Florida, Arizona, and uh California!? ban same sex marriage

What a shocking disappointment. The numbers look too far gone. California has decided to actually change the state constitution to ban gay marriage. Shouldn’t we be focusing on more important things?

Florida and Arizona also voted to ban same sex marriage, and the state of Arkansas voted to stop homosexuals from adopting children.

Update, 11/5/08: The same sex marriages that have already been established in the state of California will most likely still be valid and legal because they took place during a time in which they were legal.

But, a San Francisco Attorney plans to take the case to the state Supreme Court in hopes of overturning the decision as unconsitutional.

What Made the Difference Tonight: Youth Turnout

Barack Obama knew something a lot of us didn’t know. He knew that young Americans wanted to find something to vote for and not against. At the beginning, many of us were skeptical of youth voter turnout. But, he proved us wrong on that Iowa night in January.

Like Obama said, the campaign took him from “the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California.” All across America young people came out and supported change.

It led him to November on the night of this historic presidential election. Young people supported Barack Obama 68-30% over Senator John McCain. Young people ages 18-29 made up 18% of the electorate this year, slightly higher than 17% in 2004 and 2000. That may not seem like a large increase, but in a year where overall voter turnout reached massive numbers (estimates place overall voter turnout at around 60%) it sure made the difference.

It was the young voters who won tonight. Those that supported one specific candidate, President-elect Barack Obama.

President-elect Barack Obama

How Hillary Helped

I think Hillary deserves just a little credit for Obama’s win tonight. Just a little. She motivated many of her supporters such as myself to support Barack Obama for president. She moved faster than any loser in a Democratic primary to endorse and campaign for their opponent. And surely Hillary and Bill’s campaigning in states like Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania helped Barack Obama.

Looking back, I think we can say that the lengthy Democratic primary was part of Obama’s success. His national infrastructure that was created to beat Hillary Clinton has been used to defeat John McCain. His debate performances against Hillary taught him how to face off in a real debate.

CNN reported that Obama won Hillary supporters 84% to John McCain’s 15% tonight. Thank You Hillary.

Who will replace tonight’s winners in the Senate?

Joe Biden might win two elections tonight. One for the vice-presidency, and the other for his Senate seat, which he has already won tonight.

Some of the name’s floating around for Barack Obama’s Senate seat are Jesse Jackson Jr., the son of Jesse Jackson, Rahm Emanuel, an already influential leader in the House, Jean Schakowsky also from the House, longtime Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, and former congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth.

Joe Biden’s replacement could be just a temporary one until his son Beau Biden could run for the Senate seat himself in 2010.

As for Senator John McCain, the Democratic Governor in Arizona, Janet Napolitano, has the option to appoint anyone she wants as long as they are a Republican. So, she could not appoint herself.

Another twist in all of this: If current Alaskan Senator and convicted felon Ted Stevens wins his Senate seat and is ousted by the Senate leadership, Governor Sarah Palin could be appointed to Senator Palin. You Betcha!

Update, 11/5/08: Let me make this clear. The only way Governor Palin can be Senator Palin is if she resigns her spot as Governor of Alaska and then the new Governor, who would be Sean Parnell, would then appoint Palin to the Senate spot.

An election worse than 2000?

With Barack Obama drawing large majorities of votes from big states such as California and New York, and getting closer than most Democratic candidates before him in states in the South, can Barack Obama win the popular vote, but lose the electoral college?

In 2000, Al Gore suffered from low voter turnout. The state of Florida was only determined by 537 votes, and as we all know, Florida gave the election to Bush. If Barack Obama gets close enough to McCain in southern states like Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, but doesn’t manage to get enough votes to actually win the state, he could end up with more votes than John McCain. High voter turnout in blue states will not reflect in the electoral college in favor of Obama, these votes will just pad his popular vote.

Perhaps this will never happen, or maybe this is McCain’s last chance. Let’s see what happens.

2008 Election Results!

Madelyn Dunham’s vote will count

Barack Obama’s grandmother Madelyn Dunham passed away yesterday. She was able to vote early by absentee ballot due to her illness. The Hawaii Board of Elections has said that her vote, along with the others, will in fact be counted tonight when the polls close in Hawaii at 11 pm ET.

It will be interesting to see what Barack Obama has to say about her in his speech tonight.

Prop H8TE Attempts to Use Barack Obama

If you live in California you know that there is proposition on the ballot that if passed would state that California would only recognize marriage between a man and a woman. This would be done by changing the constitution of the state by adding these words to it:

Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

Recent robocalls from supporters of “Yes on 8″ have asked voters to vote with Barack Obama, and vote yes. The calls claim that Barack Obama is opposed to gay marriage. They’re only telling half the story.

Barack Obama is opposed to Prop 8 because it requires the constitution of the State of California to be changed. Barack Obama does not support a Yes vote on Prop 8, in fact he called the proposition “divisive” and “discriminatory.”

Vote No on Prop 8 - Equality for ALL

The Other Important Elections Tonight

Probably the most important elections are taking place for seats in the United States Senate. The balance of the United States Senate will also determine whether or not Barack Obama will actually be able to get things done.

Here are the races you need to watch, followed by the times they will be called.

Virginia at 7pm ET - Fmr. Governor Mark Warner is very likely to pickup our first Democratic seat of the night, currently held by Republican John Warner (no relation.) Governor Warner’s “challenger” is Jim Gilmore who ran for president last year.

North Carolina at 7:30 pm ET - Elizabeth Dole, wife of Bob Dole is at risk of losing her seat tonight. If Democrat Kay Hagan wins, Barack Obama and Democrats all across the country will have a good night as well.

Minnesota at 9pm ET - Former Comedian and radio host Al Franken has a good chance of picking up this seat from Republican Norm Coleman. Although, dirty campaigning has plagued this campaign in recent weeks, and is still an unpredictable toss up.

Happy Use Your Common Sense Day!

The Daily Holidays website says that today, November 4th, is “Use Your Common Sense Day” and “Mischief Night.” And let’s not forget about the election we are having today either. Will America have take part in “Use Your Common Sense Day” and elect Democrats all across America, or will we have another “Mischief Night” like back in 2000 and 2004?

Check back with Think Youth all day and night as I Twitter a few interesting or missed news items, and blog about the state of the race.

Make your electoral college, Senate, House, or city council predictions in the comments below!