Discontent Buffets the Nation; Bush Craters, Obama Benefits
Obama in Drivers Seat Amid Economic Worry
ANALYSIS by GARY LANGER
Oct. 13, 2008
Given the global economic crisis, a record 90 percent of registered voters say the country is seriously off on the wrong track, the most since this question first was asked in 1973. At 23 percent, Bush's job approval rating has fallen below Nixon's lowest; it's a point away from the lowest in 70 years of polling, set by Harry Truman in early 1952. Bush's disapproval, meanwhile, is at an all-time record 73 percent.
Registered voters trust Obama over McCain to handle the economy by 53-37 percent. Obama holds his largest lead yet, a remarkable 30-point margin, in better understanding the economic problems Americans are having, 58-28 percent. Obama leads McCain by about as much, 59-31 percent, in trust to help the middle class, and by 11 points on taxes, two prime points of contention in the last presidential debate....
McCain's receiving blowback for what's perceived as negative campaigning; registered voters by 59-35 percent say he's been mainly attacking Obama rather than addressing the issues. Obama, by contrast, is seen by an even wider margin as issue-focused....
Read the full story
Monday, October 13, 2008
ABC/WaPo Poll: 90% Of Voters See U.S. On Wrong Track
The latest ABC News/Washington Post Poll:
Sunday, October 12, 2008
False Chain Email About Straight Party Voting
There is a FALSE rumor going around by e-mail telling people that if they vote Straight Democratic Party, they must also cast a vote specifically for Barack Obama in order to have an Obama vote registered. THIS IS FALSE INFORMATION. The truth is that if you cast a Straight Democratic Party vote, you will be voting for Barack Obama and your Straight Democratic vote will count as a vote for Obama. But if you then go down select Obama, you may actually be canceling your Obama vote. Don't be fooled: Just cast a Straight Democratic Party vote and that will get Obama and all the Democratic candidates up and down the ballot.
See Touchscreen Voting: A How to Guide for Collin County Voters
See Touchscreen Voting: A How to Guide for Collin County Voters
Touchscreen Voting: A How to Guide for Collin County Voters
| Collin County voters going to one of the early voting locations around the county between October 20th and October 31st will cast their ballots on Premier, formerly Diebold, DRE touch screen voting machines just like the machine shown in the first segment of this video. Collin County voting machines do not have the paper audit tape device shown in the last segment of the video. You may ask the Election Clerk for a Paper Ballot, if you do not wish to use a touch screen. |
After you check in to vote you will be given a “Voter Access Card” that looks like the card pictured.
Proceed to any voting booth and insert “Voter Access Card,” arrow first, into the slot located on the upper right side of the voting machine. Push the card all the way into the slot until you hear a “click.” The card will remain in the slot until you touch “Cast Ballot” on the final Ballot Review screen. (Note: The newer version voting machine pictured is being used for the first time in Collin Co. for early voting this year. On Election Day the older version of the same voting system will be used where the "voter access card" slot is located on the front right side of the machine. Otherwise, the voting process described herein is identical.)
A Language selection screen will appear in a few seconds after the card is fully inserted and locked into the slot.
Touch English or Touch Spanish, then, touch the START button at the
bottom right corner of the Language screen.In a few seconds the “Instructions to Voters” screen will then appear.
Double check that the Precinct Number shown at the top of the “Instructions to Voters” box is your correct Precinct Number. If the Precinct Number shown is not your correct precinct number, then the Voter Access Card that you were given may not have been properly encoded for your correct (BS) Ballot Style. Notify the nearest Election Clerk if you do not see your correct Precinct Number.
Note: Your Precinct Number, U.S. Congressional District Number, County Commissioner Precinct Number and other important information can be found on your 2008 Orange Voter's Registration Card. Your Voter Access Card will be encode with the BS (Ballot Style) that corresponds to the candidates and propositions for your particular County Precinct, Congressional District, County Commissioner Precinct, School District, City and etc.
Read the instructions given on the “Instructions to Voters” screen. When you have finished reading the instructions and you are ready to mark your ballot, touch the NEXT button at the bottom right corner of the screen.To mark your ballot, simply touch the box beside the name of the candidate for whom you wish to vote. The box will change to a X mark as you touch your finger on the box.
If you make a mistake and want to de-select a candidate's X mark, simple touch the check box again - The box will change to a clear open box again with the touch of your finger.
After you have made your candidate selections on each ballot page, touch the NEXT button at the bottom right corner of the screen to advance to the next ballot page to mark.
Repeat this "mark your ballot page then touch NEXT" process until you reach the final summary review page.
Instead of marking every candidate's name individually, you can make a single "Straight Party" vote.After you have made your "Straight Party" selection by touching the box beside the Party's Name, just touch the NEXT
button at the bottom right corner of each ballot page to advance to the next ballot page until you reach the final summary review page. You should see the box beside every candidate affiliated with your "Straight Party" selection marked with an X on each ballot page as you "NEXT" through the ballot.
Touching the X'ed box next to any candidate's name (that was automatically X'ed when you touched the Party Name) will "un-mark" or "cancel" your "Straight Party" vote for that particular candidate!!
Be sure to very carefully review the ballot summary review page before you touch the CAST BALLOT button. Make sure every candidate for whom you intend to vote has been marked for the vote on the ballot summary. Make sure no candidate for whom you did not intend to vote has been marked on your ballot. Any ballot position where you did not vote for any candidate in that particular race will be highlighted in red. You can go back and change/correct any of your ballot choices before you touch the CAST BALLOT button.
If you have any questions or concerns about how your ballot is marked, how your ballot was automatically marked by your "Straight Party" vote or how to go back to change/correct your ballot, attract the attention of any Election Clerk and ask for help BEFORE YOU TOUCH THE CAST BALLOT BUTTON.
As soon as you touch the CAST BALLOT button on the bottom right corner of the last summary review page, your voting job is done. The Voter Card automatically ejects after you have finished voting.Your registration card must be signed on the front (orange side) by the X on the bottom left side of the card. Please sign your card before you enter the polling place.
PLEASE RETURN “VOTER ACCESS CARD” TO ANY POLL WORKER.
Acceptable forms of identification for voting other than your voter registration certificate:
- a driver's license or personal identification card issued to you by the Department of Public Safety or a similar document issued to you by an agency of another state, regardless of whether the license or card has expired;
- a form of identification containing your photograph that establishes your identity;
- a birth certificate or other document confirming birth that is admissible in a court of law and establishes your identity;
- United States citizenship papers issued to you;
- a United States passport issued to you;
- official mail addressed to you, by name, from a governmental entity;
- a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and address.
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Lots Of New First Time Voters In Collin County
Lots Of New First Time Voters In Collin County
This year marks the first time that the new, statewide, centralized voter-registration database will be used in a November federal election in Texas. The Texas centralized voter-registration database was used for the very first time during the Texas March 4th Primary Election.
Statewide, centralized voter-registration databases were mandated in the 2002 Help America Vote Act, which requires all election districts in a state or U.S. territory to consolidate their lists into a single database electronically accessible to every election office in the state or territory.
The law requires each voter to have a unique identifier. Since 2004, new registration applicants have had to provide a Driver's License number (DL#) or the last four digits of a Social Security number (SS#) to register (voters who don't have them are assigned a unique number by the state). States are required to try to authenticate the numbers with motor vehicle records and the Social Security Administration database.
But data entry of voter registration application information is prone to errors such as name misspellings and transposed numbers. Voter registration applicants are prone to make mistakes writing out their DL# and SS# or they write illegibly on applications. The Social Security Administration also acknowledges that matches between its database and voter-registration records have yielded a 28.5 percent error rate. For example: A woman who recently married and changed her name often fail to match government records containing her maiden name and voters who have double or hyphenated last names, very long names or unusually spelled names are also prone to match failures.
Collin County will likely have over 30,000 new voters, possibly as many as 45,000 newly registered voters, who have turned in a voter registration application over the past few weeks and months. That means there has been, and continues to be, a lot of fast and furious data entry and voter verification activity in the county and Secretary of State Elections Office for the November elections. The Collin County Elections Office has a good track record of accurately processing registration applications, but remember, they are interfacing with the new State of Texas voter registration database and attending computer application software in this very high registration activity and potentially high voter turnout November presidential election. New voter registration activity has been heavy all over Texas, with over half a million new voters, so all that new software is being pushed hard for the first time!
For those first-time voters where the registration application name, DL# and SS# information is verified, then all is good. If for some reason the county elections office could not match an applicant's DL#, SS# or name with the Texas State Driver's License database or the Social Security Administration database, then the first time voter will be asked to show election officials identification when they go to their polling place to vote. [Texas State Election Code Sec. 13.122(d) and 18.005(a)(4)]
So, new first time voters, don't be surprised if you are asked to show one of the accepted forms identification along with your voter registration card when you sign in to vote. And, Elections Judges, be aware that you may have more "ID Required" voters to process in this election.
I strongly recommend that if you are a new first time voters who has just registered, you should vote early this year. If there has been any minor snafu in processing your voter registration application, it is usually much easier for the Election Judge to help you resolve the snafu during the early voting period. Every voter, particularly first time voters, should check their registration status on the Collin County or Texas Secretary of State website before going to the polling place to stand in line to vote. If you do not find your name in the voter registration database, you can call the elections office from home to resolve the problem. Check your registration status through the Collin County website here. Check your registration status through the Texas Secretary of State website here.
Early voting starts on Monday October 20th at 8AM and continues until Friday 7PM on October 31st at several convenient locations around Collin County on October 20th 2008.
Please remember to take your Voter's Registration Card with you to the early voting polling place when you vote.
Please DO NOT cut the bar code off of the orange card - election clerks can use the bar code to electronically verify your voter registration status, which makes the voting lines move much faster for everyone!!!
Did you receive your Orange Voter's Registration Card? If you did not receive an orange registration card during 2008, your voting registration record may have been "suspended" or "purged." Check your registration status here.
Statewide, centralized voter-registration databases were mandated in the 2002 Help America Vote Act, which requires all election districts in a state or U.S. territory to consolidate their lists into a single database electronically accessible to every election office in the state or territory.
The law requires each voter to have a unique identifier. Since 2004, new registration applicants have had to provide a Driver's License number (DL#) or the last four digits of a Social Security number (SS#) to register (voters who don't have them are assigned a unique number by the state). States are required to try to authenticate the numbers with motor vehicle records and the Social Security Administration database.
But data entry of voter registration application information is prone to errors such as name misspellings and transposed numbers. Voter registration applicants are prone to make mistakes writing out their DL# and SS# or they write illegibly on applications. The Social Security Administration also acknowledges that matches between its database and voter-registration records have yielded a 28.5 percent error rate. For example: A woman who recently married and changed her name often fail to match government records containing her maiden name and voters who have double or hyphenated last names, very long names or unusually spelled names are also prone to match failures.
Collin County will likely have over 30,000 new voters, possibly as many as 45,000 newly registered voters, who have turned in a voter registration application over the past few weeks and months. That means there has been, and continues to be, a lot of fast and furious data entry and voter verification activity in the county and Secretary of State Elections Office for the November elections. The Collin County Elections Office has a good track record of accurately processing registration applications, but remember, they are interfacing with the new State of Texas voter registration database and attending computer application software in this very high registration activity and potentially high voter turnout November presidential election. New voter registration activity has been heavy all over Texas, with over half a million new voters, so all that new software is being pushed hard for the first time!
For those first-time voters where the registration application name, DL# and SS# information is verified, then all is good. If for some reason the county elections office could not match an applicant's DL#, SS# or name with the Texas State Driver's License database or the Social Security Administration database, then the first time voter will be asked to show election officials identification when they go to their polling place to vote. [Texas State Election Code Sec. 13.122(d) and 18.005(a)(4)]
So, new first time voters, don't be surprised if you are asked to show one of the accepted forms identification along with your voter registration card when you sign in to vote. And, Elections Judges, be aware that you may have more "ID Required" voters to process in this election.
I strongly recommend that if you are a new first time voters who has just registered, you should vote early this year. If there has been any minor snafu in processing your voter registration application, it is usually much easier for the Election Judge to help you resolve the snafu during the early voting period. Every voter, particularly first time voters, should check their registration status on the Collin County or Texas Secretary of State website before going to the polling place to stand in line to vote. If you do not find your name in the voter registration database, you can call the elections office from home to resolve the problem. Check your registration status through the Collin County website here. Check your registration status through the Texas Secretary of State website here.
Early voting starts on Monday October 20th at 8AM and continues until Friday 7PM on October 31st at several convenient locations around Collin County on October 20th 2008.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thur | Fri | Sat |
| Oct 19 | Oct 20 Early Voting 8am-5pm | Oct 21 Early Voting 8am-5pm | Oct 22 Early Voting 8am-5pm | Oct 23 Early Voting 8am-5pm | Oct 24 Early Voting 8am-5pm | Oct 25 Early Voting 7am-7pm |
| Oct 26 Early Voting 1pm-6pm | Oct 27 Early Voting 7am-7pm | Oct 28 Early Voting 7am-7pm | Oct 29 Early Voting 7am-7pm | Oct 30 Early Voting 7am-7pm | Oct 31 Early Voting 7am-7pm | Nov 1 |
Please remember to take your Voter's Registration Card with you to the early voting polling place when you vote.
Please DO NOT cut the bar code off of the orange card - election clerks can use the bar code to electronically verify your voter registration status, which makes the voting lines move much faster for everyone!!!
Did you receive your Orange Voter's Registration Card? If you did not receive an orange registration card during 2008, your voting registration record may have been "suspended" or "purged." Check your registration status here.
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