# Election Day \[Week\]\[Month\[s\]\] \[Year\] 2020 follow-along thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 3, 2020, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618 "2020-11-03T05:36:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Theodore-Striker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Theodore-Striker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theodore-Striker)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/41 "2020-11-03T16:07:18Z")
I’m really trying not to pay any attention until after 7:30 this evening, other than to watch out for any access blocking type of crap. I’m in Butler County, OH, home of John Boehner, and traditionally solid red to the point where the local Dem chair said that 40-45% for Biden would be considered a win for them, because it lessens the burden everywhere else. Like a lot of places, there have been a record number of early voters here, and I was encouraged to see the amount of younger and minority voters in line when I went. I have zero delusions about the results here, but here is to hope. I’m just glad there didn’t seem to be any shenanigans. As a tidbit, from the donation tracker I saw, (maybe the NYT?), many of the zip codes in the county had more Biden donors than Trump. I am really hoping the US doesn’t fudge this up again. I’m taking tomorrow off just in case. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/42 "2020-11-03T16:25:35Z")
[Jennifer Cohn on Twitter](https://twitter.com/jennycohn1) is keeping running track of districts where voting issues are happening, including a county-wide failure of voting machines in Spalding County, GA. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/43 "2020-11-03T16:34:23Z")
So, an interesting experience today: I was working the polls with my teacher endorsement cards, and next to me were two college classmates of our Republican Congressional candidate, passing out flyers _against_ him. Madison Cawthorn went to a small, conservative Christian college for a semester, where he was [loathed](https://www.thewrap.com/johnny-depp-loses-uk-libel-suit-wife-beater-claim-called-substantially-true/). One of his classmates told me that her friend was sexually assaulted by Cawthorn in his truck, and that in a history class, he declared, “If I had been a slave-owner and my slaves had run away, I would have killed them.” For her–and for Cawthorn’s other classmate that was there, and apparently for other classmates I heard were at other polling sites–it’s very personal. They might be conservative Christians, but that’s a point _against_ voting for someone who assaults women and lies about acceptance to naval academy and misrepresents his college time. Never before have I seen this sort of poll worker. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/44 "2020-11-03T16:51:03Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > [Jennifer Cohn on Twitter](https://twitter.com/jennycohn1) is keeping running track of districts where voting issues are happening, including a county-wide failure of voting machines in Spalding County, GA. Is there some place to see this same information for us non-Twitter birds? ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/45 "2020-11-03T16:52:40Z")
Without making any judgment on the propriety or ethical implications of poll workers advocating or discouraging support for a candidate as they work an election – and surely it seems they have a basis for their strong feelings – I have to say that the name, ‘Madison Cawthorn,’ conjures the most graphic example of a punchable face I have ever experienced. If you were writing a novel and trying to come up with a name for your most loathsome character, you would settle on Madison Cawthorn. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/46 "2020-11-03T16:54:20Z")
I suspect “working the polls” does not mean an actual poll worker, but as someone handing out partisan voter information outside the polling location, making sure everyone of their party is showing up, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/47 "2020-11-03T16:55:28Z")
I think you are right. I still want to punch Madison Cawthorn, though. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/48 "2020-11-03T16:55:45Z")
Ohhhh it’s going to be a long day. Week/Month/Year ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/49 "2020-11-03T17:10:38Z")
Hey, since it’s early still, which are good news services to watch tonight? I was thinking CNN or PBS ( if they do that) I’ll be watching online and won’t start until about 5:00 Pacific. I’d really like to not watch loud mouth fools yammering at me. I wish 538 did a live broadcast. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/50 "2020-11-03T17:10:45Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I have the TV on background as I work at home today, and geez Louise, the political commercials are still wall-to-wall. I can’t imagine a still-undecided voter is sitting at home right now, sees an ad and says, “hey, I totally see the point of view of that ad at long last, and now my choice is finally clear!” I had the same thought driving by a polling place and seeing the mass of lawn signs (at the proper distance of course). Like someone going to the polls is gonna go “well, those 6 Biden Harris signs really put it over the top for me.” ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/51 "2020-11-03T17:14:34Z")
I think the people who get the most benefit from campaign signs are those for candidates without a lot of name recognition. Like nobody’s gonna change their vote for Biden or Trump, but if they see a lot of Joe Schmoe signs around for a local election, even if they know nothing else about Joe Schmoe, they might go for the name they recognize. Just a theory about why campaign signs are a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/52 "2020-11-03T17:27:28Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Is there some place to see this same information for us non-Twitter birds? What happens when you click on that link? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/53 "2020-11-03T17:39:31Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > The last couple of days I’ve been thinking that if Trump wins, we really should consider splitting the country into 3 to reflect/allow very different folk to form their own societies. > > 1 East coast from Maine down to Virginia, and across to Wisc/IL > 2 South - from the Carolinas down to Fla, and across through Tenn/KY, Texas and up to the Dakotahs > 3 W coast - Wash/Or/Ca. > > Sure, the boundaries could be tweaked, and many people will be pissed, but it impresses me as doable, and preferable to having folk who clearly feel so differently on so many significant issues trying to co-exist. Take a look at a county-by-county map sometime. No, it’s not doable. (says the person living in a red chunk of New York.) Either this is the country in which people who feel differently on many significant issues can co-exist, or it’s not gonna be a country at all. That is what we are _about_. > [@Icarus](#): > > Is there some place to see this same information for us non-Twitter birds? I don’t have a Twitter account, but find that I can usually read Twitter threads. Try the link and see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/54 "2020-11-03T17:40:59Z")
What state(s) in the Eastern Time Zone will show whether or not Trump or Biden wins? I’m thinking Pennsylvania and Georgia. PA is close in the polls and was key for Trump in 2020. Georgia because of electing two Senators should get the Dems out in force and give the state to Biden so we need to see if that happened. One thing that 2016 showed was Trump votes were severely underrepresentated in the polling. A few key states on EST should show if that’s the case this year. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/55 "2020-11-03T17:44:26Z")
Florida, North Carolina and Georgia. They will all have vote totals early in the process that will give a strong indication of which candidate is going to prevail. ---
**Author:** ![Temporary\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/56 "2020-11-03T17:44:44Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I don’t have a Twitter account, but find that I can usually read Twitter threads. Try the link and see what happens. I can usually read threads too, but often I cannot get video to play through Twitter (happened at least once though). ---
**Author:** ![Temporary\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/57 "2020-11-03T17:50:43Z")
No one has mentioned it yet, but CNN has been reporting for a couple of days that the post office has been slowing down ballot delivery despite court orders and assurances from postal officials. Does anyone have specific information on the matter? In many states, if it does not get delivered today it is not a valid ballot the way I understand it. Looks very underhanded to me, but I don’t have all the information. (And I realize this thread is primarily about live, election day votes – but these undelivered ballots may have a bigger effect than in person votes in certain counties or LD’s.) ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/58 "2020-11-03T17:53:11Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > No, it’s not doable. (says the person living in a red chunk of New York.) Either this is the country in which people who feel differently on many significant issues can co-exist, or it’s not gonna be a country at all. That is what we are _about_. More to the point, such a conceit just buys into the notion that the electoral college framework actually represents the country. It does not. A state which votes 52% for Trump votes 48% for Biden, (more or less). In reality, you can’t in any meaningful way say it’s a “red” state, without completely ignoring that 48%. It’s only a “red state” in the Electoral College frame of reference–but that’s not truly representative of what’s actually happening. Such a division of the country would serve no purpose, because no state is 100% red or blue. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/59 "2020-11-03T17:58:45Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > I suspect “working the polls” does not mean an actual poll worker, but as someone handing out partisan voter information outside the polling location, making sure everyone of their party is showing up, etc. Yup–sorry I was unclear, I meant “poll greeter.” She was standing outside–next to a guy who was advocating for Cawthorn himself–passing out these flyers. And yeah, Cawthorn is about as loathsome a character as you could imagine. He’s a fraud straight out of a Joseph Heller novel. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/60 "2020-11-03T18:00:16Z")
Call me what you will - I choose not to engage in some social media platforms. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618.md?page=4)