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News about the United States by Reuters.
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Crist campaign files court motion to extend voting in vote-rich Broward county to 9pm due to precinct "malfunctions"Nov. 4, 2014- Reply
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Fiona Ortiz sends an update on Chicago voting irregularities:
Chicago election chairman says more than 2000 election judges failed to show up at the city’s 2069 polling stations, about a fifth of the judges. Earlier officials had said more than 200 election judges – who run the polling stations – had failed to show.
Langdon Neal, chairman of the Chicago Board of Commissioners said voting had been severely impacted after judges received robocalls over the weekend from an unknown source telling them they were not qualified to work at polling stations. The city mobilized hundreds of substitute judges and swore them in.
“The number will be well over 2000 judges who either resigned in the last 24 hours or simply didn’t show up this morning," Neal told CLTV Chicago. "There has been a domino effect. When you are short of judges you have to ask one or two judges in the precinct to do numerous tasks usually spread out among five different judges. This puts a lot of pressure on judges to deal with lines and voter issues and it simply results in some errors in the polling place. It’s taken us a long time today to really get things sorted out."
He said after the dust settles, the Chicago Board will complete its investigation and refer the matter to a law enforcement agency of some sort to investigate further and, if necessary, bring charges. -
Crist on a recount: “I don’t think we’ll need one, I really hope not, for Florida’s sake” NBC6 TVNov. 4, 2014
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Crist for Governor Campaign Files Emergency Motion to Extend Voting Hours in Broward
MIAMI - The Crist campaign filed an emergency motion with the Circuit Court for to extend voting hours in Broward County from 7pm to 9pm. The campaign cited several “individual and systemic breakdowns that made it difficult for voters to cast regular ballots.”
These included one polling station that was offline for over an hour and a half in the morning causing delays and affecting voters hoping to cast a ballot before work, as well as malfunctions in precincts where voters were unable to update their addresses in order to cast ballots in newly redrawn precincts.
“We have reports in many cases that voters who were confused about their proper polling location were provided conflicting information and, in many cases, simply gave up attempting to cast a regular ballot,” the campaign said. -
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Todd Melby spoke to voters supporting opposing gubernatorial candidates in Hudson, Wisconsin:
Greg Tellijohn, 63, owner of Digital Garage, a storefront computer retailer that sells Apple products, said he planned to vote for Democratic candidate Mary Burke.
"Get rid of (Republican Governor Scott Walker). He's not for the people. He's not for healthcare. He turned down money for rapid transit. He doesn't compromise," Tellijohn said.
Tellijohn said he had been in business for 14 years. When asked how things are going, he replied, "I'm always optimistic. I'm a small business owner."
John Schumacher, 62, said he voted for Walker. Schumacher said he recently moved from St. Paul, Minnesota, and felt so passionate about voting for Walker that he got his driver's license changed to vote in Wisconsin.
"I like the fact that he's not afraid to go against public opinion," Schumacher said. "He's not scared about what people are thinking or feeling. He helps create jobs." -
Republicans Poised for Victory as Midterm Campaign Ends
TIME.comParty poised to win Senate amid disapproval of Obama -
How Facebook Could Skew an Election
The AtlanticIt all has to do with those chipper “I’m a Voter!” buttons. -
Pro-marijuana advocates say Oregon's measure "too close to call." Volunteers out in droves knocking on doors.Nov. 4, 2014Delete
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Daniel Wallis reports from Denver:
Among the key factors in Colorado tonight will be total turnout, the swing counties, and the state's urban/rural split, Denver-based independent political pollster and analyst Floyd Ciruli said.
Overall turnout is the "linchpin" of the Democrats' argument that the majority of public polls are wrong because they miss Hispanics, the young, and other less frequent voters.
Ciruli said Colorado voters have given Democrats statewide victories in the last three elections in part because Democrats triumphed in the state's three most-balanced counties in terms of partisanship: Arapahoe, Jefferson and Larimer.
"Does (Republican U.S. Senate hopeful) Cory Gardner win Arapahoe and Larimer and barely lose Jefferson? If so, he will likely win the state," Ciruli said.
Meanwhile, he added, Republicans will need to meet the support that Democrats are expected to receive in the Denver metro area with a huge turnout from rural, non-metro Colorado. -
Here's the latest from Ian Simpson in Washington, D.C.:
The D.C. measure, which would legalize marijuana, but not its sale, has been favored by a two-to-one margin. Advocates have portrayed it as a civil rights issue, saying studies have shown that blacks are disproportionately more likely to be arrested on marijuana charges.
"I think it's a misallocation of public resources to be arresting people for smoking marijuana,” Douglas Farrar, a 31-year-old think tank employee who voted in favor of legalization, said outside a polling place.
Michael Weeks, 59, a university administrator, also said he had cast his vote in favor of legalization. “It’s a minor offense that takes up too much police work and capital and too much court time. It seems like a better use of public resources,” he said. -
Update on our poll question! As of 6:32 pm ET, the results are as follows:
Yes, I always vote (657 votes, 75%)
Yes, because I am particularly interested in my local election (60 votes, 7%)
No, I will not have time to vote (40 votes, 5%)
No, I am not interested in voting (100 votes, 11%)
I have not yet decided whether I will vote (21 votes, 2%) -
Convicted felon Patrick Cannon in trouble for voting
Two weeks after he lost his right to vote, former Charlotte mayor and convicted felon Patrick Cannon apparently cast a ballot, the Charlotte Observer reports.
That vote violated Cannon’s bond and could put him back before a judge, said Greg Forrest, chief of the U.S. Probation Office in Charlotte.
It may even mean the 47-year-old Democrat could go to prison sooner.
Read more here: www.charlotteobserver.com -
Jon Herskovitz reports about Republican election parties in Texas:
The prime ticket for Republicans may be a theater in Austin, the most liberal city in Texas.
Presidential hopefuls Governor Rick Perry, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush are expected to show up for what could be a victory party for Republican Greg Abbott.
Local media are also boasting about their parking spots. -
Open bar at tonight's @ThomTillis election night event. Celebration or commiseration? #ncvotes #ncpol #Election2014 http://t.co/fo5I9tZQKU
Nov. 4, 2014- Reply
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Some details on Obama's last-second radio interview spree from @robertarampton: http://t.co/dYPcYYKm8q. Focus was on NC/WI/MD/PA/FL/CT/MI/ILNov. 4, 2014
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White House reporter Roberta Rampton tells us about President Barack Obama's activities this week:
President Barack Obama may have kept a low profile at the White House on Monday and Tuesday, ahead of the midterms.
But he was all over the airwaves in key local markets, doing interviews with local hosts in an effort to help get out the vote, the White House said.
Here’s a list of interviews he has given during the past two days, sorted by state.
North Carolina
No Limit Larry in the Morning- WPEG (Charlotte)
Artie and Fly Ty in the Afternoon WBAV (Charlotte)
Mike and Friends in the Morning WFMI (Elizabeth City, NC)
The 3 Live Crew- WJMH (Greensboro, NC)
Wisconsin
Reggie Brown in the Afternoon - WKKV (Milwaukee)
Earl Stokes in the Afternoon- WJMR (Milwaukee)
Maryland
The Konan Show- WERQ (Baltimore)
The Larry Young Morning Show- WOLB (Baltimore)
The Frank Ski Show-WHUR (DC/MD/VA)
Pennsylvania
Frankie Darcell WXMD (Detroit)/WDAS (Philadelphia)
Florida
Rick Party in the Afternoon WHQT (Miami)
Connecticut
The Colin McEnroe Show- WNPR (Hartford)
Michigan
Mildred Gaddis Show- WCHB (Detroit)
Illinois
UB Rodriguez- WGCI (Chicago) -
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. @andreagrimes random compliments to voters has been the best part of twitter today. http://t.co/oR8u811rkE
Nov. 4, 2014- Reply
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Letitia Stein sends details on a key vote in one Alabama town:
In the U.S. capital and two West Coast cities, voters today will decide on legalizing marijuana. In Alabama, the big decision for one city is whether to end its dry spell -- and permit the sale of alcohol.
Hartselle, population roughly 14,500, is the largest “dry” city in the state, reports the Alabama Media Group. When the city last voted on alcohol sales in 2012, the flow of alcohol was blocked by some 400 votes.
Hartselle is in Morgan County, one of 25 Alabama counties with alcohol sales bans in place. But since cities of at least 1,000 residents are able to opt out of such bans, only one county - rural Clay County, in eastern Alabama - is completely dry.
Election results will show whether views in Hartselle changed when the city’s mayor was arrested in September on charges of driving drunk. -
At a bar in Washington DC, big excitement about today's vote - not the mid-terms, but the vote to legalise possession of marijuana in DC.Nov. 4, 2014Delete
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Fiona Ortiz has the latest on voting irregularities in Chicago:
Chicago election officials are investigating what they called malicious automated phone calls placed to election judges who run polling stations.
More than 200 judges failed to show up on Tuesday, a much higher number than usual, due to a phone campaign that began on Saturday, election board spokesman Jim Allen told Reuters. The automated phone calls gave the judges false information that they were not qualified to work at the polling station unless they took additional training.
“We detected a trend. It targeted a specific political party,” Allen said. He said the election board would not say what party until the election was over.
The city exhausted all of its backup teams by 9 a.m., which is unusual, Allen said. Backup judges were put in place and although some polling stations did not open on time at 6 a.m., all of them eventually opened. Officials said that a “handful” of polling places will stay open late so that people who could not vote before work can come back after work. -
How Would the U.S. Media Cover the Midterm Elections if They Happened in Another Country? http://t.co/pAoIYAPUwi via @slateNov. 4, 2014
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With big #gagov and #Senate races, long voting lines in Sandy Springs, outside Atlanta, reported by @wsbtv https://t.co/r8VtCoYcPj
Nov. 4, 2014- Reply
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Shelby Sebens reports on medical marijuana polls in Oregon:
In left-leaning Oregon, where voters rejected a 2012 recreational pot measure, two October polls showed the measure was favored to pass by about 52 percent to 41 percent, while a second poll in late October showed it defeated by a razor-thin margin.
“I think the personal choice issue trumps the negative social impact issue," said Jason Klivington, 45, of Portland who voted for the legal marijuana ballot measure, and also voted for Oregon's legal marijuana measure in 2012, which failed.
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Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, NC brings us some unfortunate news from Clay Aiken's camp - apparently, he's having some car troubles:
REUTERS/Colleen Jenkins
1 of 2
“American Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken, a Democrat who is running for Congress in North Carolina, spent the final weeks of his first-ever political campaign touring the district he hopes to represent. But on Tuesday morning, the gold bus emblazoned with his name broke down in Cary, North Carolina, and had to be towed, according to local media and Aiken’s campaign.“The bus couldn’t keep up with the pace of our campaign,” Aiken spokeswoman Tucker Middleton said in an email to Reuters. “We worked it to death these past three weeks.”Middleton said Aiken was undeterred by the brief setback and still spent Tuesday talking with voters at polling places across central North Carolina. Aiken is trying to unseat U.S. Representative Renee Ellmers in North Carolina's heavily Republican 2nd congressional district. -
Steve Quinn tells us the latest on medical marijuana in Alaska:
Polling on marijuana has been inconsistent in Alaska, a Republican-leaning state with a libertarian streak.
"It's a freedom issue. We are Americans, we should be able to do whatever we want – within reason," said Ben Wilcox, a bartender waving signs backing the measure at a downtown Juneau intersection.
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Our Keith Coffman brings us the latest from Denver:
Mary-Anne Mars of Thornton, Colorado, said after dropping off her ballot that she voted a straight Democrat ticket. Mars, a registered Democrat, said her party is more in line with the issues that are important to her, especially women's reproductive rights and gun control.
The 49-year-old technical writer said although she is a Democrat, this is the first election where she has voted along a straight party line.
"I want the president to be able do what's right without the Republicans nay-saying everything," she said. "For the Republicans, it has stopped being about the issues and all about Obama." -
Kevin Murphy has the latest on the Kansas election:
In Kansas, strong voter turnout was reported as incumbent Republican Senator Pat Roberts hoped to eke out a victory over political newcomer Greg Orman, a millionaire businessman who is running as an Independent. Orman, who voted at a polling location near his home in the Kansas City-area suburb of Olathe Tuesday morning, told reporters that running a political campaign was similar to running a business, with one notable exception.
"In running a business facts are important, and in campaign sometimes it doesn't seem like that's been the case in a lot of instances," Orman said.
Asked if Roberts ran a fair campaign he said: "I've said often in this campaign that we no longer live in the information age we live in the misinformation age."
Orman said he has backed both Republicans and Democrats in various elections but he would not say on Tuesday if he voted for Republican Sam Brownback or Democrat Paul Davis in the close Kansas governor's election.
Kate Reeb, a 67-year-old retired English teacher who lives in the same neighborhood as Orman, said she does not think Orman is qualified to serve in the Senate and was throwing her support to Roberts.
"I don't want the Republicans to lose a seat," Reeb said.
But Brad White, a 45-year-old business owner who also lives near Orman in Olathe, said while he considers himself a Republican, he voted for Orman over Roberts, hoping Orman’s business acumen will help him in Washington. White said Roberts’ efforts to bring in well-known Republican leaders to help him campaign in Kansas turned him off.
"It appears that he wants to maintain the exact status quo that has been in Washington forever," White said.
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Large contingent of media @Team_Mitch election night headquarters, Marriott in Louisville http://t.co/vVwRTJIskY
Nov. 4, 2014- Reply
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Pew Research Center's Internet Project has a new report that has found that more than twice as many Americans are following political candidates on social media this year than during the 2010 midterms:
"Participation in the digital campaign does not have a clear partisan slant," Pew reported."Republicans and Democrats engage in each of these behaviors at similar rates. At the same time, when asked about some reasons why they might follow political figures on social media,Republicans and Republican-leaning independents express a greater desire to be the first to find out about breaking political news, and to say that they use social media to get political information that has not passed through the traditional media 'filter.'" -
Cable operators nearly doubled their ad haul since 2012, bringing in ~$800m this cycle. TV stations overall? $2.4b. http://t.co/xJD00oAAgTNov. 4, 2014
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At 3:30 pm, 5 complaints of vote buying in Magoffin County, no other county with more than 1 such complaint, per Ky election hotline.Nov. 4, 2014
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Welcome to the party!I'm joining @CassLGarrison @alinaselyukh @AnnaYukha and more fun folks on the Reuters liveblog this evening: http://t.co/57jI76z9iYNov. 4, 2014
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Assad blocks access to Damascus for EU envoys: diplomats
BRUSSELS Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has revoked special visas for European Union diplomats and officials traveling regularly between Beirut and Damascus, complicating efforts to distribute aid to civil war victims, three senior EU diplomats said.