The Election Day Thread

[User.45]

Apologies, but I'm asking as a very naive European:

Is this man a policeman?

What goes on inside that man's head? What is he really, really thinking as he stands there…

Why bring a gun in to an emotional, fraught atmosphere?

Why bring a gun?

Edit: I don't think even the most level headed of US Americans realise what a disturbing image that is.


View attachment 1157

I think we do. Fuck this guy and his little penis.

 

[User.45]

Ladies, Gentlemen, and Non-binary folks! Trends in Georgia:

(I pulled all the county-wise stats from NYT, and calculated the net votes based on current standings. Since it's mainly mail-ins, if anything, it errs on the side of underestimating Biden's votes)

 

[JayMysteri0]

So, I hadn't seen this before, so forgive me if already posted

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/look-on-the-bright-side.2265522/post-29165402

Puerto Ricans have again voted in favor of making their island home a US state and they’re hoping that, this time around, their decision will carry actual weight.

Puerto Rico, which has been a US territory for 122 years and is the world’s oldest colony, has held five previous non-binding referendums on the issue. In 2012 and 2017, the island’s 3 million citizens overwhelmingly backed statehood, but Congress never took further action to admit Puerto Rico into the union.

This year, they were asked: “Should Puerto Rico be immediately admitted into the Union as a state?” A majority of voters answered “yes,” according to the AP, New York Times, and the island election commission, as of Wednesday afternoon. With 95 percent of precincts reporting, the margin stood at 52 percent for, and 48 percent against.

As the Times noted, the turnout figures are complicated. But Puerto Ricans are hoping that sends a clear message to Congress regarding their desire to attain the rights and privileges associated with statehood. Though Puerto Ricans are American citizens and pay into federal programs like Social Security and Medicare, they do not hold seats in Congress and cannot cast votes for president. They do vote for a resident commissioner who can introduce legislation and vote on committees in the House of Representatives, but that’s a far cry from full voting privileges.

 

[Thomas Veil]

I’m puzzled by this:

National Guard called into Portland amid ‘widespread violence’ after election

The Oregon National Guard was called into the city of Portland after protests in the city turned violent Wednesday night, police said.

Local authorities declared a riot after groups of demonstrators destroyed property in the downtown section of the city, which the Multnomah County Sheriff’s office described as “widespread violence.”

“In the interest of public safety, Governor Kate Brown, under the advice of the Unified Command, has activated the use of the Oregon National Guard to assist local law enforcement,” the agency said in a tweet.

“Guard members are trained in crowd control and will be riding with local response teams. They are dressed in military-style garb, which is their uniform,” they added.

The outburst of destructive protests comes a day after the contentious presidential election was held Tuesday night, but no clear winner emerged by Wednesday in the contest between Joe Biden and President Trump.

Who is protesting? If it’s liberals, what are they protesting? Or are they MAGAts angry about losing the election?

Some great reporting there. Didn’t anybody, like, talk to these people?

 

[Edd]

I’m puzzled by this:

National Guard called into Portland amid ‘widespread violence’ after election


Who is protesting? If it’s liberals, what are they protesting? Or are they MAGAts angry about losing the election?

Some great reporting there. Didn’t anybody, like, talk to these people?

I’d bet $ it’s whiny Trump bitches angry about Oregon’s electoral votes going to Biden.

 

[User.45]

PA isn't rosy if I don't count in the changing trends favoring Biden:

 

[JayMysteri0]

I’m puzzled by this:

National Guard called into Portland amid ‘widespread violence’ after election


Who is protesting? If it’s liberals, what are they protesting? Or are they MAGAts angry about losing the election?

Some great reporting there. Didn’t anybody, like, talk to these people?

12 arrested in Portland riot, National Guard deployed

PORTLAND, Ore. – The unified police command declared a protest in downtown Portland a riot Wednesday night and the Oregon National Guard was activated, as election results continued to roll in across the country. Authorities said the National Guard was deployed because there was "widespread...

katu.com

PORTLAND, Ore. – The unified police command declared a protest in downtown Portland a riot Wednesday night and the Oregon National Guard was activated, as election results continued to roll in across the country.

Authorities said the National Guard was deployed because there was "widespread violence" happening in downtown Portland, especially in the area of Southwest 10th and Harvey.

Guard members were dressed in their military uniforms, authorities said.

Police said they rescinded the riot declaration shortly after 9 p.m., but they said a group of people later gathered at Lownsdale and Chapman parks across the street from the Justice Center and then started an unpermitted march through the streets. Police said they declared the gathering an unlawful assembly after marchers threw objects at them.

At least 11 people were arrested. Police said one of the persons arrested had a rifle with a full magazine of ammunition attached to it. He also had several more magazines, an improvised explosive device, a knife and spray-paint cans. Officials said he was wearing a tactical vest with ballistic plates. Police said the man was believed to have thrown a firework at Portland police officers. Police initially said it was a Molotov cocktail but later issued a correction.

It was a molotov cocktail, it wasn't.

Protesters started gathering Wednesday evening at Revolution Hall in Southeast Portland for a "Defend Democracy" rally before marching across the Morrison Bridge to Waterfront Park.

The group met up with a second protest group on Naito Parkway.

The other demonstration started in Portland’s North Park Blocks earlier that afternoon. That group started marching east by 5 p.m. to meet up with the "Defend Democracy" group at the waterfront. The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said members of the second group were seen smashing windows and vandalizing property. A KATU reporter on the ground also observed shattered windows at businesses.

Authorities said objects, including a firework and glass bottles, were thrown at them.

From Chopper 2, police could be seen working to disperse crowds from downtown streets. Crowds of people were seen fleeing from police.

Police said they seized several items, including fireworks, from people who were arrested.

That's a remarkable bit of restraint being shown by the media in not labelling.

Meanwhile this happened
https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1322341181213298690/


https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1324211918320635904/
I'm curious, if these congregations continue, with intent of NOT counting the legal votes of American citizens... Do I get to start whining about when these protests are going to stop?

 

[Edd]

This’ll be an interesting day. Biden will almost certainly hit 270 one way or another.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

As someone who has been an election worker I'm really insulted by these R idiots carrying on about the highly supervised vote counting effort as somehow inherently fraudulent. Fuck them. It's hard work, it's a thankless job, it takes a long time and is generally a pain in the ass because every detail matters and it's important to follow the rules and try to retain and count votes on ballots that could have errors on the choice for one office but not for others etc. These tweets with videos of Trump fans harassing the election workers just drive me up the wall.

Good to know... Thank you for the education. I guess it never occured to me to go down to the place the votes are counted and create a major ruckus if my candidate wasn't winning. Took my lumps and drank my sorrows away in 2000, 2004, and 2016.

Post of the day... maybe the week. i don't get that abuse of the vote counters either.

As many of you know, I've been an international election observer (for either the OSCE or the EU) for almost a quarter of a century, and, in that time, I have observed, reported on, supervised, monitored (the exact verb depended on my mandate) over 25 elections across three continents.

Prior to that, as a teacher (of politics and history), and earlier, as a student, I was a poll watcher, (on quite a number of elections in my home constituency) and have the greatest respect for those who count the ballot (a job Decent Brother has done, in his day, as have several of my friends).

With the possible exception of Afghanistan, where - when I was serving as political adviser (political counsellor) to one of the two EU missions in the country at the time, and where much of my job involved political analysis on everything to do with the 2014 presidential election (in that capacity, I was in the country for more than a year ahead of those elections), - I reported to the EU on the 2014 presidential elections, and was closely involved with the (controversial) count, and where poll counting & election staff (Afghan and international) knew that their lives were under threat - I have never worked in a country where poll counting staff have been threatened.

This is outrageous.

Apologies, but I'm asking as a very naive European:

Is this man a policeman?

What goes on inside that man's head? What is he really, really thinking as he stands there…

Why bring a gun in to an emotional, fraught atmosphere?

Why bring a gun?

Edit: I don't think even the most level headed of US Americans realise what a disturbing image that is to people outside the US.


View attachment 1157

As someone who comes from a country where even the police do not bear, or carry, arms, - let alone the wider population - I agree completely with you.

A deeply disturbing image.

I think we do. Fuck this guy and his little penis.

Okay; great answer.

 

[Eric]

This’ll be an interesting day. Biden will almost certainly hit 270 one way or another.

I turned on CNN and they were asking a Democrat why they didn't win as big as they thought they would and they had zero election updates since yesterday so I just turned them off. So tired of cable news right now.

 

[Eric]

Here's an updated from Michael Cohen over at FiveThirtyEight for what to expect today. This should save you from wading through all the bullshit on cable news.

Some quick live-blog housekeeping, dear readers. Today we’re watching (like everyone else in the world): Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. Here’s what we think will happen in terms of timing:

• Philadelphia City Commissioners will give an update on the mail-in ballot count at around 9 a.m., we’ll be here to cover that.
• Georgia is still counting votes, and Trump’s lead there has narrowed to less that 20,000. We’re hopeful to get more votes there throughout the morning, but …
• Nevada is expected to announce more results beginning at 12 p.m. ET.
• Finally, Arizona, too, is still counting votes and Trump is cutting into Biden’s lead there. We expect Maricopa County to report more votes at 9 p.m. ET, and some more Pima County results this evening.

The upshot of all this is that we expect things to be busy today, with some possible lulls (between 10-12, for example). But honestly, we’re not totally sure and will be standing by in case counts start updating at any time. Stay tuned!

Biden Is Projected To Be The President-Elect. Here’s How It All Went Down.

Live election results and coverage of the 2020 presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and the race for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

fivethirtyeight.com

 

[JayMysteri0]

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1324324890653138944/
You know, when you strip it down to it's basic core, it really is a remarkable thing to hear & read.

In America where the right to vote is one of the most cherished rights. There are Americans who are demanding that votes of their fellow Americans NOT be counted, for fear of a result they don't care for.

Mission Accomplished Duh nahld! A country divided.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1324355608217153536/

 

[rdrr]

What is going on in NV? I mean no update at all for over a day? Something smells fishy there,

 

[Scepticalscribe]

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1324324890653138944/
You know, when you strip it down to it's basic core, it really is a remarkable thing to hear & read.

In America where the right to vote is one of the most cherished rights. There are Americans who are demanding that votes of their fellow Americans NOT be counted, for fear of a result they don't care for.

Mission Accomplished Duh nahld! A country divided.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1324355608217153536/

Reading this, and watching the awful video of the Trump scion (I almost wrote "sprog" but am trying - hard, and not entirely successfully, to maintain some degree of dignity and decorum when referring, online, (or in person) to people I despise), I am gobsmacked at how many talking points, prompts, pointers, and other forms of stage whispers, these people are effortlessly giving to authoritarian, autocratic and dictatorial regimes for use, or to call on, during elections that will be held in the future.

I mean, I can absolutely imagine being in a - let us imagine, a regional capital - in their main counting and tabulating centre in a "developing" (or "regressing") country some months or years from now, where they proceed to tell me that they would prefer not to bother counting the opponent's votes, because they may influence the electoral outcome, citing the illustrious example of the US as a model worth emulating.

 

[Huntn]

Apologies, but I'm asking as a very naive European:

Is this man a policeman?

What goes on inside that man's head? What is he really, really thinking as he stands there…

Why bring a gun in to an emotional, fraught atmosphere?

Why bring a gun?

Edit: I don't think even the most level headed of US Americans realise what a disturbing image that is to people outside the US.


View attachment 1157

Intimidation, an implied threat. Now you can read into this a spectrum of motivations from I’m here to make sure there is no cheating, (no clue how that is achieved), to being there to forcibly stop vote counting or take violent action at some trigger point based on personal perspective of what is right and just.

My guess this person views himself as a patriot, a person willing to start shooting to get their way based on the trigger, whatever that is.

At this point TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) must be mentioned. It is real, it effects the MAGA Red Hats. And of real interest I think it was first brought up in PRSI at MacRumors by a Trump supporter to describe those against Trump, just one of the many projections that are Trump, about Trump projected onto his opponents, and blind devotion to this corrupt, anarchy inducing POS who has not one redeeming quality that is respected among human beings.

 

[JayMysteri0]

What is going on in NV? I mean no update at all for over a day? Something smells fishy there,

Not fishy. Most places still counting said they wouldn't be giving updates until 9AM their time.

 

[Arkitect]

Intimidation, an implied threat. Now you can read into this a spectrum of motivations from I’m here to make sure there is no cheating, (no clue how that is achieved), to being there to forcibly stop vote counting or take violent action at some trigger point based on personal perspective of what is right and just.

My guess this person views himself as a patriot, a person willing to start shooting to get their way based on the trigger, whatever that is.

At this point TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) must be mentioned. It is real, it effects the MAGA Red Hats. And of real interest I think it was first brought up in PRSI at MacRumors by a Trump supporter to describe those against Trump, just one of the many projections that are Trump, about Trump projected onto his opponents, and blind devotion to this corrupt, anarchy inducing POS who has not one redeeming quality that is respected among human beings.

Thanks.
I think that does sum it up very well.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

What is going on in NV? I mean no update at all for over a day? Something smells fishy there,

The winning ballot is still in play in a high rollers suite in Vegas. Mr. Dicaprio has requested the game not be disturbed for any reason. Any. You hear me?

 

[User.45]

I project NC to Trump, as his lead still holds even if I adjust for mail-in ballots favoring Biden by 10% in the state.

 

[Edd]

PA will deliver. Trump knows it which is why he’s suing.
The disagreement between news outlets over AZ is interesting. Fox and the WSJ called it hours ago and MSNBC won’t budge.