(Today is the last day of early voting-let's run up that early vote, and then help GOTV on Tues. - promoted by boadicea)
According to the Houston Chronicle one million more residents have voted so far, with one day left for early voting in Texas. In Harris County (the largest district in the State) Democratic voters outnumber Republicans.
Leland Beatty, a Democratic consultant, said 42 percent of early voters had voted in Democratic primaries and 20.6 percent in Republican primaries.
A Republican strategist here said the reason for the higher turnout is due to huge participation during the Primary when large numbers of voters came out to vote for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The strategist said some of those voters were Republicans who will vote for McCain during the General.
Well, we will see about that. My crystal ball is the same size as the GOP strategist and I'm not even a strategist. If the Texas Republican base is comprised of 23% of dumb bunnies who choose to believe Senator Obama is a Muslim we may be able to assume that 77% of Texans may just engage their brains before voting. After eight years of W. &Co. we can also assume that 77% percent of voters here understand that they are far worse off than they were in 2000. A vote for McCain should translate to a vote against one's own self-interests if not one's very financial survival.
It should not be lost on 77% of Texans that in this Election we have candidates who will actually work for us in Washington and Austin. U.S. Senate candidate Rick Noriega will roll up his sleeves to undo the evil legislation pushed through by W. with more than a little help from Senator Cornyn, W's go to rubber stamp.
The Chronicle continues:
The Secretary of State's Office has kept day-by-day voter turnout statistics for 15 counties since 1996. This year's early balloting has surpassed the 2.4 million total in those counties in 2004.
Statewide, 3.7 million people voted early in 2004. The total number of Texans voting in that year's presidential race was nearly 7.5 million.
Secretary of State Hope Andrade will release her estimate of 2008 voter turnout in the next few days.
More good news for Democrats and bad news for the Republicans: Sarah is a big problem. According to the New York Times polls indicate that Sarah Palin is a drag on the McCain ticket and people will not vote for McCain because of his vice presidential running mate.
All told, 59 percent of voters surveyed said Ms. Palin was not prepared for the job, up nine percentage points since the beginning of the month. Nearly a third of voters polled said the vice-presidential selection would be a major factor influencing their vote for president, and those voters broadly favor Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee.
The poll also reveals the following:
Mr. Obama is maintaining his lead, with 51 percent of likely voters supporting him and 40 percent supporting Mr. McCain in a head-to-head matchup.
Some perceptions of race are changing, with a marked increase in the number of people who say they believe that white and black people have an equal chance of getting ahead in America today.
Mr. McCain's focus on taxes, including his talk about Joe the Plumber, seems to be having some effect, as a growing number of voters now say Mr. McCain would not raise their taxes.
Eighty-nine percent of people view the economy negatively, and 85 percent think the country is on the wrong track.
Mr. Obama continues to have a significant advantage on key issues like the economy, health care and the war in Iraq.
Well, folks, we won't know 'til it's over and right now what we absolutely must do is
GET OUT THE VOTE.
Rick Noriega will do Texans proud. Change is a vote away.
