Election Day

I continued my recent habit of being a poll worker at my local polling place. Long day -- you start at 5AM to set up, the polls close at 9PM, and then you close shop and it's over at around 10. You get two, two hour breaks. There is a lump sum payment along with a training voucher. It doesn't really work out to be much more than the current minimum net. But, like giving blood, it does make me feel good to give a bit back.

The election this year in New York was for local elections (including the usual stupid judicial race, where you pick five of six [one labeled Republican this time] people you have no idea about. We had a few competitive races (my own city council race, parts of the area somewhat conservative, was semi-competitive with the losing Republican getting over 40% last I checked). 

The "Dems in disarray" theme doesn't really apply to NYC, where the big news is maybe the Republicans will have around five people in the City Council instead of three or four (back in the day, there was one). As shown in that article, the Dems did lose some local races in other parts of the state, helped by low turnout. Dems are probably tired after 2020. You aren't going to win them all. 

There is a notice here that an "April" 2020 rule required masks at all polling places along with a suggestion for an isolated place for those without masks.  I don't recall the first part for that primary, but there were masks available by the general.  Poll workers had to wear them.  I am vaccinated but continue to wear masks on public transportation (required) and supermarkets (advised with the Delta variant rising earlier).  I wear a cloth mask (one study cited they are less useful, but we were given them in the summer of 2020 for census work) and my glasses kept on fogging.  

My area again is somewhat conservative, so there are more registered Republicans. This led to a problem because the presence of several third party mayoral candidates (Eric Adams was not on the Working Family line, but it qualified to be on the ballot; the blank slot being filled by another third party could have dealt with the confusion) aligned one candidate in the row of Republicans.  So, if you voted all the way down, you overvoted.  This happened a few times -- even when someone was told to not do it -- but they just had to re-do their ballot.  A person had the right to two voids.  The scanner rejects overvotes.  One minor way the old lever machines could have been better. 

The other basic issue was the ballot measures.  They were on the back of the ballot in English and Spanish.  Some (one count had city voters especially doing this -- around 20%) simply skipped voting for them at all. You can undervote after all.  This is where the Republicans had a good time in New York -- rather surprisingly, every single voting related (including the redistricting measure) ballot measure failed.  The no-excuse absentee voting measure did a bit better, losing 56/44 [83% reported, but doesn't look like there is enough to compensate] over 58/42.  

The redistricting measure had various components, including setting in place the number of state senators, that I even thought iffy.  But, the two voting measures seemed to me rather benign -- the state could allow same day voting and no-excuse absentee voting.  The Republicans strongly promoted voting "no" and there is recriminations the Democrats didn't do enough to promote "yes."  It didn't even do that well in New York City.  

(The clean environment and civil court measures passed easily by around 2:1 margins. I still don't know what a right to a clean environment will exactly give me. Sounds nice though. And, yes, I think we probably do have such a right in some sense as an obligation of government.) 

There was a reference in one article that the ballot measures were simply confusing.  I think that was a bit exaggerated though I can see some confusion.  For instance, a clear explanation on why there was a need for a vote on absentee ballots -- which people have now enjoyed without limits given COVID since mid-2020 -- given constitutional requirements could have been helpful.  That one at the very least should have passed, even with Republican bullshit about voter fraud. 

The polling places actually were given some ballot measure explanation booklets (and people should have received some voting guides in the mail), but there was a notice only to give them on request.  This wasn't given much thought by my fellow poll workers, from what I can tell, but in hindsight is rather outrageous.  Why not simply put them on a table for those who wish to read them?  I actually gave one to some voter who was confused and she seemed to be quite happy with it.  

This is a civics fail.  I noted earlier that I'm not a big fan of ballot measures since I think they can be confusing and that it would be better for our representatives to have the power to do these things.  I can understand giving the people the power to make big decisions regarding changes to the state constitution.  But tweaking absentee ballot rules and the like?  At the very least, if they have the power, there should be a good education campaign to help voters to make their decision.  There was not.  

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The big news is that the Trumpy (if with a nice gloss) Republican for governor won by a few points.  He promoted the usual things, fears of critical race theory, stop the steal curious, sympathy for parents who struggled through COVID (as if a Republican would have done better), and so forth.  It was a surprise, since it looked like the incumbent would at least eke it out.  

But, after the usual drama, some pointed out that it actually matches normal off-election trends.  In fact, the early fears that the New Jersey Democratic governor would lose too had a historical pedigree.  It turned out the Dems escaped there, if close enough for a big scare.  Still, especially if the Republicans manage to control (or get a tie) in the assembly in Virginia, it's hard.  Stephen Colbert did toss in some perspective -- we survived Trump and I'm supposed to be terrified of this guy?

True enough, but it's still rather depressing that voters still can be convinced to elect people with the usual scare lines and bullshit.  We are also seeing some people wishing the winner well and all. It's a rinse/repeat affair.  You should not be able to spread lies and bullshit about basic things like race and voting, win, and at least not have to EARN some good graces. It just encourages more of the same.  Can we please stop it?  

[ETA:  The specific person and the stuff he ran on is bothersome, but if you look closer -- which headlines and excited reactions do not -- the results in Virginia are simply not shocking.  Party control fluctuated regularly in recent times.  Youngkin won by about 2%.  This might sound like hindsight bias, but people were colored by some in the moment assumptions during the race as well. 

And, this is something that I missed and I shouldn't have really, the incumbent isn't running.  There is a particular reason -- Virginia doesn't allow the incumbent to run for re-election.  There needs to be at least one person in between (Northam here).  This shows the state encourages turnover and eight years of one party controlling is how it worked since 1994 with Terry McAuliffe breaking the back and forth there in 2013 to stop the semi-expected second Republican, especially given party control in the White House.

So, historically, a TM win would be an uphill battle.  One can argue maybe given the times a "insider" type like TM was not the best bet.  But, the guy lost by two percent.  Who knows?  If the "Democrats are in trouble," is it really because of this?]

There is the usual "Dems in disarray" stuff, of course.  I am tired of that sort of thing, though clearly Democrats need to continue to fight and carefully get through a tough environment.  I do wish some recognize they are doing things with a bare majority in Congress.  Perhaps, Manchin and Sinema etc. can also see the stakes.  This can help motivate. Or, they can just use the results (selectively) to continue their path, including wanting to uphold "bipartisanship" by not ending the filibuster while Republicans show nearly no good faith at all (one Republican senator voted for one of the voting bills ... that is to DEBATE IT).  

Anyway, though it is not completely over with some lingering races, we have gotten through another election.  Next up in 2022 is the race for New York governor, two women the leading hopefuls in the Democratic primary.  One last thing -- the long time incumbent mayor "Democrat" won a write-in candidacy in Buffalo versus the Democratic Socialist.  Basically "doing a Lieberman."  An Asian woman did win as mayor of Boston, the first time a woman and woman of color (one is now acting mayor, with the mayor now in Biden's cabinet) was so elected in that city.