Election day observations

By Dave Anderson:

Here are a few things that were notable to me this Election morning as my ten month old daughter is slowly waking up from her nap:

1)  My daughter loves the voting machines as it has a bright blinking button to press at the top.  She helped me vote. 

2)  The best GOTV is the pull factor of the little old ladies selling pierogies and baked goods in the polling place.

3)  The Republicans were better organized in core Democratic precincts.  At my precinct/polling location, the GOP signs outnumbered Dem signs by at least a 2:1 margin and there were three GOP volunteers handing out literature compared to one Democrat.  At the Squirrel Hill JCC polling place, the sign split was about even.  My home precinct and the Squirrel Hill wards are core Democratic base zones. 

4)  The GOP had better graphic designers work on their local race signs.  I actually could figure out who they wanted me to vote for and in what race.  The Democratic local committee signs were cluttered and I had no idea who was running for what. 

5)  The Post-Gazette is the major Pittsburgh newspaper with the Tribune-Review being Richard Mellon Scaife's vanity project.  It was interesting to note that no Republican touted being endorsed by the Tribune Review as a base motivator.  Any Republican who was endorsed by the Post-Gazette touted that endorsement in their television ads.

6)  Local judicial election television ad production values suck hard core.