But gay-rights supporters were hopeful when state officials reported this afternoon that voter turnout appeared unusually heavy for an off-year election, with no statewide or national candidates on the ballot.We'll see. I'm sure a lot of people thought California Obama voters would favor the neutering of marriage, too, but they instead voted to protect marriage."That's great for us," said Mark Sullivan, spokesman for No on 1/Protect Maine Equality, the coalition that is seeking to allow same-sex partners to marry.
[More after the jump.]
The referendum has attracted national attention because Maine may be the first state to have its voters support same-sex marriage.A "no" vote could be a sign of confusion over the ballot language. A more accurate statement would be that Maine would become the first state where voters didn't defend traditional marriage.
Voters in about 30 states have rejected gay marriage.They supported traditional marriage, defending it from being neutered.
Same-sex unions are recognized in five states -- Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont -- as a result of judicial rulings or legislative action.(I think he meant "marriage" as more states, such as California, recognize "unions".) The rest of the states de facto support traditional marriage, whether they've had a recent vote on it or not – because if they really supported neutering marriage, they would have done it. Despite this and his claim that he understands marriage to be something between a man and a woman, President Obama has shown support for the push to neuter marriage, trying to tell everyone we have to adjust our society to the feelings of the few.
Voters in Washington will decide whether to extend the same legal rights to registered domestic partners that married couples enjoy.Trojan horse. It sounds compassionate, but then it is used to neuter marriage - like they tried in California. I care more about marriage than being nice. What exactly is the state's interest in same-sex couples? Since the activists have demonstrated, in places like California, that neutering marriage is the only end they will accept, it is best not to give them any more tools to do that. I wonder how many of the very same people supporting the domestic partnership in Washington will turn around and then claim that they are an insult?
24% reporting ... 50%/50%
ReplyDeleteWhich is good since at 12% it was 53% NO.
Proposition One just pulled ahead at this site. Note that a disproportionate percentage of the vote counted is from Cumberland County (Portland), which as of this moment is only one of three counties in which Prop 1 is behind (and the one in which it is most behind), while several of the rural counties in which Prop 1 is way ahead have just started the count.
ReplyDeleteKeep your fingers crossed. Unless all those other counties just happened to count the "Yes" votes first, or unless Cumberland and York's voter participation was FAR ahead of the others, it does not look bad so far.
Yeah, good news. I'm watching the results at this site, but yours seems more up to date.
ReplyDeleteAt 76% reporting, we still have 52 to 48 lead.
All the northern counties, so far, are supporting Prop 1 by a substantial margin. (As well as Washington County, the nation's easternmost). The coastal counties are split as of now, with York, Lincoln, and Waldo supporting it and Sagadahoc, Knox, and Hancock rejecting it. It's far behind in Cumberland County (Portland). Looks like York, Sagadahoc, and Lincoln could still go either way. I'm still a little concerned about Penobscot and Kennebec counties because they have the college towns of Orono and Waterville, respectively...I wasn't expecting the results to be so good for our side there, if it stays that way I'll be pleasantly surprised.
ReplyDeleteSee, now there is the kind of reporting I can't seem to find. Thanks RK, I was curious about the lay of the land up there.
ReplyDeleteStill opening the margin at 84% reported.
Another way of putting it is that Prop 1 is very comfortably ahead in all the counties which border Canada. All of them are heavily rural, but still, where's the Canadian influence which one might think should be filtering across the border?
ReplyDeleteMost lopsidedly pro-Prop 1 so far is Aroostook County, which covers the northern cap of Maine, and where so far it's ahead by 73 per cent.
its been called, we win, at 87% reported.
ReplyDeleteHere again is the detailed results for Proposition 1 in Maine, by counties and towns.
ReplyDeleteState total: Yes 52.81%
Counties:
Androscoggin: Yes 60.13%
Aroostook: Yes 73.08%
Cumberland: No 60.14%
Franklin: Yes 58.95%
Hancock: No 52.89%
Kennebec: Yes 56.58%
Knox: No 50.84%
Lincoln: Yes 51.81%
Oxford: Yes 59.18%
Penobscot: Yes 58.79%
Piscataquis: Yes 66.81%
Sagadahoc: Yes 50.23%
Somerset: Yes 65.52%
Waldo: Yes 53.97%
Washington: Yes 64.66%
York: No 50.42%
The votes of the individual towns are also available at the above site.
Here is a map showing Maine's counties.
Supporters of true marriage: Be sure to buy a lot of Maine potatoes, most of which come from Aroostook County (note vote above).
Yay for Marriage in Maine.
ReplyDeleteOn the basis of the results in these counties, the pro-marriage side ought to start today on a longterm strategy of supporting candidates in primaries (of both parties) who'd declare support for marriage and opposition to the SSM-merger.
Dems and Repubs alike need to become more pro-marriage in state and federal (and even local) legislatures and administrations.
I think that there are plenty of candidates who'd come forward in favor of marriage if their chances of winning nomination were at stake in close in-party contests.
Meanwhile, I think that general elections are a little too late to apply this kind of pressure, especially on Dem candidates.
No merger, under whatever name that SSMers might concoct.