2020 Presidential Election 5: Talk About An October Surprise

[SassyPants]

2 hours ago, Not that josh's mom said:

I have never been this concerned about an election in my 70 years. Besides the fact that Trump is a crazy loose cannon, I fear what the US is becoming/has become. Are we truly a nation filled with racist, sextet, bigoted, stupid people? 

When Trump loses (please God), I fear what stupid things he will do until inauguration. Most outgoing  presidents pardon a bunch of people, but I'm truly afraid he would do such stupid things, the US may never recover.

I’ve never been a political alarmist, but I think there will be unrest no matter the outcome, and what is going to happen between the election and the inauguration, if Trump loses? 

[47of74]

And did the BTs listen to local law enforcement about not parking along the highway?  Fuck no.  And they didn’t close off our road so we had BTs who have no respect for private property when it means a chance to see fuck face.  We had BTs going back into our fields trying to get a good view of the Fuckmuppet so I’m a little pissed off right now. I hope to hell the buses came to get all the kluxers otherwise I’m gonna show at the next city council zoom meeting to tell these things people off during the public comments. 

[fraurosena]

Holy cow, @47of74, I was already wtf'ing at your description of them parking on the highway.

It turns out they're way worse than I imagined them to be. Seriously, What.The.Fuck. 

I am really apprehensive for what is going to happen next week. This seems to be a prelude of things to come. 

 

[Cartmann99]

4 hours ago, SassyPants said:

For the past 2 days I have felt physically sick. I need this election and its aftermath to be over. My stomach is in literal knots. I read articles on line and feel slightly better. I listen to the news, no matter what station, and feel worse. I don’t think this week is going to be fun at all.

I understand as my own digestive system doesn't do well under stress. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to watch the returns, or if I'm going to avoid all election news until Wednesday. Feels weird to admit that, as I've been parked in front of a television or computer screen for the last seven presidential election nights. I was old enough to vote in the 1088 election, but I wasn't even registered to vote back then.

On that note, here's a link where you can view maps showing the results of all past presidential elections in the United States.

1 hour ago, 47of74 said:

And did the BTs listen to local law enforcement about not parking along the highway?  Fuck no.  And they didn’t close off our road so we had BTs who have no respect for private property when it means a chance to see fuck face.  We had BTs going back into our fields trying to get a good view of the Fuckmuppet so I’m a little pissed off right now. I hope to hell the buses came to get all the kluxers otherwise I’m gonna show at the next city council zoom meeting to tell these things people off during the public comments. 

I bet you'd get shot if you trespassed on their land in order to see a politician.

[SilverBeach]

1 hour ago, fraurosena said:

I am really apprehensive for what is going to happen next week. This seems to be a prelude of things to come. 

The last four years have been a complete nightmare for me, as a black American. Far as I'm concerned it cannot get much worse. 

Back in the sixties, the Black Panthers were made out to be this very threatening anti-government group. There were never more than a few hundred of them, Hoover and the racist FBI greatly exaggerated the actual threat., it's just that black people with weapons was unacceptable. Similarly, militia groups get a lot of publicity but there is not as many of them as their coverage makes it seem. Plus, when these wanna-be soldiers face off with the real military, they will run back into the woods they came from. Dump and his white nationalist storm troopers want us to be scared. 

Good people are tired though. There may be an unpleasant reaction from this (my) side if, heaven forbid, the antichrist is re-elected. Taking the high road has yielded nothing.

[fraurosena]

This doesn’t surprise anyone. He’s been gearing up for this fight for months.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

"When we’ll find out election results: Here’s what we know about swing states, ballot counting and more"

Spoiler

The coronavirus pandemic has changed everything about 2020 — including what to expect from the final act of the election.

A massive increase in early and mail voting, with many voters seeking to avoid crowded polling places, has reshaped how and when most ballots are counted, creating uncertainty around when results will be known. Some states have already surpassed their 2016 vote totals, and election experts predict that the rate of mail voting will range from 50 to 70 percent nationwide this fall, compared with roughly 23 percent in 2016. For the first time in history, most Americans are expected to cast their ballots before Election Day.

As a result, while many Americans are accustomed to voting on Election Day and learning results that night, Election Day 2020 in fact marks the end of a lengthy voting period and the start of a potentially lengthy counting period. (See how many Americans have voted early so far.) Some states plan to report results the night of Nov. 3, but others expect it to take longer, depending on when they begin processing and counting mail-in ballots. Even in a typical election year, ballot counting always goes past election night. Results are not official until states certify them, sometimes weeks after the election takes place.

The Washington Post wants readers to be prepared to interpret what is happening in these unusual circumstances. Here are some frequently asked questions about what we will know and when.

When will we know who won the presidential race?

It’s hard to say, both for the presidential and for down-ballot races. We do know that some states won’t have complete results for weeks.

Nearly half of all states will accept ballots that arrive by mail during a certain window after Election Day if their postmark indicates they were sent by Nov. 3 or an earlier deadline. And roughly 30 states allow voters to fix errors that would otherwise lead to their ballots being rejected; in states where this is permitted after Election Day, it could draw out the time before final results are announced.

Meanwhile, early results in some key states may provide enough information to declare a winner. States that are allowed to process and count ballots before Election Day and have strong early in-person and mail voting could release a sizable proportion of the results after polls close.

Most news organizations plan to use extra caution this year when projecting winners because early results may not provide the full picture. In some states, ballots cast in person on Election Day will be reported first, and they could favor Trump, since polls show a majority of his supporters plan to cast ballots on Election Day. In other states, mail votes cast before Nov. 3 will be reported first or included in preliminary tallies. Those could include a disproportionate number of Biden votes, since more Democrats have embraced mail voting this year.

Candidate declarations of victory don’t factor in.

How do swing states report results?

We will probably get earlier results in states with two key traits: voters who have widely embraced early in-person or mail voting, and rules that let officials process and count mail ballots before Election Day. Arizona, Florida and North Carolina could provide information quickly, experts say, while states including Pennsylvania and Michigan could lag behind. (See how to vote in each state.)

This section will be updated as states release further details about their plans.

Arizona: The state allows mail ballots to be processed and counted before Election Day, which means voters can expect to see more advanced results on election night, if everything goes according to plan. The process can start earlier than it did in 2018, when results remained unclear in a major Senate race for nearly a week. At least one major county has also upgraded its equipment.

Election officials plan to release initial results around 8 p.m. local time, or about an hour after polls close, combining all ballots cast before Election Day by mail and in person. The next ballots to be counted will be those cast at polling locations on Election Day, followed by mail ballots returned that day.

Florida: The state allows mail ballots to be processed and counted before Election Day, which means voters can expect to see more advanced results on election night, if everything goes according to plan.

Initial statewide results are expected in Florida at 8 p.m. Eastern time on election night and will include ballots cast early in-person and by mail.

Georgia: Mail ballots can be processed before Election Day, but cannot be counted until polls close.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has predicted that results for “very, very close” races will be available one or two days after the election at the latest. Results for less competitive races will be available on election night, he said.

Michigan: In jurisdictions with more than 25,000 people, mail ballots can be processed starting Nov. 2. Other jurisdictions must wait until Election Day, when ballots are counted.

Michigan expects to have unofficial statewide results available Nov. 6, if not earlier, once all ballots are counted. Counties may release preliminary results before that.

Minnesota: The state allows mail ballots to be processed and counted before Election Day. Officials expect to release preliminary results after polls close around 8 p.m. local time that combine Election Day in-person, early in-person and mail votes.

North Carolina: Mail ballots can be processed before Nov. 3, but not counted until that day. Still, a heavy volume of early in-person votes this year means voters can expect to see more advanced results on election night, if everything goes according to plan.

North Carolina expects to report results from early in-person votes and mail ballots cast before Election Day after all polls close statewide at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. Election Day votes will be counted last. The state expects it will report results on election night reflecting more than 95 percent of votes cast in the election.

Ohio: Mail ballots can be processed before Election Day, but not counted until polls close. Ohio plans to release preliminary results on election night that combine Election Day in-person, early in-person and mail votes returned by close of polls.

Pennsylvania: Mail ballots cannot be processed or counted until Election Day, despite local election officials pleading with the legislature to give them more time.

Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar has predicted that the vast majority of ballots will be counted “in a matter of days” or “by the weekend [after the election] … maybe even significantly sooner.” A spokeswoman said the state is making changes to its system to provide an analysis of different types of votes cast and report the number yet to be counted, broken down by county.

Wisconsin: Mail ballots cannot be processed or counted until Election Day.

Wisconsin has no statewide reporting process for unofficial results on election night, but municipal clerks are required to report their tallies to county clerks within two hours of finishing the count. Most mail ballots are counted at precincts where the voter would have cast a ballot in person.

Election officials have predicted they will finish counting on election night or the day after.

Why does an increase in mail ballots make a difference?

Mail ballots must go through several steps before they are counted, including a review by election officials to ensure their validity. That process takes more time than counting ballots cast in person at a polling location — and in some states, officials are not allowed to begin until Election Day.

While it may be slower, there’s no evidence that mail voting leads to widespread fraud, and delayed reporting of mail ballots is not a sign of a problem with the vote.

When will the results become final?

Americans typically know who won elections long before the results become official.

Each state has a different timetable for canvassing a general election, which involves compiling returns, making sure every ballot is accounted for and certifying the results. The process usually takes place later in November and sometimes extends into December.

This year, close margins will increase the likelihood of legal fights over which ballots should count. But a handful of deadlines will also place pressure on courts to resolve disputes quickly.

States are supposed to appoint presidential electors by Dec. 8 — or at the latest, Dec. 14, when the electors meet in state capitals to cast their votes. Certificates of election from the states are counted by members of Congress on Jan. 6.

How did the pandemic affect voting during the primaries?

The rapid shift toward mail voting during the primaries meant that many results were delayed. Twenty-three states held primaries after mid-March, and they took an average of four days to report nearly complete results, according to a Post analysis. In Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, results took roughly six days to be released, while in Georgia, they took 10 days.

The most dramatic example was New York, where it took roughly six weeks to resolve two congressional Democratic primaries.

Could we see a repeat of what happened during the 2000 presidential election? Remind me what happened then.

People concerned about whether results will be clear this year point to the election meltdown of 2000, when an extremely tight vote margin in Florida between then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush (R) and then-Vice President Al Gore (D) led to a mandatory recount.

As the process became mired in litigation, the Florida Supreme Court ordered a hand recount of roughly 45,000 ballots that were recorded as not registering a clear choice in the presidential race (many because of what became known as “hanging chads”). But the Bush campaign succeeded in petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to block the order, and the court ultimately reversed it. The result was a Bush victory in Florida, which handed the then-governor a majority of electoral votes, while Gore won the popular vote.

Experts have said it is unlikely that a similar situation, in which a Supreme Court decision directly shapes the race’s outcome, will unfold during this year’s presidential election. That’s because a number of rare circumstances would have to collide for it to happen, including a race that hangs on the outcome in a single state, a tiny margin of victory in that state, a considerable number of ballots where voters’ choices are unclear and a dysfunctional recount process.

 

[47of74]

2 hours ago, fraurosena said:

Holy cow, @47of74, I was already wtf'ing at your description of them parking on the highway.

It turns out they're way worse than I imagined them to be. Seriously, What.The.Fuck. 

I am really apprehensive for what is going to happen next week. This seems to be a prelude of things to come. 

 

Yeah I might try to see if I can speak at the city council meeting next time to let them know some of these hijinks were not appreciated and their police chief should have pushed back a hell of a lot harder than he did on some of this.  The city owns the airport so they're responsible.  Generally they've been good neighbors but they sometimes the city government forgets that we exist.  I've already sent an email to the county supervisors asking them to shut the road I live on along with other nearby roads to people who don't live or work on the road next time a VIP shows up. 

[thoughtful]

I know tensions are running high, but my brain finds relief in humor. I put these reactions to previous posts under  spoilers, in case anyone would find them more annoying than relaxing.

Spoiler

6 hours ago, Not that josh's mom said:

Are we truly a nation filled with racist, sextet, bigoted, stupid people? 

I know you  were a victim of autocorrect, but I can't help thinking "I wish there were only six bigoted stupid people in the whole country!"

 

Spoiler

2 hours ago, fraurosena said:

 

I've seen the GSP looking like this even without the flags and screaming bigots. I used to have a theory that nobody was ever home in NJ - they were all out driving on the Parkway or the NJ Turnpike, all the time.

 

[SPHASH]

Mango Mussolini in MI today:

 

Amy Klobuchar at her campaign kickoff in Minneapolis in 2019:

 

Who's the tougher one?

Edited November 2, 2020 by SPHASH
ETA Amy

[Cartmann99]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

3 hours ago, fraurosena said:

Holy cow, @47of74, I was already wtf'ing at your description of them parking on the highway.

It turns out they're way worse than I imagined them to be. Seriously, What.The.Fuck. 

I am really apprehensive for what is going to happen next week. This seems to be a prelude of things to come. 

 

Failson1 has a hard on for the BTs in AZ:

 

[fraurosena]

Of course daddy Trump is still viciously  stirring the pot.

 

[Not that josh's mom]

1 hour ago, thoughtful said:

I know tensions are running high, but my brain finds relief in humor. I put these reactions to previous posts under  spoilers, in case anyone would find them more annoying than relaxing.

  Reveal hidden contents

I know you  were a victim of autocorrect, but I can't help thinking "I wish there were only six bigoted stupid people in the whole country!"

 

  Reveal hidden contents

I've seen the GSP looking like this even without the flags and screaming bigots. I used to have a theory that nobody was ever home in NJ - they were all out driving on the Parkway or the NJ Turnpike, all the time.

 

Cripes, I corrected that sextet to sexist three times. Just didn't  do the final proofread. Geez. I do love autocorrect!

[thoughtful]

34 minutes ago, Not that josh's mom said:

Cripes, I corrected that sextet to sexist three times. Just didn't  do the final proofread. Geez. I do love autocorrect!

Autocorrect is intense. It decides what word it wants you to use, and by golly, that's the word you get.

[47of74]

9 minutes ago, thoughtful said:

Autocorrect is intense. It decides what word it wants you to use, and by golly, that's the word you get.

Yep here’s a visual representation of how many times it autocorrected a certain F word. 
 

 

[fraurosena]

They are literally barricading themselves inside the White House. It will be extremely difficult to get them out when Trump loses. This is not going to end easily and might even lead to bloodshed.

I hope the Democrats are preparing too...

[JMarie]

One day to go! It’s like Early Christmas Eve!

[ignorantobserver]

13 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

For the past 2 days I have felt physically sick. I need this election and its aftermath to be over. My stomach is in literal knots. I read articles on line and feel slightly better. I listen to the news, no matter what station, and feel worse. I don’t think this week is going to be fun at all.

I think it's really bad for anyone's nerves to be constantly exposed to the apocalyptic prophecies on the news. Don't forget that journalists need to present everything with as much drama as possible to get more viewers. And our brains are not made to be constantly exposed to worrying information about the outside world. Maybe you could try to reduce your media consumption ? For me, it helps to skip visual media outlets entirely and to stick to reading the newspaper once a day. I suspect that, for neurological reasons, seeing something scary elicits a much more primal and violent stress response than just reading about it. And it's always good to go back to my small, private world through cooking, gardening, taking a walk outside to admire the neighbor's chickens...

[IrishCarrie]

I woke up this morning with a deep sense of dread and I lay in bed pondering on it.

Some of my in-laws were diagnosed with Covid two weeks ago so that's where my mind went first but they're all doing pretty well now (after a couple of scary days last week) so I then moved on to thinking about work. As I've mentioned on here before, I do therapeutic work in a prison and we had a prisoner outbreak last Wednesday so I've been working from home since then. Over the weekend the entire prison has been tested and we're waiting on results to filter through - so far I know six staff who are positive. But as my sleepy brain pondered that I remembered that so far no one is showing severe symptoms so - touch wood! - nothing to worry about there yet either.

The I came to full wakefulness and went "Monday. So tomorrow is Tuesday and the US election". And the dread instantly intensified and I felt sick.

It's lunchtime here in Ireland, I've gotten a lot done this morning work-wise, I've just had some really nice leftover shepherd's pie and I'm having a brownie now. So it's been a good day but the dread won't leave me. I really feel that tomorrow's election is generation-defining, not only for the US but for the entire world. It feels to me that all Trump has ever done is tell people who to blame and who to hate, that's his whole message. And maybe no one quite knew that about him four years ago but if that divisiveness and hatred is validated for another four years it'll spread and spread and the world as we know it will become a small, petty, spiteful place.  More countries will elect a Trump as a defence mechanism to deal with Trump, and countries will then start to reflect the values of the leaders they elected, rather that the ideal of the other way around

I feel that if Trump is re-elected then I'll never see the States again in my lifetime, because even after he's gone the fabric of the place will have altered so irrevocably. And I've had some of the best trips of my life to the USA, been all over it, met amazing people, loved everything about it so that makes me desperately sad.

Anyhoo, thank you for listening, my dear friends. Fingers crossed for a good outcome tomorrow - the coverage on TV starts at 11pm Irish time and yes, I will be staying up all night to watch! 

?

[47of74]

I guess the buses came back for the Branch Trumpvidians yesterday.  I hope we don't have a super spreader covid spike now but probably will since these people will be out going around proclaiming their love of fuck face.  

[fraurosena]

A little pep-talk by Michael Keaton.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

This is utterly disgusting. Why are the police escorting the BT thugs?

 

Edited November 2, 2020 by GreyhoundFan

[fraurosena]

Absolutely love this. 

 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

On 10/30/2020 at 7:09 PM, Dandruff said:

I'm Independent and have voted in a few Republican primaries; e.g., for John McCain.  In his case, unlike most others, I would have at least briefly considered voting for him as President until he chose Sarah Palin as his running mate.

I know at least one registered Democrat who said she was going to vote for Trump this year because, while she likes Biden, she loathes Harris that much.  I tried reasoning with her, to no avail.  She's that repelled by the ticket.  I'm hoping that not too many other voters will make the same choice but am concerned.  Harris, I believe, will draw a lot of votes but will also cost Biden some others.  I suspect the gains will outweigh the losses but just don't know what people have been thinking about her recently.  Racism hasn't gone away, nor has misogyny, and Harris (IMO) can be pretty polarizing even aside from those factors.

I was quite open about my disdain for Harris when Biden chose her, but as shallow as this sounds I'd freaking marry her if I could if she helps get him out of office.  

I cannot wait to get back to caring about the nuances of the issues rather than getting supersized Voldemort out of office.

Fair warning - I am absolutely unprepared emotionally for a Trump victory as much as I've tried to steel myself.   

3 hours ago, IrishCarrie said:

I woke up this morning with a deep sense of dread and I lay in bed pondering on it.

Some of my in-laws were diagnosed with Covid two weeks ago so that's where my mind went first but they're all doing pretty well now (after a couple of scary days last week) so I then moved on to thinking about work. As I've mentioned on here before, I do therapeutic work in a prison and we had a prisoner outbreak last Wednesday so I've been working from home since then. Over the weekend the entire prison has been tested and we're waiting on results to filter through - so far I know six staff who are positive. But as my sleepy brain pondered that I remembered that so far no one is showing severe symptoms so - touch wood! - nothing to worry about there yet either.

The I came to full wakefulness and went "Monday. So tomorrow is Tuesday and the US election". And the dread instantly intensified and I felt sick.

It's lunchtime here in Ireland, I've gotten a lot done this morning work-wise, I've just had some really nice leftover shepherd's pie and I'm having a brownie now. So it's been a good day but the dread won't leave me. I really feel that tomorrow's election is generation-defining, not only for the US but for the entire world. It feels to me that all Trump has ever done is tell people who to blame and who to hate, that's his whole message. And maybe no one quite knew that about him four years ago but if that divisiveness and hatred is validated for another four years it'll spread and spread and the world as we know it will become a small, petty, spiteful place.  More countries will elect a Trump as a defence mechanism to deal with Trump, and countries will then start to reflect the values of the leaders they elected, rather that the ideal of the other way around

I feel that if Trump is re-elected then I'll never see the States again in my lifetime, because even after he's gone the fabric of the place will have altered so irrevocably. And I've had some of the best trips of my life to the USA, been all over it, met amazing people, loved everything about it so that makes me desperately sad.

Anyhoo, thank you for listening, my dear friends. Fingers crossed for a good outcome tomorrow - the coverage on TV starts at 11pm Irish time and yes, I will be staying up all night to watch! 

?

I hope your family continues to recover.

My son works in a nursing home and they have lost several residents and one nurse to Covid.  He wasn't close to the nurse, but she was my age and her kids are the ages of mine so it hit him hard thinking of what it would be like to lose your mom just because she was doing her job.

They are now pushing for the employees to start paying for their own covid tests.  Many make min wage or barely over and this in unconscionable.  I told him I support him 100% if he walks over this without something else lined up.  

Weird aside, in an attempt to distract myself from obsessing over politics I started a new project...to teach myself Irish beginning this weekend.  Yes, I know it will have no practical use in my life but it's soothing me.  

It's no longer working - I'm mainlining politics until the election is over.  Although if we have another 4 years of him I'll be in such a need of a mental escape I'll be fluent soon.

16 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Failson1 has a hard on for the BTs in AZ:

 

Where is a sinkhole to the center of the earth when you need one?