Did you vote today? Anything fishy happen? (Lee: tax, county)

[tomcho]

Originally Posted by Oliver Twist

Election Judge Arrested at Polling Place | NBC Chicago

"Chicago authorities arrested an election judge Tuesday evening for allegedly repeatedly denying provisional ballots from voters."

The article doesn't state it, but last night I heard on the news that the judge was targeting Democratic voters. You might have a point there.

The 20th ward is definitely a republican stronghold with the neighborhoods of Woodlawn, Park Manor, Washington Park, Englewood, New City, and Back of the Yards.

[Oliver Twist]

Originally Posted by tomcho

The 20th ward is definitely a republican stronghold with the neighborhoods of Woodlawn, Park Manor, Washington Park, Englewood, New City, and Back of the Yards.

Here's the story and the link. You were saying?

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/11/illinois-goes-to-the-polls-an-election-day-report.html (broken link)

"The judge, a Republican, had been accused by the other judges of preventing other voters from casting provisional ballots for no reason, said James Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Elections."

[tomcho]

Originally Posted by Oliver Twist

I've met Republicans raised in Englewood, not many, but they do exist. Nothing is barring them from becoming election judges. I'm just telling you what I heard on the news yesterday. Take it up with the media.

A provisional ballot is no different than a normal ballot, so unless the election judges were asking those people who required them for whatever reason what party they intended to vote for there is no way to "target" democratic voters.

Your theory would hold more water if you took the angle that since the 20th ward probably voted 80% Democratic, withholding provisional ballots is likely to impact the the dems more than the reps.

[tomcho]

Originally Posted by Oliver Twist

Here's the story and the link. You were saying?

Illinois goes to the polls: Election Day report - Chicago Breaking News (http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/11/illinois-goes-to-the-polls-an-election-day-report.html - broken link)

"The judge, a Republican, had been accused by the other judges of preventing other voters from casting provisional ballots for no reason, said James Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Elections."

The same thing I said before, it's impossible to target specifc party ballots in a general election. Like the article says they don't go in a scanner, they are sealed in a provisional envelope and put in a dedicated provisional ballot box. They are typically counted over a week later.

[almost3am]

Originally Posted by Oliver Twist

Here's the story and the link. You were saying?

Illinois goes to the polls: Election Day report - Chicago Breaking News (http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/11/illinois-goes-to-the-polls-an-election-day-report.html - broken link)

"The judge, a Republican, had been accused by the other judges of preventing other voters from casting provisional ballots for no reason, said James Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Elections."

I've copied in two other ecellent parts of that report:

After lunch at a downtown sports bar called Winners, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady arrived to vote at a Protestant church near his home in Bloomington. There was a glitch in Brady's voting when he was given two ballots by mistake. Seconds after he started in the voting booth, Brady said, "Uh oh, I was given two ballots."
One election judge took one of the ballots from Brady and he continued to vote. Another election judge said: "They thought this was Chicago, Bill."


and the second, which I think is even better:
Election judge Anthony Taylor, who is manning a polling location in Woodlawn, called Chicago election officials after a fellow judge showed up for work drunk.
"He clearly had been drinking, and he wasn't doing his job, plain and simple," Taylor said. "He wasn't doing anything, except being drunk and getting in the way."
The drunk judge was relieved this morning, but his wife, who also was a judge at the polling location, had to drive him home, Taylor said.

[tomcho]

Originally Posted by almost3am

and the second, which I think is even better:
Election judge Anthony Taylor, who is manning a polling location in Woodlawn, called Chicago election officials after a fellow judge showed up for work drunk.
"He clearly had been drinking, and he wasn't doing his job, plain and simple," Taylor said. "He wasn't doing anything, except being drunk and getting in the way."
The drunk judge was relieved this morning, but his wife, who also was a judge at the polling location, had to drive him home, Taylor said.

I'd probably need to be drunk as well to man a polling station all day. Corruption and idiocy knows no policitcal boundaries. The best thing we could do for this country is to implement term limits and return to the intention of our founding fathers. A career politician simply shouldn't exist.

[Oliver Twist]

Originally Posted by tomcho

The same thing I said before, it's impossible to target specifc party ballots in a general election. Like the article says they don't go in a scanner, they are sealed in a provisional envelope and put in a dedicated provisional ballot box. They are typically counted over a week later.

IrishTom's stated that Republicans were trying to slow things down at the polling place. I posted a link to a story about a Republican election judge interfering with voters for no apparent reason. Spin this anyway you want it, but the link appears to lend some credibility to IrishTom's assertions.

[tomcho]

Originally Posted by Oliver Twist

IrishTom's stated that Republicans were trying to slow things down at the polling place. I posted a link to a story about a Republican election judge interfering with voters for no apparent reason. Spin this anyway you want it, but the link appears to lend some credibility to IrishTom's assertions.

Unfortunately, that's not at all what you said.

Originally Posted by Oliver Twist

The article doesn't state it, but last night I heard on the news that the judge was targeting Democratic voters. You might have a point there.

You stated they were specifically targeting Democrats which as I stated isn't possible using provisional ballots in a general election, unless they are using the assumption certain wards vote so heavily dem that if they target everyone, most dems will be affected. I'm most certainly not the one spinning here.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Oliver Twist

...The article doesn't state it, but last night I heard on the news that the judge was targeting Democratic voters. You might have a point there.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Oliver Twist

Here's the story and the link. You were saying?

Illinois goes to the polls: Election Day report - Chicago Breaking News (http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/11/illinois-goes-to-the-polls-an-election-day-report.html - broken link)

"The judge, a Republican, had been accused by the other judges of preventing other voters from casting provisional ballots for no reason, said James Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Elections."

Just because the judge is a Republican judge that does not mean the person is a Republican.

The CBOE has a shortage of Republican judges every year and routinely appoints Democrats and others as Republican judges to comply with the law.

The area where that story is about is a ghetto that is like 98% black and like 98% Democratic. Odds are that judge is actually a Democrat working as a Republican judge to help the CBOE comply with the law.