# Never mind counting the votes, we have a winner! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 10, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077 "2008-02-10T21:40:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/41 "2008-02-11T17:29:55Z")
The Republican Party is being commendably consistent. A couple elections ago, they told Al Gore he should shut up and go home; now, under similar circumstances, they are giving the same message to one of their own. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/42 "2008-02-11T17:50:09Z")
[QUOTE=ArizonaTeach] Yeah, thankfully, the united Dems are [holding hands](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=455209) and [singing](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=455202) right now. [/QUOTE] [Kumbayah](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a980911a.html), ya Bitch. Kumbayah… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/43 "2008-02-11T18:04:41Z")
[QUOTE=Pochacco] The Washington State Republican Party did something very, very odd yesterday. They sent out [a press release](http://www.wsrp.org/News/Read.aspx?ID=7043) announcing that McCain had won the state 25.5% to Huckabee’s 23.7%. What’s odd about the press release is that it also announces that only 87.2% of the precincts have been counted! [/QUOTE] So, what? did Ron Paul get the other 50.8% of the vote, or are Washington residents just really fond of writing in Underdog? ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/44 "2008-02-11T19:26:28Z")
[QUOTE=Taber] So, what? did Ron Paul get the other 50.8% of the vote, or are Washington residents just really fond of writing in Underdog? [/QUOTE] Interestingly enough, the Spokane news last night said that in the Spokane area, Ron Paul actually _did_ take somewhere around 50% of the vote (sorry, I don’t remember the actual number). ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/45 "2008-02-11T19:27:02Z")
[QUOTE=Taber] So, what? did Ron Paul get the other 50.8% of the vote, or are Washington residents just really fond of writing in Underdog? [/QUOTE] Apparently, Ron Paul got 21%, Romney got 17% (despite having already dropped out), and 13% are still uncomitted. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/46 "2008-02-11T19:45:43Z")
[QUOTE=amarinth] Apparently, Ron Paul got 21%, Romney got 17% (despite having already dropped out), and 13% are still uncomitted. [/QUOTE] The Romney votes make sense, these were mostly mail-in ballots, I think, so they were probably mailed in before he dropped. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/47 "2008-02-11T20:33:47Z")
[QUOTE=Taber] The Romney votes make sense, these were mostly mail-in ballots, I think, so they were probably mailed in before he dropped. [/QUOTE] It was a caucus, not a primary, so I don’t think there were any mail-in ballots. Lots of Republicans in Washington State seem to just really dislike John McCain. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/48 "2008-02-11T20:40:54Z")
[QUOTE=Phase42] Interesting. I dropped my mail-in ballot in the box at the courthouse on the 5th, but unless I seriously misread something, the ballot deadline is the 19th. Since we switched to vote-by-mail here (I’m not sure if this is statewide, or just my county), ballots have arrived in my mailbox 2-4 weeks before Election Day. This primary ballot only showed up a few days before the 5th, which would fit the normal timeline for a Feb. 19 Election Day. [/QUOTE] So, mail in ballots then. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/49 "2008-02-11T20:52:16Z")
[QUOTE=Taber] So, mail in ballots then. [/QUOTE] No. See post#24. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/50 "2008-02-11T20:57:23Z")
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig] No. See post#24. [/QUOTE] My mistake, looks like **Pochacco** was right then. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/51 "2008-02-11T21:05:10Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] I guess if Obama wins at the convention, we can go ahead and inaugurate him since he’s projected to beat McCain. [/QUOTE] If you could convince the Republican party of that, we could save ourselves months of stupid TV ads. Sounds good to me. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/52 "2008-02-11T21:27:19Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] We’ll see come monday, at which time they tell us they’ll have a ‘final’ report. I’m sure that the Washington GOP’s commitment to democracy is every bit as strong as the national party’s, so everything is bound to work out for the best. [/QUOTE] It’s only natural that the corruption that’s endemic among the national GOP leadership should … what’s that phrase? Oh, yeah … trickle down to the state parties. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/53 "2008-02-11T21:35:31Z")
trickle _on_, more like it. What I’m getting is a powerful desire to get it over with, get McCain safely nominated so he’s not taking any more hits. The Pubbie leadership would rather pound sand than have McCain for a nominee, but they figure they’re stuck. They are praying for the "rally round’ effect to take hold, the sooner the better. Last thing they need is for Huckleberry to get up enough support so that he gets up a head of steam, gets people energized about him even though he can’t win. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/54 "2008-02-11T22:33:37Z")
[QUOTE=Taber] The Romney votes make sense, these were mostly mail-in ballots, I think, so they were probably mailed in before he dropped. [/QUOTE] These weren’t primaries (which are mail ins) these were caucuses. People sat in rooms on Saturday and picked Romney. People and their neighbors sat around, discussed things and decided that one out of every six delegates should go to a guy who isn’t actually running. Those are conversations I would have loved to have heard. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/55 "2008-02-11T22:45:59Z")
[QUOTE=amarinth] These weren’t primaries (which are mail ins) these were caucuses. People sat in rooms on Saturday and picked Romney. People and their neighbors sat around, discussed things and decided that one out of every six delegates should go to a guy who isn’t actually running. [/QUOTE] He flat out [won](http://www.kcgop.org/documents/KingCoCaucusPrelimResults.pdf) the 5th legislative district. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/56 "2008-02-11T22:50:25Z")
[MCCAIN SAYS IT’S CLEAR HE WON WA](http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/02/11/656283.aspx) > [@](#): > > “It’s pretty clear that we won [in Washington],” McCain said. “[Huckabee] certainly has the right to challenge if he chooses to. But I honestly don’t know enough about the details except that I know that state parties declare elections when they have sufficient evidence as to who’s won and who’s lost. That’s not unusual in any way.” Changing things now would violate the Equal Protection clause. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077/57 "2008-02-12T03:29:51Z")
[Big mess in Snohomish County](http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_021108POL_huckabee_disputes_SW.b1b974e7.html), or is it a big mess statewide? > [@](#): > > When voters participating in the caucuses walked through the door, they signed in. In Snohomish County, that sign-in sheet is what Republicans used to report results. > > “And then the very last column asked them for their preference if they were to vote today, and those were the numbers we counted,” said Geri Modrell, Snohomish County Republican chair. > > In reality, Republicans acknowledge the sign-in sheet is not an accurate way to figure out who won. After signing in, caucus-goers had plenty of time to debate and change their minds. What really matters is what delegates they picked in the end to go to the county convention. > > For example, the winner on the sign-in sheets in Pierce County was Huckabee, with 609 supporters showing up. But, by the time Pierce County elected delegates, it flipped, and John McCain walked away with 192 delegates, beating Huckabee. > > In Snohomish County, caucus leaders say they also noticed the sign-up sheets did not match the final delegates at all. Some counties reported _delegate_ preferences, while others others reported _individual_ preferences. With a cockup like this, it’s no wonder the state party failed to deliver its ‘final report’ today. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-counting-the-votes-we-have-a-winner/437077.md?page=2)