The Mideast Record-Courier: Coverage of the January 2015 Mideast Elections

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The Mideast Record-Courier

Good Evening, and welcome to the Mideast Record-Courier's coverage of the January 2015 Mideast Regional Elections. Over the next three days, we will provide semi-regular coverage of the election as a supplement to our regular publication, so as to better keep you, the reader, up to date as we track the every-evolving landscape that is Atlasian politics.
As of the hour, the votes are just beginning to trickle in, so let us take a moment to review the races before the public. While incumbent Governor Tmthforu94 is running unopposed in the gubernatorial election, a seven-man race for the Assembly is currently underway, with incumbents New Canadaland, Spiral, Shua, and Bmotely facing off against challengers JCL, CrabCake, and EarlAW. In addition, a constitutional amendment that would allow voters to recall their federal representatives is on the ballot after a controversial hearing in the Senate.
Note the map that is directly below this text. As the votes come in, we will reflect the status of the gubernatorial race by coloring the states in the following manner: orange for states won by Governor Tmthforu94, green for any write-in candidates who happen to win states, and navy for states in which no votes have been cast. As more votes come in and are counted, we will edit the map to reflect these changes.

.Nunavut . Ontario

Key
Orange: State won by Tmthforu94 (Fed)
Lime Green: State won by Write-In candidate
Pink: States too close to call
Navy: No Votes from this state

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The Mideast Record Courier has the following projections to make:

The state of Indiana has been called for Tmthforu94
The province of Ontario has been called for Tmthforu94

Current Vote Totals
For Governor
Tmthforu94 (Fed)/ TDAS04 (Lab): 2 (100%)
Others: 0

Assemblyman New Canadaland (Lab) currently leads in the Assembly race with 100% of first preference votes.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The Mideast Record Courier has the following projections to make:

The state of Virginia has been called for Tmthforu94

Current Vote Count
Tmthforu94 (Fed)/ TDAS04 (Lab): 3 (100%)
Others: 0

In the Assembly race, Assemblyman New Canadaland (Lab) leads with 67% of first preference votes. Current counts show New Canadaland (Lab), CrabCake (Lab), EarlAW (WSRP), Shua (DR), and Harry S Truman (write-in-TPP) as the top five vote getters in the final round.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The Mideast Record-Courier has the following projections to make:

The state of Maryland has been called for Tmthforu94

Current Vote Count
Tmthforu94 (Fed)/ TDAS04 (Lab): 4 (100%)
Others: 0

In the Assembly race, Assemblyman New Canadaland (Lab) and challengers CrabCake (Lab) and EarlAW (WSRP) are currently in the lead, with 50% of first preference votes for New Canadaland and 25% for each CrabCake and EarlAW. It is still too early to make any judgement as to the trends we're seeing here, but the liberal candidates on the ballot tonight certainly have an early lead, and that it good news for them. It is important to note, however, that the Federalist vote is yet to turn out at the polls, so that lead may yet be reversed.

The Federal Recall Amendment is not faring well at this time. 50% of the ballots that have been cast thus far are against ratification, while the other 50% were abstentions. This reflects a nationwide trend against the amendment, with voters in the Northeast, Pacific, and IDS also turning out against the amendment. More on this as it develops. 

[tmthforu94]

This is fantastic! Keep it up!

[Senator Cris]

This is fantastic! Keep it up!

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The Mideast Record-Courier has the following projections to make:

The state of Kentucky has been called for NOTA
The province of Nunavut has been called for Tmthforu94
The state of Missouri is Too Close To Call but Tmthforu94 leads

The only unexpected call thus far is that call in Kentucky, for none of the above. Kentucky is a solid Federalist state, and was expected to go for Governor Tmthforu94, but the lone voter there, Celtic Empire, instead cast a blank ballot. It won't effect the outcome of the race, but it may be a sign that the Federalist base is displeased by the governor's centrist record, and that could spell trouble as he tries to address the problems facing the Mideast.

Current Vote Totals
Tmthforu94 (Fed)/ TDAS04 (Lab): 10 (83.3%)
Blank: 2 (16.7%)
Other: 0

The Assembly race continues to look good for liberal voters. Current tabulations show New Canadaland (Lab), CrabCake (Lab), EarlAW (WSRP), Spiral (DR), and JCL (Fed) in the lead, so if these numbers hold, we very well could see a left-leaning Assembly in the capital. Particularly important to note is that these results have held up even as more right-leaning voters come to the polls. As always, these results are subject to change, but this is certainly good news for Mideast liberals.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

And now for an update on the status of the Federal Recall Amendment:

Current Vote Totals

      Mideast   Midwest   Pacific   Northeast
AYE        0         3         3           2
NAY        8         2         4           3
ABST.      4         0         0           0

As you can see, the proposal is not fairing well before the voters, either in the Mideast or in the other regions across the nation, and nowhere is this revulsion stronger than in the Mideast. To thirds of the ballots in the Mideast have been cast against ratification; not a single vote in favor of the amendment. In the other regions, the margins are narrower, but still decidedly against the amendment: only in the Midwest do we see the "yes" vote leading, and there by a narrow majority of one vote. Rarely do we see such unanimity amongst the electorate. The amendment still has time to make a comeback, but as of the hour things are looking very, very bad for the Recall Amendment and its supporters.  
In addition, in the state of Missouri the gubernatorial race is still Too Close To Call at this time; no votes have been cast in the Mideast voting booth since a little after 1 PM this afternoon.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The Mideast Record-Courier has the following projections to make:

The state of Kentucky has been called for Tmthforu94

Likewise, we are retracting our previous projection that Kentucky had been won by None Of The Above. That call was based on the fact that Kentucky resident Celtic Empire initially cast a blank ballot in the gubernatorial race; however, after we had reported that Kentucky had gone for None Of The Above, Celtic Empire changed his vote to Governor Tmthforu94. Again, we are retracting our previous projection and now project that Kentucky will back the Federalist ticket in the gubernatorial race.

Current Vote Totals
Tmthforu94 (Fed)/ TDAS04 (Lab): 11 (91.7%)
Blank: 1 (8.3%)
Other: 0

[Flake]

By the way, federal amendments in the south are decided by a vote in the legislature.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

By the way, federal amendments in the south are decided by a vote in the legislature.

Yes, I noticed that when I was reporting on the Senate rules amendment and couldn't find the IDS voting thread. Thanks for the heads up, though!

[Flake]

By the way, federal amendments in the south are decided by a vote in the legislature.

Yes, I noticed that when I was reporting on the Senate rules amendment and couldn't find the IDS voting thread. Thanks for the heads up, though!

You're welcome!

To be fair, the vote is 0-0 atm.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The Mideast Record-Courier has the following projections to make:

The state of Ohio has been called for Tmthforu94

Current Vote Totals
Tmthforu94 (Fed)/ TDAS04 (Lab): 12 (92.3%)
Blank: 1 (7.7%)
Other: 0

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

We have an update on the status of the Mideast Assembly election: it appears that conservatives have taken a narrow lead in that race, with current tabulations showing EarlAW (WSRP), New Canadaland (Lab), JCL (Fed), Spiral (DR), and Shua (DR) being elected to the Assembly. If these numbers hold, and assuming Johanus Calvinus Libertas caucuses with the Democratic-Republicans, that would give the conservative faction a three seat majority.

There is a caveat, however: currently, incumbent Assemblyman Shua is leading Labor challenger CrabCake by half a vote in the final round. If Labor turnout spikes significantly in the final hours of the campaign, that could be enough to swing the election in favor of the liberals. With Labor and Federalist registration numbers virtually identical, this really is going to come down to which side gets its voters to the polls.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The Mideast Record-Courier has the following projections to make:

The state of Wisconsin has been called for Tmthforu94

Current Vote Totals
Tmthforu94 (Fed)/ TDAS04 (Lab): 13 (92.9%)
Blank: 1 (7.1%)
Other: 0

Based on these preliminary results and on current voter turnout statistics, we are hereby projecting that Tmthforu94 (Fed) has been elected governor of the Mideast region.

Projected Winner: Tmthforu94/TDAS04

[Hatman 🍁]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is what I have for the Assembly race:

Votes: 15
Quota: 3

Earl - 3 (elected with quota)
New Canadaland - 3 (elected with quota)
JCL - 3 (elected with quota)
CrabCake - 2 (elected without quota)
Shua - 2 (elected without quota)
Spiral - 1 (eliminated)
Bmotley - 1 (eliminated)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

As of this hour, the Mideast Record-Courier can report that the left appears to have retaken the lead in the Assembly race. Current tabulations are as follows:

EarlAW (WSRP): 3 (ELECTED)
JCL (Fed): 3 (ELECTED)
New Canadaland (Lab): 3 (ELECTED)
Shua (DR): 2 (ELECTED w/ transfers)
CrabCake (Lab): 2 (ELECTED w/o quota)
Bmotely (DR): 1 (DEFEATED)
Spiral (DR): 1 (DEFEATED)

That would give liberals a one-vote majority in the Assembly, assuming WSRP candidate EarlAW caucuses with the Labor Party as expected. A special thank-you to EarlAW for bringing this development to our attention.

Perhaps the group that should be most concerned by this turn in events is the Democratic-Republican party. They went into this election with four members regionwide and three candidates for Assembly, and that appears to have been an overreach. No matter how you juggle the numbers, it seems probable that at least one and possibly two of the incumbent Democratic-Republican assemblyman is going to go down to defeat in this election.
In most cases we could put this down to a lack of name recognition or various other obstacles that traditionally plague third parties, but most of these don't make sense here. For one, both Speaker Spiral and Assemblyman Shua are highly prominent Atlasians: the one a former governor and senator, the other a former senator and candidate for vice president. Second, the Federalists only ran one candidate in this election, and that should have created an opportunity for the Dem Reps to bring out the right-wing vote. What this ultimately comes down to is this: the Democratic-Republican campaign strategy failed. There was almost no campaigning on the part of their candidates in this election, they ran far more candidates than they had the capacity to elect, and it blew up in their faces. Of course, there is still time for an upset, but it appears that the Democratic-Republicans of the Mideast are in for some serious soul searching after what seems likely to be an electoral setback.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Preliminary results are in from the state of Illinois, and they are good for the liberal faction vying to take control of the Assembly. With the addition of the most recent vote there, Labor Party candidate CrabCake has just enough votes to be elected with a quota in the first round.

Current Vote Totals
EarlAW (WSRP): 3 (ELECTED)
CrabCake (Lab): 3 (ELECTED)
JCL (Fed): 3 (ELECTED)
New Canadaland (Lab): 3 (ELECTED)
Shua (DR): 2 (ELECTED w/ transfers)
Bmotely (DR): 1 (DEFEATED)
Spiral (DR): 1 (DEFEATED)

Additionally, the Federal Recall Amendment continues to fare poorly in the Mideast. As of the most recent count, there are 10 votes against ratification, one in favor, and five abstentions.

In the gubernatorial race, we continue to project that Tmthforu94 (Fed) has been elected to a full term in office, with 14 of 16 ballots cast.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Due to violations of Federal Election law, the vote of Mideast Assembly candidate CrabCake will not be counted.

Questions Surround Candidate's Ballot

If things are what they seem, Mideast resident and candidate for Assembly CrabCake (Lab-MO) may be guilt of violating federal election law, the Mideast Record-Courier discovered yesterday. While Federal law prohibits the editing of one's vote more than twenty (20) minutes after it is cast, the Record-Courier confirmed that after posting his vote at 11:53:23 AM yesterday, CrabCake edited his ballot over 4 hours later at 4:39:19 PM. While CrabCake's preferences for governor and Assembly have not changed, and the Record-Courier was unable to confirm whether any changes had been made to his vote on the Federal Recall Amendment, this is nevertheless a serious offense on the part of Mr. CrabCake, which could result in the invalidation of his vote.
(Editor's Note: I do not publish this article out of any personal or political malice towards Mr. CrabCake, whose conduct as a candidate has otherwise been exemplary, and would readily accept a satisfactory explanation on his part.)

Regardless of whether changes are made, if a ballot is edited 20 minutes after it is submitted, it is invalid. Unfortunately this means that CrabCake's ballot will not be counted.

With the race for Mideast Assembly especially tight, the elimination of CrabCake's ballot could have major ramifications on the outcome of the election. The adjusted electoral count is as follows:

For Governor
Tmthforu94 (Fed)/ TDAS04 (Lab): 14 (93.3%)
Blank: 1 (6.7%)
Other: 0

For Assembly
EarlAW (WSRP): 3 (ELECTED)
JCL (Fed): 3 (ELECTED)
New Canadaland (Lab): 3 (ELECTED)
Shua (DR): 2 (ELECTED w/ transfers)
CrabCake (Lab): 2 (ELECTED w/o quota)
Bmotely (Lab): 1 (DEFEATED)
Spiral (DR): 1 (DEFEATED)

Federal Recall Amendment
AYE:   1
NAY:   9
ABST: 5

In addition, the Mideast Record-Courier has the following projections to make:

The state of Missouri has been called for Tmthforu94

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The Mideast Record-Courier has the following projections to make:

The state of Michigan is Too Close To Call, with Tmthforu94 leading.
The Federal Recall Amendment has FAILED in the Mideast

Current Vote Totals: Governor
Tmthforu94 (Fed)/ TDAS04 (Lab): 16 (94.1%)
Blank: 1 (5.9%)
Other: 0

Current Vote Totals: Federal Recall Amendment
AYE:   1
NAY:  10
ABST: 6
In addition, in the Assembly race, the right has retaken the lead following the invalidation of Labor candidate CrabCake's vote. Current vote totals show JCL (Fed), Shua (DR), EarlAW (WSRP), and New Canadaland (Lab) meeting or exceeding the quota in the first round, with current Speaker Spiral (DR) being elected with transfers. Assuming JCL caucuses with the Democratic-Republicans, that would give conservative-leaning parties a one-vote majority in the Assembly.

[Boston Bread]

Why Crabcake
At least the latest ballot cast has put him back in contention

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

oops

I was only editing the formatting. I assume I am now officially detained on electoral fraud charges?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

oops

I was only editing the formatting. I assume I am now officially detained on electoral fraud charges?

no, just your ballot.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

With less than 24 hours left before the polls close on Sunday, the Mideast Assembly race continues to tighten. Current tabulations show liberal candidates with a tenuous lead, as reflected below:

JCL (Fed): 4 (ELECTED)
Shua (DR): 3 (ELECTED w/ transfers)
New Canadaland (Lab): 3 (ELECTED w/ transfers)
CrabCake (Lab): 3 (ELECTED w/o quota)
EarlAW (WSRP): 3 (ELECTED w/o quota)
Bmotely (DR): 1 (DEFEATED)
Spiral (DR): 1 (DEFEATED)

If the left is able to maintain this lead, progressives would hold three of the five seats in the Assembly, assuming that EarlAW of the Washburnist Socialist Revolutionary Party caucuses with the Labor Assemblymen.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The Mideast Record-Courier has the following projections to make:

The state of Michigan has been called for Tmthforu94

Current Vote Totals
Tmthforu94 (Fed)/ TDAS04 (Lab): 18 (94.7%)
Blank: 1 (5.3%)
Other: 0