Politex

Voting irregularity?

A reader to webfeedback@star-telegram.com writes, and we answer:

"My precinct 3333 on  Maplewood Church in North Richland Hills at 7:15am had a line going to the door.

"It wasn't until the line went out the door and people were standing in the cold that a polling volunteer came out. He said there was no waiting in the Republican line.

"When I reached the sign-in tables, I noticed that the polling place was divided with five volunteers on the Republican side and no waiting.

"There were only two volunteers on the Democratic side to handle the long lines.

"After I was handed my ballot and headed to vote, I remembered no volunteer stamped my registration card for the caucus this evening.

"The reply was, 'You didn't ask for it to be stamped.'

"The precinct captain stepped in from the Republican side and told the Democratic volunteers they are supposed to stamp every registration card without asking.

"I wondered how many Democratic voter cards had not been stamped for caucus participation from 7am until 7:45 (the time I reached the table).

"Does this mean a Republican advantage in the caucus this evening? Or does it not matter at all?"

Answer: It doesn't matter. You can vote without your voter registration card as long as you show another form of ID -- on the back of the card it says, "You may vote without your certificate by showing another form of identification" At the precinct conventions, the precinct leaders will have a list provided by the election judge of who voted in the primary. Only people who voted in the primary can participate in the precinct convention.

It's explained here.

-- Richard Stubbe

Walk right in

My wife just voted at the Keller Lions Club, Pct. 3040, at 8:30 a.m. and she says there was absolutely no line. No one.
--Paul Bourgeois

Elaborating on: In Arlington, a glitch?

Polling helpers at Wimbish Elementary got so many people going to the Republican table when they meant to go to the Democratic one and vice versa, they started asking each voter which party they want to vote in today.

"I have two signs and they're still getting it wrong," one helper said.

Voters not going to new polling sites should be aware that some streets near schools are one-way during drop-off and pick-up times. Apologies to the long line of cars at Wimbish Elementary in Arlington. And to the crossing guard who had to sort it out.

_Eva-Marie Ayala

And they're off!

Polls are open. This is Thomas Auditorium in Haltom City.

The roads are clear. The countdown to 7 p.m. (when polls close) is on. But it may not be that simple, if the fretting officials are to be believed. BTW, if you're looking for info on where to vote, what all the fuss is about, what the candidates actually have to say, look here. And of course check back on the blog all day - we're up and running, too.

Presidential hopefuls war plans divorced from reality

Michael Gordon, the New York Times reporter whose fine book Cobra II shed light on the lack of intelligent planning and foresight that led to the U.S. being mired in Iraq, had an interesting article on how the presidential candidates rhetoric about the war seems to ignore reality.

The politicians, on the other hand, seemed more intent on addressing public impatience with an open-ended commitment in Iraq, either by promising prompt withdrawal (the Democrats) or by suggesting that victory may be near (the Republicans).

Anthony Cordesman, a military specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who regularly visits Iraq, put it this way: “You have to grade all the candidates between a D-minus and an F-plus. The Republicans are talking about this as if we have won and as if Iraq is the center of the war on terrorism, rather than Afghanistan and Pakistan and a host of movements in 50 other countries.

“The Democrats talk about this as if the only problem is to withdraw and the difference is over how quickly to do it.”

If you would like to know who might be advising the candidates on defense and foreign policy matters, Washington Post national security columnist/blogger William Arkin compiled a list of the policy wonks and so-called experts consulting with each of the principal candidates and wrote a column on the subject. He also put together an early list of which candidates had the backing of some military leaders.

More recently, Arkin commented on John McCain's heavy support from retired admirals and generals. He added this thought to that discussion:

"I'd prefer a candidate, though, who respected the military's tradition of nonpartisanship -- a candidate who would argue that, despite the Eisenhowers and Grants of history, it is ultimately better for the nation if the military -- even the retired military throwing around their rank for credibility -- stays out of politics. "

- Bob Cox