High turnout expected for Arizona voting
By PAUL DAVENPORT, Associated Press
I will never again vote at the polls. Mail-in ballots are the way to go! I and 828,282 other Arizonans requested them.
Kevin left for work early to stop by the polling area to vote, but then was told he was at the wrong place. Silly him, he should have either done his research or opted for the mail-in ballot like I did! He came back home, grabbed some more coffee, and was off again.
"I'll stop at the polls after work" he said, a bit disgusted.
"I won't be here, I'll be at work" I told him, as I was asked to work three days this week starting this afternoon.
I also want to stop by the Sports Gallery in town later tonight. The local Democrats are allegedly having a big meet-up there.
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I stopped by both the Republican and Democratic Headquarters in town yesterday, before class. The Republican office was quiet. Volunteers, who all looked like Geriatric candidates (Bad, I know...) just looked at me. "Can I help you?" said one blue-haired lady.
I had come in just to buy some campaign buttons. I hadn't seen any from either party all year.
The McCain-Palin buttons were selling for $10 each. Yikes.
"All we can pass out are the bumper stickers." So I grabbed some for Kevin.
Then I stopped by the Democratic Headquarters. That place was bustling with volunteers and those annoying phonecallers. I even recognized one of the woman as a fellow Master Gardener. I think we were both surprised to see eachother there. She's a retired JAG colonel.
"No campaign buttons?" I asked her, disappointed.
"No, the Obama campaign didn't think they stood a chance in Arizona, this being McCain's home state, so they didn't send us much. What little we had was bought by volunteers. We had some garden signs but most of them were stolen later by other neighbors."
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PHOENIX — Arizona voters who aren’t among the many who have cast early ballots go to the polls Tuesday in an election that sees Republican John McCain running in what appeared to be a recently tightened presidential race in his adopted home state.
Along with statewide questions on same-sex marriage and other issues, ballots also include contested congressional races and numerous tight legislative contests.
Secretary of State Jan Brewer projected statewide turnout of at least 80 percent of Arizona’s nearly 3 million voters. As many as half of those voting may have done so already, either by mail or at advance voting sites.
An 80 percent turnout would be substantial higher than the 71.7 percent and 71.7 percent rates seen in Arizona in 2004 and 2000, respectively.
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. MST. Voters casting ballots at polling places must show identification.
Voters can drop off their early ballots at any polling place Tuesday, but it’s too late to put them in the mail.
The presidential race in Arizona was long regarded as an easy win for McCain because of his residency and numerous wins in Senate campaigns. With that, neither McCain nor Democrat Barack Obama campaigned actively in the state, though each had a small number of offices.
That changed late in the campaign when a statewide poll found McCain holding only a small lead — within the poll’s margin of error. Obama responded by airing a television ad in the state and McCain followed by scheduling a Prescott rally for very early Tuesday morning.
Down the ballot, all eight U.S. House seats from Arizona are up for grabs. The congressional races regarded as most competitive include contests for the largely rural 1st District in northern and eastern Arizona, the 3rd and 5th districts in the Phoenix area and the 8th District in southeastern Arizona.
Arizona’s U.S. House delegation is now split 4-4 between Democrats and Republicans. Two years ago, Republicans held a 6-2 advantage.
All 90 legislative seats — 60 in the House and 30 in the Senate — also are on the ballot, though eight Senate candidates and six in the House are running unopposed. Republicans now hold a 17-13 margin in the Senate and control by the House 33-27.
Statewide propositions deal with hiring of illegal immigrants, same-sex marriage, taxation of home sales, health care, home warranties, legislative pay and a higher threshold for most ballot measures.
The only statewide offices on the ballot are three seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission. Republicans now hold all five seats on the utility regulating panel.
Some parts of the state also see state-mandated votes on whether to combine high school and elementary school districts into unified districts.
ON THE BALLOT: Presidential race, U.S. House and legislative seats, county offices, local questions, including school district unification proposals.
HOURS: Polls are open from 6 a.m.-7 p.m. MST but anybody standing in line by 7 p.m. is allowed to vote.
IDENTIFICATION: Voters casting ballots at polling places must show identification: either one piece of government-issued photo identification with name and address or two pieces of non-photo identification that list name and address. Those can include voting cards, utility bills, vehicle registrations and bank statements.
EARLY BALLOTS: They must be in the hands of election officials by 7 p.m. in order to be counted. It's too late to put them in the mail, but they can be turned in on Election Day at any
polling station in the voter's county.
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2008/11/04/news/doc490ff04d84ecb772296161.txt
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/11/03/20081103electionday1104.html
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