Live Election Blogging

It is 18:00 here in California. Polls in some Eastern states have already closed. CNN is showing that exit polls have Obama with 174 electoral college votes to 49 for McCain.

From a UK perspective it is odd to be watching election results so early. This is partly a result of polling stations closing earlier in the US and partly being two or three hours behind the Eastern and Mid-West states. In the UK, the polls do not close to 10pm and results start to come in around 11:30. 

I also noted several people at work with stickers proclaiming that they have voted. I assume that this is a way to shame others into voting. This year, the expectation is that turn out will be high.

Projections are showing that the Democrats have 51 of the 100 Senate seats, with 16 undecided. If they can get to 60, they have a majority large enough to vote cloture. This will prevent the Republican minority killing legislation by filibustering (Talking endlessly, something at which politicians excel.)

18:20

I have found a channel that allows me to watch ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and BBC America all on the same screen. I can then select one for the sound and zoom into it.

Fox News (Faux News) shows Obama 183 to MCain 81. BBC America shows Obama 175 to McCain 76

BBC is reassuring with MrDimbleby presenting and wearing a poppy in this lapel.

18:30

MSNBC have called Ohio for Obama, a state with a large number of electoral votes that Bush won narrowly in 2004. It is looking bleak for McCain.

 18:55

CNN: 199 to 78, Fox 200 to 124, MSNBC: 200 to 124, BBC: 200 to 124. Looks like CNN is in a world of its own. BBC Only one not in High Definition

19:06

BBC America has been replaced in the mix by Comedy Central and its Indecision 08 coverage. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are reporting real results in a less than serious manner. 

The devil incarnate, Karl Rove, is on Fox News. Iowa, that gave Obama a victory at the start of the year in the race for his party’s nomination.

20:30

John McCain is giving his concession speech. We have yet to hear from President Elect Barrack Obama. McCain is gracious in defeat as you would expect from him. Not all in the crowd are so civilized.

CNN show 333 to 155. This is a large electoral college win. The senate race is close, the Democrats need to win all of the 4 undeclared seats to get the full 60 of a super majority.

There has just been an ad for the future of transportation – rail freight.

The popular vote shows a 51% to 48% margin, so as is common the electoral college margin is wider than that in the actual vote. If you cast your mind back to 2000, Bush actually lost the popular vote but carried the college (Benjamin Harrison also did so in 1888, and Hayes in 1876 )

From a UK perspective it is odd that Republican states are called Red states and Democrats are blue. In the UK, the right wing Conservative party is blue and the Labour Party is red. Throughout Europe red is the colour associated with socialism.

21:16

Obama has delivered his speech, quoting and evoking the spirit of a Republican president from Illinois. An uplifting, unifying speech. The only specific promise was a new puppy for his daughters.

40 years ago Martin Luther King was assassinated, less than 45 years the Civil Rights Act was passed. Tonight an African American is elected to the Presidency.  There is a vast crowd in the Chicago park.

One hopes that this victory for hope over bigotry will be carried to a defeat of Proposition 8 here in California.

Election Day

In case you were not aware, today is Election Day in the US. People will be voting for assorted officials, congressmen, ballot initiatives, and the President. This election campaign seems to have been running since I got to the US in the middle of 2006.

From a UK perspective, US elections are odd. As Qblog observes, long lines at the polling stations suggest a serious shortage of places to vote. I have voted in many UK elections and never had to wait. There is once again concern about the reliability of voting machines, with reports that some touch screen units interpret your vote in a manner that differs from your intention. Whilst it can be comforting to see this as a vast conspiracy to steal the election for McCain, the reality is that these machines are not very reliable, albeit in a different way from the hanging and dimpled chad of 2000.

It is too late for this year, but I have a suggestion for a voting technology that overcomes these issues. It is frequently used in the UK. It involves a form and a 2B pencil on a piece of string. You get to place your vote without any possibility of a machine malfunction deciding to place your vote for another candidate.

The ballot initiatives are very odd from a UK prospective. These allow voters to make choices on a wide range of issues, such as new taxes. This year in California there are a couple of very controversial ones. One is an incredibly complicated set of proposals to encourage alternative fuels, which is opposed by many groups who one would expect to support a move away from fossil fuels. The reason for their opposition is explained in this editorial from an SF paper. The other initiative is much more cut and dry; proposition 8 would change the state constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman.