lemur68 wrote:

Mandroid2.0 wrote:Is Ohio a state where someone who normally votes Republican can show up on primary day and vote as a Democrat?

We have an open primary, but the ballot you choose becomes your party affiliation, something I learned the hard way in 2000 when I became a Republican after voting for McCain against Bush. I can see Republicans voting for Hillary because she's more likely to lose in November (even though there are Obama signs all over Upper Arlington, a burb every bit as conservative as its name sounds), but I don't know if I can see them willing to become Democrats for it. Unless, like me, they don't know they'll switch parties as a result.

"It’s well-known that Barack Obama’s success has depended largely on independent and Republican voters. The corollary to that, however, has been less thoroughly reported: Obama is losing among Democrats.
Over at the Perfect World, Cal Lanier crunches the numbers and finds that Obama, despite being ahead among pledged delegates, has fewer total votes among people who identify themselves as Democrats. (He has 7,392,809 votes; Clinton has 8,229,063.) That gives Clinton as lead with 52 percent of Democrats."
"Even if Obama leads in the popular vote and among pledged delegates, it might disturb party gray beards to learn that the nominee has
essentially been chosen by outsiders."

lemur68 wrote:We have an open primary, but the ballot you choose becomes your party affiliation, something I learned the hard way in 2000 when I became a Republican after voting for McCain against Bush. I can see Republicans voting for Hillary because she's more likely to lose in November (even though there are Obama signs all over Upper Arlington, a burb every bit as conservative as its name sounds), but I don't know if I can see them willing to become Democrats for it. Unless, like me, they don't know they'll switch parties as a result.

some reporter for an Ohio paper wrote:MIDDLETOWN — Republican voters in the Middletown area appear to be heeding radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh's call for them to cast their ballot for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the March 4 primary election.

Several precinct judges in Middletown and Franklin Twp. said they've seen a "larger than usual" number of Republicans switching over to Democratic ballots. With Republican presidential candidate John McCain having all but sewn up the GOP nomination, Limbaugh urged Republican voters to cast their ballots for Clinton. His reason: To bloody up Barack Obama politically.

Limbaugh said Feb. 29 on the O'Reilly Factor television show that the battle between Clinton and Obama was "too good a soap opera" and that Clinton needed to stay in the race as long as possible to bloody up Obama politically in a way McCain would not.

And apparently some voters were listening.

Marilyn Hatfield, an associate judge in Ward 3, precinct 3 at Christ United Methodist Church in Middletown, said she's seen more Democrats than normal show up at the polls. Hatfield, who has worked in that precinct since 1989, said the precinct is usually almost totally Republican.

"Several people said they were pulling Democratic ballots because of what Rush Limbaugh said on his show," Hatfield said.

In Ward 3, precincts 1 and 5, a total of 26 Republicans switched ballots. Another 10 Republicans cast Democratic ballots in Ward 3, precinct 7.

A precinct judge in Franklin Twp., who declined to give his name, said, "I've seen more switching than what I would consider normal."

connor wrote:Obama won the under-65 vote in each state. The over-65 vote went overwhelmingly for Clinton. Kind of sucks that they decide who our president is going to be. Oh well, democracy.

Marsupialized wrote:I could deal with Hillary being pres if Obama is her vice, being groomed to be after her

DrAwkward wrote:

Marsupialized wrote:I could deal with Hillary being pres if Obama is her vice, being groomed to be after her

Define "groomed."