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Election is here, go vote
Silly season ends tomorrow, and I'm pretty excited.
Because polls don't close until 9 p.m., and results don't usually start coming in until a little after that, Election Day is a night of great pressure for me, with five stories to write on deadline (the four city races, plus a general round up).
To make it a little easier on myself, I'll spend the afternoon (after I vote) writing "dummies." A dummy is basically an outline of a story, with holes in which we'll insert quotes. Most races will get two dummies (ie, Johnson wins and Kim wins). Some races will get three dummies (ie, Johnson wins, Kim wins; Johnson, Kim too close to call).
That way, if I happen to be hanging out at the Holiday Inn, with the GOP candidates, and a candidate takes an insurmountable lead in the polls, I can get a quote, call it in to the newsroom, and the story will be more-or-less ready to go on the page.
Of course, we'll do our our best to add color from an evening of poll watching, and also keeping an eye on where the candidates are strong. Sadly, it also means that roughly half of my afternoon's work will go to waste.
Leading into an election, everyone always says that turnout is important. Well, duh. If people don't turn out, no one wins. Still, the question is getting the right people to turn out. Both sides were spending Monday going door-to-door to motivate their base, to get more of their voters to come out. The forecast is for rain, so that may have the effect of giving some voters a chance to stay home. I think that many of the city races will be close, so this could be one of those years where every vote counts.
I would think that Geyser Crest, and its three election districts (16, 18, and 20) will be important. All three have a strong GOP enrollment advantage, but, as I've noted before, the GOP has been blamed (for reasons that escape me) for plans to put a new development in Geyser Crest. It may not wind up mattering, but we're going to watch those districts closely.
Similarly, voters in five districts with an Democratic enrollment advantage (3, 4, 8, 9, and 25) will now have to drive an extra mile to vote. If the Dems don't carry those districts, I don't see how they can be successful in this election. Incidentally, both mayoral candidates live in districts effected by that move, and will have to visit the Lincoln Baths to vote for themselves.
Incidentally, I live in one of those districts too.
That's all, go vote.
Because polls don't close until 9 p.m., and results don't usually start coming in until a little after that, Election Day is a night of great pressure for me, with five stories to write on deadline (the four city races, plus a general round up).
To make it a little easier on myself, I'll spend the afternoon (after I vote) writing "dummies." A dummy is basically an outline of a story, with holes in which we'll insert quotes. Most races will get two dummies (ie, Johnson wins and Kim wins). Some races will get three dummies (ie, Johnson wins, Kim wins; Johnson, Kim too close to call).
That way, if I happen to be hanging out at the Holiday Inn, with the GOP candidates, and a candidate takes an insurmountable lead in the polls, I can get a quote, call it in to the newsroom, and the story will be more-or-less ready to go on the page.
Of course, we'll do our our best to add color from an evening of poll watching, and also keeping an eye on where the candidates are strong. Sadly, it also means that roughly half of my afternoon's work will go to waste.
Leading into an election, everyone always says that turnout is important. Well, duh. If people don't turn out, no one wins. Still, the question is getting the right people to turn out. Both sides were spending Monday going door-to-door to motivate their base, to get more of their voters to come out. The forecast is for rain, so that may have the effect of giving some voters a chance to stay home. I think that many of the city races will be close, so this could be one of those years where every vote counts.
I would think that Geyser Crest, and its three election districts (16, 18, and 20) will be important. All three have a strong GOP enrollment advantage, but, as I've noted before, the GOP has been blamed (for reasons that escape me) for plans to put a new development in Geyser Crest. It may not wind up mattering, but we're going to watch those districts closely.
Similarly, voters in five districts with an Democratic enrollment advantage (3, 4, 8, 9, and 25) will now have to drive an extra mile to vote. If the Dems don't carry those districts, I don't see how they can be successful in this election. Incidentally, both mayoral candidates live in districts effected by that move, and will have to visit the Lincoln Baths to vote for themselves.
Incidentally, I live in one of those districts too.
That's all, go vote.
posted by The Saratogian City Desk at
6:10 PM
7 Comments:
Andrew
You mentioned where the Reps are meeting --but where are the dems meeting ?
And are there any Election Day buffets or dinners in Saratoga ?
For fun, check out the write-in candidates at the Board of elections.
You forgot to factor in tighe in the dummy count.
Andrew J Bernstein:
Don't bother writing a draft "Johnson Wins" story. You won't need it. He's losing, and he knows it. He's already writing his concession speech.
anon 8:56, my apologies, the dems will be at the Inn at Saratoga, right across the street from Holiday Inn.
Independence Party will be at Gaffney's, on Caroline Street.
Is it legal to move the polling place so far away from the district where people live, as has happened to those who used to vote at the City Center? I wonder if this is a clever suppress-the-vote effort by the Republicans who control the board of elections? It took me more than 1/2 hour extra time to vote today because of this, and nobody was at the polls. Not to mention the sign for the new place was tiny.
anon 4:36: It is not illegal to move the poll. Please see this story for full coverage: http://www.saratogian.com/articles/2009/08/22/news/doc4a8f620024f9c241265709.txt
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