When is the media going to address the LOW turnout?

[VolcanoJen]

I do believe my lying eyes.

For the past week I've watched Floridians line up around blocks in the hot sun, waiting for hours to vote.

On Election Day, I watched cameras across the country show lines and lines of voters. In my own state of Ohio, people were still voting after MIDNIGHT.

In the middle of Election Day, the media went on and on about the glorious turnout. 118-121 million predicted!!!

But, with 99% of the votes counted, the tally stands at:

113,619,339.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/president/

Karl Rove's target number. He and Karen Hughes said they felt confident of a win if they could keep turnout at about 112 to 114 million.

Someone explain those lines to me. Someone explain the "myth" of high voter turnout.

[cheezus]

1. the count of turnout is the number of votes counted, not cast

hmm....

[VolcanoJen]

4. Doesn't it just make you scratch your head?

No more talk about 121 million voters turning out, even though we all saw the lines and heard the early hype; CNN wipes their early exit poll data from their website; each network still relying on exit poll data to talk about the gender-gap vote, but they do not address the skewed data that made so many of us think Kerry was going to walk away with this thing.

What in the hell...?

[Kukesa]

2. Excellent point. Why isn't anyone addressing it? n/t

[JI7]

3. from what i hear it was Democrats who had to mostly stand in lines

much of it has to do with them coming from areas where it's heavily population. but the republicans tried to prevent people from voting by challenging the voters. not because they seriously thought they might be doing something wrong but to try to prevent as many dems from voting as possible. holding up the lines, making people get tired of waiting so they would leave and not vote etc.

[Kukesa]

6. No. I vote in a precinct that is almost entirely Repukes

and I had to wait to vote for the first time in 25 years.

There were 35 people ahead of me and when I finally got to the booth, there were at least that many behind me.

[VolcanoJen]

13. How are you doing, Mom?

I'd call you, but I'd just start sobbing again.

:-(

Maybe later this afternoon I'll pull myself together.

[derbstyron]

5. From what I've seen (and heard)

turnout for Kerry was strong but BUsh was stronger.
He whipped the fundamentalist whores (again) and it worked.

I FUCKING HATE organized religion (which, ladies and gentleman, has absolutely NOTHING to do with the wonder of God)

[VolcanoJen]

8. But turnout wasn't really strong either way you look at it.

113 million voters? Better than 2000, but really not all that impressive considering that this was "The Most Important Election In Our Lifetimes."

I just smell a rat, you know? Just another Rovian delusion, as in "You think you saw lines and lines of voters and that high turnout would favor Kerry, but you really didn't see those lines, and turnout wasn't really high, and that's why The Baby Jesus Party won."

What is going on??

[lancdem]

9. But why were the early predictions of turnout so wrong?

[intheflow]

10. Don't hate all organized religion

I'm studying to be Unitarian minister (not Christian) and everyone in my church community was ighting like hell for Kerry. I know Methodists, Monnonights, Quakers, United Church of Christ, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and even American Baptists ("Jimmy Carter baptits") who worked on this campaign.

[peaches2003]

14. It depends on what kind of church, what kind of person

I'm a very active Presbyterian and many many friends in my church, including our pastor (though he is from Scotland) were huge Kerry supporters and despise Bush. And I do mean despise.

It's not organized religion per se that is the problem. It is fundamentalists, born agains, who believe the end is near and that Bush is a prophet of God and will being them to Christ. Bush uses them for his own gain and it is truly disgusting.

He is going to rot in hell and it can't come soon enough.

[Pithy Cherub]

7. Turnout is the story!

and any expectations of a media to tell the truth have long past jumped overboard. This needs to be woven into the fabric of the story Kerry tells today. No surrender because everybody (media whores, *) wants instant decisions rather than the truth.

[VolcanoJen]

12. We have GOT to start asking questions about this.

WHY WHY WHY hasn't the media backtracked on their "We're So Proud Of Americans Who Voted In Unprecedented Numbers" line???

They're talking mandate. They're sticking with the high turnout lie, and spinning into the most positive news for Bush ever.

At no time in the history of American politics has high turnout favored a Republican. There are simply more of us.

113 million voters. 113 million voters. 113 million voters.

Is that what I'm really supposed to believe??

[Pithy Cherub]

15. Go to media motive

which is the corporate motive - economics in their favor. 2000 was great for them because of the additional ad revenue. So they have no compelling financial reason to cast doubt. Also they need a base or body of evidence stated by KERRY that this is fraud. Acting in true journalistic fashion and their craven cash grubbing will not be discussed until a year later - think the mea culpas after the deaths of so many Iraqi's and soldiers.

Kerry has to have a message that forces them to look so therefore he has to use their own anlysis of high turnout as a compelling reason for turnout and exitpolling not matching. we can not leave something so important to media whores. the media wants to hind behind Kerry or * to see who will best protect their economic futres. (end of rant)

You are so right to hit on this!

[IdaBriggs]

11. So, we are missing 7 Million Votes? TIme for the tar & feathers! nt