Early Voting - Record turn outs reported

[DoYouEverWonder]

Turnout is heavy in early voting - Baxter Bulletin, AR
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061028/NEWS01/610280318/1002

12,426 cast ballots in 1st 4 days of early voting - El Paso Times, TX
http://elpasotimes.com/election/ci_4565192

County voters continue to set records for early voting - The Benton Courier, AR
http://www.bentoncourier.com/articles/2006/10/27/news/36lnews.txt

County Expands Early Voting Due To High Turnout- KUTV, UT
http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_300162607.html

Regional early voting turnout heavy - Chattanooga Times, TN
http://www.tfponline.com/absolutenm/templates/breaking.aspx?articleid=6516&zoneid=41

Early voting off to strong start - Daily Iberian, LA
http://www.iberianet.com/articles/2006/10/27/news/news/news70.txt

Early Voting a hit - Baker County Standard, FL
http://www.bcstandard.com/news/2006/1025/Community/005.html

Early voting requests up 45 percent over last midterm - Tucson Citizen, AZ
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/30827.php

Early voting finds popularity - Martinsburg Journal, WV
http://www.journal-news.net/news/articles.asp?articleID=4667

GOP outpaced in early voting - Charleston Gazette, WV
http://wvgazette.com/section/News/2006102522


Early Voting tends to favor DEMS and this year the turn outs are higher across the country.

[derby378]

1. *sigh*

Early voting is also more susceptible to being hacked by touchscreen machines.

[Herman74]

2. Really?

Isn't early voting more apt to be employing absentee ballots, i.e., written ballots?

[newyawker99]

7. Hi Herman74!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. Any form of voting can be hacked when computers are used

to 'count' the votes.

However, Early Voting is much less susceptible to fraud because you have to vote in person. Plus if you run into any problem with your voter's registration, at least you still have time to solve the problems before it's too late.

In a flawed system, EV is still the best way to vote.

[derby378]

4. In my county, EV is only by touchscreen or by absentee vote

On Election Day itself, I can use an actual paper ballot. That way, the poll watchers and election judge are right there with my ballot in case there's a problem.

[ccpup]

5. over on bradblog

there are already reports of Vote Hopping (always to the Repug candidate, of course) in the early voting taking place in Texas, Missouri and Arkansas, though. We should be screaming bloody murder about it NOW, folks. Call them on their slimey game right at the get-go.

[KoKo]

6. They said that about Election 04 that "early voting" favors Dems....but

it turns out it didn't. Voting Rights Advocates were hoping for bigger turnout on Election Day to make a statement.

[DoYouEverWonder]

8. I personally crunched the numbers for FL in 2004

And Kerry beat Bush in the EV.

Plus the reports that the turnout across the country is breaking EV records is very significant this year. You know it's not the Bushbots that are all excited about voting this time. Rove's machine is broken and can't get up. If we are seeing large number at EV, I'm willing to bet the numbers will favor DEMS this time.

[BeFree]

9. It is crucial this time...

....to get that number crunching as soon as possible. Can you help out in the ER with that before election day?

I see that it is possible that rove will use the early voting numbers to establish a percentage that he needs to steal on election day, and that is why, I think, early voting was being discouraged.

[DoYouEverWonder]

10. ER?

the Election Reform forum?

-------

Yes, I believe Rove watches those numbers very closely and so should we.

The problem for Rove is the number of registered DEM vs registered REP voters. What happened in FL is more DEMS the REPS voted in EV and Election Day. In order for Bush to win, a fair number of the IND and the DEMS who waited for election day to voted supposedly voted REP and that was how Bush won.

Across the board, wherever Bush needed the boost, the numbers flipped on Election Day in his favor. They never flipped toward Kerry. What Bush did supposedly is statistically impossible. That was what the whole Dixcrat myth was about.

[Lars39]

11. Fwiw, the repubs in my county are encouraging early voting.

Are early votes only counted if it's a close race?

[Reciprocity]

12. I would like to know this also.

[DoYouEverWonder]

15. They are counted on election day

after the polls closed along with the ABS and Election Day ballots.

[Reciprocity]

13. Angelina County 4,507 ballots had been cast during the first five days

After the polls closed Friday evening, Shanklin said, 4,507 ballots had been cast during the first five days of early voting in Angelina County — compared to 3,284 ballots cast in the first five days of the last gubernatorial election. Of the ballots cast so far this year, Shanklin said, 415 were sent by mail.
http://www.lufkindailynews.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/10/28/early_voting.html
Thats 1,223 more than the last gubernatorial election.

[sampsonblk]

14. I think this favors the GOP...

but I sure hope not. My understanding is that early voting usually goes towards Dems, but I haven't heard any Dem candidates pressing the issue this year. On the other hand, the GOPers are really on top of it this time around. Nice, huh? Oppose fixing the election systems nationwide, then tell your voters to vote early to avoid . . . the unreliable election systems!

[CanonRay]

16. 30.1% of registered Dems in our county requested Absentee Ballots

[NVMojo]

17. keep us posted on this ......please