system in place before these laws – they do however cause a significant number of people to have to fight for their vote which is not how democracy should work. Particularly the “shining beacon of democracy” that the US is supposed to be.

While the news teams are lining up downtown, getting ready for the Dem/GOP parties this evening there is still a surprisingly low level of pedestrian traffic out there today. Other than the earlier post about Stivers (which was rebuked by Kilroy) supporters I haven’t seen any groups of supporters gathering downtown this year as they had in 2004 and 2006.

10:55 A.M.

Fred Anderle is live on Open Line discussing election protection and taking calls from Ohio voters about their issues so far today with voting. Listen HERE.

NBC4 will start live posting tweets to @decision2008 on their election night television broadcast starting at 7 P.M. Check out this blog post for more information.

So far it seems like voting is going much better today than it has the past 2 major elections. Glad for that!

9:17 A.M.

Tracy at Tiny Mantras has an excellent couple bits of advice that I want to quote here:

If you need backup against the uninformed in the next 24 hours, don’t forget to use Snopes and Factcheck.org.

And if you haven’t voted, go do it now. Or plan to take the day off work tomorrow with a book or Gameboy or knitting project or crossword puzzles or exercise plan and some snacks and a minor pain reliever (particularly if you have any joint or back problems). Try to enjoy the company of your fellow voters. Apparently standing in line can even help you burn calories.

Here are some stretches you can do to relieve tension while you wait.

NBC4 is going to be posting several live Qik videos throughout the day. Easiest way to follow along is to find NBCSquire on Twitter and follow him - he’s NBC4i’s genius social networker.

8:40 A.M.

Can’t keep up this pace all day because there is other work to do for me but I’ll try and update every 2 hours. That being said I want to make you aware of options for recording your story about this election, particularly if you’re having problems voting. First is the phone number 1.866.OUR.VOTE which offers legal advice to get your vote cast and counted correctly. Online there are two great options:

Video the Vote – http://www.videothevote.org/

Twitter Vote Report – http://twittervotereport.com/

8:15 A.M.

Just took a look outside and the Steve Stivers camp is setup right outside the NBC 4i “4 on the Square” window trying for some free coverage. The city is coming alive. Consider volunteering to walk the lines like Mary is as a way to help people stay in line to vote. Bring some food, etc.

Early in the Obama campaign an extremely inspirational video came out, a bit of that “Voter Generated Content” I talked about in my WOSU Commentary today. I want to give you a chance to hear/view that song again. Yes We Can.

 
7:41 A.M.

Drive into work today was gorgeous, cool crisp morning but not icy cold with the sun just starting to rise. I passed by 2 polling places in Upper Arlington and there were lines of probably a hundred or so people. You never see lines like that at the UA polls so I wonder if that was just a mad dash at the crack of dawn or if that will be the norm for the day.

Last night I went to bed around 11:30 P.M. and just before heading off NBC 4i was reporting hundreds of people still in line at Vets Memorial waiting to vote early. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is estimating a turnout of 80% of the electorate in Ohio; from what I’ve seen I think Franklin County will do its part to reach that.

One thing that was interesting was the lack of supporters at Broad and High this year. During the 2004 election there were constant streams of supporters lining the street corners starting as early as 6 A.M. but when I got in to work aaround 6:45 no one was out there yet. I’ll monitor that during the day as well.

Not surprising I’m only just now writing this because all anyone wants to do this morning is talk about the lines at their polling places. A coworker reports that his polling place in Grandview opened with only 2 machines setup and mass confusion between the poll workers. I’ll keep an eye on that as well.

One last note of condolence for Sen. Obama on the loss of his grandmother. Well let’s win one for grandma!