Blogroots: Land of Mañana
February 8, 2008
Blogroots: Land of Mañana
As I write this, it’s nearly three days since the polls closed in New Mexico’s Democratic presidential caucus, and there is no end in sight to the delay in obtaining a final result. Hillary Clinton’s 1100-vote lead over Barack Obama may not withstand the tallying of some 17,000 provisional ballots. On the other hand, the general election may intrude before we find out who won the caucus.
State Democratic Party Chairman Brian Colon has apologized for underestimating the turnout, not having enough ballots, not having enough voting locations in places like Rio Rancho, not having enough volunteers, etc., but his overview on the situation as quoted in an Associated Press article in this morning’s Sun-News makes White House spin seem tame and credible. Said Colon, when asked if New Mexico should be embarrassed because there is no clear winner two days after the caucus: “New Mexico has nothing to be ashamed of… There’s a level of excitement that’s never been seen before.”
This is the same Colon who said a couple of weeks ago that he expected a statewide voter turnout of 35,000 for the contest. Instead, more than 153,000 ballots were cast, and untold numbers of voters left polling places in frustration at the long lines and confusion. The turnout was very strong in virtually all 22 states that partook in Super Tuesday, yet New Mexico will be dead last in reporting results. Aside from the debacle in Rio Rancho, where one polling site served a city of 72,000, keeping the polls open and delaying ballot-counting statewide, the ballot boxes from four precincts in Rio Arriba County were not turned in or counted until the following day, after spending the night in mysterious circumstances. And the party’s web site was a mess, providing slothlike updates with no explanation of the delay. Apparently, Albuquerque media had better and quicker vote counts directly from the Democrats, but those of us in Doña Ana County are deprived of full-time access to Albuquerque television news, so only knew what Heath Haussamen was posting on his blog.
When I voted at a consolidated precinct at East Picacho Elementary in Las Cruces, confusion reigned, as precinct officials tried to herd voters into four alphabetically designated lines just inside the doorway. There were no visible signs, and the queuing was conducted via word of mouth as each voter came in the door. The voter list printouts made it difficult to determine on which line to sign in, and after voting it was necessary to find an exit path back through the lines to get to the one set of doors that served as both entrance and exit. Things were hardly less chaotic than at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival we attended last summer, and there was no music at the end of the line!
The entire process must be rethought. New leadership is obviously needed. Or is it a new party we really need? Or does it matter, given that once again the voters have no real progressive choice in a presidential election that only gives the illusion of having real importance to the future of civilization and the planet?
–Steve Klinger, 02/08/08
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