Who could blame African Americans in St. Louis for wondering whether deliberate malfeasance at the Board of Elections caused the ridiculous waits in line at some of the predominantly black polling places? Sure, waits of an hour or even two were common throughout the metro area in the morning. And granted, most of the polling places in North St. Louis County didn't have any longer waits than other places in the area.
But the real problem polling places were all in neighborhoods with a high proportion of African-American voters. The voters themselves were dogged and good humored. And the Obama campaign posted people at each poll to do what they could to relieve the stress--including bringing donuts and White Castle burgers to the longsuffering.
Velda City, of course, was the worst of the worst, as this report from a roving poll monitor for the St. Louis Voter Protection Coalition explains.
One young African-American man vented at last Thursday's Board of Elections open meeting about the long lines being a form of intimidation, a way of keeping blacks from voting. But the chaos at some polls resulted more from carelessness than from deliberate efforts to disenfranchise anyone.
County Reporting Unofficial Election Returns
State of Missouri General Election - 2008 General Election
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
JOHNSON
U.S. President And Vice President Precincts Reporting 11 of 11
John McCain, Sarah Palin REP 12,178 55.2%
Barack Obama, Joe Biden DEM 9,474 42.9%
Bob Barr, Wayne A. Root LIB 108 .5%
Chuck Baldwin, Darrell Castle CST 104 .5%
Ralph Nader, Matt Gonzalez IND 205 .9%
Cynthia McKinney, Rosa Clemente WI 0 .0%
Total Votes 22,069
That's the question Kay Barnes asked Sam Graves today.
From a press release:
WILL GRAVES STAND WITH BUSH OR WITH MISSOURIANS?
Last week, Kay Barnes asked Congressman Sam Graves if he agreed with President George W. Bush that the U. S. economy is not in a recession, or if he agreed with the 74% of Americans who at that time believed we are?
Now, according to a Wall Street Journal poll released today, now 80% of Americans believe we are in a recession. (see article)
Tomorrow, President Bush will be in Missouri to give a major speech on the economy. Will Congressman Sam Graves stand with President Bush tomorrow? Or will he instead stand with the people of Northwest Missouri and admit we are in a recession?
Technically speaking, we are in a period of really crappy, back to back quarters of 0.6% growth, not a recession. Still, I'd love to see Sam Graves explain that 0.6% growth is just dandy. I mean, when wages are stagnant, health care and energy costs are spiraling upward, and the value of your home is falling, the fact that the economy is growing meagerly is small comfort to the 80% of Americans who feel like we're in a recession.
Peter Kinder Cape Girardeau MO 2/26/2008
Paul Douglas Sims Lecoma MO 2/26/2008
Arthur Hodge Sr. Springfield MO 3/18/2008
Democratic
Sam Page Creve Coeur MO 2/26/2008
Michael E. Carter St. Charles MO 2/26/2008
Richard Charles Tolbert Kansas City MO 3/19/2008
Becky L. Plattner Grand Pass MO 3/21/2008
Mary Williams Jefferson City MO 3/24/2008
C. Lillian Metzger Troy MO 3/25/2008
Libertarian
Teddy Fleck Springfield MO 2/26/2008
That's some list. Let's slog through those campaign finance reports.
Chris Koster's campaign issued the following press release today:
Missourians for Koster Statement on Missouri Ethics Commission Ruling
ST. LOUIS-In response to the Missouri Ethics Commission ruling that political candidates who received contributions in excess of current contribution limits must either return the contributions or file a claim of hardship, the Koster campaign released the following statement:
"Today, Missourians for Koster notified the Missouri Ethics Commission that they intend to begin the process of returning contributions from individuals in excess of current contribution limits."
...."There's only one person capable of uniting the Republicans, and that's Hillary," said longtime Democratic operative Jim Bergfalk. Unlike the others working their worry beads in the party, he was willing to be quoted by name in this article....
So, what's the motivation for this public display of angst?
A Jackson County Democratic group is very involved and aggressive in visibility activities at various area festivals, usually manning a booth at these high traffic events. I received the following e-mail about a straw poll the group held at their booth at the recent festival in Blue Springs:
The crowd had filled out to its full size of 12,000 (probably minus a few no shows).
I stopped to talk to two women who were sporting Hillary stickers. I asked them where they were from. "Grinell, Iowa." I asked them who they were supporting. "Hillary or Obama. They both have platforms we agree with." One said, "It's a triumph of American politics I'd like to see. Both are smart." I asked if they would be participating in the caucus. Both said they have in the past, and they will this time, too.
As I walked through the entrance gate a twenty-something asks me for my ticket, then sees the press pass, smiles and says, "Sorry," then motions me through. I'm wondering the same thing.
Down the rabbit hole.
There was an army of volunteers at the entrance from one campaign or another passing out campaign stickers (and still others working the crowd, handing out campaign paraphernalia and getting Iowans to fill out cards). They see my pass and don't offer me anything.
There's no mud. People stream in through the entrance. The food lines at the south east are humming with activity. The huge tents with tables are occupied. I see a big crowd to the north east.
Ah. The scheduled photo-op.
The attendance to the event is eventually announced. 12,000. A record. That's one big mass of humanity.
Early tomorrow morning a small group of us from Warrensburg will pile into two vehicles for the 4 1/2 hour drive to that muddy (probably) balloon field near Indianola, Iowa for the 30th Harkin Steak Fry. This to hear Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Bill Richardson speak.
I wrote about some of my experiences at the event four years ago here.
Matt "baby" Blunt knows some people in Texas with lots of extra cash. The Missouri Ethics Commission shows the very large contributions made to Blunt's 2008 campaign after January 1, 2007.
Missouri state senator Chris Koster attended a Johnson County Democratic Club event in Warrensburg on Saturday, August 11th. MoDem wrote about attending the event and posted his account on Kos.
David Pearce (republican, 121st Legislative District) announced to the media today that he was a candidate for the 31st Senatorial District race in 2008 - a seat currently held by newly minted Democrat Chris Koster.
