Nate Silver: About 16% of Maine precincts didn't get to vote in the straw poll

On Twitter:

About 16% of Maine precincts didn't get to vote in the straw poll because they held caucuses outside the Feb. 4-11 window.


http://twitter.com/#!/fivethirtyeight

Suggestions for teaching geography to a kindergartner?

I thought it might be a good idea to give the munchkin a head start in geography and wondered if anyone had suggestions for a good starting point. I bought him a kid's atlas but I still started talking to him like it was a C-SPAN program. Needless to say I quickly lost his attention. So, any suggestions?

Paul supporters cry foul over caucus tally

WASHINGTON — The campaign of GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul and his supporters say the libertarian-leaning Texan was robbed of victory Saturday night when Mitt Romney was declared the winner of the Maine Republican Party’s presidential caucuses.

The Paul campaign says a local caucus meeting in Washington County that was canceled Saturday afternoon because of a snowstorm would have provided the margin of victory over Romney.

But Maine GOP Chairman Charlie Webster is standing behind the results showing that Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, won the nonbinding presidential straw poll by 194 votes.

Washington County GOP Chairman Chris Gardner says he is pushing for his county’s votes to be counted next weekend, but conceded that it seems improbable those votes could provide Paul what he needs to overcome Romney’s statewide lead.


http://www.kjonline.com/news/Paul-supporters-cry-foul-over-caucus-tally.html

Ron Paul wlll NOT concede Maine, accuses county GOP of dirty tricks.

LAKE JACKSON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tonight the campaign of 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul sent an email to supporters regarding today’s caucus results from the state of Maine. See below for a portion of comments from Ron Paul 2012 Campaign Manager John Tate.

“Congressman Paul’s message of liberty and Constitutional principles is resonating with Americans everywhere who are sick and tired of the status quo establishment, and we plan to take this campaign on to ‘Super Tuesday’ and beyond.”
“Ron Paul will win the most delegates out of Maine tonight.

“In fact, he will probably even win the ‘beauty contest’ straw poll the media has already called for Mitt Romney – even before all the votes have been tallied.

“In Washington County – where Ron Paul was incredibly strong – the caucus was delayed until next week just so the votes wouldn’t be reported by the national media today.

“Of course, their excuse for the delay was ‘snow.’

“That’s right. A prediction of 3-4 inches – that turned into nothing more than a dusting - was enough for a local GOP official to postpone the caucuses just so the results wouldn’t be reported tonight.

“This is MAINE we’re talking about. The GIRL SCOUTS had an event today in Washington County that wasn’t cancelled!


http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120211005028/en/Ron-Paul-Campaign-Comments-Maine-Caucus-Results

How did Maine GOP chair know it would 'come down to 200 votes'?

WASHINGTON - Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster said Friday that he doesn't know whether Mitt Romney will be declared the winner of the Maine caucuses' GOP presidential straw poll or suffer a setback to Ron Paul.

But Webster said he's pretty sure of two things: The race is close and the winner of the previously low-profile Maine caucuses will get a needed boost.

"What will happen is that either Paul or Romney will win by 200 votes, in my opinion, one way or the other," Webster said Friday, although he said he did not know the tally from the caucuses that have been held statewide.

Webster and independent analysts say Maine won't make or break Romney -- who lost the front-runner status he gained with wins in Florida and Nevada by losing Tuesday to Rick Santorum in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/maine-gop-leader-winner-gets-boost_2012-02-11.html

State GOP to disenfranchise Republicans in eastern Maine.

Webster said any caucus results that come in after Saturday wouldn't be counted no matter how close the vote turned out to be.

Maine's caucuses began February 4 and continued throughout the week. But the results announced Saturday accounted for just 83 percent of all precincts in the state. Several communities elected to hold their caucuses at a later date.

Caucuses in Washington County scheduled Saturday were postponed until February 18 because of a major snowstorm that blanketed the region. Earlier, the state party's Executive Director Michael Quatrano said county officials were told the results would not count toward the total.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ixx7rD1Mn4291VrvGAVrlH1PC1Kw?docId=ba7329f77c064214ae4527be65f7b2dc

The Main Caucus is not over.

Despite what the Maine GOP said, the Maine Caucus is not over. There are some precincts in the eastern part of the state that will vote after tonight.

Intrade puts Ron Paul at 69% chance to win Maine Caucus.

Ron Paul supporters already claiming victory in Maine.

Caucus's reporting so far: 44% Paul, 37% Romney, 10% Santorum and 8% Gingrich. http://watchthevote2012.com/ To all "Boots on the Ground" in Maine, help document and report the vote. If you have already had your caucus, please call in the results to the hotline: 513-878-0378. If you have not caucused yet please photo the official precinct tally sheet and call in the results.

Unfortunately there seems to be some, even within the Campaign itself, as hard as it is to believe, that do not want an honest, transparent vote count and reporting of the vote. Who can be opposed to more transparency in regards to voting other than the enemy?

After speaking with Ron Paul's brother Wayne about this today, he said "Who can be against transparency in regards to vote counting and reporting?" He fully supports the efforts of http://watchthevote2012.com/ He also assured me both Ron Paul and his son Rand Paul ABSOLUTELY feels the same way, in regards to transparent vote counting and reporting !

http://www.dailypaul.com/212690/maine-caucus-results-ron-paul-is-winning

Maine: KENNEBEC AND PISCATAQUIS COUNTIES REPORT HEAVY CAUCUS TURNOUT

Kennebec County’s Republican Committeewoman and caucus organizer Kim Pettengill reported 350 people in attendance at the gym at Farrington School in Augusta on Saturday the 4TH. The towns of Hallowell, Monmouth, Pittston and Winthrop held town caucuses later in the afternoon to accommodate those who could not get to Augusta in the morning, which brought even more people to the process. Rome will caucus on the 16TH and Clinton on the 18TH.

The Associated Press reported on the Piscataquis County caucus that was held on Sunday the 5TH. It was chosen largely because it was the only New England County not to vote for President Obama in the 2008 election. Piscataquis County Chair, Andy Torbett was quoted as having said the speakers for Sunday’s gathering had been lined up for Romney, Paul, and Gingrich. He noted that even though Santorum did not have any one speak he also has supporters here in Maine.

Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster said as a result of his observations, “I expect there will be a record turnout at the May convention.”

http://www.mainegop.com/2012/02/kennebec-and-piscataquis-counties-report-heavy-caucus-turnout/