Continuing Update

Last update before I sleep tonight (yes, I know, I'm going to bed just a little after midnight, I get that I'm somewhat uncool for doing so on election night).

California
Precincts reporting: 62%
Yes: 52%
No: 48%

Los Angeles County
Precincts reporting: 51%
Yes: 53%
No: 47%

I'd be interested to see when I get the results in the morning, if Los Angeles county did indeed end up being very close to the results for the entire state. Right now, the results are off by only 1% , interesting considering that many other counties in the state are severely polarized towards one side or another (See San Francisco/No, Madera/Yes). I also imagine the reason for news organizations holding off on calling the proposition, is due to smaller amount of precincts reporting in Los Angeles County as compared to other states. No one wants to call this before they are absolutely sure, no matter what result the trend suggests. There are too many people watching the outcome of this proposition, in and out of state. The media is not about to commit a Florida here.

This time data was taken from cnn.com, as latimes.com appeared to be slow on the update. This will be my last update for the night, assuming that the proposition is not called in the next few moments. I will return in the morning with commentary on the final result

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/county/#val=CAI01p2

The President elect...and the wait begins

Oh the Obama mania. It would only be expected at the college with the most liberal student body in the country...but still it was an experience. With the Cooler compeltely full of excited students, the room EXPLODED at 8pm PST, when the majority of the polls closed and Obama was declared to be the President elect. It was definitly a crazy experience.

But as wonderful as the news about Obama is, the wait is still on going for Proposition 8. The verdict thus far? Not good. LA times has a nifty page tracking all the California propositions, which with 36% of precincts reporting, puts Yes in the lead with 52.6% of the vote. (CNN has very similar numbers as well). This is not looking good folks.

Even more worrying, is that with 23.1% reporting in Los Angeles county, Yes is up with 54.5% of the vote. As a population center, this trend needs to reverse or at least shrink in order for Proposition 8 to fail. In the words of a text sent to me from a friend who has been very active on the No on 8 campaign, "It all rests in LA. If LA loses, we lose."

I don't know if I'll be awake still when the decision on Proposition 8 is projected, my brain is starting to crash after all the caffeine and sugar and excitement of Obama. Still, as I've been saying for many weeks...I'm very worried.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-2008election-california-results,0,1293859.htmlstory?view=8&tab=0&fnum=0

From the Eyes of Yours Truely

So, as some of my readers know, I am registered to vote in California, and thus, voted at my local polling place this morning. (The Deaf Center a few blocks from the Occidental College Campus). I went at 11:30, right after I got out of my morning class, and at that time the line wasn't too long- I waited about 45 minutes to vote, and that was mainly due to a rush of Oxy students...all coming to vote during their lunch break. Unfortunately, since I didn't receive a sample ballot in the mail, and thus didn't bring that or think to bring another piece of mail to prove my address, as a first time voter I had to vote with a provisional ballot. Annoying, but not a big deal. I imagine many Oxy students who were registered close to the deadline had this problem - on the provisional ballot roll, I recognised at least the two other names immediately above my own. At any rate, I managed to vote, got a chuckle out of a student from a one of my classes last year running for a state level position as a libertarian, (Tom Logan), and got the coveted "I voted" sticker.

I also got a kick out of seeing a student at the polls I know that Oxy for Obama managed to register for the first time. Proof that all our efforts weren't for nothing.

But I've deviated a bit from the subject of this blog - Proposition 8. Outside of my polling location, there were No on 8 demonstrators holding signs and passing out leaflets (outside of the required 100ft of course). Beyond one rather enthusiastic man handing me fliers that appeared to be home made and NOT from the No on 8 campaign, the demonstrators were fairly timid and passive. There were no Yes on 8 demonstrators present, either before or after I voted. My guess as to why is fairly straightforward: A significant amount of the voters going to this polling location would be from Oxy, considered to have the "most liberal student body in the country" according to Princeton Review. Students from Oxy are unlikely to be voting or demonstrating for yes on 8, and other groups probably could see their efforts as being more worthwhile elsewhere.

That being said, in the van on the way back from the polling location another student told me that a coworker had her house vandalized. The woman had a No on 8 sign on her lawn, and someone had spray painted "fags" on the side of the house. I guess our area isn't necessarily as blatantly liberal as I thought.

Violence in the Streets

When I looked up Proposition 8 on Google News this morning, I found a significant smattering of stories talking about arrests and violence related to Proposition 8 rallies. Passions are high, as people on both sides of the issue feel extremely strong that they are in the right, and have no room for understanding of the other side of the issue.

A 17 year old female opponent to Proposition 8 was struck in the head and spat on by two men in an altercation between demonstrators:
http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_10894076

In Carlsbad, an elderly couple supporting Proposition 8 was punched by a neighbour in an altercation over lawn signs.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10894772

In Sacramento, at least one man was arrested Saturday night as protests got out of hand.
http://www.ktvu.com/politics/17869709/detail.html

I'm sure these stories are the exception rather than the norm, but it leads to an interesting train of thought. What will happen post-election, when Proposition 8 passes or fails? There has been talk of riots if Obama is/is not elected...but what of Proposition 8? On an issue that seems to have no middle ground, will we see an increase in the number of violent incidence against LGBT people or those that support tradition marriage? I think it is certainly more likely than a mass riot in the streets over a black president. I do think we can only hear more of these stories as the day goes on, as demonstrators square off on street corners.

One Last Taste of Propaganda...

Figured with so many new commercials being aired in the last couple weeks, I couldn't leave for election day without throwing up a few more clips for your pre-election enjoyment...

From the No on 8 campaign: Who can go wrong with a little Samuel Jackson? Hits hard on the "proposition 8 is discriminatory" note, arguably better than earlier ads attempting the same thing. I was about to say that I thought that the NO on 8 campaign had finally simplified it's message...but of course the motto of "unfair, uneccessary, wrong" was chopped into just "unfair, wrong" for this commercial. I suppose I will never stop complaining about the lack of a single uniform message from the No campaign.



From the Yes on 8 campaign:An ad in which viewers hear the voice over of a heterosexual married couple talking about the implications of legalized gay marriage on the public school system. A powerful ad, especially with the mention of the fact that both presidental candidates do not support gay marriage...but in my partisan bias, it made me kind of sick to my stomach. That, and I hate the world "tolerate" being using when talking about LGBT people/



And finally, just because I love Ellen:



Happy voting everyone! Please, if you are registered to vote in California, don't forget to vote on this issue! This is an issue where your vote WILL make a difference. Vote No on Proposition 8!

Newt Weighs In

So when I was pulling the Vote Yes on Prop 8 commercial off youtube yesterday, I stumbled upon an ad in which Newt Gingrich weighs in on the legal angle of the Proposition 8 debate. While I might not support Proposition 8 myself, Gingrich does present an interesting point about the role of judges in legislative matters. Should "appointed lawyers" engage in legal activism? Should judges be legislating from the bench? Should 4 judges be able to overturn the will of the majority?





I would argue that one of the judicial branch's major obligations is to weigh in upon this type of issue. The role of the judicial branch -is- to protect against majority tyranny. If it were not for this major check on majority opinion, how would the rights of -any- minority be protected? The judges interpreted the California Constitution to mean equal rights for all of the state's citizens, not just those who have legislative power/money. In addition, the California Constitution is above any other California law, and laws made in opposition to it -must- be overturned. If we were to state that judges should not review laws, and should not take an activist stance, then what is the purpose of having the California Constitution as the supreme law of the state in the first place? It becomes toothless and devoid of meaning.

In a nutshell, legal activism is necessary to maintain the balance of power between the legislative and judicial branches of government. The California Supreme Court's decision earlier this year is simply an example of the Framer's vision of government at work.

Bring on the Propaganda: Round Two

Last week protectmarriage.com and the Vote Yes on Prop 8 aired their first major tv ad in California. I have to say, I think it is a brilliant ad. The ad starts of with a clip of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom at a press conference telling the world that "this door is wide open now. It's gonna happen, whether you like it or not." The ad continues into a discussion of the legality of the California Supreme Court's decision to allow gay marriage, even going so far as to pull a Pepperdine Law Professor to talk about the possible/actual fallout of allowing gay marriage - people suing over personal beliefs, churches losing their tax exemption status, and gay marriage being taught in schools. One of the last things a viewer hears is Mayor Newsom's strident statement that gay marriage will happen now "whether you like it or not."



Basically, this ad targets the major possible fears that undecided heterosexual voters might have about allowing gay marriage, preying upon voters' homophobia. (Will the schools be turning my child gay? Will my church be compromised?) Inadvertently, I'd argue that Mayor Newsom did more damage then good with his remarks, as now the supporters of Proposition 8 have a sound byte to heighten "fear of the gay takeover" in voters. Never mind a catchy slogan, "Whether you like it or not" will continue to reverberate in a voter's head long after the ad has ended.

It is more likely that a voter will remember a frightening phrase (and let's face it, even if you like Mayor Newsom, he is a bit abrasive, then a soft spoken appeal to maternal/paternal pride. Scare tactics work better than tugging at heart strings, so at this stage I'd say the score is Vote Yes: 1. Vote No:0.

One month left...