Live MI blog: Kucinich takes a vote from Hillary, some pick uncommitted

[skipos]

LIVEBLOG: Live coverage of Michigan's presidential primary
by: Staff Report
Tuesday (01/15) at 10:19 AM

Michigan Messenger will be providing live coverage all day of the primary; be sure to check regularly for new content posted from the field.

UPDATE -- 2:15 pm -- Howell
With the snow stopped, voting does not appear to have picked up significantly. There is a steady but light stream of voters.

Finding a voter who cast a Democrat ballot in predominantly Republican Livingston County where the U.S. Congressman, the state Senator, the two state Representatives and the entire county Board of Commissioners are Republicans was like trying to find snow in July, but I managed to find one. He was reluctant to give me his name, but he was happy to tell me whom he voted for. He said his Sharpie pen was poised over the name of Hillary Clinton because she did not remove her name from the Michigan ballot, but at the last second he colored in the bubble next to the name of Dennis Kucinich because he said he at least came to Michigan to campaign.

"You know, I really wanted to vote for Obama, but I really didn't have that option; other than 'uncommitted'," he said. "I just wonder what's going to happen in November when they really need our vote."

There are still no volunteers pushing petitions in Howell at this time.
-- Kevin Shopshire


UPDATE--12:46 pm -- Lansing
Julie Nemecek went to the polls in Spring Arbor this morning to cast her ballot. Her choice? Uncommitted. She is upset that he preferred candidate, Barack Obama, is not on the ballot.
"I felt I was disenfranchised, Michigan's screwing around took the choices out of the primaries," she said. "I don't blame just the Democrats. Both parties are to blame."
-- Todd Heywood


UPDATE -- 11:31 am -- Howell
Turnout was steady at Precincts 1 and 2 in the City of Howell this morning. From the time the polls opened at 7 a.m. until 10 a.m., there were no lines, but there was always someone voting. More surprising: there were no petition-takers present.
Health Care for Michigan was expected to be out in force collecting signatures to amend the state constitution to require the Legislature to pass laws to ensure that every Michigan resident has affordable and comprehensive health care, but I saw no one in evidence.
Friends of labor were expected to put some 5,000 people at all the polls to counter petition-takers trying to make Michigan a so-called Right to Work state. I saw no petition-gatherers for Right to Work laws, either.
-- Kevin Shopshire


UPDATE -- 11:15 am -- Ann Arbor's Fourth Ward
A Democratic voter who wished to remain anonymous reported that she had followed the primary election controversy from the beginning, came to the precinct decided on a candidate and that turnout felt low to her. "I don't see how you can look on this balloting as indicating anything; it's too chaotic."

Another voter said she cast a vote for "Uncommitted" to send a message to the DNC that there are Democrats in Michigan. She hopes her vote will lead to representation by delegates at the summer nominating convention.
--Celeste Whiting

more...
http://www.michiganmessenger.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=713

[wyldwolf]

1. so the person is upset Clinton didn't campaign in MI?

So the person picks Kucinich, who did?

[rodeodance]

4. I have read in several places that Dems are upset that Dem Cand. did not campaign.

[knitter4democracy]

2. I voted for Kucinich.

I cried in the car afterwards. The DNC took my vote away without my having any say so about it, and how the hell am I supposed to work to get a Dem elected in the GE when the real message is that the DNC threw us rank-and-files under the bus.

[movonne]

3. And why are you blaming the DNC..all these moving of primaries

up early was the cause..this is just another way the repugs are upsetting the vote..

[knitter4democracy]

5. They were the ones with the power, not us.

Michigan's political leadership decided to play chicken without letting the citizens of the state know. They lost. The RNC came up with a decent compromise, but us Dems got screwed. The DNC could've come up with a better solution, but instead they decided it was better to punish us and lose us in the GE.