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Googling for Georgia Voters

Today is the day. Vote, Georgia, vote! I’ve continued my research on races that affect us, and thought I’d share some links to articles, voter guides and other resources I’ve found. Just think of me as your own personal election Googler. Check out these links and be an informed voter.

A great resource for General Voting info covering multiple races:

• The AJC and League of Women Voter’s 2008 Voting Guide
• Project Vote Smart’s Guide to Congressional races across Georgia
• A look at Congressional races across the state from Southern Voice
• Candidates for State Senate from Project Vote Smart
• Candidates for State House from Project Vote Smart

On the race for Fulton County Sheriff:

• Creative Loafing’s Voter Guide for the Fulton County Sheriff race
• The AJC Editorial Board’s assessment of candidates for Fulton County Sheriff
• 11Alive News’ story on the Fulton County Sheriff candidate debate

On the Democratic race to challenge U.S. Senater Saxby Chambliss:

• Creative Loafing’s Voter Guide for the Senate race
• Southern Voice on the Five Democratic Candidates for U.S. Senate
• My look at the Democratic Candidates’ stand on GLBT issues
• My blog post on the Senate candidate’s positions on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

On the races for seats on the Public Service Commission:

This is an important race, people. Wake up–your utilities bills are skyrocketing. The winners in these races will be your advocate with the utility companies and will help drive policy on alternative energy in Georgia. Will this state focus on nuclear power or clean alternatives like wind and solar? The Public Service Commission will impact the energy options you will have for the future. Check out:

• Creative Loafing’s guide to the Public Service Commission candidates
• An AJC article on the PSC candidates

On the race for DeKalb County CEO:

• Creative Loafing’s Guide to the race for DeKalb County CEO
• The AJC’s endorsement of Burrell Ellis for DeKalb CEO
• GoDeKalb.com’s overview of the CEO candidates

So there you have it, dear voters. Incomplete to be sure, but I hope it is of some help to you. If you didn’t find what you needed, hey, do your own Googling!

Supersized-Tuesday Primary Reaction

7:05 p.m. ABC News just called Georgia for Barack Obama. It’s amazing how winners can be assumed when the polls have been closed less than five minutes and no votes have yet been counted. But assuming projections are correct (and oddly, they typically are), I am proud to be a Georgian tonight. I’m proud that a Southern state could choose an African-American candidate. And I’m encouraged to see the first few votes to show that there are more Democratic voters than Republicans. This bodes well for the general election. Voter turnout is the issue at hand. If LGBT voters, anti-war voters and rational Americans who are unable to reconcile the morality espoused by Republicans with the hate, mismanagement and miscalculation of the Republican party with their values. Maybe there is hope for America. Hope that a change is possible. And there’s no better news for the queer community. It will be interesting to see if this immediate projections and very early returns hold up over the course of the evening.

8:15 p.m. Results are mixed across the country. It is so refreshing to have a real race where every vote truly makes a difference. Gone are the days where party leaders decide who is next in line for the presidential nomination. The mass of states voting today is an important opportunity to move beyond the presumptive politics of the past, to a day when voters truly decide who will lead our country, not pundits or party insiders.

10:05 p.m. CNN is projecting Senator Clinton as the winner of Massachusetts. While the delegates at stake are not as numerous as in some others, it is symbolically significant. Sen. Ted Kennedy’s endorsement was not enough to secure his state for Barack Obama. And in a state with a significant LGBT population, Clinton proved a more compelling candidate than Obama. Analysis of Massachusetts voters over the next few days will be interesting. Clinton is believed to have a generally stronger political machine, while Obama has the power of the grassroots. It will be telling to discover if it was the process of politics, the message or personality that brought the state to Clinton.

11:10 p.m. Will someone please tell Wolf Blitzer to stop saying “uh” between every word? He’s driving me nuts. I’m not going to be able to stay on CNN much longer if he doesn’t cut it out.

11:59 p.m. In ballots counted so far, there are only about 100,000 votes between Senators Clinton and Obama. In today’s races, Obama garnered the most delegates, but Clinton is still leading in the delegate count overall. For Democrats, this is a profound election cycle. There are two very strong, refreshingly different, historic candidates. Either candidate promises to be is such light years more progressive and queer-inclusive than any we have seen in our lifetime. Yet “evangelical” turnout has proven strong on the Republican side. Will anti-gay social conservative Republicans be motivated to vote in the general election? Will the strong turnout in Democratic primaries be maintained or grow in the general election. All remains to be seen. But for LGBT voters, it is encouraging that two candidates who are generally pro-gay are leading the party’s race for the presidential nomination. Although neither candidate has an “ideal” position on LGBT issues, the success of both suggest that America may at last be willing to abandon homophobia in favor for the greater good of our country.