Those amendments would've been impossible to read through if I had not gone through them before I left the house. Amendment 6 that defunds abortion is downright offensive.

I hope I didn't skew my ballot with how hard I pressed "NO" with my felt tip marker.

We definitely need to vote in off-cycle elections to get these puke goons out of office.

Seems like Dem voters need to be informed not to waste their time

Get word out on FB, email, etc. to friends that its not necessary to read the republican sponsored amendments. Just vote NO on all of them. This will speed up voting, so people don't get discouraged and leave before voting. Spread the word! I have been!

If there is a way to contact the campaign and tell them to do it.

maybe the lines stretch that long though.

line. I've also been known to walk rapidly from person to person as someone tries to find a route away from where I am. You leave no voter to walk in without a chance to have the right information in their hand!!

especially if the whole purpose is voter suppression, I say go for it if you know the rules!

I'll be joining you today. Got a visit from a nice young man knocking doors and handing out Vote Early door hangers. President Obama's smiling face on the front and all the local voting locations on the back.

I don't care how long the line is - but I'm weird. I enjoy standing in Queues and people watching. I don't mind traffic either, lol.

I've seen a few TV ads for voting no on one of the amendments - i forget which one because I was gonna vote no anyway but the point is at least we are spending some money to let people know the truth.

Me, my wife and daughter will be doing our part to keep Orange County blue!

an old pudgy white racist with hatred in their heart who really doesnt care who the candidate is as long as they beat the black guy

or

a younger excited democratic supporter who sees their vote as a fight for the future direction of the country?

I'm ready to stand in line for hours if need be tomorrow or Monday.


My fundie family hasnt donated, volunteered, or lifted a finger, nor have they said anything in favor of R$. They are just voting their hatred. I think they'd sooner crack if there was a long line.

Hate and anger only go so far. When push comes to shove and they have to wait hours to express that hate, they'll likely bail out.

And they despise Obama.

============

I'll never understand their antipathy. For Hitler, yes. But for our President...???

Wasting valuable time and tarnishing his reputation for a time, but it failed.

their sample ballots in hand. We were in and out in 15 mins.

I agree with no on all the amendments. Every amendment is written by the corrupt republican Florida legislature and their wording is designed to mislead.

As far as the judges go...Rick Scott is really trying to replace them so he can put in judges who will allow him to get his way...hoping we can keep the existing judges in.

I'm in Marion County so there is virtually no hope of us going blue, but I'm hoping that turn out is good in counties that went blue in 2008.

Try not to be too discouraged, this is the first day of early voting here and it's a Saturday. Long lines are to be expected.

Propositions, and non-partisan races. That was after studying the proposed amendments for 1 1/2 hours.

Now I am advising my relatively apolitical, busy Dem friends who know I am a trustworthy political junkie how to vote on the props ~ vote "No" on all but two.

Our propositions, and ballots, here in AZ are so sneaky GOP friendly that I suspect that they may have designed by ALEC.

They are all worded to be confusing.

You can also check here for AZ Democratic Party recommendations:
http://azdem.org/Arizona_2012_Election_Ballot_Propositions_Recommendations/

Howdy, neighbor!

Any thoughts on that?

Pelander is highly regarded by the progressive legal establishment in AZ.

I am not informed enough about other districts to form opinions otherwise.

It most definitely does not and has been defeated when sent to be ruled on by the state supreme court. It's for requiring a 2/3rds majority for any tax measure, which is against our state consitution and what the GOP has done to bring the state of CA to bankruptcy.

It's the Grover Nordquist amendment to 'starve the beast' which has been Tim Eyeman's motto fo years as he takes in contracts to have these put on the ballot to pay off his corporate sponsors. This is voting in fascism by definition, privatizing and giving the power to private parties who have money and power, not all the people.

The repugs are also running their pals in races that are non-partisan, to change the composition of our state supreme court, known for being liberal and upholding our state constitution, which has many protections in it.

One most know about these characters, or talk to someone who knows, about who and what they stand before sneaking into office in non-partisan races. The Teahadists are in every state, distorting every elected office and agency and seeking majority to pass their shitty laws on the rest of us, and reward their repug mafia in all matters.

All under the guide of 'reform' in areas that were serving the public before, but will be only for the well-connected when they get going, and the less advantaged will be left with nothing.

WA voters, do not vote for the Grover Norquist measure on your ballot, #1185. It will destroy the social safety net, roads, schools, public health, fire departments, etc. They're also put another charter school amendment on the ballot. Contact the League of Women Voters and go to local meetings on these issues. There are private corporations trying to steal our utility districts by stealth. Be aware.

From a Dem in Maricopa County!

NO on all amendments. YES to retain the Judges.

Easy, peasy.

Floridians:
Vote NO on all the state constitutional amendments... it is not necessary to read them.
Vote YES on retaining the judges, so Prick Scott doesn't get to appoint wingnuts.

And spread the word to friends, family, on FB, email, etc.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/Thousands-turn-out-for-early-voting/-/475880/17158820/-/lkok7ez/-/index.html

These dont look like motivated teabaggers to me

There's nothing forcing people to vote on every single thing on a ballot.

That and going armed with how I'll vote on every issue. No one will stop you if you have a list made up of how you'll vote on the issues. It's not too bright to wait until you're in the booth to read up on the issues.

Pretty basic when you say "yes" bubble on judges and "no" on ammendments.. If in pinellas co the tax is small and for schools.. which we need the money for.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251181664#post21

Most of these amendments are anti-tax bullshit intended to starve local governments so they're totally dependent on Tallahassee's handouts. The others are just rightwing clap trap.

I want to see a Constitutional Amendment that says any legislator that wants a Constitutional Amendment has to go through the same procedure as a private citizen-gather a couple of hundred thousand signatures before it's allowed on the ballot. As it is now, a legislator can pull anything out of his ass and put it on the ballot.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251181664

I'm a real estate attorney in So. Florida and 4 will help the economy. The others are more Rick Scott craziness.

This is riddled with problems. Why should non-homesteaded (part time) homes get the same break as full time residents? "First time homeowners" are being described as someone who hasn't owned a home in 3 years. A) That's not a first time homeowner, and B) Out of state investors are going to line up what ever skid row denizen they can find and put the house in their name to avoid paying taxes. It's happened before.

Most importantly, studies have said county and city governments will have to cut an additional $600 million by 2015 because of Amendment 4 alone. The original Amendment 1 was a disaster and this is more of the same.

if you take 1 billion out of state funding, you're likely to find out.

(I live in California and we know what happens when you starve the state of proper resources to fund infrastructure)

It allows real estate investors to have the assessed value of their property limited to increasing by no more than 5% a year.

A similar rule exists for homestead properties (the house you own and live in) - but that is intended to make sure rising property values don't increase the tax on your home to the point you can't afford it anymore.

To implement this on commercial investment property at a time when property values are at their lowest in over a decade is a thinly veiled attempt to make sure investors won't have to pay taxes as property values stabilize and rise.

This will mean that an investor can come in, buy a foreclosed home, lock in low taxes and keep it that way for years. With no state income tax in Florida the funding for counties, cities, and schools comes primarily from property tax. This amendment will ensure that the funding crisis that Florida is in now will continue indefinitely.

I am sure that for someone in the real estate business this represents a growth opportunity. But for the rest of the residents of the state this is a ball and chain designed to keep the state poor for years to come.

The advertising in support of this amendment has been deceptive. It claims it will keep your property taxes low - if you already own your house it will do nothing for you. It is targeted towards benefiting investors buying up properties at rock bottom rates. Targeted towards those with cash in their pockets while others are being thrown out of their homes.

If it has any effect on the taxes for existing home owners it will be to increase them. When the counties and cities are forced to raise the mileage rate because of artificially depressed assessments on commercial properties existing home owners will see their tax burden increase. It will be a shift of tax burden from investors to single home owners.

The league of women voters gave a nice breakdown of the ballot. We should print these out and hand them out.

http://thefloridavoter.org/files/download/508

keep that in mind. But, I would encourage EVERYONE to vote early. I hope we have a cadre of legal professionals to petition the courts if needed.

pass one, and many people vote "no" on amendments on principal.

The bad news is the fraudulent titles of those amendments; such as, The Freedom of Religion" amendment which will give Florida tax dollars to religious organizations.

Vote NO on all Amendments, FLoridians. Not one of them came from the people. They all came from the State Legilature.

Vote yes on retaining the Florida Supreme Court Justices. Let's tell Rick Scott we don't want him controling two branches of our government. One is already too many.

Oh yes, by now your county Supervisor of Elections should have sent you a sample ballot for your precinct. Fill it out ahead of time and take it with you to the polls. I do this every election and it only takes me two to three minutes (if it is a LONG ballot) to vote and be out of there.

You don't have to answer all the questions you know. It is perfectly OK to leave them blank.

It is not necessary to read them, they were put on the ballot by republican legislature... Just vote NO on all the amendments. It only takes a few seconds.

and that's dumb, because those are horrible measures for the most part.

against every R on every ballot just on principal. The dirty tricks are appallingly filthy and I don't see how we stop this sh*t unless we win big.

rover and other highly paid obstructionists/gamesplayers/cheaters have worked on disenfranchising We the People for MANY years, and we Dems stumble along.

Lying and cheating come so naturally to Republicans. Especially now that we've been divided by Windbag and Co. (Limbaugh).

..observers there right away. Maybe call Jimmy Carter's contact number?

No--call the ACLU. They are spear heading the observation. Call the NAACP and call an Obama headquarters to figure out what to do.

We're not helpless.

Get observers into the room.

That you think people are taking too long to read the ballot and vote?

We can't change what they do. That is within their rights....we can only change what we do.

and bringing it to the polls, on Electon Day when I am back in the state.
It's a REPUKE run government in Florida. NO on everything they propose. Don't need to even read their crap.

in Florida voting like crazy. Lined up before sun rise like hipsters on new i-Phone day.

I'm a Floridian and got the word EARLY! They've twisted things into a pretzel!!!

Should go back to the taxpayers. If they're going to pass off work that they should be doing back to the taxpayers, the taxpayers should get their compensation as well.

My husband, son, and myself voted today in Hillsborough County, Florida, Valrico, today and I don't think it looks too good for us. We waited for about 30 minutes to vote and while we were waiting an old model T Ford drove by with a sign that said, "I'll trade this car for a new president". The crowd all laughed as if they agreed with the sentiment. It was depressing to be around people that thought like that. I am consoling myself with a bottle of red Barefoot wine and the leftover Halloween candy. The only rational thing to do for a middle aged woman going through menopause. But still looking superb, by the way.

even if you are surrounded by the opponent.

Welcome to DU. We understand.