Comments

1
I suppose no election is finished until the ceremonial Dan Savage Goading The Far Left blog post.

Really, Dan, let it go. The comments sections already took care of all that for you.
3
I think it is interesting to see how the ballot chasing is going. Typically, you chase supporters. For example, I helped chase ballots when Cantwell was first elected to the Senate. In that case, it is pretty easy, as it is fairly easy to figure out if someone has historically been a Democrat or Republican. You can also make educated guesses based on the neighborhood. So I went around, knocked on doors, and asked folks to sign their ballot and send it in. We managed to get enough voters to do that, and Cantwell won.

In this case, I think Oliver has to just go after every ballot. That means that some of the people who sign it will be voting for other people. Moon could go after her supporters, or just play it safe, given her lead. Regardless, the chances that Oliver wins is very, very small. She would have to get 82% of the challenged ballots, and that is assuming no votes go to Moon. If Moon gets 10% of the challenged ballots (well below her average) the race is over, even if all the other ballots go to Oliver.

It is possible that a recount (whether by machine or by hand) could help Oliver, but again, the odds of that happening are very slim. This election just isn't that close.
4
By the way, I think it is time to say a few good words about our electoral system. This state does so many things in a fucked up way (like having the most regressive tax structure in the nation) but we do know how to hold elections. Each voter had weeks to fill in a ballot. If you couldn't bother with a stamp, you could drop the ballot off in a convenient drop box. Even if you failed to sign the thing, there is still recourse, as you got a notification and can get your ballot counted. It takes a while to count the ballots, but that only matters in close races, and that is a good thing. That is when you want to make sure that every ballot is counted correctly (and simply counted) and that takes a while. All in all, I would say we have one of, if not the best electoral system in the country.
5
@1: "I suppose no election is finished until the ceremonial Dan Savage Goading The Far Left blog post."

Oliver isn't "the far left", and your smugness is neither refreshing nor insightful.
6
@5 To be fair, I didn't think there was much goading. But, if Cary Moon loses, I hope she doesn't, can we blame Dan Savage for making bad decisions?
7
@5

That's the best thing about the far left: they really know how to take a joke!
8
The first election I worked in years ago, at 8:40 on election night we knew we had won. Each precinct posted their results in the window, and we sent spotters to phone in the results. I do miss those days....
9
@7, @6: Don't feed the troll!
10
@7:

To be fair, "jokes" are generally defined as "a thing that someone says to cause amusement or laughter, especially a story with a funny punchline", so one can certainly understand their confusion.
11
@10

I do hope you realize you're illustrating my point rather nicely there, yes?

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