Left In Lowell

If I were a Republican, I would be accusing the (actual, known “fraud” or at least shenanigans of this election cycle) pre-marked Brown ballots for stealing the election.

However, I am a Democrat, so I don’t do that. I’m reality-based. He won.

Let us hope that the Democrats take the correct interpretation on this election - first, that an absentee candidate does not do well even in blue states - and second, that allowing things like the popular public option die in the health care reform bill in order to pander to a few Repubs only to have them vote no anyway does not make for a happy electorate that overwhelmingly elected you to actually pass your real agenda.

Fact is, I’m guessing two things really were at issue here. The ongoing trouble in the economy, which as it drags out, fairly or not is further put onto the shoulders of the Democrats; and anger at Wall Street, where the nation has felt the Obama administration seriously fell down on the job. He’s talking now about drastic overhauling of those regulations, and frankly, that should have been on the table a long time ago.

Couple that with the long slow march of a watered-down health care bill, and a sincerely terribly-run campaign (which honestly, should take about 90% of the blame here), and even a cakewalk election can be upset.

The righties are frothing at the mouth at this video from Lawrence, where a witness talks about a poll worker *legally* doing what she should be - providing provisional ballots to people who are come to vote, but are not listed in the voting rolls, generally due to being at the wrong polling place. If this person filling out a provisional ballot truly is not a Mass voter, her ballot will be thrown out; if she is one, it will be included in the totals - once that is proven. This is part of the provisions put into place after the disastrous 2004 election where people were turned away at the polls, the legislation called HAHA or Help America Vote Act.

The only weird thing is that the witness here claims that the poll worker asked if she were Democrat or Republican, which sounds strange except that poll workers in primaries always have to ask this question, and it could be just a habit that the worker mistakenly said it here. There’s no evidence at all that any particular answer to the question would have caused a different reaction in the poll worker. That is if this witness is remembering correctly (this is all allegedly after all).

This idiotic claim of “proven” voter fraud in Lawrence is all over the conservasphere, particularly being drummed up by the likes of Michelle Malkin. It is being used as exactly the sort of outrage generator I mentioned in my last post. Hey, if at first you can’t succeed, whine, I suppose - but if you’re going to complain, at least complain about something real, not made up whole cloth. Good lord.

Update: and here is the other outrage generator.

This shows a woman with copies of the ballot - copies, not absentee, as this post seems to suggest. Anyone been to the polls today? They hang copies of the ballot right up at the front, usually, to show you what the ballot looks like before you head in. Now, so long as this woman is not violating the rules of how to conduct yourself outside a polling station (like distance rules), she has every right to a paper copy of the ballot (you can see line markings on the ballot, it really is just a nonusable copy) and to talk to voters as they go into the polls for her chosen candidate.

And finally…here’s the last news (for now) that they’re screaming about. Note how

Two voters, one in Cambridge and one in Brighton, reported receiving ballots that were already filled out.

In each case, the ballots were voided and voters were issued new ballots.

Right, so…what’s the problem? The ballots were not used, and someone is looking into it to be sure that’s the extent of it.

What are you seeing in your district? Have you voted yet?

Today districts 10-1/10-2 at the VFW on Plain St wasn’t mobbed, but that’s because it never is. However, there were actually a few people (besides us) waiting for it to open, and we were voters #12/13 (if I recall). More people came in after us. I think we’re going to see some great turnout. What that means for results, no one knows, but it probably bodes best for Martha if anything.

There was a snafu voting which meant waiting at the poll, as the check in book and the check out books were not the same (the checkout book was missing a scad of addresses and people) so we had to wait while they figured out what to do with those of us missing from the second book. Actually the VFW poll workers seemed cursed today - they got into the location late and so were kurfuzzeled trying to get ready; and while we were waiting for the check out resolution, the machine that takes ballots jammed, but other than that, it was fairly smooth and there seemed to me to be a LOT more voters than usual at our very quiet district.

Update: The Lowell Sun says town clerks across the Valley are reporting high turnout so far today.