Lower Turnout Expected in Calif. Election

[Judi Lynn]

Lower Turnout Expected in Calif. Election

By TOM CHORNEAU
Associated Press Writer

October 13, 2005, 4:51 AM EDT


SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Despite raising tens of millions of dollars in campaign donations, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his opponents will likely be preaching to selective audiences as they try to mobilize voters for the November special election.

The 2003 recall that swept Schwarzenegger into office drew a turnout of greater than 60 percent, but the percentage of voters heading to the polls on Nov. 8 is expected to be far lower, perhaps by more than 20 percentage points.

The campaigns are now focusing on their core supporters, hoping targeted pitches will send enough of them to the polls to sway the election in their favor.

"Both sides believe that their supporters are more motivated," Republican strategist Dan Schnur said. "It's impossible to guess who is right, but we'll know on election day."
(snip/...)

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-special-election-turnout,0,7249811.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

[Megahurtz]

1. That would not be good.

Then The Fascist might win his power grab. UGH!:puke:

[Xithras]

2. Low turnouts in CA tend to favor Republicans

This isn't good. The voting history in this state shows that Republicans tend to vote far more consistently than Democrats. A large percentage of Republicans vote in every election, no matter what, because Republicans tend to view voting as a "patriotic duty". California Democrats, on the other hand, tend to show up in large numbers only when there are issues on the ballot that they really care about.

Personally, I'm suprised at this and somewhat suspicious that it may be disinfo. Even if people don't care about any of the other issues, I'd expect that the proposition limiting teens access to abortion would bring most Democrats to the polls. That tends to be one of our cornerstone issues.

[CountAllVotes]

3. vote vote vote

and vote NO on all of these "propositions". There is much hidden in the ones that many here on the DU are leaning YES towards (like the generic drug thing). Be careful and remember who got this whole thing started!

WE WILL NOT FORGET!

VOTE NO ON ALL CALIFORNIA PROPOSITIONS!

RECALL SCHWARZENEGGER!!!

[kat21]

9. Our dem club wants yes on 79 and 80 and no on all the rest

What gives?

[CAcyclist]

11. Hey, You need to read carefully yourself!

There are two prescription drug initiatives. The drug company-sponsored on, 78, should be voted down but the consumer-sponsored one , 79, is a good bill and we should vote YES on it.

also, prop 80, a consumer-sponsored bill, would reregulate the enrgy industry , so we should vote YES on that one too.

YES on 79 and 80 NO on everything else.

[1932]

17. Vote Yes on 79 definitely. Vote Yes on 80 if you want to.

[Piperay]

4. That's not good...

low turnout always helps the rethugs. I intend to get out for this election voting NO on all Arnie's crap!

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. I wonder how much of this is to push the idea

why vote?

Intend to be there, as soon as the polls open

[joefree1]

6. Exactly, vote early

And we'll be wearing plenty of blue.

[sadiesworld]

7. I think it smells a bit as well.

I certainly don't see the passion on the repug side (judging from their blogs, sites, etc.) that I see on the dem side.

I don't like this...

[Roachman]

10. Their side is going to come out to vote for Prop. 73 in my opinion.

All they need to do to get their people out is to HAVE Prop 73 on the ballot. Then their people will vote YES on the other propositions that happen to be there as long as they think they are the Gov.'s.


Prop 73 is purportedly only about the 48 hours parental notification of abortion procedures to be performed on minors. In reality, it also defines abortion to be the killing of an unborn child, a child CONCEIVED but not yet born. It also penalizes those who "coerce" minors into having abortions. (Gee. I wonder who these people coercing people to have abortions are! I wonder what constitutes coercion).

[SoCalDem]

8. That's exactly what Ahhhhnold was counting on

Many fewer people wnet to the polls to "elect" him, than went to the polls in November to elect Davis..

Of-year e;lections often bring on wacky laws that we must live with for ages or fight like crazy to get rid of :(

[Rainscents]

12. I believe, in this case, Democrats are going to be the winner! Most

people who trun out to vote, that's because, they will make sure, Arnie go down! Remember, all UNION members and their friends will make sure they get out and vote for this one!

[cascadiance]

13. We especially need a big turnout here in San Diego!

We're also voting for a new mayor (Go Donna Frye!) and two City Council seats! A big Dem turnout could make a big difference both with these elections and also helping the state turn down these initiatives!

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

14. I Know This Is An Unpopular View....

But I do not plan to vote, because it's obvious my vote might not count.

When people in the Democratic party start to admit that there is a problem with the electronic voting machines, perhaps I'll change my mind, but right now voting is a waste of time, because I have doubts as to whether my vote will even matter.

I realize I'll get flamed for feeling this way, but I truly believe there is an inherent flaw with the voting system in this country, and that the last election was STOLEN 100%!

[cascadiance]

15. If you believe the voting machines are f'd up, all the more reason to vote

If more of us vote, it will be harder for them to steal "small amounts" of votes to get the other side to win. It would seem to obvious then if they tried to steal votes from an obvious landslide the other direction. Making the extra trip IS worth it, especially now with Democracy itself under assault! Don't fail us for lack fo faith!

[1932]

16. Go to your precinct on election day and vote a provisional ballot.

It's a paper ballot.

[LeftyMom]

23. That would vary by county I guess

Here (at least in the Nov '04 election, I haven't taken my procedures class for this one yet) provisionals are the same optical scan ballots as regular ballots, they just get stored in a differnt container and transported to the elections office for tallying.

[1932]

24. If your county is a touch screen county, the provisionals are paper.

Obviously, If your county is an optical scan country, the provisional is paper, just as your regular ballot would be and there would be a auditible paper trail for every voter in that county, so the OP'er shouldn't be concerned.

I was trying to alleviate the concern of people in touch screen counties who didn't request an absentee ballot. Those people could still vote on paper by going to their touch screen precinct and requesting a provisional ballot for that precinct.

You could also vote on paper (or touch screen) at the registrar in the last week or two before the election, but you don't get a precinct-specific ballot in that case. But that doesn't matter with this election because I don't think any precinct has anything other than the statewide referenda on the ballot.

[fooj]

18. I know sometimes it seems hopeless...

But PLEASE reconsider. We really need every vote we can get.

Peace.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

22. I Might Vote....

But it still seems so fixed, that I truly wonder if it's legit. Perhaps if the right outcome occurs, I'll feel different.

If the obvious right wing agenda somehow comes out on top, it will only reinforce my decision that voting is a waste of time and mental energy.

[1932]

25. This makes almost no sense at all. Do you see the spiral effect of that

logic?

"If my side loses, it's fixed so I won't even participate in the next election, which will help the other side win, which will convince more people who think like me not to vote" -- do you see how that's a recipe for having undemocratic government? If you lose one close one, people who are liberal stop voting and soon the only people voting are the minority of conservatives.

You have to vote.

I love to vote.

Win or lose, one of the most liberating feelings I have is voting. I will never stop voting.

You're from Orange County. You should no better than anyone that politics is a long, hard slog that can feel like you're pushing a boulder up a mountain, but you keep working, you reach the top. 15 years ago who would have thought that Orange Cty would ever have turned blue?

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

27. I Just Have Concerns That It's Fixed....

And if that's the case, then it's ignorant for the democratic party to stand there and tell me to vote, and how important my vote is.

If they can manipulate the vote results with their machines, then we are NEVER going to win anything significant. NEVER!! They will commit fraud all they want until someone calls them on it. That's just the way the repubs operate. O.C. more than any place must be subject to that.

Every poll shows the CA propositions going down to defeat, so we'll see what actually happens.

[1932]

30. But they do win.

Then won some very close referenda in the last election and have won every statewide candidate election (except for the recall) for years.

And not every poll shows the CA propositions going down to defeat. For example, momentum is shifting on 75, but the Democrats are still behind. If you don't vote (presuming you'd vote against it) the momentum will stall.


Momentum Shifting on Prop. 75
Julia Rosen Thursday, Oct.13, 2005.
Today the Pacific Research Institute, a main proponent of Prop. 75 released a new poll that shows more and more Californian's aren't buying the Governor's line about the measure. Even the conservatives say we have the momentum.

The poll shows 49% of those asked saying they were for the measure, and 43% against it. The poll had a margin error of plus or minus 4%.

Via the SFGate Blog:

Lance Izumi, director of education studies for the institute (and a former speechwriter for GOP Gov. George Deukmejian) put a positive spin on the poll, arguing that "given the fact that the unions have spent quite a bit of money (to defeat Prop. 75), the fact that pro-paycheck protection is still leading by a significant amount is the news." But the Pacific Research Institute's poll numbers show a tighter race than was seen in a variety of earlier surveys. A Field Poll done in late August, for example, had paycheck protection winning by a 55 percent to 32 percent margin.

Despite Arnold' big media push - with both TV and radio ads - we are gaining ground a few percentage points at a time.

http://www.betterca.com/momentum_shifting_on_prop_75

[1932]

31. If the election were fixed, corporations wouldn't be spending millions.

Wednesday News Roundup
Julia Rosen Wednesday, Oct.12, 2005.
There is a ton of news today, so go check it out. It is getting so long that I have just given you the links to the endorsements rather than including quotes. Things are continuing to heat up.

Billionaire Alex Spanos, good friend to George Bush who flew around in his private jets while campaigning last year, is pouring millions into Schwarzenegger’s campaign.

http://www.betterca.com/wednesday_news_roundup_2

Schwarzenegger's Pay to Play
Julia Rosen Tuesday, Oct.11, 2005.

For all of his bellicose campaigning against special interest having too much of a voice in California politics, one would have thought that the governor wouldn't want his signature to appear "bought and paid for". But once again his words just don't match his actions.

Today we discover that out that one of the many committees Schwarzenegger uses to solicit donations for his so-called “reforms” accepted a $105,000 check from the insurance industry - on the very day the governor vetoed a measure that they had lobbied against.

http://www.betterca.com/schwarzeneggers_pay_to_play

The Pinch Hitter
Drew Tappan Monday, Oct.10, 2005.
There's a new player in the sneaky little game the big drug companies are playing with the California special election. They’ve called in a pinch hitter.

For the past few months, the big drug companies have been attacking Proposition 79, the consumer backed prescription drugs discount program with a barrage of misleading and frightening industry funded ads. Companies including Bayer, Shering Plow, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, and Pfizer have pumped more than $80 million (as of the latest CalAccess reports) into Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) California Initiative Fund , the industry PAC meant to defeat that Prop 79. At least $19 million of that fund has gone into the coffers of the misleadingly named “Californians for Affordable Prescriptions”. CAP neither wants affordable prescriptions, nor represents any normal Californians. In fact, the only donor to the drug company front is the aforementioned PhRMA Initiative Fund. After months of ads, Californians are growing tired of the constant noise.

http://www.betterca.com/the_pinch_hitter

With Friends Like These ....
Drew Tappan Monday, Oct.10, 2005.

You know that old phrase – guilt by association? Well, it’s a good thing that in this country we don’t use that particular aphorism as a part of our legal system, because otherwise our esteemed governor might be finding himself in an uncomfortable place.

See, in the last few days the special election festival of greed has continued with the governor and his friends accepting donations from just all sorts of people. Provided of course, that they’re filthy rich.

Last week, Schwarzenegger’s buddies over at the Orwellian named “Californians for Paycheck Protection” accepted donations from a couple of the ultra-rightwing “usual suspects”- Fred R. Sacher and Richard Gilder.

{snip}

Gilder truly is one of the usual suspects. He’s a member of the anti-tax extremist group “The Club for Growth” and a major player in the GOP funding game. He’s even a former business partner of President George W. Bush. Gilder was part owner of the Texas Rangers, back when the only battles our president was fighting were over the MLB salary cap, and what kind of beer to serve at Arlington (the stadium, not the cemetery).

Along with fellow Arnoldite Howard Ahmanson, Sacher is a member of the super secret Council on National Policy, a shady group of influence peddlers who, in part, architected the uber-conservative take-over in Washington. And if that’s not enough, back in the roarin’ eighties, he got a personal thank you letter from Col. Oliver North after he ponied up nearly a half a million dollars for the Nicaraguan Contras – the central American side of the Iran-Contra scandal.


http://www.betterca.com/with_friends_like_these

[olddad56]

19. get real boys and girls.......

They wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't already in the bag. This is a Nazi state, the elections are rigged. Every Republican voter in the state of CA. has received more than one application to vote by mail. This election with be a complete fraud,it will be close and Arnold will win everything. We don't live in a Democracy. Get used to it.

[gardenista]

20. Hey, babe, I'm not letting go of California until they have to pry it out

of my dead, blue hands.

That's why I'm voting and making sure that everyone I know does the same.

[thingsarelookingup]

21. Don't forget NO on 76! nt

[olddad56]

28. its a little late, they have already pried it out of your hands.

or, haven't you noticed the Nazi governor and his total circumvention of the legislasture. Or the proaganda pieces that appear in the front page of every news paper in California as fi they were news. Sorry, Dorothy, were not in Kansas any longer.

[gardenista]

32. I guess you haven't figured out that I'm not dead yet. And neither is

California.

[1932]

26. How many ballots did you get in the mail?

[olddad56]

29. I got 4 applications

I registered as a Nazi a couple of years ago, just so I can monitor the shit that they get in the mail. And in a few years when they begin exterminating Democrats, I might be exempt from the ovens. (hopefully kidding).