Nader may have given New Mexico to Bush

This one really is “too close to call”, but here’s the latest results from the BBC:

98% of precincts reported

Bush 317,071 (49.5)
Kerry 316,068 (49.4)
Nader 3,444 (00.5)

Yo again from New Mexico

My polling place, the one here in Albquerque where I was the 3rd in line at 5:45 am, is staying open until 11pm MST, because the lines are outrageous. And that is wonderful to see. Bush is looking good here, and frankly, I’d be surprised if Bush didn’t take New Mexico.

Quick story: My friend who voted in New Jersey called me today. He was nervous that the high turnout would hurt Bush. I said, what makes you think that all of them are going to vote for Kerry? Have you considered that people are also running out to defend Bush?

A good point, don’t you think? He did.

- Brian from John Kerry for President? You Must Be Joking!

Not Many Returns Posted Yet

Well, that was confusing. The New Mexico category didn’t show up, so I know you all are trying to figure out which state I was talking about when I posted the paltry returns so far from the Secretary of State.

Yo from New Mexico

I arrived at my local polling place at 5:45 and was the 3rd person to vote AT 7:00 am. By the time I left the Paradise Hills Community Center on the west side of Albuquerque, the line snaked down three hallways and throughout the gym. My father-in-law said it was the biggest turnout he has ever seen.

I am a 1L at the University of New Mexico Law School, one of the most liberal law schools in the country, where EVERY last professor is a registered Democrat. As a Bush guy, I am in the serious minority. Yet, I am quite confident that Bush will take New Mexico.

What makes me so confident? The law school is full of Kerry supporters who are highly active in campaigning for Kerry. Yet, as the election has come nearer, and especially yesterday, I have seen their confidence and morale slowly eroding. (They remind me of the movie line from A Bronx Tale “All the courage and strength drained from their bodies.”) These are the people who have put their heart and soul into Kerry, and their lack of confidence has been, frankly, astonishing. Every Kerry event has been a failure, while every Bush event has been a huge success.

I just hope the snow our state got in Southern New Mexico (solid Bush country) doesn’t make the difference. Remember, Bush lost New Mexico by 366 votes last time.

- Brian from John Kerry for President? You Must Be Joking!

Big thanks to The Command Post (based in my home of 29 years, Philly) for allowing me to add to their terrific site.

Heavy Turnout

by Nightflyer. I don’t have a website or blog, so I will be posting everything here. Heavy turnout (gee, what a surprise) is being reported by KINF radio in Roswell, Chavez County. Yes, that Roswell, of the extraterrestial experience, which is where I am posting from. 13,000 voters took advantage of early voting, which is 37% of the voters. Last presidential election, 22% voted early. I voted a couple of weeks ago, and I was a breeze. Optical scan machines are used here, so there will be a paper trail. No long lines are reported, because voting is fast and easy, in this town at least.

The New Mexico Secretary of State’s website is at sos.state.nm.us. HTML and linking is beyond me at this point. Gotta learn it, I guess. But for speed right now, I need to do it this way. The SoS will begin posting results at 7 pm, and I will summarized them here tonight.

Election Day!

The polling places are now opening. The southeastern part of the state, very heavy in Republican population, is undergoing a winter storm warning which might keep voting down. It’s snowing and very cold for this area, and will later change over to rain and snow showers. In a lot of other rurual areas, it is the same, including the northeast part of the state. Here, rural equates with Republican. In contrast, the Albuquerque-Santa Fe corridor, heavily Democrat, is just cold, with no snow or rain forcast. The results of this are unknown as yet, but could be a factor. The polls close at 7 pm here, but remember, it is on Mountain Time, so that is 9 pm Eastern.

This is a battleground state with a lot of visits from the candidates and their surrogates. Kerry concentrated in the Albuquerque area, and Bush concentrated in the rural areas. There is great concern of voter fraud in this state, with ACT, Move-on, and other organizations heavily recruiting new voters, primarily in the Albu-Sante Fe area. There was a tough court battle several weeks ago over the Secretary of State’s interpretation of a state law that says first time voters must present ID when voting if they registered by mail. The Republicans insisted this included those who registered with the many get-out-the-votes organizations, and the Secretary of State, a democrat, insisted that it did not. The New Mexico State Supreme court, elected here, were Democrats, and sided with the Sec of State, so now the situation is that no one but those who actually mailed in their registration forms have to present ID to show who they actually are. This is a no ID state, and anyone can come in and vote in your name, so this should be interesting. Several weeks ago, there were reports in the media that ACT had registered 50 names at a vacant lot in Albuquerque. I will keep an eye out for any irregularities, as voter fraud, on both sides, used to be a blood-sport in this state.