# McAuliffe Virginia's new Governor **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 6, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216 "2013-11-06T04:06:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/81 "2013-11-11T14:47:02Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > They can’t expand their base without surrendering almost everything it means to be Republican. **Now.** At the beginning, the GOP was pretty radical and perceived as more radical still. [This](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/1856-Republican-party-Fremont-isms-caricature.jpg) is how the Republican agenda was viewed when they got started: Negro equality, vegetarianism, free love, women’s suffrage, redistribution of wealth, and . . . **popery!** :eek: ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/82 "2013-11-11T14:48:05Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > I think that the electorate changes both as a result of immigration and as a result of older voters dying. And as a result of younger voters having grown up in and been shaped by a different world. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/83 "2013-11-11T21:27:35Z")
Owing to some uncounted voting machines turning up, [the Dems might take the VA AG’s office too](http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/11/11/democrats_might_have_won_the_last_big_election_of_2013_with_a_newly_discovered.html). ---
**Author:** ![buddy431](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@buddy431](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddy431)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/84 "2013-11-12T01:22:24Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Of course, as has recently been pointed out several times in this forum, that strategy can backfire when – as now – the GOP party-brand is so damaged as to alienate swing voters and thereby put even the gerrymandered districts in play. I think that accusations of gerrymandering get thrown about a bit more often than they’re actually warranted. Urban areas tend to vote heavily Democrat, while suburban and rural areas go Republican, but less heavily. So you get a third of your seats (those in the city) going 90% D, and the rest going 60-40 R. That’s not to say that gerrymandering doesn’t happen (it does), or that this is desirable (I think it’s not), but there’s not necessarily malice involved. The solution? Proportional representation, but good luck getting anyone to consider that. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/85 "2013-11-12T02:22:07Z")
I just watched Rachel Maddow talking about the latest big hairy ass scandal in VA voting. You didn’t, so you don’t know. But I do. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/86 "2013-11-12T03:32:22Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I just watched Rachel Maddow talking about the latest big hairy ass scandal in VA voting. You didn’t, so you don’t know. But I do. So, what is it? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/87 "2013-11-12T04:12:07Z")
It’s a very long story but the TL:DR is… Republicans changed the rule for counting provisional ballots in the most Dem and populous county in Virginia to rig the election for their candidate for Attorney General. A story posted earlier today by HuffPost: > **[Last-Minute GOP-Driven Change Causes Stir In Razor-Thin Virginia Race](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/virginia-attorney-general-race_n_4247571)** > > Last-Minute GOP-Driven Change Causes Stir In Razor-Thin Virginia Race Now, RM included a detail not in that article, that the order came by way of the Cooch, who had not given up his Atty Gen position, so technically was authorized to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Falchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Falchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falchion)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/88 "2013-11-12T15:05:14Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > It’s a very long story but the TL:DR is… > > Republicans changed the rule for counting provisional ballots in the most Dem and populous county in Virginia to rig the election for their candidate for Attorney General. A story posted earlier today by HuffPost: > [Republicans Just Changed The Rules After A Virginia Election To Change The Outcome | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/09/virginia-attorney-general-race_n_4247571.html) > > Now, RM included a detail not in that article, that the order came by way of the Cooch, who had not given up his Atty Gen position, so technically was authorized to do it. That article doesn’t really tell me what the rule is or how it was changed or how it only affects the “most Dem and populous county in Virginia.” It talks about something to do with legal counsel for provisional ballots, and then talks about absentee ballots being undercounted in one area of Fairfax. Although, on the plus side, they “found” a missing machine in Richmond full of Herring votes. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/89 "2013-11-12T15:06:29Z")
> [@Falchion](#): > > Although, on the plus side, they “found” a missing machine in Richmond full of Herring votes. Works better without the scare quotes. ---
**Author:** ![Falchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Falchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falchion)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/90 "2013-11-12T15:09:14Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Works better without the scare quotes. Apparently this sort of thing is common. But I’m not sure how the mystery machine full of just enough votes to put Herring ahead in a close election isn’t suspicious. And, before I get accused otherwise, it’s a bipartisan problem. The notion that the absentee ballot reader in Fairfax failing to read ballots only from a Dem area: also suspicious. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/91 "2013-11-12T15:14:43Z")
> [@Falchion](#): > > Apparently this sort of thing is common. Yes, there is still a glaring need for reform and improved systems. But 12 years after this kind of thing screwed up a presidential election, practically nothing has happened. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/92 "2013-11-12T15:40:05Z")
About that rule change. My understanding is as follows: previously, what happened when it came time to vet provisional ballots, was that the representative of the voter, a Democrat and a Republican, (a total of three), would gather to vet the provisional ballot. The voter him/her self was also permitted to attend, but not required, and generally would not if there was little reason to question the legitimacy of the provisional ballot. The new rule, brought to bear after the election was done, demanded that the voter had to be present _in person_ to defend the legitimacy of their provisional ballot. Now, the delightful Ms. Maddow further contends that this order was issued from the Office of the Atty. Gen of Virginia, a bright young man named Coochi-something or other, a person of some local notoriety. The HuffPo article makes no such claim. Since Fairfax County is the most populous and most Dem county in all of Virginia, it is to be noted that this cannot help but result in a considerable lowering of Dem vote count. It is also to be noted that this interpretation of the law is a recent development. _Very_ recent. Lawyers can be seen gathering for a Festival of Billable Hours. Ms Maddow explained it all much better and longer than I am willing to type, there is a web site available where you can view her explanation and I so encourage. > **[Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC | Watch Rachel Maddow Live](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show)** > > More about the MSNBC Rachel Maddow Show airing weeknights at 9 PM. Watch Rachel Maddow tonight or online with updated video & episodes at MSNBC. It must be fairly noted that sometimes Ms Maddow’s reporting is a bit shy of the strictly non-partisan factuality I ordinarily demand from commentators. In my personal estimation, a swan’s neck, girlish giggle and a mind like a steel trap outweigh such considerations. So sue me. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/93 "2013-11-12T15:41:03Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Yes, there is still a glaring need for reform and improved systems. But 12 years after this kind of thing screwed up a presidential election, practically nothing has happened. If you want a real solution to America’s real problems with election administration (those problems being 1) the system is hyperfederalized, every county doing things its own way, and 2) the system is partisan, election officials being elected officials rather than civil servants), Rick Hasen, in [_The Voting Wars,_](http://www.amazon.com/The-Voting-Wars-Election-Meltdown/dp/0300198248/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375067109&sr=8-1&keywords=the+voting+wars) provides it: > [@](#): > > We need nonpartisan, professional election administration at the federal, state and local levels, with more power in the hands of the federal government than state government and power power in the hands of the states than the localities. Neutral election officials, whose allegiance is not to a political party or candidate but to a fair election system, should be the norm. > > \ > > “Let a thousand flowers bloom” should not be the model for how we run our elections. We should follow the path of other mature democracies. A nonpartisan election czar or panel of three should run our national elections, with political insulation and a long term of service. The czar should impose uniformity, competence, and discipline on the election process. > > If used on a national scale, the president would make the nomination subject to a two-thirds or three-fourths confirmation vote by both houses of Congress. The large supermajority requirement would ensure that the person picked is a consensus candidate who cannot be easily manipulated by political forces. The election czar (or committee) should have the power to impose uniform standards on federal elections. Ideally, a voter should be able to walk into any polling place, anywhere in the country, and see the same voting equipment and the same ballot format. Election boards with balanced representation from both parties should have the power to monitor operations conducted by the nonpartisan official, with ample protection for either party to call for grand jury investigations if there are allegations of partisanship or incompetence. > > \ > > There should be uniform standards for how to deal with absentee ballots and provisional ballots. Election laws should be updated so that the rules are clear and established in advance. States should conduct periodic election law audits to ensure that laws are up to date, clear, and match current voting technology. Uniformity not only minimizes the grounds for a potential postelection contest but benefits all voters by ensuring a fair process. > > The registration rolls should be uniform as well. The federal government should be in the business of registering all voters, paying all costs associated with registration and voter verification. Registration should begin when someone graduates from high school (or drops out), and voter registration should follow citizens wherever they go with a unique voter identification number (which would differ from a Social Security number). The government should provide a voter identification card to each voter, but voters lacking identification would have the choice of using a thumprint or other means too verify their identity. > > Votging machine hardware and software should have government approval. The source code and hardware should undergo rigtorous independent testing and full disclosure to government officials before rollout and implementation. Manufacturers should not be able to frustrate efforts to improve security by claiming that the source code is proprietary. > > Forget everything you just read. None of it is going to happen. Despite the Florida debacle, states have not moved toward greater non-partisan election administration. Florida did get rid of its partisan elected secretary of state. But now the position is appointed by the governor, without the supermajority confirmation requirement that would keep the office apolitical. Neither Democrats nor Republicans see much benefit in giving up the chance to have one of their own as the state’s chief election officer. > > More generally, the Voting Wars have shown the parties the virtue of manipulating election rules for their advantage. The parties have a vested interest in keeping some partisan control. And local election officials fight for power against state officials, while both fight against federal control. There’s no strong lobby for change. The window for change following 2000 closed quickly with the half-measure of the Help America Vote Act. > > Nor is there support for mandatory, government-paid national voter registration with a voter identification – much less with biometric information like a fingerprint. When I first proposed such a system, in 2005, I managed the nearly impossible feat of uniting the two political parties around an idea. Unfortunately, they were united in opposition. Republicans oppose federal control, oppose another government program, and oppose government control on principle. Democrats oppose voter identification requirements, even if the government pays for it and goes out and registers voters, even though a large majority of the public supports such identification. Civil libertarians don’t like the government having your thumbprint. Barring a much worse meltdown than 2000, nationalizing our elections won’t happen in our lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/94 "2013-11-12T17:11:17Z")
How the heck do you find nonpartisan people, and how do you ensure that they’re nonpartisan? > [@](#): > > If used on a national scale, the president would make the nomination subject to a two-thirds or three-fourths confirmation vote by both houses of Congress. The large supermajority requirement would ensure that the person picked is a consensus candidate who cannot be easily manipulated by political forces And how would this work when one political party has a goal of deliberately sabotaging everything relating to government? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/95 "2013-11-12T17:13:39Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > How the heck do you find nonpartisan people, and how do you ensure that they’re nonpartisan? We have a whole federal bureaucracy that is effectively nonpartisan. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/96 "2013-11-12T17:59:10Z")
The Apathy Party, for instance. The vast majority of Americans are solidly apathetic. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/97 "2013-11-13T19:25:51Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > It’s a very long story but the TL:DR is… > > Republicans changed the rule for counting provisional ballots in the most Dem and populous county in Virginia to rig the election for their candidate for Attorney General. A story posted earlier today by HuffPost: > [Republicans Just Changed The Rules After A Virginia Election To Change The Outcome | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/09/virginia-attorney-general-race_n_4247571.html) > > Now, RM included a detail not in that article, that the order came by way of the Cooch, who had not given up his Atty Gen position, so technically was authorized to do it. I think it sounds worse than it is. Neither the voter nor the representative has to be present at all for the vote to be counted. But the intent of the memo from the AG’s office looks every bit as nefarious as you describe. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/98 "2013-12-15T23:20:32Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Will this be enough to wake the Republicans up? McAuliffe is a pretty unlikeable guy and not even a mediocre candidate. One would think that would tell the GOP that Teabaggers are an electoral carcinogen. Had they run someone with any degree of moderation, they could probably have kept the governor’s seat. No, they will insist that they need candidates who are MORE conservative. They are that un-self-aware. I think the Va. GOP just decided to have a caucus rather than a primary to choose their challenger to Sen. Mark Warner next year. That was their downfall in this election. They haven’t learned yet. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/99 "2013-12-15T23:24:12Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > That’s the [Dunning-Kruger Effect](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Dunning-Kruger_effect) in action. I am so glad I discovered the name for this, because I noticed it on the Internet many years ago. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216/100 "2013-12-19T15:17:13Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Owing to some uncounted voting machines turning up, [the Dems might take the VA AG’s office too](http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/11/11/democrats_might_have_won_the_last_big_election_of_2013_with_a_newly_discovered.html). They finally finished the recount in the election for Virginia Attorney General – [Mark Obenshain (R) concedes to Mark Herring (D)](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/obenshain-to-concede-virginia-attorney-generals-race-on-wednesday-in-richmond/2013/12/18/fe85a31c-67e7-11e3-8b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html), giving the Dems a clean sweep of statewide offices. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcauliffe-virginias-new-governor/673216.md?page=6)