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2006 United States elections

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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, 2006

Template: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
File:Ussenateminusvirginia.PNG
New Senate composition, according to CNN results:
  Two Republicans  Two Democrats  One Democrat, one Republican  One Democrat, one Independent   One Republican, one undecided contest.

* 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, 2006

Of 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

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

0000 UTC (7:00 EST, 6:00 CST, 5:00 MST, 4:00 PST) - 7 states

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

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

0300 UTC (10:00 EST, 9:00 CST, 8:00 MST, 7:00 PST) - 7 States

0400 UTC (11:00 EST, 10:00 CST, 9:00 MST, 8:00 PST, 6:00 HAST) - 5 States

0500 UTC (12:00 EST, 11:00 CST, 10:00 MST, 9:00 PST, 8:00 AKST, 7:00 HAST) - 1 State

References

  1. Robert Tanner (2006-11-07). "Democrats guaranteed governor majority". Associated Press.
  2. ^ William L. Watts (2006-11-08). "Embattled Rumsfeld to resign". MarketWatch.
  3. "Key Ballot Measures". CNN. November 8 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. "Midterm Election Roundtable". Washington Post. November 8 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Philip Shenon (November 8 2006). "Elections Bring New Landscape to Capitol". New York Times. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. Pennsylvania: Faulty machines, closed polls in black neighborhoods
  7. 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)
  8. (http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2006/11/07/machine-voting.html)
  9. (http://www.forbes.com/business/commerce/feeds/ap/2006/11/07/ap3152794.html)
  10. (http://elections.us.reuters.com/top/news/usnN07421791.html)
  11. "Voting Interrupted At Madison School After Bomb Threat". Channel3000.com. 2006-11-08.
  12. "Ky. Poll Worker Charged With Choking Voter". nbc30.com. 2006-11-07.
  13. (http://www.fcw.com/article96725-11-07-06-Web&RSS=yes)
  14. Jesdanun, Anick (2006-11-07). "E-Voting Glitches Besiege Early Voters". LinuxInsider.
  15. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/11/07/11670.aspx
  16. (http://www.kpvi.com/index.cfm?page=nbcheadlines.cfm&ID=37581)
  17. Problems in test run for voting Miami Herald, 31 November 2006
  18. Primary and early e-voting problems point to gathering storm
  19. Board of Elections Web site leaves Social Security numbers vulnerable
  20. How do you like those nasty telephone calls from the campaigns?
  21. Sec. of Virginia State Board of Elections Finds Widespread Incidents of Voter Suppression
  22. (http://www.kvlytv11.com/artman/publish/article_1409.shtml)
  23. Voting glitch prompts warning
  24. Voting machine problems checked
  25. Early voters finding new machines aren't without faults
  26. Palm Beach County records 32,000 early votes for Tuesday's election
  27. Election integrity advocate Brad Friedman looks at HBO's Hacking Democracy
  28. In the Land of ‘Every Vote Counts,’ Uncertainty on Whether It’s Counted Correctly
  29. Ingraham Tells Listeners To Jam Voter Protection Hotline
  30. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/07/AR2006110700740.html
  31. ^ Deborah Hastings (November 8 2006). "Voting system worked, with some hiccups". Associated Press. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ Anick Jesdanun (November 7 2006). "ID Rules, Machines Early Voting Problems". Associated Press. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ^ "Reports of Voting Problems". ABC News. November 7 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ Ian Urbina (November 8 2006). "Polling Places Report Snags, but Not Chaos". New York Times. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  35. ^ Andrea Hopkins (November 7 2006). "Lawmakers among those snagged by voting problems". Reuters. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. "E-voting problems worsen". ComputerWorld.com. November 7 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. unknown (November 8 2006). "Dead Batteries, Loose Wires slow Vote Counting". {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  38. Josh Loftin and Tad Walch (November 8 2006). "Vote-machine glitches cause headaches". Deseret Morning News. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  39. Poll Closing Times Change
  40. Poll Closing Times Change
  41. 223 Illinois precincts ordered to stay open
  42. Poll Closing Times Change

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