Did i vote for Bush?

ShangriLaTroubl · #1 12-27-2004, 07:40 PM

Lol I just got a letter in the mail from "PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH" thanking me for my support during the campaign and for my vote..lol...is this a mistake mailing?

Or was my vote rigged, lol, maybe I DID vote for Bush...maybe by pressing JOHN KERRY it was rigged and switched it Bush...lol.

Chris

strandinthewind · #2 12-27-2004, 08:14 PM

LOL - I get those every now and then. My fav. was the one thanking me for the donation, when I can assure you I made none!!!!!!!

ryan8472 · #3 12-27-2004, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

LOL - I get those every now and then. My fav. was the one thanking me for the donation, when I can assure you I made none!!!!!!!

Just play along with it. Maybe they'll send you some lame gift.

Merf · #4 12-27-2004, 08:58 PM

Are you a registered Republican? That might be why you got a letter.

My dad is registered Republican and gets Republican mailings all the time. He's never voted Republican in his life, a contributing financer of moveon.org and the DNC, and a card carrying member of the Sierra Club.

ShangriLaTroubl · #5 12-27-2004, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merf

Are you a registered Republican? That might be why you got a letter.

My dad is registered Republican and gets Republican mailings all the time. He's never voted Republican in his life, a contributing financer of moveon.org and the DNC, and a card carrying member of the Sierra Club.

I am a registered republican...so I never really thought about that.

strandinthewind · #6 12-27-2004, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShangriLaTroubl

I am a registered republican...so I never really thought about that.

I think I am as well. Is there a website to check and see?

I vote in the D primaries though - does party registration matter?

I need to check this out

In any even, I almost always vote D - so it is a moot point

ShangriLaTroubl · #7 12-27-2004, 09:40 PM

In most states it doesnt matter..GA has non partisan elections...like ANYONE can vote in the D primaries...but in some states...u have to be registered D to vote in the primaries...in GA i think to change your party affiliation, you simply just have to re-register to vote...and when u do check DEMOCRAT

Chris

gldstwmn · #8 12-27-2004, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I vote in the D primaries though - does party registration matter?

Not if your state has an open primary, which Georgia must.

irishgrl · #9 12-27-2004, 09:47 PM

Jason, different states have different regulations regarding Primaries, ie whether you can cross party lines etc....you might want to see what is the guideline in YOUR state, you can contact the Secretary of State for that info...

as an aside: I am hearing from NPR broadcasts that various machines throughout the nation had issues of either casting a vote for Bush when Kerry was selected, or the screen comes up blank when a vote is cast for Kerry...I dont trust electronic voting machines, I would definitely want a PAPER verification of my vote AT THE TIME OF VOTING...fortunately, in my county we had the old style paper ballots that go inside the paper sleeves. I always have my voter info booklet with my votes already indicated so all I have to do in the booth is copy my choices...

strandinthewind · #10 12-27-2004, 09:50 PM

thanks to you both for the info.

yes, the paperless elec. voting is B.S. IMO. I think it should print a receipt that should be kept by the state and checked against the electronic result before the state certifies the election. In most cases it will not matter if there is a 1% disparity - but in a close race, the paper ballot should trump the elec. one.

Merf · #11 12-27-2004, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

Not if your state has an open primary, which Georgia must.

Yeah, in NC we have closed primaries, so even though my dad is a die-hard democrat he can't vote in any primaries. Not like it mattered anyway, because our primary was JULY 20TH this year.

irishgrl · #12 12-27-2004, 10:25 PM

It seems as though people are a bit unclear about what constitutes an OPEN PRIMARY, and to clear up the confusion, I offer the following:
here is the LINK to an explanation of California's Open Primary Law from the CA Secretary of State
and this is a layman's explanation:

Quote:

For those readers who aren't from California (or the United States, for that matter), here's what an open primary is: As an example, let's say that Ron Smith and Roberta Jones, both Republicans, each think he or she is the best candidate for Governor. On the Democratic party side, Deborah Harris and Dan Thomas each thinks he/she is the best candidate for Governor.

In the November election, you can have only one Republican candidate and one Democratic candidate. How does each party decide who will be the their choice in November?

Rather than having the party officers choose, the state holds a primary election in which the voters decide whether Ron or Roberta will be the Republican candidate and whether Deborah or Dan will be the Democratic candidate.

When you registered to vote, you said which party you were affiliated with. Before 1998, if you had registered as a Democrat, you would get a ballot that gave you a choice between Deborah or Dan. If you were registered as a Republican, you could choose only between Ron and Roberta.

All of this has changed as of 2 June 1998. Now you will get a ballot with all four names: Ron, Roberta, Deborah, and Dan. You get to choose any one of them; it doesn't matter which party you registered with. This is called an open primary.

note: I believe the foregoing is meant to explain the CA OPEN PRIMARY process, not necessarily other States' processess. for info on individual State's regulations, contact your Secretary of State...

I offered the foregoing because I was surprised to read that people couldnt vote in a primary because they were registered Democrats, and that doesnt make sense. if a person lives in a CLOSED PRIMARY state, it merely means he/she can only vote for a candidate in his/her own party and may not cross party lines to vote for a candidate from another party. Therefore, a registered Democrat could vote for a Democratic candidate for his/her State's nomination.