Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group OT: For everyone in the U.S., please VOTE TODAY!

Well now that the election process for our part is over I think there was record turn outs not just for my small town but throughout the United States and I am curious to hear what the total number of voters who turned out to vote actually was. I would like to see a total of newly registered or first time voters who actually showed up to cast their ballots.

I know my daughter was having problems getting her polling station switched since she has moved into the city limits. I went online and printed her registration information showing her old information and filled out the new forms for her to take by townhall to have her address changed so she would not have the excuse not to vote. Being a 22 year old she stated she did not like either candidate for president so my advice to her was to vote against the one she disagreed with their issues the most instead of not voting at all,

It was quite funny to me when she said she never thought of voting for the issues and not the person.

Brent

Thank you to everyone who posted in this thread and made it just what I hoped it would be--a celebration of democracy and a clarion call to be sure to exercise your right to vote in free and fair elections. No matter who your candidate was, this was a historic day in America. It was only 40 years ago--think about that folks, FORTY short years ago--that in many states the man who is now President of the U.S. would not have been allowed to use the same drinking fountain as the previous 43 presidents, nor could he have voted. Needless to say, he certainly could not have run for president . . . . with so much racial hatred still prevalent in too many places, I honestly did not think I would live to see an African American president or vice president in my lifetime. The fact that it has happened, and peacefully, is a remarkable event that will be written about in history books. For those who do not agree with the president-elect's politics, I know it is hard to celebrate anything today, but I hope every American can join together for at least a moment and applaud this tremendous leap forward in tolerance.

Again, thanks to everyone who posted in this thread for the respect they showed and the words of wisdom--and humor--that they left here. This, of course, includes all of our international friends and neighbors who contributed their good wishes and kind words--I know you share our hope.

Brad

A major day for the history books!!! So proud to be an American today!

Obama wasn't my first choice, nor my second, but I'm happy to be able to say we have finally broke that white-men-rule mold that the US has had far too long.

Voting for me stinks! I live 1 mile from a voting station, but can I vote there? NO! I have to drive 30 minutes to another one and 30 minutes back! But luckily my husband and I were the only ones there. Two people walked out as we walked in and two people walked in as we walked out. We were numbers 48 and 49 an hour into voting. Considering our area probably has less then 1000 people that's pretty good!

I have to admit it's been a stressful year. My two candidates were out by the time NY had there primary, so it was stressful from that point on. I know people on both sides who were terribly stressed about the whole thing. I think the 2000 election turned elections for the worse. Feeling like your vote doesn't count because of the electoral college. Feeling like even if you vote if your local poling place may make it disappear. But I think this election will change that to a more positive thing again, not something to stress so much about.

In our local elections it was also stressful. The two running for congress was a huge deal! The one person started doing ads on TV a year ago! Unheard of for something so local. So the incumbant had to do ads too, so betweent he two of them they spent over $10 million! Man think about what that could have done for our state? Helped families, schools, towns, etc... anyway I won't get into that here.

The one thing that upset me is how few minorities vote. I saw (not sure on polls and how accurate they are) that only 8% of hispanics and 19% of african americans voted. Such a shame really. Think of how powerful there votes could be! Some states now have a higher hispanic population then whites, they could really have a very loud voice if they would vote in larger numbers. I understand the feeling of not being heard and thinking that voting is a waste. But forget the national stuff and think about the lcoal stuff. You really can make a difference!

Oh and NY still has paper ballots! We ain't got no fancy electric computer machines to vote on.

I am so proud to be an American. No my candidate didn't win. However, I will support my President. Because we have a great country.

well, here it is the day after the election. and i have to agree with you brad about it being historic. i was born in the 60s, too young at the time to really understand the events of that decade, but i do remember some of them. and to think how far we've come. just the fact that we are even having this discussion also shows how much further we have to go. regardless of how each of us voted, this really is a monumental moment in our history. to be a part of it, well, i'm excited by the thought.

last night was pretty funny. after reading about the record number of voters, i was prepared for some kind of line. but i didn't want to have to stand too long, so i timed it to get there at 8:45 pm. by then it was dark. pulled into the church parking lot. a number of cars were there. i thought that's good, but not too many. walked into the building, into the room. saw two voting machines....no line. no other people but those working. like they were there, just waiting for me. on one hand, i felt special, that they were there just for me on the other hand it was sort of anticlimatic, no lines, no people to chat with, no buzz.....total time from pulling into the parking lot to driving out onto the road, about 8 minutes.

but going home and watching all the stories on tv, made it exciting again. watched the speeches. one thing that really affected me was watching people with tears in their eyes, especially some older folk. you could tell just from watching their emotions just how much this election meant to them. their responses were pretty inspirational to me.

i wait in great anticipation to see how the next chapter of our country's history unfolds.

sue

Sue,

I remember the 60's very well and the 70's even better. I have to admit times have really changed over the years.

Brent

hi brent,

of course, as the saying goes, "if you remember the 60s, you weren't really there"

sorry, i just always laugh every time the radio DJ says that when announcing psychedelic sunday.

but more seriously, i know the changes are even more evident in certain parts of the country.

sue

Brad, I think Black men got the right to vote in about 1870, although there were various efforts and tactics used over the yrs. to suppress their rights. I think he would have most definitely been able to vote.

yes, you are absolutely correct on that.
but i got a bit curious on the history, so i did some googling.
this was an interesting link: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/intro/intro_c.php

also interesting that it took another 50 years before women won the right to vote.

The Right to Vote

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
— Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1870)

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
— Nineteenth Amendment (1920)

The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any
primary or other election . . . shall not be denied or abridged . . . by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
— Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964)

The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of age.
— Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971)

sue

Sue,

You could be right but I was born in 59 so it was the 70's when I got into the party mode. While parts of the 70's are a bit hazy I still remember those years very well. I must not have partied hard enough, lol.

Good to see you researched when everyone was given the right to vote. I'm just hoping it is a right we will get to keep. I would love to be able to vote that the presidential primaries and elections were only allowed three months each for a total of six months instead of this two year stuff, and also that the candidates must use the money provided to the parties through tax returns giving each candidate the same amount of money to keep them from buying the election.

We use the electoral college to elect the president instead of the popular vote to prevent candidates from buying votes but most states have now gone to a winner takes all instead of giving the electoral vote to the candidate who wins each district of the state.

Brent