Everyone remembers the 2000 Presidential election. That was the year two phrases became a regular part of everyday speech; hanging chads and disenfranchised voters. Until that election, a hanging chad was likely something one would see in a bad porno movie and most people, especially products of public education, did not know what disenfranchise meant. The word was even used incorrectly to describe what happened to voters who were, in fact, not "deprived of the right to vote." The truth, though seldom discussed, is that many Democrats were just not able to figure out how to vote.
Unfortunately, this seems to be a growing problem with Democrats who would rather scream "voter fraud" and "disenfranchised" than actually learn what they are supposed to do to accomplish a task so important to a free society. I personally find it difficult to believe that an elderly lady who can play fifty Bingo cards and never miss a number, or a person who can operate all the gizmos in a cell phone can not figure out chads and touch-screen voting machines.
The state of Maryland held its Primary yesterday and there were, you guessed it, problems. As in Florida in 2000, these problems only occurred in heavily Democratic parts of the state. The problems ranged from sites not having all the necessary items to open the polls to election judges not showing up. Immediately, the Maryland Democratic Party blamed the Republican Governor and the news reported that Republican judges had refused to show up "in mass." Callers to local talk shows refuted this claim and told a very different story. The Democratic judges failed to show and this delayed opening the machines for voting forcing some sites to ask voters to come back later.
The state did not just start planning for this election last week. It has had several years to prepare and, except in the heavily Democratic areas of Montgomery County and Baltimore City, things went off with few glitches. Of course, as with anything of this magnitude, there were minor problems but they were taken care of and the show went on. The two subdivisions affected filed for an extension of the voting hours. This request was approved and they closed at 9 p.m. instead of 8.
Article comments
1 - RJ Elliott
When a political party crafts its message so that it specifically appeals to the stupidest, most uneducated, most illiterate, and most irresponsible people in the country, it is not surprising that their political "base" finds the relatively simple task of voting somewhat challenging...
2 - Arch Conservative
You hit the nail on the head RJ.
Kudos!
3 - Nancy
The Republican party, headed by BushCo, has been rife with elections officials loaded with blatant conflicts of interest (as in Ohio & Florida) as well as outright attempts at voter intimidation, fraud & election stealing, coupled with their Rovian tactics of smears, lies, and dirty tricks, that all non-GOP voters - independents as well as Dems - are more than justified in being suspicious when shenanigans crop up at polling centers. At this point in time, it would seem to devolve on simple human incompetence of Nancy Dacek, the Montgomery County elections supervisor, and her various idiot assistants who apparently can't figure out how to use a simple checklist; however, instead of firing her inept ass as she deserves, GOP governor Bob Erlich is biding his time, apparently hoping for more of the same, which can only help his party's chances (MD is a heavily Dem state) in November.
4 - Steve
Not only do the problems only occur in Democratic districts. The seem to occur in Democratic districts in states with a Republican governor. Coincidence?
5 - Nancy
Probably not; see my comment above. Possibly a Republican plot to disenfranchise an entire Dem state? [irony]
6 - zingzing
yes, dems don't want to vote, they want to complain. and yes, dems are too stupid to know how to vote. and republicans are never, ever dishonest.
7 - Chris
While the left has hissy fits about these voting issues, I keep wondering why we are supposed to be concerned about the opinions or votes of people who have proved themselves too stupid to punch a hole in a piece of paper.
Makes me wonder if we shouldn't institute an issues based intelligence test prior to letting some of these folks vote.
8 - Nancy
The VOTERS weren't stupid; it was the people who were supposed to be in charge of the elections: they carefully shipped all the essentials for voting out to the polling places - and forgot the cards that activated the new electronic voting machines. So while everyone was standing around waiting for those to arrive, voters who couldn't wait were told to fill out paper ballots ... except those in charge of the elections had forgotten to include them, too. And after only 2 years to get ready.
9 - Nancy
BTW - according to the local papers, the elections chief, Ms. Dacek, was appointed by Republican Gov. Bob Erlich, and both she & her ass't. (who is paid +$113K/yr) are GOP. I doubt it was a deliberate ploy to sabotage the election, simply because Montgomery County is (as pointed out above) overwhelmingly Dem, and besides these are just primaries, so it wouldn't do the GOP any good. It was just plain, old-fashioned stupidity & half-assed job performance on the part of supervisors who couldn't be bothered to do quality control oversight.
10 - Arch Conservative
If Republicans are the ones messing with the vote then why is it that the Dems are the ones against providing id when you vote and allowing illegals to vote?
11 - Big Dog
Actually, Linda Lamone is responsible for the election process in Maryland. We can point to several GOP appointees and lay blame but in fact Lamone was the one who said at Public Service Commission Board meetings (time and again( that they were ready.
Since she was basically given a life time hob by Democrats in the legislature it is only reasonable to believe they were trying to keep their hands in the process. She can not be fired by the Governor but it is she and not Robert Ehrlich who was responsible for this mess.
Yes, there are Republicans who lie and cheat as there are any other political party. The question still remains, why are there only problems in Democratic areas? One could make an argument that evil Republican operatives were responsible such as the claim made about Florida and Ohio but anyone with the ability to read can see that people were not disenfranchised in those places. More blacks voted in Ohio than in previous elections. The other question we need to ask is, how can any party avoid a person in charge of such things not having a political affiliation.
There are as many Democrats running elections in places as there are Republicans and yet no one ever calls their affiliation into question. Even when Republicans lose (such as when Ellen R. Sauerbrey ran in MD. She was beaten by dead people who voted) they do not excoriate the people running the elections. In Maryland, they would certainly have a reason.
When there are REAL problems that screw Republicans, Democrats have nothing to say about the fairness of the process. One only needs to look at the criminal activity that took place in Washington state to see that. Let one Democrat punch the wrong "chad" however, and he is scarred for life.
12 - Arch Conservative
"Let one Democrat punch the wrong "chad" however, and he is scarred for life.
Well Big Dog that's because the guardians of the left are so insecure, narcissistic, arrogant, smug, and always so sure that they are right that they can't face the reality that not everyone agrees with them. Therefore every time there is an election and their candidate loses the only logical conclusion is that Republicans cheated.
13 - Nancy
Arch #10: as far as I've heard, MOST Dems don't - and maniacs like Ted Kennedy are NOT representative of us.
In fact, I will go so far as to assert that MOST of the current incumbents in congress of BOTH parties do not represent most of "us" the people in real life out here in the trenches, as it were. Yeah, yeah, they got voted in, but they aren't of us, and they aren't one of us. Every single one is rich, and most were born rich. From birth they've been accustomed to privileges and special preferential treatment that the vast majority of us will never know. And of course, on attaining congress, they've become even MORE privileged, rich, and the subjects of preferential treatment, to the point where both parties claim exemption from the normal strictures of the law (i.e. that the FBI has no right to investigate Jefferson for the $90K in his freezer), an attitude most brazenly and ultimately demonstrated by the ultimate claimant for being above the law, Dubya Bush.
This isn't a party thing, it's a class thing. I maintain that class warfare is and has been a reality for a looooong time. NONE of these overprivileged rich people in congress represents me, because not one of them has to live the life I do, with its attendant uncertainties & problems of living within my decreasing means. None of THEM has to worry about medical care for the rest of their lives - even if they should leave congress, either voluntarily or by losing an election. They're set for life, as are their immediate dependents. None of them have to worry about losing their retirement. They're set for life, with VERY generous pensions, courtesy of the folks on the street like you & me who - too many of us - don't know if we're going to have a roof over our heads tomorrow or not, don't know if we'll have a job tomorrow or not, and who - 4+ MILLION of us - can't even afford to pay for basic health insurance or health and dental care.
They do NOT represent us.
14 - Baronius
Great piece, Big Dog. I'd add one note to your article. Republicans seem to "get" that some people vote Democrat. Democrats, especially in urban districts, never meet a Republican (at least, no one who admits to being a Republican). It seems impossible to them that the Democrats are losing elections. There must be something behind it, they think.
During the Republicans' long cold winter (roughly 1958-1994), the GOP wasn't winning any local elections. They did ok on the presidential level, but it seemed like that was due to their lousy competition. They had a party-wide inferiority complex.
The Democrats today are in a different situation. They're winning 48% of the local races. They haven't become defeatist - yet. Instead, they're exasperated. I think that state of mind is responsible for the things you wrote about.
15 - zingzing
usually, you know, i would blow up at something like this (#14)... but, i must admit it makes a point. it's true, we dems are getting pretty sick of losing by a percentage point or two. the fact that these things happen in important, make-or-break states more often than not just ticks us off.
but, i must admit that i really don't know that many republicans. in fact, when one shows up in social circles around here (downtown seattle), they pretty much get their beer dumped on their lap and get thrown into the nearest hip-hop club with a confederate flag strapped to their privates. it gets pretty ugly.
16 - Baronius
Zing, no offense intended. Losing elections takes its toll. Losing elections narrowly messes with your mind - so does losing by a wide margin, but differently.
There's was a bumper-sticker store in Washington DC that used to sell anti-Clinton slogans, until 1994. Then it was anti-Newt. It's natural for the underdogs to be more vocal. From my time in Washington State, I'd never guess that a Republican could tie for governor. And I say that as a neutral observer.
Wonderful state, by the way. It's the only place you'll find teriyaki at diners.
17 - zingzing
but do you know how much i hate teriyaki now? ugh. worse... cuisine... ever...
as for your republican-governer-tie question... there is a place called eastern washington... it stretches from the idaho border all the way to the cascade mountain passes... it is a red place. last year, they expressed interest in splitting from western washington, siting the fact that western washington is more powerful (being a nice place to live, and more fully populated, and not a arrid high desert with absolutely nothing to offer... although we do have death-by-horse-fucking here... keeps the place interesting) and was supposedly sucking all of the state's tax dollars into the west's pet projects... bullshit. we make the money, we spend it, you slack-jawed farmers. whatever. the governer we have is a bit of a shit. she kinda sucks. but she is a dem. so she got lots of dem votes. but she sucks, so she lost some dem votes. and there you have it. big ordeal.