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{{Politics of the United States}} | {{Politics of the United States}} | ||
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The '''2006 United States ]s''' were held on Tuesday, ] ]. All ] seats and one-third of the ] seats were contested in this election, as well as 36 state ] and many state and local races. | The '''2006 United States ]s''' were held on Tuesday, ] ]. All ] seats and one-third of the ] seats were contested in this election, as well as 36 state ] and many state and local races. | ||
Revision as of 01:30, 9 November 2006
This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. |
The 2006 United States midterm elections were held on Tuesday, November 7 2006. All United States House of Representatives seats and one-third of the United States Senate seats were contested in this election, as well as 36 state governorships and many state and local races.
While results of the election have yet to be certified, the Democratic Party has won a majority of the state governorships and U.S. House seats for the first time since 1994. Democrats may gain control of the Senate as well, pending the outcome of a possible recount in Virginia, where Democrat Jim Webb has a small lead of less than 10,000 votes.
In addition to voting for gubernatorial and Congressional candidates, most states had elections for legislative offices and statewide initiatives, as well as numerous local races.
Election results
The Democrats have gained five Senate seats by defeating Republican incumbents in the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Rhode Island, Missouri, and Montana. The Democratic Party candidate, Jim Webb, currently leads in Virginia (with 94.81% of precincts reporting). Victory in Virginia would give Democrats a 51-49 voting majority in the Senate (Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Senator-elect Bernie Sanders of Vermont are Independents who likely will often vote with Democrats on caucus issues) and the Democratic Party would control both houses of the United States Congress for the first time since the midterm elections of 1994. In a speech given to address the election results, President Bush called the cumulative results of the election a "thumpin'" by the Democrats.
United States House of Representatives
All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election.
Main article: United States House of Representatives elections, 2006Template:United States House election, 2006
United States Senate
The 33 seats in the United States Senate Class 1 were up for election.
Main article: United States Senate elections, 2006- Arizona - Jon Kyl (REP)*
- California - Dianne Feinstein (DEM)*
- Connecticut - Joe Lieberman (DEM / CFL)*
- Delaware - Thomas Carper (DEM)*
- Florida - Bill Nelson (DEM)*
- Hawaii - Daniel Akaka (DEM)*
- Indiana - Richard Lugar (REP)*
- Maine - Olympia Snowe (REP)*
- Maryland - Ben Cardin (DEM)
- Massachusetts - Edward Kennedy (DEM)*
- Michigan - Debbie Stabenow (DEM)*
- Minnesota - Amy Klobuchar (DEM / DFL)
- Mississippi - Trent Lott (REP)*
- Missouri - Claire McCaskill (DEM)
- Montana - Jon Tester (DEM)
- Nebraska - Ben Nelson (DEM)*
- Nevada - John Ensign (REP)*
- New Jersey - Bob Menendez (DEM)*
- New Mexico - Jeff Bingaman (DEM)*
- New York - Hillary Rodham Clinton (DEM)*
- North Dakota - Kent Conrad (DEM / D-NPL)*
- Ohio - Sherrod Brown (DEM)
- Pennsylvania - Bob Casey (DEM)
- Rhode Island - Sheldon Whitehouse (DEM)
- Tennessee - Bob Corker (REP)
- Texas - Kay Bailey Hutchison (REP)*
- Utah - Orrin Hatch (REP)*
- Vermont - Bernie Sanders (IND)
- Virginia - Undecided; Jim Webb (DEM) in the lead (as of 11/8/2006 at 6:51 PM EST )
- Washington - Maria Cantwell (DEM)*
- West Virginia - Robert Byrd (DEM)*
- Wisconsin - Herb Kohl (DEM)*
- Wyoming - Craig Thomas (REP)*
* denotes incumbent
1. After Joseph Lieberman (Connecticut) lost in the primary election on August 8, 2006 to Democratic Party challenger Ned Lamont, he ran as an independent as sole candidate for the Connecticut for Lieberman party. Lieberman promised to caucus as a Democrat, his former party.
States
Governors
Main article: United States gubernatorial elections, 2006Of the 50 Governors of US States, 36 were up for election. Most terms are four years, although Vermont and New Hampshire elect governors to two-year terms.
Ballot initiatives
Voters weighed in on various ballot initiatives. These included to raise the minimum wage, which passed in all seven states with such referendums (AZ, CO, IL, MO, MT, NV, OH); ban the recognition of same-sex marriage, passing in seven out of eight states (Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin); legalize marijuana, failing in both states with such referendums for use for unconditional reasons (Colorado, Nevada) as well as for medical use only (South Dakota); restrict affirmative action, passing in Michigan; and require parental notification before an abortion for minors, failing in both states with such referendums (California, Oregon) or by banning nearly all abortions, including those for victims of rape and incest, which failed in South Dakota.
Local elections
Numerous other elections for local, city, and county public offices were held.
A strange local election occurred in South Dakota; Marie Steichen was elected to Jerauld County commissioner, despite the fact that she died two months before the election. Her name was never replaced on the ballot, and many voters who chose her were aware of her death.
Post-election analysis and implications
Many political analysts concluded that the results of the election were based around President Bush's policies in the War in Iraq and corruption in Congress.
With apparent reference to the impact of the Iraq war policy, in a press conference held on November 8, Bush talked about the election and announced the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Bush stated, “I know there's a lot of speculation on what the election means for the battle we're waging in Iraq. I recognize that many Americans voted last night to register their displeasure with the lack of progress being made there." Prior to the election, Bush had stated that he intended to keep Rumsfeld on as Secretary of Defense until the end of his Presidency. Bush then went on to add Rumsfeld's resignation was not due to the Democratic victories on November 8.
On the same day, then Speaker of the House, Representative Dennis Hastert of the 13th-Congressional District of Illinois, said he would not seek the Minority Leader position for the 110th Congress.
Republican analyst and MSNBC commentator Joe Scarborough suggested the election will lead to a major shift in Bush foreign policy and a shift away from certain conservative ideologies in the Bush White House. Bush stated, as both the President and leader of the Republican Party, “You look at it race by race, it was close. The cumulative effect, however, was not too close. It was a thumping."
Election irregularities
- Poll workers unable to get a zero count when voting machines were started, meaning officials could not verify that the machines were secure and did not already have votes in them.
- Voting-machine problems keep polls open until 9.
- Electronic voting shapes up as election debacle.
- Poll workers struggled with e-ballots.
- Officials and experts reported electronic voting machine malfunctions in Indiana, Ohio, New Jersey, Colorado and Florida.
- A bomb threat at East High caused a voting shutdown in Madison, Wisconsin
- A Kentucky poll worker was charged with choking a voter.
- Justice, OPM send observers to polling places.
- Indiana's Marion County, about 175 of 914 precincts turned to paper ballots. Programming errors and inexperience dealing with electronic voting machines caused delays in Indiana, Ohio and Florida.
- Vandals chained the main door and broke keys into the locks of New Jersey Republican candidate for Senate Tom Kean Jr.'s headquarters. Accusations have been made towards Democratic incumbent Bob Menendez, but they deny any involvement in the situation.
- Disabled voters asked to use punch card ballots.
- Irregularities with Diebold and other voting machines have been reported in the early elections.
- The Chicago Board of Elections has been running a Web site that has allowed, by a simple programming hack, the exposure of personal information of a million registered voters. (Fixed on 21 October 2006)
- Robocalls purchased by Republican candidates automatically have been calling potential voters making harsh accusations against Democratic candidates for races. The calls are very vague to try to make the candidate seem unfavorable.
- Reports from Virginia:
- FBI looking into possible Va. voter intimidation.
- Calls that voting will lead to arrest.
- Telling voters that their polling location has changed.
- Fliers in Buckingham county say “Skip the election”
- Voting machine problems.
- Vote flipping of voting machines in several states.
- Demonstration of crackable Diebold voting machine in HBO's documentary "Hacking Democracy".
- On Election day 7 November, talk show host Laura Ingraham prompted listeners (audio) to jam the Democratic Voter Protection hotline where voting problems were to be reported, reminiscent of the 2002 New Hampshire Senate election phone jamming scandal.
- In Maryland, some voters were given sample ballots by Republican supporters that incorrectly listed Republicans Robert Ehrlich and Michael Steele as Democrats.
States with voting problems
- Colorado
- Florida
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Wisconsin
- Georgia
- Washington
- Oregon
Closing times
The polls closed at the following times in the following states (predominantly; some states that cross time zones have local variances, other states have polls closing at multiple times):
2300 UTC (6:00 EST, 5:00 CST, 4:00 MST, 3:00 PST) - 2 states
- Indiana (Eastern Time Zone — Until 8:40 EST in Delaware County, which is on Eastern Time)
- Kentucky (Eastern Time Zone)
0000 UTC (7:00 EST, 6:00 CST, 5:00 MST, 4:00 PST) - 7 states
- Georgia (Until 8:00 EST in DeKalb County and 7:30 in Clayton County)
- Indiana (Central Time Zone)
- Kentucky (Central Time Zone)
- New Hampshire
- South Carolina
- Vermont
- Virginia
0030 UTC (7:30 EST, 6:30 CST, 5:30 MST, 4:30 PST) - 3 States
0100 UTC (8:00 EST, 7:00 CST, 6:00 MST, 5:00 PST) - 20 States
- Alabama
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida (Eastern Time Zone)
- Illinois (Until 9:30 EST in Kane County)
- Kansas (standard poll closing time, regardless of time zone)
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- New Jersey
- New Hampshire
- North Dakota
- Pennsylvania (Until 9:00 EST in Lebanon and Lancaster counties)
- South Dakota (Central Time Zone)
- Oklahoma
- Tennessee (standard poll closing time, regardless of time zone)
- Texas (Central Time Zone)
0130 UTC (8:30 EST, 7:30 CST, 6:30 MST, 5:30 PST) - 1 State
0200 UTC (9:00 EST, 8:00 CST, 7:00 MST, 6:00 PST) - 13 States
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Florida (Central Time Zone)
- Louisiana
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- New York
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota (Mountain Time Zone)
- Texas (Mountain Time Zone)
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
0300 UTC (10:00 EST, 9:00 CST, 8:00 MST, 7:00 PST) - 7 States
- Idaho (Mountain Time Zone)
- Iowa
- Montana
- Nevada
- Oregon (the small portion of the state in the Mountain Time Zone)
- Utah
- Wisconsin
0400 UTC (11:00 EST, 10:00 CST, 9:00 MST, 8:00 PST, 6:00 HAST) - 5 States
- California
- Hawaii
- Idaho (Pacific Time Zone)
- Oregon (Pacific Time Zone)
- Washington
0500 UTC (12:00 EST, 11:00 CST, 10:00 MST, 9:00 PST, 8:00 AKST, 7:00 HAST) - 1 State
References
- Robert Tanner (2006-11-07). "Democrats guaranteed governor majority". Associated Press.
- ^ William L. Watts (2006-11-08). "Embattled Rumsfeld to resign". MarketWatch.
- "Key Ballot Measures". CNN. November 8 2006.
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(help) - "Midterm Election Roundtable". Washington Post. November 8 2006.
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(help) - Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Philip Shenon (November 8 2006). "Elections Bring New Landscape to Capitol". New York Times.
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(help) - Pennsylvania: Faulty machines, closed polls in black neighborhoods
- Latimer, John, Chris Sholly, and Brad Rhen (2006-11-07). "Voting-machine snafus keep polls open until 9". Lebanon Daily News.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - (http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2006/11/07/machine-voting.html)
- (http://www.forbes.com/business/commerce/feeds/ap/2006/11/07/ap3152794.html)
- (http://elections.us.reuters.com/top/news/usnN07421791.html)
- "Voting Interrupted At Madison School After Bomb Threat". Channel3000.com. 2006-11-08.
- "Ky. Poll Worker Charged With Choking Voter". nbc30.com. 2006-11-07.
- (http://www.fcw.com/article96725-11-07-06-Web&RSS=yes)
- Jesdanun, Anick (2006-11-07). "E-Voting Glitches Besiege Early Voters". LinuxInsider.
- http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/11/07/11670.aspx
- (http://www.kpvi.com/index.cfm?page=nbcheadlines.cfm&ID=37581)
- Problems in test run for voting Miami Herald, 31 November 2006
- Primary and early e-voting problems point to gathering storm
- Board of Elections Web site leaves Social Security numbers vulnerable
- How do you like those nasty telephone calls from the campaigns?
- Sec. of Virginia State Board of Elections Finds Widespread Incidents of Voter Suppression
- (http://www.kvlytv11.com/artman/publish/article_1409.shtml)
- Voting glitch prompts warning
- Voting machine problems checked
- Early voters finding new machines aren't without faults
- Palm Beach County records 32,000 early votes for Tuesday's election
- Election integrity advocate Brad Friedman looks at HBO's Hacking Democracy
- In the Land of ‘Every Vote Counts,’ Uncertainty on Whether It’s Counted Correctly
- Ingraham Tells Listeners To Jam Voter Protection Hotline
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/07/AR2006110700740.html
- ^ Deborah Hastings (November 8 2006). "Voting system worked, with some hiccups". Associated Press.
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(help) - ^ Anick Jesdanun (November 7 2006). "ID Rules, Machines Early Voting Problems". Associated Press.
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(help) - ^ "Reports of Voting Problems". ABC News. November 7 2006.
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(help) - ^ Ian Urbina (November 8 2006). "Polling Places Report Snags, but Not Chaos". New York Times.
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(help) - ^ Andrea Hopkins (November 7 2006). "Lawmakers among those snagged by voting problems". Reuters.
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(help) - "E-voting problems worsen". ComputerWorld.com. November 7 2006.
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(help) - unknown (November 8 2006). "Dead Batteries, Loose Wires slow Vote Counting".
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(help) - Josh Loftin and Tad Walch (November 8 2006). "Vote-machine glitches cause headaches". Deseret Morning News.
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(help) - Poll Closing Times Change
- Poll Closing Times Change
- 223 Illinois precincts ordered to stay open
- Poll Closing Times Change
External links
- E-voting state by state: What you need to know Computerworld, 1 November 2006
- Election coverage on the Tavis Smiley show
- Better World Links on the U.S. Midterm Elections 2006 > 1500 links
- U.S. Midterm Election News Coverage - Comprehensive news coverage of all election campaigns and candidates
- BSRS Newsservice Coverage of US Midterm Elections - Humorous coverage of the all National and Statewide races in the 2006 Midterm Elections