Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Live Blog #5: RESULTS

12:47 AM: Thanks to those of you who stuck with this all day. I'm going to bed.

12:34 AM: North/Atherton Hall: 1410 voters. Therefore, by our statistics - including North and Atherton, not counting precinct 44: total on-campus voters: 8406, compared to 3926 in 2004: a 114% increase in participation!

12:12 AM: Still waiting for 6 more precincts in the area, including North/Atherton Hall, before we can release any final calculations of on-campus voters.

11:51 PM: South Halls: 1787 voters, compared to 790. Anecdotal evidence places number of voters in precinct 44 at HUB around 800, meaning total voter number at the HUB is about 7800.

11:32 PM: EAST HALLS: 2033 voters, compared to 968...POLLOCK HALLS: 2224, compared to 968.

11:20 PM: West Halls is in: 952 voters, compared to 490 in 2004.

11:03 PM: National election is called...we're still waiting for on-campus results.

10:30 PM: Watching Comedy Central, waiting for the Centre County results to come in. Still nothing from campus or close-in precincts besides State College Northeast.

Live Blog #4...One Final Evening Push!

7:37 PM: We're calling it for our time at the HUB. Stay tuned to this blog for election results as we get them.

7:30 PM:
Last half-hour. Make sure you vote!

7:00 PM:
About 7300 people have voted at the HUB today. (Compare to 3926 in 2004.)

6:26 PM:
We're sending a few people into the field to find out what's going on with provisional ballots off-campus. Details later.

5:54 PM:
Troubles with off-campus polling at St. Paul's not handing out provisional ballots; lawyers attempting to solve problem, but appears to be directed from the county. Video being recorded.

5:50 PM:
Lines are reasonable, at this point: 20-30 for East and South, 15 for Pollock, minimal wait for 44 and West.

5:41 PM:
Back from choir. Lines are as short as I've seen them all day; now is the time to vote if you haven't done so.

Live Blog #3...After the Noon

3:30 PM: I'm off to class - be back with liveblog 4 around 5:30!

3:17 PM:
Current wait times: East/South: 60+ minutes, Pollock/44: 15-20 minutes, West: 5 minutes

2:50 PM:
Afternoon lull setting in, but lines still long - pen problems apparently common across county.

2:40 PM:
About 1100 people have voted in East Halls, a mostly freshman area (Precinct 24) at this point - 968 voted in 24 in 2004.

2:30 PM:
My laptop has been in use a lot over the last hour for people to check their polling place location. Lines about the same length; we are being visited by the Republican House candidate right now (PA-05).

2:00 PM:
30-60 minute waits continue, depending on precinct and last name.

1:29 PM:
According to our projections, turnout right now is probably equal to 2004 at the on-campus precincts. Lines have moderated somewhat - East, South, and 44 have lines, Pollock and West do not.

1:20 PM:
Lunch rush is slowing; lines still lengthy.

12:54 PM
: Crowd still seems upbeat and happy to vote.

Election Day Liveblog #2...It Continues

12:54 PM: Moving to liveblog 3...

12:52 PM:
"Hail To The Lion" heard in line...thanks to an a cappella group.

12:44 PM:
60 minute waits continue for most on-campus polling locations. West Halls (Precinct 33) has closer to a 10 minute wait. 2/3 of 2004 turnout already, 7 1/2 hours to go.

12:32 PM:
Pen problem resolved(?) - large delivery of pens brought along with some small donations of pens. Other people now reporting waits of 2 1/2 hours off-campus, and being forced to vote by provisional ballot even though they are on the Centre County polling place checker. Referring problems to 1-866-OUR-VOTE. HUB is very busy, but actual lines still moving (waits about 30-60 minutes).

11:52 AM:
Reports coming in of HUB polling places running out of pens; people seem to be taking them as they finish voting. Another report of a student at the HUB who voted straight party but did not vote for the referendums, and was told by pollworker that her ballot wouldn't count - NAACP documented event.

11:36 AM:
Lines extending quite far at this point; State College mayor overrules HUB staff on passing out flyers in the HUB. Lunch rush is here; several people asking where their polling place is.

11:02 AM:
The after class rush has started, and lines are beginning to form out the door again.

10:34 AM:
Just had two friends from the South Halls precinct come out, one waited 10 minutes, and the other waited 40. It depends on your placement in the alphabet at this point. I'd still recommend voting right now before the lunch rush begins.

Election Day Liveblog #1

10:03 AM: Moving to Liveblog Thread 2 shortly...

9:54 AM:
We're giving out bagels! Even if you're not voting, come get one.

9:45 AM:
Pollock Halls line is now the longest (Precinct 27), poking slightly out of Alumni Hall. All other lines still 10-30 minutes.

9:37 AM:
Official turnout as of 9:30 AM from an Elections Judge: 1318

9:25 AM:
Turnout so far: 320 at South Halls (25) as of 9:10 AM.
(2664 registered.) 280 at East Halls (24), with waits of 10-30 minutes.

9:08 AM:
"VOTERNOVILLE" is now hanging outside of the HUB. Still relatively short lines; South may still be in the neighborhood of 30 minutes.

8:56 AM:
Active electioneers (as well as campaign posters) have been chased out of the area around the polling place.

8:39 AM:
Another one of our off-campus spies reports only one polling book is present at the St. Paul's Church (Precinct 28). Most on-campus polling locations were split into 2 books.

8:34 AM:
Now is the time to vote, if you are voting at the HUB. Lines are manageable, and will basically only grow from here.

8:16 AM: The initial wait for Precinct 25 (South Halls) was about an hour. Far, far under that right now.

8:11 AM:
One of our off-campus spies reports a 5 minute line for precinct 30, but about an hour wait for precinct 26 (both at Friends Meetinghouse). The line is just about entirely into Alumni Hall at this point.

8:07 AM:
The line has shortened considerably; I can see the end of the line for now. If you want to vote, get in line now.

7:59 AM:
Greg from Democracy Matters just finished his first election protection shift: out of 150 voters or so that he asked, only 2 had problems with getting into the wrong precinct line. The line seems to be long but moving for now.

7:28 AM:
People with cameras are starting to show up; we're handing out "I Vote" buttons, nonpartisan voter guides, and voting rights palm cards, so stop by our table!

7:21 AM
: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our liveblog from the HUB. I just voted (#17) after standing in line for about 30 minutes before the polls opened. The line is around the corner and out of sight; I'll be investigating more once we have more volunteers at our table. This place has a large amount of volunteers and officials from the Obama campaign. We'll see if that continues throughout the day. Check back for updates!

Election Day is Here!

Good morning everyone, this is Matt writing from the Represent table at the HUB. It's about 6:30 AM and people are slowly starting to show up to vote. We'll be here at the HUB all day; come stop by our table on the first floor of the HUB if you have any questions.