# Election Day Omnibus thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 4, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683 "2024-11-04T20:15:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/241 "2024-11-05T20:39:07Z")
A broadcasting (though not NBC) friend has told me that hat the media like to consider ever separate stream as a separate revenue source. In other words if a sponsor wants eyes on both the traditional and online platforms, they should pay two separate fees .n ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/242 "2024-11-05T20:40:56Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Very quick vote. Gee, you’re lucky. Mine was _two_ ballots, front and back on both. A big chunk of it was thirteen propositions, all but two put on by a legislature too chicken-shit to try and get them passed as laws. Things like making it more difficult for _citizen_ propositions to get signatures and _decreasing_ the minimum wage for tipped workers. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/243 "2024-11-05T20:41:11Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > At that point you stop blaming the campaign(s), and _directly_ blame the voters that put him in. [Way ahead of you, partner.](https://youtu.be/LbsgyUE-vLc?si=LN1qWstoC18xE5Yq) There has always been an undercurrent of fascism in the United States that people fervently deny but has become evident over the last eight years with the raise of “MAGA” and the bizarre hero-worship of Trump, a man who has never served the public in any aspect, who has a history of only corruption and failures, who has violated every more and standard of decency, and whom only slightly less than half of the voting public has nonetheless voted to the highest and ostensibly most powerful office in the land twice, and will certainly again. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/244 "2024-11-05T20:43:43Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > My polling place has 2 people doing the sign in per precinct, so that’s going pretty fast. At 10:15 (not a peak time) the line was three people long. Even at the peak “before work” and “between work and supper” hours, in guessing the lines will be short. I voted at 2:15. There was one person in line in front of me, and it was my wife. I really, really like the Massachusetts voting process, I can’t imagine anything more efficient. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/245 "2024-11-05T20:43:43Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Our ballot was surprisingly sparse for a presidential election year. One house and one senate seat. A couple of local councils. A couple of board of ed. Absolutely no questions or ballot initiatives. There are usually a couple of minor ones at least. Our ballot was long. In addition to President, one Senate seat, US Congress, state representatives, and state senate, there were, I think, 6 statewide referenda and three local ones. Missouri also votes whether or not to retain judges, and there were like 26 judges. And we only do paper ballots now, with a rectangular box to fill in with the crappy little pen they give you at check in. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/246 "2024-11-05T20:46:04Z")
The Harris team has made 1.6 million phone calls and knocked on 235,000 doors since Saturday. > **[Election 2024 live updates: Latest news and results as Americans head to the...](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/live-blog/presidential-election-2024-live-updates-rcna175556/rcrd62559?canonicalCard=true)** > > Live updates and the latest news on the 2024 election as voters hit the polls to decide who will be the next United States president, Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. I can’t help but wonder what the Republicans’ numbers are. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/247 "2024-11-05T20:47:50Z")
I know they held a rally. Not sure how that went for them. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/248 "2024-11-05T20:49:37Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > In other words if a sponsor wants eyes on both the traditional and online platforms, they should pay two separate fees They’re doing a poor job of selling streaming ad space then. I have yet to see a revenue-generating one. > [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > I suspect this system was started due to Republican paranoia about rigged machines. My entire life I’ve voted only on pieces of paper, from Vote-o-matic cards to bedsheet ballots. I kind of like that because it gives you something permanent you can verify with later, if need be. Plus it’s traditional. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/249 "2024-11-05T20:50:03Z")
I’m a little surprised at **[how prominent paper ballots are in 2024 elections](https://ballotpedia.org/Voting_methods_and_equipment_by_state)**. The mantra, I imagine, is “_paper trails are more secure!_” I don’t know … I soured on paper after Florida 2000. Since I started voting, this state has never had paper ballots. I’ve always pressed a button on a device to cast a vote. Filling out a Scantron would seem like a step backwards … but I see from the link above almost all states disagree nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/250 "2024-11-05T20:50:21Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I really, really like the Massachusetts voting process, I can’t imagine anything more efficient. Oregon and Washington would like a word with you. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/251 "2024-11-05T20:51:04Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > The Harris team has made 1.6 million phone calls and knocked on 235,000 doors since Saturday. > > [https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/live-blog/presidential-election-2024-live-updates-rcna175556/rcrd62559?canonicalCard=true](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/live-blog/presidential-election-2024-live-updates-rcna175556/rcrd62559?canonicalCard=true) > > I can’t help but wonder what the Republicans’ numbers are . Simon Rosenberg posted this chart with **[his Substack this morning](https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/election-day-one-more-day-to-work)**: [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F16369900-1019-4fe5-b2cb-803ce2989f16_1068x824.jpeg) ](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F16369900-1019-4fe5-b2cb-803ce2989f16_1068x824.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/252 "2024-11-05T20:53:40Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > We had a hybrid system this year. In the past it’s been all electronic. **This year we were handed a blank paper that we would feed into the computer we were voting at. Once we completed the ballot, our selections were printed on the paper and then we had to go deposit that paper in a sealed box.** I suspect this system was started due to Republican paranoia about rigged machines . (my emphasis) Louisiana could probably switch to this painlessly, as the input of votes would be essentially the same procedure as everyone is used to. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/253 "2024-11-05T20:54:09Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Filling out a Scantron would seem like a step backwards Filling out a Scantron is perfect. It’s easy for a human to read and understand the ballot. It’s easy for a machine to read and count the ballot. There’s a paper trail. And there’s no problem with thru-put, because each voter spends about 15 seconds interacting with the expensive, secure machine. (Feeding their marked ballot into it.) The actual voting part just requires a cheap pen and a cheap platform on which to place the paper. I’ve never dealt with significant lines in a place that uses paper ballots. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/254 "2024-11-05T20:55:43Z")
You’re in Texas, right? That’s how it was here in Austin when I voted on Friday. The previous voting method was entirely touchscreen but this time it was feeding a plastic-feeling long sheet into the machine. I was thinking something akin to Florida-2000 hanging chads when I did so. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/255 "2024-11-05T20:56:07Z")
Possibly promising sign: I was unable to early vote in my extremely progressive district because the lines were always hours long through the two-week window. So this morning I voted at my actual precinct and had no line at all! I guess voting in person on election day is the one weird trick that saves you time now. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/256 "2024-11-05T20:56:14Z")
Hahaha fair, i’m sure Colorado would as well. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/257 "2024-11-05T20:56:34Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Simon Rosenberg posted this chart with **[his Substack this morning](https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/election-day-one-more-day-to-work)**: The omission of 2016 and 2020 is glaring, and makes me wonder how useful this is. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > Filling out a Scantron is perfect. It’s easy for a human to read and understand the ballot. It’s easy for a machine to read and count the ballot. There’s a paper trail. Yeah, I have done that in every election I’ve ever participated in. It’s easy and quick and simple, with all of the other advantages you included. And now we can mail it or drop it in a ballot box at our convenience. (When I first started voting, I had to vote at a poll place, but it was still the same ballots we still use.) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/258 "2024-11-05T20:56:51Z")
Meanwhile, I have no idea what’s happening in the front row, but apparently we are the only people who will be going to the theater tonight. [![](https://i.imgur.com/OrH4zo0_d.webp?maxwidth=760&fidelity=grand) ](https://i.imgur.com/OrH4zo0_d.webp?maxwidth=760&fidelity=grand) ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/259 "2024-11-05T20:57:55Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > > [@bordelond](#): > > > > Simon Rosenberg posted this chart with **[his Substack this morning](https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/election-day-one-more-day-to-work)**: > > The omission of 2016 and 2020 is glaring, and makes me wonder how useful this is. In the text, Rosenberg was comparing Harris’ campaign to Obama’s campaign during his two runs. That’s all – he wasn’t comparing against Hillary Clinton’s or Biden’s campaigns. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683/260 "2024-11-05T20:58:28Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > In the text, Rosenberg was comparing Harris’ campaign to Obama’s campaign during his two runs. That’s all – he wasn’t comparing against Hillary Clinton’s or Biden’s campaigns. Okay, that’s fair then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-omnibus-thread/1009683.md?page=14)