Thursday, November 04, 2010

What I did on election night

I went to my county registrar's office and watched ballots being counted.  It was eye opening and really satisfying.  Without sounding cliche, I was watching democracy in action.  There were more than a handful of observers there, including journalists, volunteers and employees of various campaigns, a candidate and his friends, and a few concerned citizens.  The amount of logistics and planning involved is breathtaking.

This bad boy scans 18,000 ballot envelopes per hour (it scans the names and signatures on the envelopes). 

And to all of you who think your vote doesn't make a difference, consider these contests, which are still too close to call:

1. State Attorney General:
Kamala Harris: 3,302,221
Steve Cooley: 3,293,191

2. U.S. Congress 11th District:
Jerry McNerney: 82,124
David Harmer: 82,003

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