Counting the Votes

It's still early, but some of the votes are starting to be tallied in places like Virginia where the polls have been closed for about an hour. And if the early returns are any signal, it's going to be a very long evening for both parties.

Democrats need 6 in the Senate and 15 in the House to win control.

CBS News is calling Casey over Santorum and Brown over DeWine in Ohio at 8:02PM. Those would be two seats picked up for the Democrats. Seems just a bit early to make that declaration though.

Hot Air has the skinny on the early returns thus far.

As Jason Smith notes, we're into the waiting game.

I voted earlier this evening, and the polling place was somewhat busy as people were taking their time reading through the ballot. There are a total of three statewide initiatives in New Jersey and two local initiatives. All have tax implications.

I did find one disconcerting thing though. The person operating the machine was getting impatient with some of those ahead of me, and was saying that there was a 2 minute time limit in the booth.

That conflicts directly with the Bergen County's Voter Bill of Rights. As a voter, you have a reasonable time to complete your ballot. Considering that one has to read through and understand those ballot initiatives, I'd say that 2 minutes is insufficient.

The NJ initiatives are as follows:

1) Do you approve the amendment of Article VIII, Section I of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, to provide for the annual dedication and annual appropriation of an amount equal to the annual revenue derived from a tax rate of 0.5% imposed under the New Jersey Sales and Use Tax, exclusively for the purpose of property tax reform, through a special Property Tax Reform Account established in the constitutionally dedicated Property Tax Relief Fund?

I voted against this one. This is a tax burden shifting scheme that will only result in higher taxes for everyone.

2) Shall the amendment to Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, expanding the authorized uses of the constitutionally dedicated Corporation Business Tax Revenue, to allow the use of 15% of the dedicated funds to fund the development of lands for recreation and conservation purposes, and beginning on January 1, 2016, allow the use of an additional 17% of the dedicated funds to fund the development of lands for recreation and conservation purposes, be approved?

I voted for this one. Open space and conservation makes a lot of sense in New Jersey, which is one of the most heavily polluted states in the country. Preserving what open space we have makes good sense, even if it means higher real property costs - by limiting the places where one can build new homes.

3) Do you approve the proposed amendment to the State Constitution, agreed to by the Legislature, which changes the current $0.09 per gallon dedication of the motor fuels tax to $0.105 per gallon to be used only for the funding of the State transportation system, subject to previously enacted laws dedicating any of these revenues for debt service on bonds of the State or for any other uses of these revenues?

Among the three initiatives, this is the most pressing issue. The transportation trust fund had been depleated over the years because the gas tax had been diverted to other purposes. This ends that practice and helps insure that the fund is funded to rebuild the state's highways and byways and mass transit. I voted for this bill because the revenue would be guaranteed to go where it belongs - helping maintain and expand the state's transportation infrastructure.

Ah, and there go those exit polls again.

UPDATE:
Are there big problems in Colorado with voting equipment failures? Apparently state Democrats are going to seek to extend voting by two hours to compensate. The polls are supposed to close at 7PM local time.

UPDATE:
The NYT frontpage has key races and shows Allen/Webb tied with 40% precincts reporting. They also have Kean Jr. leading Menendez though it's way too early (no precincts reporting).

UPDATE:
Did I mention that the exit polls were flawed? Really seriously flawed? All those early calls for Democrats? Might as well throw them out the window because the exit polls, despite being embargoed until after some of the polls closed, are still as flawed as they were in 2004. There's a 6-8 point Democrat tilt, which throws off the predictions, especially in the close races.

And there are still plenty of close races.

The pollsters will have much to account for in coming days as their efforts will once again be scrutinized and they will claim to make amends in time for the next election. The Leftists, of course, will cry that any races that do now hew to the exit polls are being thrown for the GOP. Never mind that the exit polls are statistical mumbo jumbo and based on self selected responses. The actual votes are just that - how people actually voted.

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