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Old 11-09-2008, 05:57 AM
 
706 posts, read 1,241,620 times
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San Francisco county had a lower than average turnout compared to the rest of the state. I would have assumed that San Francisco County would have the highest turnout in the state.

Anybody know why?


For those that were registered but didn't vote, then why?
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Old 11-09-2008, 06:09 AM
 
Location: In the Redwoods
30,353 posts, read 51,937,226 times
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I voted early by mail - on my birthday nonetheless. Everyone I know voted too, with the exception of a few non-citizens... so I really can't explain the stats. I did make a joke on election night about SF voters waiting until 7:59pm, since we are notoriously flaky. Maybe there was some truth to that?
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Old 11-09-2008, 09:58 AM
 
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Although San Francisco is an expensive city, there are many college students and low income people who have notoriously low voter turnout. I know a lot of people went out to vote for Obama but it might have also been that some people don't ever vote on props and decided not to bother voting because California always goes blue.
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Old 11-09-2008, 10:35 AM
 
Location: San Jose, CA
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I voted on Saturday morning, and I am low-income "youth vote" (25). But I live in San Mateo County.
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Old 11-09-2008, 10:38 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sonarrat View Post
I voted on Saturday morning, and I am low-income "youth vote" (25). But I live in San Mateo County.
I'm in college, I voted. My roommate registered but didn't vote. I work at a non-profit on Fillmore Street. The lady who runs it voted for the first time in her life for Obama but didn't bother to vote on the prop. There were people who were thrilled about Obama and who had opinions about Prop 8 but didn't actually bother to vote. Maybe they got complacent? Either way, I'm happy for the country but sad for the state.
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Old 11-09-2008, 10:50 AM
 
Location: California
305 posts, read 1,729,471 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tangodoodles View Post
I'm in college, I voted. My roommate registered but didn't vote. I work at a non-profit on Fillmore Street. The lady who runs it voted for the first time in her life for Obama but didn't bother to vote on the prop. There were people who were thrilled about Obama and who had opinions about Prop 8 but didn't actually bother to vote. Maybe they got complacent? Either way, I'm happy for the country but sad for the state.
We live in LA and my husband had to work election night. He said that when the election was called for Obama they announced it over the PA and everybody cheered; apparently all the guys he worked with wanted Obama to win but almost none of them had actually voted, he didn't ask why. I think it's odd that you could feel strongly about a candidate and yet still not vote.
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Old 11-09-2008, 11:08 AM
 
2,027 posts, read 4,209,207 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElleBebe View Post
We live in LA and my husband had to work election night. He said that when the election was called for Obama they announced it over the PA and everybody cheered; apparently all the guys he worked with wanted Obama to win but almost none of them had actually voted, he didn't ask why. I think it's odd that you could feel strongly about a candidate and yet still not vote.
I know, it's bizarre. People have this weird idea that their votes don't count. I wonder if it's some subliminal educational tool that teaches us that. Because most young people tend to vote Democrat but if for the first ten years of being eligible to vote they believe their vote doesn't count, then maybe by the time they decide they want to vote they'll skew more towards Republicans. Sorry, one of my classes is on conspiracy theories so I'm all caught up in conspiracies right now. One that I found especially relevant during the election was the "October Surprise Conspiracy" that said that in order to keep Carter for getting an October Surprise that would help him win a second term, Reagan and his advisors contacted Iran and told them not to release the hostages while Carter was still in office.
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Old 11-09-2008, 11:13 AM
hsw
 
2,144 posts, read 7,162,376 times
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IMO, voting is a waste of time/money/effort for most...

Would prefer that system be one vote per dollar of taxes paid in past year, or some such system that reflects one's economic productivity and/or contribution to tax revenues of society....

Know many affluent taxpayers who have never bothered registering to vote...and can easily write a check for whatever politician, fundraiser or lobbying group to advance any important business interests....

Elegance of the US political system is that there are many smart, rather wealthy people who have divergent views on various issues of government and can afford to employ armies of lobbyists to fight it out....
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Old 11-09-2008, 12:46 PM
 
Location: SF
96 posts, read 309,382 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hsw View Post
Would prefer that system be one vote per dollar of taxes paid in past year, or some such system that reflects one's economic productivity and/or contribution to tax revenues of society....
Moderator cut: Personal attack

Anyway, everyone I know who was registered to vote did so and I was really surprised by the low turnout.

Last edited by gizmo980; 11-10-2008 at 07:39 PM..
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Old 11-09-2008, 02:20 PM
 
3 posts, read 7,574 times
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Why vote in a system that promotes war and love of money. We don't need politics. We need common sense and decency.
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