Sites, sounds, stealing and polling.

I have been loosely working at the various polling locations around Knox county since the polls opened, some as part of my listening tour, some just hanging around at downtown west with my friend Rep. Steve Hall as he works the polls.

A few things are quite clear.

First, Polling is up. WAY up. There has been heavy traffic with lines out the door almost every day and the lines have been moving fast.

That tells me a few things, First, our poll workers are doing a great job getting people processed and to a machine quickly and secondly, people know who they are voting for when they walk in the door.

That would fall in line with some other "Truisms" on early voting I have heard and learned in the past, such as large early voting numbers are usually bellwethers that people are largely upset about an issue/candidate and are eager to be done with who ever or what ever they are coming to vote against.

They say they expect 70% of voters to vote early in Tennessee this election. Traditionally that has been around or mostly below 50%. Another bad indicator for the big issue at the top of the ticket. Obama.

The feedback has been quite strong and positive toward us outside the polls. People  have been giving a ton of thumbs up, waves, toots on the horn  as well as people just coming over, out of their way, just to talk politics. it hugely positive toward us and our side......And conversely just as negative against Obama. This is nothing like it was 4 years ago. Then, there was a lot more ambivalence. Not so this time. The feelings are quite strong and most people are not hiding it.

I have been getting similar feedback when phone banking and from fellow phone bank volunteers who are calling swing voters here and in swing states. People used to hang up. Now, they want to vent. They are mad!

Another thing I have been told is Republican leaning voter turnout in Knoxville is way up. One study of the Knox co. voters who have already voted shows  those who strongly lean Republican voting 74% versus 26% for those that lean democrat.


At the polls, Steve Hall has a love/hate thing going with an  "Its not working" yard signs he has.

Even though it is about 10 feet from his tent he has to keep a close eye on it. He has had 2 little old white ladies come over and try and steal it out of the ground with him sitting there watching them try to do it. He has had to yell over at them that that sign is his private property, that he bought it and they shouldn't  touch it. They have proceeded to give him down the road about how he shouldn't own such a sign before storming off in a huff.  On the flip side, he has had several people stop over and ask where they could get one.


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