The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

    Your Vote Counted

    By Verified Atheist on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 8:10am |

    Typically, arguing about the value of a vote ends up turning into a discussion on the Ship of Theseus, George Washington's Axe, or the Sorites paradox, except that instead of which grain of sand did we have to remove to turn a heap of sand into a non-heap, the question is which vote(s) caused a particular candidate to win? The question at least appears to become a lot less philosophical when you're a part of it.

    Philosophy aside, your vote matters. In yesterday's Virginia elections, with all of the 2,558 precincts reporting, both (soon-to-be) Governor McAuliffe and Lt. Governor Northam won by comfortable margins (~55k and ~233k, or ~2.46% and ~10.63%, respectively). On the other hand, the Attorney General race with Herring (D) and Obenshain (R) the margin is much closer. Herring has only 541 more votes than Obenshain, or 0.03%. I'm fairly certain we can expect a recount there. I like to think that my family's 2 votes are part of that 541, as are many of my local friends. With 3 precincts left (or with a recount), that 541 might get narrower or it might get wider, but it will definitely remain close. With all precincts reporting, Herring has 219 fewer votes than Obenshain, or -0.01%! I hope that this gets reversed with a recount. For those of you who wonder what the big deal is about Attorney General, you're probably not from Virginia. Cuccinelli has already shown how much harm an Attorney General can do. Here are the final (unofficial) results in tabular form:

    Governor:

    Candidate Votes Percent
    McAuliffe (D) 1,064,701 47.74%
    Cuccinelli (R) 1,009,878 45.28%
    Sarvis (L) 145,418 6.52%


    Lt. Governor:

    Candidate Votes Percent
    Northam (D) 1,208,022 55.13%
    Jackson (R) 975,165 44.50%


    Attorney General:

    Candidate Votes Percent
    Herring (D) 1,099,083 49.89%
    Obenshain (R) 1,099,302 49.90%

     

    (Note: Updated with latest results)

    Comments

    Those who see some magical theoretical plan by not voting ignore the impact an AG can have on issues like vote suppression and women's right. It would seem that their plan to fight the GOP plan to keep people from voting is to simply not vote. That would have really shown the GOP.

    Someone on MSNBC last night said that Virginia Black turnout rose from 22% in 2012 to 28% in this off year election. I hope that holds up in 2014, if it is true.


    by rmrd0000 on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 8:56am

    Thanks for the information. What's really odd (and I suspect that gerrymandering is a big part of the explanation) is that despite what appears to be a sweep for the 3 big offices (Governor, Lt. Governor, and AG), the Virginia House of Delegates is still firmly in GOP control, with them even picking up 2 seats to widen their margin to 67 of the 100 delegates. (Note that although the GOP picked up 2 seats, the Democrats still managed to pick up 1 seat due to there being 2 vacancies and the loss of 1 independent.)

    Even with gerrymandering, 67 to 33 would make one think that Virginia was solidly Republican, but then you look at the statewide election results…


    by Verified Atheist on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 9:16am

    I have to admit that I find Republicans among the lowest forms of human life. They give a bad name to politics and religion. I celebrate the fact that Cuccinelli and the crazy Black wingut preacher running for Lt Gov lost their elections..

    Nationwide, it may be that funding for Tea Party candidates is going to dry up.


    by rmrd0000 on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 10:05am

    I've updated the information in my post. Alas, with all precincts reporting, it now appears that Obenshain has won, by a mere 219 votes (which is slightly fewer than 0.01% of the votes cast). I really hope that this gets reversed on recount. I expect that these totals are missing at least some of the absentee votes, and quite possibly they might not include some of the paper votes.


    by Verified Atheist on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 10:29am

    Here is one analysis of the positive impact the African-American voter turnout had on McAuliffe's election.


    by rmrd0000 on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 12:04pm

    This is good news. Hope the growth in African-American turnout keeps happening.


    by artappraiser on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 3:48pm

    Here is a blurb on how Liberal issues won in local initiatives.Voting does matter.


    by rmrd0000 on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 2:36pm

    This faith based defense of voting is moving beyond the partisan to the pitiful. There is no way to verify that any of the numbers listed above are even real or that your vote went to the candidate you choose, none zero. When you use our black-box voting system you surrender your vote to people and corporations no one in their right mind would trust. Our last election here in NM was tabulated by a company in Spain. You may think you elected a wonderful, pre-selected, candidate but you can never prove that actually happened. So long as you continue to trust our Ruling Class and the systems they control you are doomed to be their willing  pawns.


    by Peter (not verified) on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 3:15pm

    After reading this comment, I am interested to know your explanation for the reason Republicans allover the country have been trying so hard to keep people from being able to vote.


    by artappraiser on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 3:33pm

    Don't be silly Art, that's all for show. Kinda like how the devil created fossils of dinosaurs just to confuse us about the true age of the earth (6,000 years) and lead us away from god.


    by ocean-kat on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 3:41pm

    Are you trying to deflect the conversation away from the fact that our elections are unverifiable and opaque, Art?  The Repugs do many nasty things but I have yet to see any proof that their voter harassment has denied the vote to any sizeable population of the electorate, although it does make good fodder for the Kabuki.


    by Peter (not verified) on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 3:54pm

    No I was trying to probe the depths of your willingness to adjust reality to your narrative. Nevermind, carry on; I think res ipsa loquitor mostly works quite well for anyone who reads your agitprop.


    by artappraiser on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 3:58pm

    Don't you even have an opinion on our corrupt voting system, Art?  I tried to answer your question about the faux voter suppression and am waiting for you to correct my agitprop with facts not Latin insults.


    by Peter (not verified) on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 4:21pm

    I'll offer an opinion: our voting system is flawed, corrupt, and opaque. How exactly does not voting help with that?


    by Verified Atheist on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 5:04pm

    In Florida, people who wanted to cast votes left the long waiting lines. You may not respect a person's right to vote, but people were impacted.


    by rmrd0000 on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 4:04pm

    I know I was there.  It was estimated that 200,000 people could not vote because of the long lines.  St. Pete had long lines last year.  Tuesday's election the conservative incombant mayor lost in a land slide to a liberal.  The first time a Democrat has held that seat since 1973 forty years ago..  African Americans and women turned out to vote.   FL-13 is part of St. Pete so we will be sending in the spring Alex Sink to Congress.  The first time a Democrat held that seat in 43 years.  It is called a backlash. 


    by trkingmomoe on Thu, 11/07/2013 - 6:17am

    I'm sorry, I lost it again. How does not voting help our elections become verifiable and less opaque?


    by Verified Atheist on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 4:18pm

    Hey, you've convinced me. I now understand that by not voting, we'll pull back the curtain and reveal the corruption in the system. I suggest that we employ anti-tachyonic not-voting interlaced with a microscopic system array in such a manner to generate sonic EM phenomenon capable of creating a magnetic quantum inversion.

    It's so clear to me how not voting works. I don't know how I missed it before.


    by Verified Atheist on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 4:15pm

    I fear I have created a tear in the Liberal space-time continuum and it is driving some to madness. Fear not, the giant head of George Soros will lead you back to the peace of submission and wipe away all memory of corruption.


    by Peter (not verified) on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 4:32pm

    All you are creating is zero-calorie word salad. You don't have any proposal that would give you a project that you could lead.You don't want to follow any given candidate. Thanks for just getting out of the way.. It's easy to be a critic when you have nothing to offer. 


    by rmrd0000 on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 5:42pm

    zero-calorie word salad yessmiley


    by artappraiser on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 5:58pm

    Thxsmiley


    by rmrd0000 on Wed, 11/06/2013 - 9:12pm

    It will be awhile until they can call the AG because there is a lot of millitary deployed out of Va.  As long as the ballot is post marked by 6 PM on Tuesday.  The ships post mark them and send them in mail pick up. That was why Newport News was one of the last ones to finish counting.  


    by trkingmomoe on Thu, 11/07/2013 - 6:42am

    I've been noticing the trickling in of votes. Last night when I checked Herring was ahead by 32 votes. This morning he was behind by 681. Regardless of who wins this first round, there will be a recount.

    I do have a question for more knowledgeable daggers, which I considered raising in a separate posting: how much power does a Republican AG have when working for a Democratic Governor?


    by Verified Atheist on Thu, 11/07/2013 - 7:46am

    In the Harrisburg mayoralty race, Eric Papenfuse defeated Dan Miller with 3,618 out of 7,285 ballots cast. Despite Harrisburg's disastrous financial problems, voter turnout was less than 20 percent. 


    by Donal on Thu, 11/07/2013 - 9:50am

    Are you sure it was that low? Per this source, the state-wide voter turnout was a surprisingly large (almost) 43%, and the Augusta Free Press reports that the voter turnout in Harrisonburg was 43.8%, which given that Obenshain is from there (I blame you personally for that), maybe I'd prefer if the turnout was smaller there. wink


    by Verified Atheist on Fri, 11/08/2013 - 8:08am

    Harrisburg PA, not Harrisonburg VA. Actually, digging deeper, AP reported it might be as low as 20%, and another outlet took that as fact. I haven't found the actual stats.


    by Donal on Fri, 11/08/2013 - 9:42am

    Well, OK, then you're off the hook for Obenshain.


    by Verified Atheist on Fri, 11/08/2013 - 10:01am

    I'm not from Harrisburg, but Dan Miller is in my extended family, so I follow that race with some interest.


    by Donal on Fri, 11/08/2013 - 10:51am