Senators, Representatives, and Referenda
November 8, 2016 8:40 AM   Subscribe

State election results, get yer state election results here! Thirty-four Senate seats are up for re-election, of which 11 are competitive: AZ, FL, IL, IN, LA, MO, NC, NH, NV, PA, and WI. You can follow House races to judge whether it's a "wave" election. Referenda are all over the map (ha!) but here's a few highlights, with special focus on pot, DC statehood, and everything California. If you want to talk about Clinton/Trump, head on over to the presidential post.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (236 comments total) 33 users marked this as a favorite
 
The only noteworthy statewide matter on the Virginia ballot is a referendum on whether we should add a right-to-work amendment to our state constitution. Fuck that noise.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:46 AM on November 8, 2016 [12 favorites]


I'm really curious how Mass's pot measure will do. The last poll I saw said it'll pass, so I look forward to all the pot dispensaries invading the Framingham/Natick Shopping Vortex.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 8:47 AM on November 8, 2016 [7 favorites]


Come on carbon tax! The perfect is waging war on the good here in WA, and I'd like us to make at least a modest amount of progress on climate change to build on for the next (hopefully better) climate bill.
posted by Existential Dread at 8:47 AM on November 8, 2016 [7 favorites]


Colorado's Amendment T would remove references to slavery from the state constitution and prevent unpaid, forced labor by prisoners.
Denver Post article. Ballotpedia.
posted by boo_radley at 8:48 AM on November 8, 2016 [12 favorites]


I voted yes on all questions in Maine with great relish. Yes to legal weed, yes to taxing the rich, yes to gun control, yes on higher minimum wage, yes on ranked choice voting. Some of the proposals are problematic but this is what happens when you have an inept legislature for decades and a governor whose only goal is to quietly poison the state's infrastructure. When you don't get shit done, shit gets done in other ways!

The local paper is asking people to vote against Question 2 (tax >200K income 3% earmarked for schools) because "we should let the legislature fix it". Do these people live in the same state? Fuck off.
posted by selfnoise at 8:49 AM on November 8, 2016 [16 favorites]


I watched some local TV in NC and Burr's case to the voters seems to be that Ross hates the flag and threw a piss jug at veterans once, or something. People still fall for that? I hope not.
posted by thelonius at 8:52 AM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


In Kansas, the election's going to be pretty predictable. Only one thing I'm worried about on the local level and that's the retention vote for the state Supreme Court justices & state court of appeals judges. There's been a big push by Brownback and the Kochs to have certain justices rejected after the state supreme court ruled against some of Brownback's more nefarious plans.

Brownback is very unpopular. Coming in at under 20% approval in some polls. But the average Kansan won't know much about any of the justices. So I'm a little worried the media blitz against the court will work. All the ads I've seen are pushing voters to reject the judges in order to save the babies, with no connection to the governor at all.
posted by honestcoyote at 8:54 AM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


I really enjoyed voting all women for the federal offices!
posted by Chrysostom at 8:56 AM on November 8, 2016 [6 favorites]


The only noteworthy statewide matter on the Virginia ballot is a referendum on whether we should add a right-to-work amendment to our state constitution. Fuck that noise.

The "best" part is that Virginia is already a right-to-work state. An amendment would just make that harder to change.
posted by skymt at 8:58 AM on November 8, 2016 [5 favorites]


I texted all my friends who live in the only uncertain congressional district in the state to beg for reassurance that they'd voted. I have got to try to pay attention to my actual job today, but it's not easy.
posted by asperity at 9:01 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


COME ON JASON KANDER
posted by asockpuppet at 9:03 AM on November 8, 2016 [16 favorites]


Props to Eyebrows for cleaving this from the Presidential election coverage.

I've said before, this is the game-changer, and it's WAY too close for my liking. Democrats should be able to pull out 50 seats, but NH's a nail biter, as is MO & NV.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:05 AM on November 8, 2016 [8 favorites]


I continue to be seriously aggrieved at scion Evan Bayh potentially fucking this all up by running a really piss poor campaign.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:07 AM on November 8, 2016 [9 favorites]


I had a weird experience this morning voting. Apparently I've been re-districted into Virginia's 7th CD. I've been in the 1st CD since I moved to this house in 2002. The line is within a mile of the house, if that. If I go to any online map it shows me in the 1st CD. If I do a lookup on my address with the VA Board of Elections it says I'm in the 7th. Both are gerrymandered tea party districts, so it was really just a difference of casting a meaningless vote against Brat this year, instead of my normal meaningless vote against Wittman. I just don't know when or why it changed. Something to do with a lawsuit against gerrymandering maybe?
posted by COD at 9:09 AM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


Elementary Penguin, when I checked Ballotpedia the other day, the Massachusetts pot bill (Ballot Question #4, if you're nasty) had consistently led in the most recent five polls, by between 5 and 15 points. A friend of mine who previously had been saying "It'll never happen" says he's recently had a lot of quiet conversations with people and found that many people were planning to vote Yes on 4 who he never would have expected. So I think we're in good shape there.

What I'm more concerned about is Question 2, the charter schools one. I was pretty torn on that issue; I voted yes, not because I see it as the solution to our fucked-up public school system, but because I think that something needs to be done to provide more options for kids who through no fault of their own happen to live in places where their public school sucks and whose parents don't have money to send them to private schools. I get the argument that the charter school expansion has the potential to make the public school situation even worse, but I think the solution from a social good perspective isn't to sequester the funding in failing schools.

Also, I know several people who have benefited immensely by attending charter schools, either because they lived somewhere where the public schools were garbage and would have had no other option, or because they were just a poor fit for public schooling's one-size-fits-all system. I went to an excellent public school and even I had a terrible time there; I was lucky that my parents could send me to private schools that had an educational philosophy that worked better for me, but very few children indeed have that amount of privilege.

I still had a hard time with that ballot question though, because I know that there are a lot of problems with charter schools. Non-profits operating as shell companies for private educational consultants, for instance—that really bothers me. But I think that that comes down to a matter of execution, whereas under the status quo there are many kids who are simple trapped in shitty schools with nowhere to go. We have got to get as many of those kids out of there as possible and into better schools, and a charter school expansion offers at least a possibility of that, albeit no guarantee and at a cost to the existing public school system. Basically I feel like both options are pretty crappy but I see a somewhat better outlook under an expanded the charter system than I do under the status quo.

Just my thoughts. I've already voted, so I guess I'll just see what happens.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 9:09 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


Regarding overall control of the Senate:

While 50/50 gives the Democrats the chamber, one thing I haven't seen pointed out before is that if Tim Kaine becomes VP, then his replacement would have to stand in a special election next year, in the same cycle where we'll elect Gov. McAuliffe's successor. So while 50/50 is the magic number for an immediate majority, 51/49 would be far, far preferable.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:09 AM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


This was the first time I voted all D (except our State Treasurer's race, where both candidates are R. We have top two primaries.) I WAS going to vote for our current R secretary of State, Kim Wyman, until she came out in favor of doing citizenship checks on voters. I'm truly an independent, but this year I am a very blue shifted one.
posted by bearwife at 9:10 AM on November 8, 2016 [5 favorites]


Vermont, home of Bernie Sanders, will be a very tight race between the Republican and Democratic candidate for an open seat in the Governor's office. Just in case you were losing track of the adage "All politics is local."
posted by meinvt at 9:14 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


Both are gerrymandered tea party districts, so it was really just a difference of casting a meaningless vote against Brat this year, instead of my normal meaningless vote against Wittman. I just don't know when or why it changed. Something to do with a lawsuit against gerrymandering maybe?

Yeah, instead of getting to vote against Wittman this year, I get to vote against some meat head ex-SEAL running against some Democrat who got zero party support. Weird that the districts were redrawn by court order and they still look like guaranteed Republican seats.
posted by indubitable at 9:15 AM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


Question 2, the charter schools one. I was pretty torn on that issue; I voted yes, not because I see it as the solution to our fucked-up public school system, but because I think that something needs to be done to provide more options for kids who through no fault of their own happen to live in places where their public school sucks and whose parents don't have money to send them to private schools. I get the argument that the charter school expansion has the potential to make the public school situation even worse, but I think the solution from a social good perspective isn't to sequester the funding in failing schools.

I was hella torn on this one too. As I've said before I wish this kind of debate was what elections were about instead of insane Republican nonsense. The MA charter schools work really really well to improve education for some needy populations, and the MA public schools continue to improve anyway. But then, teachers are treated like this.

Anyway, I voted Yes, but I wish there was more reasonable public debate about it, and you know, like, everything else too.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:15 AM on November 8, 2016 [5 favorites]


Ugh, the California ballot just irritates me. Why would you ever devise a system that puts that whole mess of propositions up for a popular vote? My mom could barely make heads or tails of it, even after doing a bunch of research. It's a bad sign if a college educated voter feels like she has to consult with a former university president friend before she feels comfortable enough to go to the polls.
posted by Diagonalize at 9:17 AM on November 8, 2016 [12 favorites]


For SE Michigan folk, probably the big proposal on the ballot regards regional transit, and I, for one, hope it goes through.

If you have regional transit proposals on your ballot, please vote in favor. It will help a lot of people who can't or don't drive in your community.
posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:19 AM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


I registered to say, first of all, that the election threads have been quite instrumental in preserving my sanity this season, and second to say how damn excited I am to vote Yes on (CA) props 62 and 64 as well as our first (I think) district-level ballot measure, FF. California ballot measures are a goddamn mess and I'm always tempted to vote no because I don't think they should, by and large, be put to the popular vote, but I realize that I'm not actually voting on the concept of ballot measures themselves (except for prop 53). So those 3, and a fair number of others, get a yes from me.
posted by protondonor at 9:20 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


Well I voted against the charter school bill but I guess we'll see. I do hope the "Let one rich guy build a slot machine parlor in one specific spot that the town doesn't even want" bill (aka Question 1) goes down in flames because fuck him.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 9:21 AM on November 8, 2016 [7 favorites]


I am in Minnesota's 8th district - the state's northeast corner including Duluth - where we have a rematch of 2014's race between the incumbent Democrat Rick Nolan and Republican Stewart Mills III. We're a very white and working class district with mining, agriculture and shipping as big industries. This morning I was playing a game on my phone and there were 3 anti-Nolan ads in a row. Sigh.

I also voted in favor of raising the local sales tax to pay off a construction bond for a new library in my town! I rarely tell my husband how to vote, but I did tell him he needs to vote for the library for me. I wish it was a property tax increase, but I'll take what funding I can get. Our current building is old and tiny.
posted by soelo at 9:25 AM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


I always vote for gambling though. (I love gambling).
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:26 AM on November 8, 2016


Yeah EP, I can totally see going either way on the charter school bill, I'm not mad at people for voting against it. I also definitely voted Hell No on the "let's have more gambling" question because fuck, how could you ever walk into a slot parlor and see row upon row of people compulsively pumping their retirements into those greedy machines and not think that it's pretty fucked up?

I also had a pretty easy time answering the "should we continue to allow farm animals to be kept in cages so small that they can't even stand up or turn around?" question. If someone votes no (no change to the law, continue to allow animal cruelty) on that, I don't have much to say to them. The charter schools thing was the only one that I had much difficulty with.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 9:26 AM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


Ugh, the California ballot just irritates me. Why would you ever devise a system that puts that whole mess of propositions up for a popular vote?

It was an attempt to counter the corruption of the state government in the early 20th century. Didn't work quite as planned.
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:30 AM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


Potomac Avenue, I love you but I feel like voting for more slot parlors because you love gambling is like voting to lower the smoking age because you enjoy a nice cigar now and again. But hey, we'll vote it out and see what happens.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 9:31 AM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


My ballot in MA was pretty much all uncontested D seats, apart from the Presidency, which may as well be uncontested here. So I'm just interested in the ballot measures. Glad to hear that legal pot has a real chance. My stances on the others are all pretty mild, but I'm still curious to see how they play out.
posted by tobascodagama at 9:32 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


(Yeah, fuck Michael Wynn, though.)
posted by tobascodagama at 9:33 AM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


I also had a pretty easy time answering the "should we continue to allow farm animals to be kept in cages so small that they can't even stand up or turn around?" question. If someone votes no (no change to the law, continue to allow animal cruelty) on that, I don't have much to say to them.

A similar measure in Florida a few years back had some sneaky riders that basically killed off small farms -- even ones that didn't have animals -- by tacking on some irrelevant food processing requirements that required e.g. a separate building to dry herbs in, which would be financially impossible for a lot of the state's subsistence farmers to comply with.

MA's ballot measure looked pretty clean when I checked it out, but I bring it up just to point out that sometimes there's more to it than just pro/anti-animal cruelty.
posted by tobascodagama at 9:37 AM on November 8, 2016 [5 favorites]


I feel like voting for more slot parlors because you love gambling is like voting to lower the smoking age because you enjoy a nice cigar now and again.

Maybe its because I used to be a libertarian? Now all that's left is a radical belief in letting people make their own choices about things that are objectively bad for you (though while regulating the hell out of them).

This is how I think about it: Imagine you had only a few gigantic bars in a state. Would that really stop people from drinking? Or would it just coalesce the money from alcohol into the hands of a small group of bar owners? I don't believe adding casinos really creates more overall gambling (and definitely not more overall problem gamblers). It just makes each location less profitable.

Then again I know less than nothing about this particular casino ballot measure, because I've been too busy making Dank Bernie Memes. C'est la guerre!
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:38 AM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


Also I bet the MA Charter School question goes down hard. Teacher's Unions are strong up here, and the Yes people have done a poor job making clear what is actually good about charter schools.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:40 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


The most awesome sounding name on my ballot was Louise Dovre Bjorkman - one of the judges that is running unopposed.

where we have a rematch of 2014's race between the incumbent Democrat Rick Nolan and Republican Stewart Mills III

UGH. We've gotten so many attack ads for these guys and I didn't even know what district it was for.

I do enjoy that so many of the Minnesota down ballot attack ads were explicitly tying republican candidates to Trump
posted by dinty_moore at 9:45 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


Starting to rain here in Indiana.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:48 AM on November 8, 2016


Vermont, home of Bernie Sanders, will be a very tight race between the Republican and Democratic candidate for an open seat in the Governor's office.
Any good links on that? I've been out of state for a week.
I checked VT Digger, but I'm not seeing polling numbers.
posted by MtDewd at 9:48 AM on November 8, 2016


I think MA question 4 (legalized cannabis) will pass easily. The "yes" folks got their shit together, including a really well-done mailer that we received a week or two ago. It had a "concerned mother" figure, a stereotypical suburban "PTA mom" or something like that, explaining how legalizing marijuana was good for the kids.

More tax revenue, gets the drugs off the streets and into regulated dispensaries, etc. All the positive talking points in a digestible way. And then it also touched on and dismissed the bullshit "anti" arguments by pointing out that intoxicated driving is still illegal, IDs for purchase would still be required, etc.

One thing that's really great is that the police in MA have been a strong force for pushing it toward legalization the whole time. Police endorsed decriminalization, and they're now endorsing legalization. When the police say something shouldn't be a crime, people tend to believe them.
posted by explosion at 9:55 AM on November 8, 2016 [5 favorites]


The most awesome name on my East Bay, CA ballot is Mister Phillips, who is running for the West Contra Costa County School Board.
posted by notyou at 9:56 AM on November 8, 2016


MtDewd, the only polling I'm aware of was by VPR/Castleton. A dead heat largely because of regional breakdowns on issues like renewable energy project siting.
posted by meinvt at 10:01 AM on November 8, 2016


Can any of my fellow Wisconsinites chime in with their feelings about our inexplicable nailbiter of a Senate race? Russ Feingold is my boyfriend for life, but I am not feeling great about his chances today, and I'm not sure if it's because I don't want to jinx it, or because I know we love incumbents (even when they're maximally shitty), splitting tickets, and being contrary.

I canvassed for Russ for >12 straight hours on Election Day 2012 - my last door knock was at, like, 7:54 PM, across the street from a polling location - and knew within the first couple of hours that he would lose but I couldn't do it this year and now I have no internal gauge on how this thing is going to go. I know we will turn it out for Hils but I don't know if I can say the same about the most courageous living Senator.

FORWARD!
posted by amnesia and magnets at 10:01 AM on November 8, 2016 [5 favorites]


I'm not optimistic about Colorado's Amendment 72, which would increase cigarette and tobacco taxes. I have received more mail against Amendment 72 than all other political mail on any issue or candidate combined, and the antis are outspending the supporters at least six to one. Which isn't surprising when it's tobacco companies against local hospitals. What worries me about all that advertising is that none of it mentions what Amendment 72 is even about, since they know cigarette taxes are not politically unpopular, and Colorado's are very low.

Sure, we could do with a few more things funded by this proposed tax increase (like funding for litter removal, since smokers won't do that themselves), but I'd definitely like to see it passed. Fingers crossed that other Colorado voters bothered to read the text of the amendment before filling in that circle.
posted by asperity at 10:01 AM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


I am in Minnesota's 8th district - the state's northeast corner including Duluth - where we have a rematch of 2014's race between the incumbent Democrat Rick Nolan and Republican Stewart Mills III. We're a very white and working class district with mining, agriculture and shipping as big industries. This morning I was playing a game on my phone and there were 3 anti-Nolan ads in a row. Sigh.

I'm a new resident of the 8th district (though I still vote in South Dakota), and it's pretty hard to tell what's going on with the Mills - Nolan race. Duluth, where I'm at, is a pretty liberal, especially in the parts I live in, which is pretty young and fairly diverse, and the older white folks are frequently union or who respect unions. Union gigs are coveted. Even the conservatives I work with don't like the idea of a rich business owner guy as our representative, but once you get out on the edges of town the density of signs increases greatly.

That's the race I'm most nervous about. Every attack ad I've heard on Nolan just ties him to Clinton being against mining and for refugees, and I don't think his triangulation on mining interests is enough for these folks, and St Cloud having that stabbing is still large in the minds of a lot of voters, and I worry it'll be very effective.

South Dakota has some exciting rac... who am I kidding, no one will ever care at all what we do. But there are a couple interesting redistricting related propositions on the ballot, and some truly opaque payday loan stuff that seems like it might help people? There isn't really state-level polling that means much in SD, but it's pretty certain that Noem and Thune will keep their seats, sadly.
posted by neonrev at 10:06 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


Also I bet the MA Charter School question goes down hard. Teacher's Unions are strong up here, and the Yes people have done a poor job making clear what is actually good about charter schools.

I'm guessing you're right. I voted Yes, but it was not with a totally clear conscience, because all the Yes On 2 money is coming from out-of-state union busters, and it's worded horribly and likely to remove some of the regulatory teeth that make the state's charter schools work so well. What I actually wanted to vote on is something that says "Get rid of the cap that functions like the state's liquor licensure law, a centuries-old measure meant to prevent the Irish in Boston from getting too full of themselves."
posted by Mayor West at 10:08 AM on November 8, 2016


I saw the cases of advance votes being loaded up into a truck outside the Merlo branch of the public library here in Chicago today. I held a door for them. I FEEL LIKE A HERO (I cannot vote (resident alien) so it is the closest I come to doing something today).
posted by srboisvert at 10:09 AM on November 8, 2016 [10 favorites]


Does anyone one have any data on Florida's Amendment 1? It's such a sneaky, deceptively worded POS amendment that was looking like it might pass as of the last poll I checked, but that was a few weeks ago.

Amendment 2 might pass this time around, not helped in the slightest by the No-on-2 folks who got their AMs and PMs mixed up and robo-called hundreds of people between midnight and six am last week, trying to encourage them to vote against medical marijuana.
posted by PearlRose at 10:09 AM on November 8, 2016


Anything that makes life harder for those lampreys at the payday loan shops is a win in my book, neonrev. Those things should be just banned, they cause far more harm than good. Easier access to credit for poor people is one thing, but the payday loan model is so venal and usurious that I really feel strongly that it should be nuked from orbit.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 10:09 AM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


I have just returned from that most American of actions: voting for sex&drugs. Thanks, California. I guess.

Also I voted for Hillary.
posted by Justinian at 10:11 AM on November 8, 2016 [13 favorites]


I continue to be seriously aggrieved at scion Evan Bayh potentially fucking this all up by running a really piss poor campaign.

Turns out "Well, I was working for a lobbying firm but I wasn't technically a lobbyist" is not an effective defense against charges of being a Washington lobbyist. Who knew?
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:11 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


For more or less the whole race my real concern has been the Senate. I honestly never seriously thought the GOP had much of a shot at the presidency, even before Bozo Benito entered the race.

If the Senate stays under the Evil Turtle's iron grip, Clinton will have a DOA one-term presidency, with the Republicans being once again rewarded by the idiot press for violating any norms that allow government and democracy to function. They will obstruct even more, with a permanent embargo against any appointments of any kind ever, and of course, impeachment proceedings in the House. Maybe throw in a government shutdown or even debt-ceiling precipitated outright default caused by Clinton vetoing a bill of attainder declaring her the worst criminal in human history.

Tom Cotton will win in 2020 and will use another terror attack carried out by Saudi nationals as an excuse to use nuclear weapons on Iran before using enough voter suppression to win a second term.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 10:13 AM on November 8, 2016


Diagonalize, I'm with you on the CA ballot. It was bad enough having ~20 total propositions to vote on. (The volume of mail! The research! It felt like so much work to make sure my vote doesn't fuck things up.) I am very very curious to see how Measures V and W do here in Mountain View (rent control). I'm also very invested in the city council election and hope around the bay we get some pro-housing development going. Otherwise I have a really tough time keeping track of which prop is which, or even in some cases remembering how I voted.

Raising my glass to my friends in SF, who had 25 extra propositions on top of the 17 state ones. It feels like such a huge barrier to entry, even if you could just leave them blank. So many lobbies and moneyed interests trying to mislead you. (See: multiple conflicting plastic bag props, death row props, even measures V and W in Mountain View.) Thank you to everyone who did the hours of research and careful weighing of options in order to vote well in your local elections, even while the main stage was far more of a circus.
posted by j.r at 10:16 AM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


Anything that makes life harder for those lampreys at the payday loan shops is a win in my book, neonrev. Those things should be just banned, they cause far more harm than good. Easier access to credit for poor people is one thing, but the payday loan model is so venal and usurious that I really feel strongly that it should be nuked from orbit.

I also want that entire industry to be banned, but our two initiatives are incredibly opaque. I've read the petition and text of both, and I still don't actually know which way regulates them harder. One sets a limit on the interest that can be charged, but also seems to allow any interest rate if the agreement isn't made in writing? I don't think I know enough about how payday lending works as a system to know how to regulate it, I just know that it's predatory because I know a number of its prey. It's a fucking vampire. A really legalistic and confusing vampire.
posted by neonrev at 10:16 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


For anyone who's early voted in the election in AZ, they're having trouble verifying signatures on 7,000 early and mail-in ballots. (Huge fuckin' surprise there.) They're calling people until 7 p.m. tonight to verify ballots. You might want to check on the status of your early vote.
posted by WidgetAlley at 10:18 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


So basically, I guess what I was trying to say with that unhinged rant above, I truly believe that the future of the world in a very real sense depends on control of the Senate. Not only because the Republicans are insane, and I am terrified of what will happen if they control the White House, both houses of Congress plus the Supreme Court again, but also because we are basically out of time with respect to climate change and there is no hope of avoiding disaster if the GOP keeps the senate. So I'm going to sit here in Toronto, nauseated and in cold sweats until we know the outcome of the NV senate race.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 10:21 AM on November 8, 2016


Regarding the Mass pot question, does anybody have a good handle of the logistics, should it pass?

I read the actual text of the proposal over, and what I think it says is that it's technically legal as of December, but there's no place you can legally buy it until the state gets a licensing system up and running, which would be October 2017 at the earliest. If the state drags its feet, it looks to me like any legal med shops can start selling direct to the public at that point. But there are precious few of those due to prior foot dragging. Otherwise, though, it'll be legal to have and grow as of December, but there won't be any place to legally buy it for quite a while yet.

Is that about the gist?
posted by Diablevert at 10:22 AM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


I like the idea of having public voting on referendum issues, but I don't think that can work unless there's an active media reporting and explaining the issues and that is mostly lacking in South Dakota, especially on specific regulations relating to a financial operation. Voter guidance was for shit on most of our initiatives, partially because it's always two sides of the same generally conservative population, neither of which reflect me at all. I bet it works out well in larger states with a more active local media, but there's always one or two things I have to vote blind on because there simply isn't an apparatus to inform people about them, and they involve complicated industries that can't be summed up on a yard sign. Yard signs are about as high-level a debate as we hear on most of these things.
posted by neonrev at 10:23 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


Raising my glass to my friends in SF, who had 25 extra propositions on top of the 17 state ones. It feels like such a huge barrier to entry, even if you could just leave them blank. So many lobbies and moneyed interests trying to mislead you. (See: multiple conflicting plastic bag props, death row props, even measures V and W in Mountain View.)

A big part of the problem is that our elected politicians use the ballot to wage proxy fights among themselves, because it's super easy for them to put anything on the ballot. If you know local politics enough to follow who's backing what, you can figure out what's going on fairly quickly ("this is on the ballot so these Supervisors can pick this fight with the Mayor, while this is on the ballot because so-and-so wants to create a job for himself, and this is on the ballot because real estate developers teamed up with this guy, etc..."), but if you take every proposition at face value and don't know the game or the players, it can be extremely hard to disentangle.

And that's a real shame.
posted by zachlipton at 10:23 AM on November 8, 2016 [9 favorites]


neonrev, I'm seeing this article in the Colorado Springs Gazette (of all places) which seems to indicate that a similar bill recently passed in Montana completely wiped out the payday loan industry in that state.

Here's the lede: "The passage of a ballot measure capping payday loan interest rates would destroy the industry in South Dakota, according to an executive at Advance America, a top lending chain in the state. That's how a recent rate cap initiative played out in neighboring Montana. State figures show regulated short-term lenders plummeted from over 100 to none within several years of its 2010 approval."

Ballotpedia has some information about what the measure means and who has been backing it. It looks like the payday loan people are dead-set against it, which is pretty much all I need to know. Maybe it's not perfect, but it sounds like a strong step in the right direction. It caps interest on payday loans at 36%, whereas the average payday loan in South Dakota right now carries an interest of 574% (!!!)
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 10:26 AM on November 8, 2016 [6 favorites]


Diablevert, I think that's pretty much the nut of it. The distribution system will be tied up in bureaucracy for a while (and possibly the courts, as I'm sure lots of towns will go NIMBY over this) but starting in mid-December it will be legal to possess, smoke (in private), and grow marijuana in MA if Question 4 passes.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 10:29 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


From your link, AOANLA,T
The company's efforts also include funding a competing measure that would amend the state constitution to allow unlimited interest rates on loans. It would cap rates at 18 percent annually but allow higher ones if the borrower agrees in writing. The measure, named Constitutional Amendment U, is "deceptive," Brechtelsbauer said.

The convoluted campaign means South Dakota residents will face a confusing scenario at the polls in November: a ballot with two proposals about payday loan interest rates that would have divergent consequences for borrowers and businesses across the state.


This is what tripped me up. There were two conflicting proposals, both of which claimed to limit payday loans. It turns out my gut was right and I did vote the way I wanted (phew), but it was way harder than I wanted it to be.
posted by neonrev at 10:31 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


So today in California, I voted for the first female president, to repeal the death penalty, and to legalize marijuana. I texted this to a long-time friend who resides in the south, and his response was "Whoa! Are you in America?"

Indeed.
posted by LooseFilter at 10:34 AM on November 8, 2016 [18 favorites]


One data point on MA charter schools: My sister works in a MA charter school, and even her charter school's administration was pushing no on 2.
posted by smangosbubbles at 10:34 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


I'm really curious how Mass's pot measure will do. The last poll I saw said it'll pass, so I look forward to all the pot dispensaries invading the Framingham/Natick Shopping Vortex.

Maybe The Natick Collection can be re-born as the Natick Connection.
posted by tocts at 10:37 AM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


Wouldn't one expect that though, smangosbubbles? One of the theoretical benefits of charter schools is competition—successful schools will be in demand and their ideas will spread, while unsuccessful ones will close. Limiting the number of licenses for charter schools seems like it would limit competition, whereas allowing new licenses would help ensure that the existing charter schools couldn't rest on their laurels.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 10:44 AM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


MA voter here. If nothing else, I was for No on 2 because of Charlie Baker's terrible commercial in favor of it, which basically came across as, "fuck public schools, I'd rather take my kids out than help them, even as governor when I do actually have the power to help public schools."
posted by TwoStride at 10:44 AM on November 8, 2016 [7 favorites]


Americans for Prosperity and others have been dumping cash into my state house race trying to unseat the progressive Joe Salazar (CO HD 31). Salazar had a close election last time, though I think low turnout played a big role there and I'm hoping large turnout will work in his favor this time.

The Salazar campaign and allies haven't had as much money to put into campaign materials, but there was one nifty mailer describing how his opponent was the queen of special interests. The mailer had a pop-out crown that you could wear detailing her close connections to wealthy conservative groups.

I don't know how effective such mailers are, but it was a nice change of pace from the opponent's messages informing me how awful Salazar is (and by implication I am for supporting him) for wanting to spend tax dollars to help fellow Coloradans.
posted by audi alteram partem at 10:46 AM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


Maybe The Natick Collection can be re-born as the Natick Connection.

There's actually a "business" called Canni-Med near Shoppers World, right next to a vaping place. I expect them to be much busier in a year.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 10:47 AM on November 8, 2016


MA voter here. If nothing else, I was for No on 2 because of Charlie Baker's terrible commercial in favor of it, which basically came across as, "fuck public schools, I'd rather take my kids out than help them, even as governor when I do actually have the power to help public schools."

Hah I got a bunch of flyers from people running for state office that definitely did not mention which party they were a member of, but had them smiling next to Charlie Baker, and right into the trash they went!
posted by Elementary Penguin at 10:49 AM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


right into the trash they went!

I've been saving all my political advertising to be weighed after all the mail's in. I'm not sure what this will accomplish. I hope being able to put a number on it will make me feel better about it all.
posted by asperity at 10:55 AM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


Honestly 538 has spoiled me. I keep wanting comprehensive polling on how the ballot measures will do! Though WA had so many ballot measures that I actually can't recall how I voted on all of them! I did actually read the proposed text of every bill though, which may be why my mind shut it out.
posted by corb at 10:56 AM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


Walnuts! McCain loses.
posted by Ironmouth at 10:57 AM on November 8, 2016


I voted yes on all questions in Maine with great relish.

Same here selfnoise!

In addition to all the silliness around the education funding, I had some liberal friends trying to convince me that our legalization isn't perfect and possibly favors "Big Marijuana", so we should vote against it! Oh, and they are going to start arresting small medical growers with 3 plants if it passes.
posted by mayonnaises at 11:09 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


Walnuts! McCain loses.

Nonsense. This is great news for McCain.
posted by tobascodagama at 11:12 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


Can any of my fellow Wisconsinites chime in with their feelings about our inexplicable nailbiter of a Senate race? Russ Feingold is my boyfriend for life, but I am not feeling great about his chances today

I feel very good about Feingold's chances, personally. 538 gives him a better chance at winning than Hillary, giving him over 80% chance to win, and except for one SurveyMonkey poll, he's been leading in all polls. On top of that, Democrats turn out for general elections, so should help Feingold get back his seat. Trump's lack of ground game, and his divisive nature within the GOP itself, could depress GOP turnout in a way that polls don't fully account for.
posted by airish at 11:16 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


> Also I bet the MA Charter School question goes down hard. Teacher's Unions are strong up here, and the Yes people have done a poor job making clear what is actually good about charter schools.

I disagree. I think they've done a good job of it, and lots of people (like me) know kids who have been doing well in charter schools; it's a tough question with good arguments on both sides, but my wife and I came down on the pro side, and if it goes down I doubt it will "go down hard."
posted by languagehat at 11:17 AM on November 8, 2016


Only one major U.S. Senate candidate in Louisiana thinks global warming is priority and that's Foster Campbell and I was excited to vote for him today.

Louisiana is sinking and disappearing and its iconic boot shape is already a lie. It's ridiculous that neither Clinton nor her opponent would discuss this topic (and that no debates included it as a topic), so I guess change has to start at home.
posted by komara at 11:17 AM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


In addition to all the silliness around the education funding, I had some liberal friends trying to convince me that our legalization isn't perfect and possibly favors "Big Marijuana", so we should vote against it!

Yeah, that's one of the funnier arguments. Honestly, legalisation should at least cut back some of those backwoods grows that seem like a big problem in parts of the state.
posted by tobascodagama at 11:21 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


Speaking as a Massachusetts resident who isn't a policy wonk, I can let you know how the charter school proposition appeared to this layman:

Allow more charter schools to be created, which will be good for those few students selected to attend them, while providing absolutely nothing for the public schools in general. Those who support charter schools claim that they're cheaper on a per-student basis, but they neglect to point out that charter schools get to recruit only the best-behaved, star-pupil children. Of course it's cheaper to educate children that have no special needs.

I'm not in favor of proposals that repeatedly skim off the top and leave the kids most in need of aid to languish in inferior schools.
posted by explosion at 11:21 AM on November 8, 2016 [18 favorites]


Can any of my fellow Wisconsinites chime in with their feelings about our inexplicable nailbiter of a Senate race?

I feel like Feingold will win, but the ads Johnson's surrogates have been running have been truly deplorable.
posted by drezdn at 11:21 AM on November 8, 2016


In case nobody's noticed this yet, NJ-7 is very much in competition, even though 538 doesn't list us. We have (I think an internal) poll showing us neck and neck with the incumbent, and we've had an enthusiasm advantage from the very beginning.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 11:22 AM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


I will be sending Mr. Silver an angry letter about this for sure
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 11:23 AM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


Can any of my fellow Wisconsinites chime in with their feelings about our inexplicable nailbiter of a Senate race? Russ Feingold is my boyfriend for life, but I am not feeling great about his chances today

The Marquette poll was the only one that showed a close race for Feingold. Everyone else has him up.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 11:23 AM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


but they neglect to point out that charter schools get to recruit only the best-behaved, star-pupil children. Of course it's cheaper to educate children that have no special needs.

Without wanting to re-litigate this for the millionth time: that is not true, and the fact that it can be brought up in a conversation about charter schools without every person in attendance snorting in disbelief (a la Trump claiming he respects women) is a good indicator that there's been some serious money poured into No On 2. It's a public lottery, and if you think you have found a school that is cheating, PM me and I'll deliver the apoplectic letter to the legislature myself.
posted by Mayor West at 11:30 AM on November 8, 2016 [6 favorites]


charter schools get to recruit only the best-behaved, star-pupil children.

That is how magnet schools work, that is not how MA charter schools work on the whole. Most are lottery schools meaning it is totally random who gets in.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:30 AM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


If anyone's wondering about NJ's ballot question 2, because there's been very little decent reporting on it, I'm like one degree of separation from one of its architects, and he says it really is just a guaranteed increase in the TTF funding. There's no creative accounting or behind the scenes shenanigans. For what it's worth, you can take it just as read.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 11:37 AM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


Most are lottery schools meaning it is totally random who gets in.

Yes, but it's not random who they then kick out. The public schools are the schools of "last resort" - they can't reject anybody. On top of that, the state's been screwing Boston and other cities on the reimbursement funds they're supposed to get when a kid does transfer from a public to a charter school. The inequity there is so bad that Marty Walsh, who got into office pretty pro-charter (he sat on the board of a local charter school) is against Q. 2.

Also, there's all the Wall Street money funding the Yes on 2 campaign. And Baker's ad was kind of racist - basically, urging suburban white parents to vote for it because all those black people in the cities can't be trusted to run their own schools (as a Boston resident whose daughter just graduated after 13 years in the Boston public-school system, suck it, Charlie).
posted by adamg at 11:42 AM on November 8, 2016 [9 favorites]


I voted to legalize cannabis here in California. It was a hard decision. As a recovering alcoholic, I know, for a fact, that legalizing another intoxicant will ruin lives. But it will ruin fewer lives than prison. Recovery from addiction is possible; recovery from a felony conviction is less possible.
posted by SPrintF at 11:43 AM on November 8, 2016 [14 favorites]


So much on the Washington ballot this year, capped off by Sound Transit 3 for metro Seattle that will finally reconnect Tacoma and Everett to Seattle by light rail (first time since the Interurban was closed in 1939) and add Redmond, Issaquah, and Ballard to the light rail system.

Hoping that Podlodowski beats Wyman, which should FINALLY give the Dems no excuse to not embrace a primary instead of a messy caucus.
posted by dw at 11:46 AM on November 8, 2016 [5 favorites]


The only noteworthy statewide matter on the Virginia ballot is a referendum on whether we should add a right-to-work amendment to our state constitution.

I strongly disagree that the other amendment isn't noteworthy. In some ways it's grosser; it plays at being this nice gesture for surviving spouses of firefighters who die in the line of duty, but it does a crappy job of that while being yet another inching of the camel's nose under the tent as far as eroding our tax base. It's not a significant amount of money - only 70 firefighters died in the line of duty in 2015 in the entire country - but it normalizes exempting people from taxation.

And for what? If you really cared about surviving family you'd just state-fund a life insurance system. You could accomplish the same thing as this for probably the cost of the ink you're going to waste with this vote and updating documents. And a general life insurance scheme could benefit all the survivors, not just the ones who are home owners, and without creating a perverse incentive against remarrying if they find someone new.
posted by phearlez at 11:55 AM on November 8, 2016 [5 favorites]


I voted to legalize cannabis here in California. It was a hard decision.

I feel you. A few years back my husband and I voted against legalization here in Washington, for just the reason you state -- my husband is a recovering alcoholic and I work with a lot of addicts and alcoholics. For many folks, marijuana is something they can handle, just as many people can handle alcohol. But I know too many people for whom marijuana was a gateway to addiction, just like I know too many people for whom alcohol was.

I get that legalization can improve regulation, that locking people up for possessing drugs is insane, and that prohibition of alcohol and drugs has never succeeded. But it is true that legalization expands access.
posted by bearwife at 11:57 AM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


I disagree. I think they've done a good job of it,

Witness the confusion in this very thread tho.
I'm a fan of MAs charter school system and I only heard negative news about them this election.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:58 AM on November 8, 2016


Yes, but it's not random who they then kick out.

What are you implying? Kids don't get kicked out of MA charter schools for underperforming.

Also, you may be right about the reimbursements, I hadn't heard that, but Boston public school performance has improved across the board during the charter school era.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:01 PM on November 8, 2016


It's not a significant amount of money - only 70 firefighters died in the line of duty in 2015 in the entire country - but it normalizes exempting people from taxation.

That reminds me of an issue on the Colorado ballot that exempts small parcels of low-value land from property tax. Makes me wonder how many ALEC-style issues are out there this election pursuing the same tax exemption principles.
posted by audi alteram partem at 12:01 PM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


I appreciate you guys who are conflicted on the pot votes looking at it rationally and making an informed choice. My own feeling is that it isn't a particularly close decision but I know others will have different life experiences which can change their outlook.
posted by Justinian at 12:02 PM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


Here in Arizona, it looks like McCain will be re-elected, which is sad-face making, but not unexpected.

On the upside, it looks like Sheriff Joe Fucking Arpaio is finally going to be ridden out of town on a rail defeated.

And marijuana will be legalized, which will put nice, if not lethal, dents in the pot-arrest-related for-profit-prison and minority-vote-dienfranchisement scams.
posted by darkstar at 12:04 PM on November 8, 2016 [11 favorites]


The way I feel about it is, in my experience, keeping weed illegal means people have to buy it from a dealer vs. a retail store. The stores only sell weed. The dealers on the other hand often have other things (pills, coke, etc.). So while weed itself can be a problem, at least the person isn't being exposed to other harder and more dangerous drugs while buying their weed from a store, so they're less inclined to try them. Not perfect, of course, but I think a better option.
posted by downtohisturtles at 12:04 PM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


SPrintF, I've never seen marijuana use do the kind of damage to someone's life that alcohol routinely does, except through its illegal status.

I mean, people might spend money that they can't really afford on pot, but in my experience when people are actually broke they just stop buying weed—unlike with alcohol, where addicts will spend their last dollar for a drink, then beg for another dollar and spend that on alcohol as well.

And it's not clear whether there are any long-term health consequences to marijuana use at all, regardless of intake, again completely unlike long-term alcohol abuse which is extremely destructive to one's physical well-being. (Also there's no such thing as acute THC poisoning.)

Finally there's the issue of folks just deciding to be intoxicated all the time and the way that limits the things they can accomplish in their lives, but I would suggest that if you're someone who feels like they have to continually self-medicate with a recreational substance just to make life bearable, you're going to do much better if marijuana is your drug of choice than alcohol. Going around in a heavily altered state all the time is definitely detrimental to one's success in life, but I would really prefer that people have marijuana as a legal alternative to alcohol there.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but I just don't see how alcohol and marijuana are at all comparable in terms of the harm that they cause.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 12:04 PM on November 8, 2016 [7 favorites]


My city, Alexandria Va., is reporting that as of noon, 62.46% of all registered voters have cast their ballots. Fairfax County Va. is reporting that as of 2pm they've gotten ballots from 65% of their registered voters. (Both numbers include absentee/early votes.)
posted by easily confused at 12:09 PM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


My hippie-Pagan family is, of course, all voting to legalize cannibis, but I did go over the drawbacks with the kids. ("Kids" may not be the correct term anymore; the youngest turned 18 last month and is getting to cast her first votes this round.)

I pointed out that the "against" people insisted it will increase access for minors - and that they are undoubtedly correct in that; if it's legal for people over 21, it's going to be a lot more difficult to keep it out of the hands of 19-year-olds, and even 17- and 14-year-olds. This is, IMHO, more than balanced by the reduction in costs, both financial and social, of not needing to prosecute responsible adults who are using it.

I am willing to grant that some people will misuse it to the point of causing problems, not even limited to their own lives - but again: cost-benefits analysis, even at the superficial level, says that removing a huge category of "criminals" who aren't causing any notable damage is good for the state and removing "must commit crime" status from people who want to use it cuts off its "gateway drug/crime" ability.

Also, ability to use it legally means people who recognize they have a problem - or whose families do, and want an intervention - aren't worried about prison as a side-effect of seeking help.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:22 PM on November 8, 2016 [8 favorites]


From Howard Friedman's church-state and religious liberty law blog: Some Issues of Religion In Tomorrow's Down-Ballot Contests
posted by audi alteram partem at 12:26 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


That reminds me of an issue on the Colorado ballot that exempts small parcels of low-value land from property tax. Makes me wonder how many ALEC-style issues are out there this election pursuing the same tax exemption principles.

From what I read, the cost of administering these taxes tends to exceed the value of the tax collected. I'm usually in favor of taxes (we buy civilization with them!) but putting that many people (county assessors) through that much effort just for the principle of collecting seems silly to me.

Plus my state senator helped write that one and voted to refer it to voters, and he's been great about explaining his positions on basically everything he's had a position on, so I opted to trust him on this issue. Can't say I feel strongly about it what with not having any possessory interests in government property at all.
posted by asperity at 12:27 PM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


Rainbo Vagrant: "In case nobody's noticed this yet, NJ-7 is very much in competition, even though 538 doesn't list us. We have (I think an internal) poll showing us neck and neck with the incumbent, and we've had an enthusiasm advantage from the very beginning."

FWIW, none of the forecasters - Sabato, etc. - have mentioned NJ-7, it's not just 538. More power to you if you can take it, though!
posted by Chrysostom at 12:27 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


The Vote No on 4 ad here in MA is only really missing Helen Hunt hurling herself out a window.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 12:28 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


Diagonalize: It's a bad sign if a college educated voter feels like she has to consult with a former university president friend before she feels comfortable enough to go to the polls.

That doesn't sound completely bad...
posted by clawsoon at 12:29 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


My city, Alexandria Va., is reporting that as of noon, 62.46% of all registered voters have cast their ballots

Wonder how that compares to 2012? In the 2012 numbers they show that 64% of the day-of turnout was by 12:30. Patch reports that just shy of 20,000 people voted before today. That's about 3,500 more then 2012.

Mathematically it seems like this'll be a higher turnout, but that could just be because, IIRC, 2012 was awful weather.
posted by phearlez at 12:29 PM on November 8, 2016


The CA propositions seem especially bad this year. Pretty sure it's the most on a single ballot since I've moved her, and the propositions themselves have become more confusing. We've got dueling propositions and propositions that mostly just re-implement existing law (sometimes as a trojan horse to get other terrible stuff in), and in general just a bunch of gobbledygook.

Of course, as a service I told everyone on Facebook how to vote, phrased as if I had stolen the answer key for an upcoming test.
posted by ckape at 12:32 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


Anticipation of a New Lover's Arrival, The: And it's not clear whether there are any long-term health consequences to marijuana use at all, regardless of intake...

There can always be too much of a good thing.
posted by clawsoon at 12:33 PM on November 8, 2016


Does California have an official site to track election results? I'm interested in following Prop 61.
posted by kyp at 12:35 PM on November 8, 2016


A lot of the no on 64 talk in California has made me embarrassed.

I have been told that it's a bad bill because it does not legalize smoking while driving.

Repeatedly.
posted by flaterik at 12:36 PM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


Leon, Florida pct. 5110 represent! The Cookiebastard Ticket: Prez: Hilz. Duh. Senator: The Not Rubio guy. Murphy? Because fuck Rubio. Congress D2: Walt Dartland. Better him than me. Swell fellow. State Senate: Montford.Decent constituent services. State House: Ausley. She's fine. Judges: It's Complicated. School Superintendent: Hannah. Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisors: Tabitha Frazier and Lorin Pratt. Amendment 1: No. It's filth. 2: Yes. 3&5: Sure. Voted today.

(cross-posted from recently dead election thread)
posted by Cookiebastard at 12:37 PM on November 8, 2016


I have been told that it's a bad bill because it does not legalize smoking while driving.

I'm pretty sure anyone making that argument shouldn't have a driver's license.
posted by asperity at 12:37 PM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


Does California have an official site to track election results? I'm interested in following Prop 61.

It will all be on the Secretary of State's website. Results tend to be fairly slow to really come in though.
posted by zachlipton at 12:38 PM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


Rainbo Vagrant, thanks for that information on NJ ballot question 2. I'm waiting for my wife to get home to go and vote, so I've had time to look up more info about that question, and none of it is clear. It looks like the borrowing that everyone is worried about could happen regardless of the outcome of the question. I'm beginning to think the Lt. Governor is muddying the water to disassociate herself (and potentially repeal) a tax increase that could be attached to her name.
posted by mollweide at 12:41 PM on November 8, 2016


flaterik: A lot of the no on 64 talk in California has made me embarrassed.

I have been told that it's a bad bill because it does not legalize smoking while driving.

Repeatedly.


When WA was legalizing pot, a good amount of opposition came from ostensibly pro-weed orgs and individuals, including medical marijuana store proprietors. A lot of the talking points centered around driving while stoned as well.
posted by kyp at 12:42 PM on November 8, 2016


I have been told that it's a bad bill because it does not legalize smoking while driving.

Is this legal anywhere? Is this even on the table anywhere? I know there's less research into stoned driving than drunk driving, but I think it's pretty obvious just subjectively that it's impairing. I think it's pretty unreasonable to hold out for a legal marijuana bill that includes legal stoned driving. It ain't gonna happen.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 12:49 PM on November 8, 2016


Does California have an official site to track election results? I'm interested in following Prop 61.

The SOS site has already been mentioned, but on the non-official side the LA Times (sadly, one of the few papers in the state to do much original reporting) has joined the ranks of those outlets offering free access to their updates for the next day or so.

I was recently pointed to Ballotpedia's polling page and was disgusted to find out that Prop 62 (repeal the death penalty! no-brainer!) is the only measure in California that is projected to lose. Come on.
posted by psoas at 12:49 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The: I know there's less research into stoned driving than drunk driving, but I think it's pretty obvious just subjectively that it's impairing.

Aside: You may enjoy this local station news segment on stoned driving.

I fall strongly on the side of no-impaired driving ever, but it seems like a big talking point for the the pro-weed anti-legalization contingent.
posted by kyp at 12:55 PM on November 8, 2016


If New Jersey's Transportation Trust Fund can be used to pay off non-transit-related loans, that's a bigger problem than this particular amendment, I think ... although it might be true, I didn't get a chance to ask about that. I was worried that the guaranteed funding would simply displace the non-guaranteed funding that currently makes up the TTF, creative accounting style, and I'm told that's not the case. He says those other sources of funding are locked up.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 12:57 PM on November 8, 2016


No detailed discussion of the Illinois Constitutional Amendment for the transportation funding lockbox? I thought voting Eyebrows in was supposed to boost local politics discussion around here.
posted by hwyengr at 1:00 PM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


I think it's pretty unreasonable to hold out for a legal marijuana bill that includes legal stoned driving.

Logic did not seem to be present in these discussions.

I also never got a good response to "even if you don't like this proposition, why would we leave it illegal and wait for another proposition instead of limited legalization now and another proposition to improve things later?".
posted by flaterik at 1:02 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


I just moved back to California from Massachusetts. Funny that I would have voted on marijuana there too!

The California system is so nuts. I really struggled figuring out what to vote for, and wondered why these important issues are decided by randos like me instead of experts. I hope I made good decisions.

My new neighborhood is very diverse and I loved seeing all the people in my polling place--a Latina in scrubs, and a whole Pakistani (my educated guess) family including grandparents and a toddler, people of every age and race. Heartwarming!
posted by apricot at 1:08 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


No detailed discussion of the Illinois Constitutional Amendment for the transportation funding lockbox? I thought voting Eyebrows in was supposed to boost local politics discussion around here.

I voted against it. With no end in sight to the budget impasse, I didn't think it was a great idea to restrict the state's ability to allocate what little money it has.
posted by Iridic at 1:12 PM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


IIRC there are studies showing that while drunk drivers underestimate their speed, stoned drivers tend to overestimate it, resulting in slower driving, which depending on where you are and what you're doing may be safer. I'm still going to cautiously weigh in on the side of not driving impaired on any substance though.
posted by protondonor at 1:13 PM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


I also never got a good response to "even if you don't like this proposition, why would we leave it illegal and wait for another proposition instead of limited legalization now and another proposition to improve things later?".

Have you seriously been sitting through the last 37839828282 subjective years of this election and yet somehow not sussed out how much of our electorate starts to froth at anything that smells of incrementalism?
posted by phearlez at 1:16 PM on November 8, 2016


So something I'm actually curious about but forgot to ask Wyman about - is how they are tracking write in votes, particularly on the smaller races. My husband, for example, chose a write in every time there were only two of a particular party going against each other - I can't imagine he's the only one, and there's a limited amount of legal write ins. But surely those can't be recognized and counted by computer, right? How do they handle hand counting of "other" ballots?
posted by corb at 1:18 PM on November 8, 2016


corb: How do they handle hand counting of "other" ballots?

This is King County specific, but see the Ballot Review section here. There's a good writeup about each stage of the process.

Also, how cool is it to have a livestream of what happens in the kitchen!
posted by kyp at 1:23 PM on November 8, 2016


With no experience in this, I'd imagine that "Other" is just treated as another candidate. If Other beats either of the printed candidates, they'd have to do a hand count to see if a single write-in was the winner.
posted by hwyengr at 1:23 PM on November 8, 2016


Oooh, Washington State voters get an iPhone app to track results! That's snazzy.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:23 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


> how they are tracking write in votes, particularly on the smaller races. My husband, for example, chose a write in every time there were only two of a particular party going against each other - I can't imagine he's the only one, and there's a limited amount of legal write ins. But surely those can't be recognized and counted by computer, right? How do they handle hand counting of "other" ballots?

Every voter has the right to write-in a candidate instead of voting for one printed on the ballot. These votes are tabulated and reported cumulatively in one bucket as write-in votes. This represents the total number of all write-in votes cast. These are considered valid votes.

However, write-in votes for individual candidates are only hand tallied if the total number of write-in votes may be enough to make a difference in the outcome of the race. (RCW 29A.60.021)

posted by The corpse in the library at 1:24 PM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


But surely those can't be recognized and counted by computer, right? How do they handle hand counting of "other" ballots?

You should look and see if the election official guidebooks are online for your district; Arlington keeps theirs up in PDF form. I can tell you that here, in previous elections where I have worked, there's a form where we transfer the write-ins and their count. So really, other than putting them in one central place for reference and to create the packet used in the certification of the results, nothing really happens with write-ins at the polling place. Someone back at HQ is presumably tasked with assembling a consolidated write-in report.
posted by phearlez at 1:25 PM on November 8, 2016


Generally things in voter propositions can't be overturned through the normal lawmaking process, so if there's a problem with a proposition you need another voter proposition to fix it, which is why I tend to come down on the No side when the proposition is iffy.

Holding off on legalization to get toking while driving is stupid, though.
posted by ckape at 1:25 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


D.C. Statehood is not being decided during this election. D.C. residents are voting on whether or not they want it. Even if 100% of voters said yes, it changes nothing. They can't wish themselves to be a state.
posted by bh at 1:28 PM on November 8, 2016


64 specifically allows for the legislature to change it, unlike most propositions.
But that doesn't change the fact that a future proposition could make it better just as easily as a future proposition could be better in the first place.
posted by flaterik at 1:28 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


However, write-in votes for individual candidates are only hand tallied if the total number of write-in votes may be enough to make a difference in the outcome of the race. (RCW 29A.60.021)

Oh, bleh, that sucks a lot but useful to know!
posted by corb at 1:31 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


So wait re: VA's property tax constitutional amendment, what's the issue with it? I voted absentee a month ago, and remember thinking "sure, I guess, those seem like really specific conditions but why not?"
posted by phack at 1:37 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


All you people complaining about propositions should come to New York City where all the judges are preselected, no one asks you anything, and Schumer is getting re-elected. Stand in line for an hour to enjoy the hollow success of throwing money to some tiny parties and fulfilling your civic duty. Hooray.
posted by dame at 1:43 PM on November 8, 2016 [6 favorites]


Can I just say that I will be so glad not to have the Liberty Principles ads all over the radio and TV here in Illinois? Thanks so much Gov. Rauner and your two buddies. I hope these backfire spectacularly.

I am super excited that I will be able to vote for my middle school/high school classmate, Susana Mendoza, for comptroller, though. : ) (She was a year ahead of me.)
posted by SisterHavana at 1:43 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]




All you people complaining about propositions should come to New York City where all the judges are preselected, no one asks you anything, and Schumer is getting re-elected. Stand in line for an hour to enjoy the hollow success of throwing money to some tiny parties and fulfilling your civic duty. Hooray.

Having actually voted in NY and in TX, which has a moderate level of ballot propositions, NY is fuckin' awesome.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:48 PM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


Having actually voted in NY and in TX, which has a moderate level of ballot propositions, NY is fuckin' awesome.

As a native Californian, I cannot agree. You might not like what gets done in California but nothing gets done at the NY state level at all. It is sad how bad our state government is.
posted by dame at 1:52 PM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


At this rate everyone else will have legal pot and early voting and we'll be here in 1988 but with worse voting machines. :(
posted by dame at 1:52 PM on November 8, 2016


All you people complaining about propositions

I agree -- it took us quite awhile at the kitchen table to decide on our votes on the Washington ballot, which includes plenty of judges and propositions. And really, by any measure we are quite well informed. But it is worth it. The alternative is not having a meaningful say. Figuring out complexity is one of those privileges of citizenship.

Having the sense my vote really matters is one of the things I like about being in Washington, not NYC anymore.
posted by bearwife at 1:53 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


all the judges are preselected

Good. Judicial elections are a blight on our democracy. In the absence of appointed judges, I'd happily take judges picked by the political machine. If you don't like the judges the legislators or governor are picking, then get rid of the legislators or governor. People just aren't going to take the time to research all of the judicial candidates, so they will be chosen by big money donors based on name recognition and partisan affiliation.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:08 PM on November 8, 2016 [9 favorites]


So wait re: VA's property tax constitutional amendment, what's the issue with it? I voted absentee a month ago, and remember thinking "sure, I guess, those seem like really specific conditions but why not?"

This is the quick version of my issue with it. You're right, it's fairly limited and pretty much irrelevant from a money standpoint. It follows on an existing one for survivors of armed service folks from two years ago.

Beyond what I said in my earlier comment, there's also the fact that I think it's kinda crappy to single out these limited groups for this benefit. Sanitation workers are doing a civic job which is hard and which they don't get paid or pension benefits as generous as firefighters or cops and a higher percentage get killed on the job than cops. Where's their survivor benefit?

If you want a more lucid writeup, there's a good opposition piece for both items here.
posted by phearlez at 2:16 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


So wait re: VA's property tax constitutional amendment, what's the issue with it? I voted absentee a month ago, and remember thinking "sure, I guess, those seem like really specific conditions but why not?"

Thin end of the wedge for broad exemptions from property taxes that would shrink state revenues and essentially force legislators to choose between austerity and (doubtless unpopular) tax rate increases. I didn't think of it that way when I voted either but I can see the point now.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:16 PM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


GOTV in San Francisco looks about like you'd expect: Furry Friends for Fewer! And @JaneKim for California Senate! #GOTV #TeamSandy #electionday (see photo)
posted by zachlipton at 2:27 PM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]




About Feingold -- as far as I know the Marquette poll is the only decent one that's been close. But I also have read multiple times that it's the most reliable poll here, and it had Clinton up by quite a bit more.

So, I feel like we should be worried? And yet, no one seems to be and he's not even on the list of high priority Senate candidates the party is funneling money to. So maybe they have internal polling that looks better.

(In other news, I have been canvassed three times in three days. I volunteered, my husband and I have voted in every election big and small in this state for eight years, and there's a Clinton sign in the lawn. Pretty sure we have moved on from the high priority list to the KNOCK ON EVERY DOOR list.)
posted by gerstle at 2:33 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


tonycpsu: " In the absence of appointed judges, I'd happily take judges picked by the political machine. If you don't like the judges the legislators or governor are picking, then get rid of the legislators or governor."

I'd be okay with a compromise - initial judicial selection is by appointment, decennial retention elections after that.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:34 PM on November 8, 2016


Or decennial reappointments.
posted by Sangermaine at 2:45 PM on November 8, 2016


Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish, ah crap, I see the point now. At least I voted against the union-busting amendment ...
posted by phack at 2:46 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


In the absence of appointed judges, I'd happily take judges picked by the political machine

Do you live in a state with political machine choices of judges, like NY? Because believe me, if you did, I don't think you'd say that. Almost anything is better than making judgeships a reward for political work done, which is how those machine picks actually get made.

If you want diverse judges with decent qualifications, you want a merit based appointment system or non partisan judicial elections.
posted by bearwife at 3:04 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


I dropped off my ballot today (as is my tradition... I get a vote-by-mail ballot to fill out at my convenience, but still go through the process of walking to my polling place).

I went at about 1:00 in the afternoon. There was no line, ample booths available, and more poll workers than voters there at the time. The "drop off your absentee ballots here" box was stuffed nearly full. That's a new one for me.

I got to vote to:

- (Further) legalize weed. Despite the fact that the medical cannabis system here is basically available to anyone with $25 and a willingness to complain of insomnia or back pain, and the penalty for simple possession has been a $100 fine since the 70s (and a simple infraction since 2011), it's embarrassing that CA lags behind 4 states and DC on this.

- Between two female democrats for Senate, to fill the seat that (female Democrat) Barbara Boxer has held since 1992 (she also was the first senator I voted for as an 18 year old student).

- Re-elect Jackie Speier, an SF-native who's been working on the Hill since the 70s, and has held her seat since 2008 (the seat formerly held by her boss, Leo Ryan, who was shot and killed next to her on an airstrip in Guyana). Thanks to an influx of people to San Francisco, my household in the southwestern corner of The City has been moved to her district. Her voting record is decidedly more liberal than "San Francisco Values" spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi (who I also support, and have previously voted for).

- Increase several taxes on myself and others like me, and earmark some of that money for people who need it a lot more than we do.

- Repeal the horrible prop 227 ban on bilingual education, and further chip away at the disgusting anti-immigrant legacy that Pete Wilson left. (227 was the compromise after the even more horrible prop 187 was thrown out by the courts).

My "I Voted" sticker is in four languages.

California has elected exactly one Republican to a statewide office since 1994: Arnold Schwarzenegger (2003 and 2006). He governed in an unexpectedly center or even center-left fashion, and would be considered a liberal Democrat in the vast majority of the country.

As goes California, so goes the nation
. May we all be so lucky.
posted by toxic at 3:09 PM on November 8, 2016 [5 favorites]


local news in NC saying Burr probably re-elected :(
posted by thelonius at 3:12 PM on November 8, 2016


NC polls don't close until 7:30, exits are notoriously dodgy. I wouldn't count Ross out yet.
posted by Chrysostom at 3:14 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


Burr's the worst.
posted by zachlipton at 3:14 PM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


Even my conservative parents are going to vote yes on 64. My dad's an oncologist and is "sick of [his] patients having to jump through hoops to get their damn weed." I am optimistic about this one.
posted by protondonor at 3:16 PM on November 8, 2016 [7 favorites]


I checked in the other thread and, sadly, I cannot walk to the dispensary and get all of the pot the moment the vote is certified. Inconceivable! Apparently you still need a medical card until the state gets off its butt and issues its non-medical cards.

I wanted a party platter. I don't smoke weed but it would be downright rude not to sample the wares. Don't worry, I won't pull a Maureen Dowd.
posted by Justinian at 3:20 PM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


How's the NH senate race doing?
posted by TwoStride at 3:30 PM on November 8, 2016


Arnold Schwarzenegger is a "Hollywood Republican" - they have enough conservative beliefs to ally with the Republican party, but they generally (1) don't actually care what gay people do in their private lives, (2) don't think sex is evil and that women should be punished for it, (3) know that luck, not hard work, often means the difference between rock-star success and part-time minimum-wage poverty, and so on.

They may believe that supporting businesses is better than increasing wages, or that climate change is a myth, or that police are always more honorable than the people they accuse, but they don't tend to equate poverty with immorality or laziness. (See also: Clint Eastwood.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 3:31 PM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


I know it's such a long shot that it's not even considered a competitive race, but I have to say it felt good to vote against Rand Paul for Senator here in Kentucky (and for Jim Gray!).
posted by likeatoaster at 3:31 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


> "How's the NH senate race doing?"

37 votes for Ayotte, 28 for Hassan.
posted by kyrademon at 3:32 PM on November 8, 2016


I'm against the IL Transportation Lockbox, since you asked. :) I get the motive, but the Legislature needs to ovary up and actually pass some budgets, not create more silo'd funding for no reason except that they can't manage to pass budgets. And while initially some transit folks were excited that a transit lockbox might push highway taxes into public transit, it quickly became apparently that exactly the opposite would probably happen -- money that otherwise might have gone for rails, bike infrastructure, pedestrian infrastructure, etc., would go to roads and particularly highways.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:37 PM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


I think MA question 4 (legalized cannabis) will pass easily. The "yes" folks got their shit together, including a really well-done mailer that we received a week or two ago. It had a "concerned mother" figure, a stereotypical suburban "PTA mom" or something like that, explaining how legalizing marijuana was good for the kids.

More tax revenue, gets the drugs off the streets and into regulated dispensaries, etc. All the positive talking points in a digestible way. And then it also touched on and dismissed the bullshit "anti" arguments by pointing out that intoxicated driving is still illegal, IDs for purchase would still be required, etc.
I happily voted Yes on 4, but my memory is that they've set the tax rate so low that it's not going to be the easy windfall that it could/should be -- I suspect/hope they'll jack up tax rates in a few years, but the transition to a THC-friendly state won't be frictionless.
posted by waxbanks at 3:43 PM on November 8, 2016


So wait re: VA's property tax constitutional amendment, what's the issue with it? I voted absentee a month ago, and remember thinking "sure, I guess, those seem like really specific conditions but why not?"

I voted no on the general principle of, "do not crap up the Constitution with edge cases that should be decided by legislators". The specific issues with the amendment as written did not occur to me, but phearlez summed it up nicely.
posted by indubitable at 3:58 PM on November 8, 2016


Senate question: If turnout is indeed up massively in Florida, could Rubio lose? 538 has up up 5.5%, which does seem pretty safe. But it doesn't seem like anyone was predicting the crazy turnout numbers we're seeing.

Wishful thinking, probably.
posted by Diablevert at 4:01 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


welp kentucky just elected a 28 yr old barely-licensed attorney who has never been in a courtroom to the position of a judge overseeing bonds for all criminal charges in Louisville so I'm exasperated already
posted by likeatoaster at 4:10 PM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


the transition to a THC-friendly state won't be frictionless

Yeah, I think the ballot wording leaves a lot of leeway for government stonewalling, and Baker already came out strong from No on 4. Mayor Walsh is also extremely opposed and has made it hard for medical dispensaries to set up in Boston as it is.
posted by tobascodagama at 4:17 PM on November 8, 2016


TPM is saying South Carolina is called for Dixon over Scott (with less than 1% of precincts in). Don't know if that's a mistake or an early unexpected win.
posted by gingerbeer at 4:18 PM on November 8, 2016


> "TPM is saying South Carolina is called for Dixon over Scott (with less than 1% of precincts in). Don't know if that's a mistake or an early unexpected win."

The wouldn't just be unexpected, it would be shocking. I'd assume a mistake until further notice, honestly.
posted by kyrademon at 4:21 PM on November 8, 2016


Yeah, that seems the most likely explanation.
posted by gingerbeer at 4:23 PM on November 8, 2016


Here's their senate map.
posted by gingerbeer at 4:24 PM on November 8, 2016


welp kentucky just elected a 28 yr old barely-licensed attorney who has never been in a courtroom to the position of a judge overseeing bonds for all criminal charges in Louisville so I'm exasperated already

mrgood is sad and unsurprised. He was a big supporter of the guy who was endorsed by Citizens for Better Judges, who so far isn't even cracking 10%. But I guess when your dad is the Circuit Court Clerk and you have lots of money and no shame, why should a thing like experience matter?!
posted by chaoticgood at 4:33 PM on November 8, 2016


TPM has now fixed their map and are calling SC for the Republican. Mistake, not unexpected win.
posted by gingerbeer at 4:34 PM on November 8, 2016


Fuck Joe Arpaio. Hopefully this is the time we finally get rid of him.
posted by Hiding From Goro at 4:34 PM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


Yes, Rubio is up and can win even with increased Florida turnout - there's apparently a lot of ticket splitting per 538.
posted by corb at 4:35 PM on November 8, 2016


Kentucky House is also looking very, very bad. Bevin with unified control is going to burn the state to the ground ala Brownback in Kansas.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:37 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


So this is looking bad for Bayh? anyone want to make me feel better about that race or is it forgone?
posted by DynamiteToast at 4:38 PM on November 8, 2016


> "So this is looking bad for Bayh? anyone want to make me feel better about that race or is it forgone?"

He's outperforming Clinton in the state. No idea if it will be enough. Probably will be clearer when more of Indianapolis reports.
posted by kyrademon at 4:41 PM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]




So pumped that Deborah Ross is pulling ahead!
posted by kyp at 5:02 PM on November 8, 2016


NBC: Illinois called for Tammy Duckworth (D)!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:02 PM on November 8, 2016 [9 favorites]


Duckworth FTW!
posted by zakur at 5:05 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


MSNBC calling FL Sen for Rubio.
posted by zakur at 5:09 PM on November 8, 2016


COME ON ROSS!!!! She's up by 3 with over 50% reporting oh jesus if we get Ross the Senate is INCREDIBLY likely!
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:18 PM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


Bye Bayh.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:24 PM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


saw the Ross situation and almost plotzed!
posted by thelonius at 5:32 PM on November 8, 2016


I saw Burr and was confused if this election's Hamilton focus was infecting other areas.
posted by corb at 5:32 PM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


From the what-the-hell-took-you-so-long department, NBC called the House for the GOP.
posted by zachlipton at 5:32 PM on November 8, 2016


I wanna yell at Bayh for messing everything up, but it’s not like any Democratic contender without his last name would have even made it interesting in Indiana this year, so I guess I’m not mad, just disappointed.
posted by nicepersonality at 5:34 PM on November 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


538 is now giving a 69% chance of the Rs keeping the senate, but I'm not sure why or from how as no actual updates have popped, that's just the ticker.
posted by corb at 5:34 PM on November 8, 2016


PBS reporting that Charlie Crist won his House race. That'd be a Dem pickup.
posted by darkstar at 5:35 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


538 liveblog
posted by Chrysostom at 5:36 PM on November 8, 2016


Just want to chime in here and agree with bearwife about how Wyman didn't seem too bad ... until she refused to support the state Voter Rights Act, talked about ID checks, and so on. Then there was that bit where she got paid to go to some retreat with a who's who of Republican big donors (NRA, the other NRA, Reynolds, the Koch brothers, etc).
posted by R343L at 5:36 PM on November 8, 2016


How does 538 get to keep updating probabilities as *actual votes* come in? When they're done, they'll have the actual outcome listed with 100% probability...that's some impressive forecasting, right there!
posted by uosuaq at 5:39 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


I've been volunteering for the democratic challenger in Va's 10th congressional district. Things are not looking so good, trailing by 10% with 11% of the vote counted. Upside is that the bluer parts of the district haven't reported yet. I'm at the official victory party, with booze and snacks (the perks of volunteering), hoping the returns start getting better. Fingers crossed.
posted by peeedro at 5:39 PM on November 8, 2016


LA Times has called Mast (R) over Perkins (D) in the Florida House race, another flip in the other direction.
posted by Rhomboid at 5:42 PM on November 8, 2016


Also, people paying attention to VA referendums, question 1 (right to work amendment) - NO is in the lead 53% to 47%. Question 2 (tax breaks for first responders) is going YES by 80%. This is with 50% reporting.
posted by peeedro at 5:42 PM on November 8, 2016


Weed is currently losing in MA. I can only assume it's going to turn around. Right? Right?
posted by bondcliff at 5:45 PM on November 8, 2016


Google says 50/50 with only 2% reporting, bondcliff. I wouldn't put much stock in that.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:49 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


Colorado Public Radio: Polls will close at 7pm despite Democrats seeking an injunction to keep them open 30 minutes due to earlier computer problems.
posted by audi alteram partem at 5:56 PM on November 8, 2016


Looks like D pickup in FL-7 (Mica, who's an asshole).
posted by Chrysostom at 5:56 PM on November 8, 2016


Evan Bayh completely shit the bed. I don't care for him much but it would have been nice if he'd tried to have effective ads. Todd Young's ads obliterated Bayh's past record. I don't even own a tv but every gd time I have walked by my dad's tv there has been a Young ad on.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 6:05 PM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


At Dem watch party for NJ-5. Looking forward to Dem Josh Gottheimer picking up the seat!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:06 PM on November 8, 2016


NBC calling AZ for McCain
posted by zakur at 6:06 PM on November 8, 2016


We were slammed by anti-Bayh mailers, too. I'm in a blue part of the state, but it didn't feel like Bayh tried much.
posted by percolatrix at 6:20 PM on November 8, 2016


Yeah, I got a bunch of the mailers too. I'm in Greenwood so I kind of expect red status here but holy crap - Bayh just waltzed in like he was here to save the day and then pissed away a 20pt lead over 4 months.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 6:26 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


"it didn't feel like Bayh tried much."

Bayh's fundamental problem, which has been his fundamental problem for years, is that he doesn't think he needs to try and can't really bring himself to stoop to it. He feels like natural political royalty and expects others to recognize that without him selling himself too much, because that would be vulgar.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:28 PM on November 8, 2016 [5 favorites]


How does 538 get to keep updating probabilities as *actual votes* come in? When they're done, they'll have the actual outcome listed with 100% probability...that's some impressive forecasting, right there!

I noticed this with their world series "forecast" that was updated with each game. It was absurd and pointless.
posted by Karaage at 6:43 PM on November 8, 2016


Charles Pierce: Rubio Has Risen - And more early election thoughts.
posted by homunculus at 6:51 PM on November 8, 2016


Wow, Mark Kirk got slaughtered. Since he's a well-known name, centrist and moderate Republican, and has a lot of wealthy backers, I'm very curious how much of that is Kirk's total meltdown during this election cycle and how much of it is shifting attitudes in the state -- and if it's shifting attitudes in the state away from the GOP, how much is due to Washington and how much to Springfield. Really curious to see the statewide comptroller race pans out. (The Democrat is leading but not by enough to call it.)

Looks like the transportation lockbox is probably going to win, though. :(
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:29 PM on November 8, 2016


I was an election judge in Minnesota, and I was very proud of all of my neighbors who voted and also who also volunteered (or were paid) to be election judges as well. Among the local races I was following closely, I'm very happy to note that a co-worker's brother won in the MN House, District 59A. His name is Fue Lee, and he's a Hmong-American, and a quick Google is telling me that he's the second Hmong-American to be a current MN House representative.
posted by TrishaLynn at 7:34 PM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


Dragged into the undertow by the stupidest among us
posted by Senor Cardgage at 7:49 PM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


No detailed discussion of the Illinois Constitutional Amendment for the transportation funding lockbox? I thought voting Eyebrows in was supposed to boost local politics discussion around here.

Yeah, my impression was that even a fair number of pro-transit and pro-biking types thought it was a poor amendment: not apt to actually help funding for non-car transportation modalities, and potentially problematic because the state legislature sucks at, you know, passing budgets, which is the real core problem. I voted no (and am a notable supporter of non-car transit options.)

Also can we do something about the ten zillion judges on the ballot? There has to be a better system than this one for managing judge appointments.
posted by ubersturm at 8:02 PM on November 8, 2016


NBC calls WI-Senate for Johnson, Feingold loses.
posted by zachlipton at 8:03 PM on November 8, 2016


Sheriff Joe is out.
posted by ckape at 8:54 PM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


Time to pray.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:01 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


On a terrible horrible no good very bad night, let the record show that we just elected our first Latina Senator in the form of Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).

Maybe we white dudes really are going to be saved by PoC and women, but the demographics just aren't quite there yet.

Or maybe we white dudes need to get our fucking shit together and wake up as the voters of NV apparently have.

Fuck.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:17 PM on November 8, 2016 [9 favorites]


Great news: North Carolina just elected African-American Mike Morgan to its state Supreme Court, tilting the court's balance 5-4 in favor of Dems in a state that desperately needed a check on a GOP legislature gone amok.
posted by mediareport at 10:01 PM on November 8, 2016 [5 favorites]


NJ-5th flips blue- farewell to tea partier Scott Garrett. Was hoping to see my congressman-elect speak but we felt too sick to stay at the watch party.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:06 PM on November 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


Ah, my NJ-7 guy lost. I have no idea what happened; I also skipped the watch party.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 11:27 PM on November 8, 2016




CA won on weed, gun control, and sex; lost on death penalty restrictions.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:49 AM on November 9, 2016 [3 favorites]


CA was mostly a very bright spot on a very dark night. The death penalty repeal is the exception. It's mostly symbolic as we virtually never execute anyone here but it's a very important symbol, and even one person is too many to execute.

But otherwise CA is bright blue. Almost all good results (with the one very bad blemish) on the props, pretty good statewide race results, going Clinton at a significantly higher rate than Obama in either '08 or '12, and so on. I'm proud of my state. Doesn't make up for the national disaster, but is better than the alternative of a statewide disaster to go with the national one.

CA is bright blue, getting brighter, and will stay that way.
posted by Justinian at 12:55 AM on November 9, 2016 [5 favorites]


Democrat Roy Cooper has declared victory over McCrory in the North Carolina Governor race with about a 5,000 vote advantage. McCrory hasn't conceded yet. And also Buck Newton lost in his bid to be the state's Attorney General. Buck was one of the main architects of the infamous "bathroom bill" HB2, which in addition to codifying discrimination took away a lot workers' rights. And as noted above, Mike Morgan is on the NC Supreme Court. Maybe they can help stop some of the crazy coming out of the General Assembly.
posted by marxchivist at 1:00 AM on November 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


Here in the Bay/SF it looks like the BART bond passed, but unfortunately not the funding for Muni, which I'm super pissed off about. The ballot language was super poorly worded; I'm not even sure people realized they had to pass both Props J and K in order for Prop J to mean anything.

(K was supposed to raise the funds, while J allocated those funds to Muni and homelessness, but they're useless in isolation -- yet J passed with a big margin and K failed by a big margin. This was supposed to be an end-run around the fact that levying new taxes requires a 2/3 majority and completely failed.)
posted by en forme de poire at 3:00 AM on November 9, 2016 [2 favorites]


I think a bunch of people were pretty resentful of the fact that they put K on the ballot after they already budgeted for the funds, simply assuming it would pass. It also came down to a very vague argument of "vote for a higher sales tax; the money will go to help the homeless and improve Muni, who could oppose that?" rather than specific projects. The sense I got was that people are increasingly sick of throwing money in the direction of these areas without any real accountability or progress being made.

I too am pretty upset about the funding for Muni, and I understand why they felt they had to go this route, but it ended up coming across way too much like "let's increase the sales tax because we can" and that's just not going to go over well.

I'm honestly a bit surprised the BART bond looks like it will pass given the high threshold. I voted for it, because the system desperately needs modernization and we have to pay for it, but I really resented being stuck in the situation of bailing out the same Board and management that haven't bothered to maintain their infrastructure in decades even as they relentlessly pursued yet more expansion.

It also looks like many of the Supes vs. Mayor propositions fell. Even on the ones I agree with, I'm increasingly tired of voters being used as part of a proxy power struggle in this way, and these measures serve to make the ballot increasingly complex and challenging for anybody who doesn't closely follow local politics.
posted by zachlipton at 3:30 AM on November 9, 2016


It seems to me like Muni is in kind of an impossible position. It seems like whenever they actually try to make an improvement that would up their on-time percentages and speed, they just get shouted into watering it down in the most over-the-top, inflammatory way possible. (Did you know that if you support Geary BRT you are declaring war on small business owners and pedestrians?? And likewise, someone recently wrote a letter to the editor this year that literally compared stop thinning on Muni to the Armenian genocide.)

Reserving rights-of-way, thinning stops, adding bulb-outs, etc. would really help surface transit operate despite congestion, but these things get fought every step of the way by car drivers, anti-Transit-First/Muni activists, and people who don't actually need transit to get them anywhere in any particular amount of time (I remember hate-lol'ing at Rob Anderson saying "the #38L in particular is a pleasure to ride for its speed and efficiency" - completely delusional and out of touch). And then Muni gets attacked for getting nothing done in a reasonable time frame, or for being too slow and unreliable. It's so frustrating.

(I'm aware a lot of people also seem to resent the cost of labor, but Muni's transit operators really do not get paid exceptionally by the standards of large municipal transit agencies in the US -- NYC, Boston, Chicago, etc.)
posted by en forme de poire at 4:55 AM on November 9, 2016 [2 favorites]


Wow, Mark Kirk got slaughtered. Since he's a well-known name, centrist and moderate Republican, and has a lot of wealthy backers, I'm very curious how much of that is Kirk's total meltdown during this election cycle and how much of it is shifting attitudes in the state

Kirk was never that strong, IMO--he made a number of blunders in '10, and won (by a slim margin) only because Alexi Giannoulias was even worse, and had the bad misfortune to be a former banker while the recession was still raging.
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:15 AM on November 9, 2016


The gizmos and such were reporting in McCrory's favor last night when I went to bed. It's good to hear that this at least may not in fact be the case.
posted by inconstant at 9:43 AM on November 9, 2016


Question 1 in Maine (recreational marijuana) looks like a nail-biter. Probably going to pass by a slim margin, but not all precincts are in yet, and I assume the ones that haven't reported are mostly pretty red. Don't think there will be enough to flip the result, though, and Bangor Daily News is currently chalking that up as a win for Yes.

Ranked choice voting passed by a solid margin, though, which is great. We're not getting rid of the Electoral College any time soon, but maybe we can at least get more states to ditch FPTP.
posted by tobascodagama at 11:17 AM on November 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


I am happy that Susana Mendoza won her race for Illinois comptroller. BHS RAIDER PRIDE, everyone!
posted by SisterHavana at 11:24 AM on November 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


I feel like this has been a surprisingly good election for down-ticket progressives, but maybe that's just an attentional bias on my part.

Shame we couldn't clinch the House or Senate to actually make those gains matter.
posted by tobascodagama at 12:06 PM on November 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


I'm happy that Arizona's minimum wage proposition was passed. Happy and surprised.
posted by mollywas at 1:03 PM on November 9, 2016 [4 favorites]


Mixed results in Colorado.

My state house rep won with nearly 10%, which I'm glad to see.

The cigarette tax failed, and the amendment to make it harder to get initiatives on the ballot passed, both with massive amounts of funding.

The aid in dying measure passed, which I'm glad to see, not only because of the merits of the law but also as a rebuke to fear-mongering ads such as one I saw that warned nursing homes would start euthanizing our elderly if the proposition passed.

The minimum wage measure passed too.
posted by audi alteram partem at 1:18 PM on November 9, 2016 [3 favorites]


A new post-election post is live.
posted by Wordshore at 2:35 AM on November 10, 2016


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