OB Rag

Kat Schuster /San Diego Patch / Nov. 4, 2024

In California, 8,058,584 vote-by-mail ballots have been returned and 98% of them were already accepted, according to data posted by California’s Secretary of State the day before the election.

Counties were required to mail out ballots by Oct. 7 — all active, registered voters should have received a vote-by-mail ballot for the general election.

Nationwide, more than 76.5 Americans have already cast their ballots in Tuesday’s 2024 presidential election.

According to a Monday analysis by NBC News of data from election officials across the country, 49% percent of early votes in California were cast by Democrats, 30% were by Republicans and 21% were by people who haven’t declared a party.

Not all California residents who received an early-vote ballot had returned them by Monday. The returned ballots represent 47% of those sent to Democrats, 25% sent to Republicans and 28% sent to no-party voters.

The swing states that took the longest in 2020 and could again be slow this year: Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada. If the race is close, other states could join the list.

By Patrick Marley and  Amy Gardner / Washington Post / Nov. 4, 2024

Finding out who won the presidency may take days.

Election officials in key swing states are urging Americans to be patient as they tally results, a process that varies from state to state because each has different vote-counting laws.

Here are some candidates’ watch parties happening later tonight — candidates that the Rag supports.

These parties are generally from 6:30-9:30pm.

Turner watch party –

Tavern + Bowl, 930 Market Street, San Diego, CA 92101

By Nicklas Balboa/ The Inertia / October 31, 2024 

After living in San Francisco for years, I finally made the commitment to the SOCAL life and moved to San Diego. I bounced around for a few months, and fell in love with Ocean Beach. Something about the graffitied walls, the painted murals, the hippie-esque culture, the homelessness, and the cold surf made me feel at home. But in my heart, there was only one OB.

Growing up in the Bay Area, I always thought that the title OB belonged to San Francisco’s fabled Ocean Beach… but after moving to Ocean Beach in San Diego, I was confused when I saw the OB stickers on every car in town.

After asking friends from home in SF, and local buddies in San Diego, it appeared that everyone was in agreement that their neighborhood was (un)officially called OB. And people less in the know from either pole of the state were unaware that the other side had an Ocean Beach to represent.

All kinds of OBceans and Point Lomans arrived at the local polling sites to cast their votes early on Election Day.

By Colleen O’Connor

Two years ago, in November of 2022, I wrote a column full of outlandish predictions that have since come true.

• First, that Kamala Harris would be named Vice-President. True.
• Next that Speaker Emeriti, Nancy Pelosi, would outlast Donald Trump. Ongoing.
• Third, that Kevin McCarthy would not last long as Republican House Speaker. True.
• Also, that Joe Biden would not be re-elected President. And neither would Trump. One down. One going.
• Finally, that Liz Cheney would be the first woman to become the GOP leader in the House, albeit still in the minority. Or secure a stellar Cabinet post. Attorney General would be fitting. “Without fear or favor,” Cheney has proved her character worthy of a high office.

Here we are finally! Election Day 2024, Tuesday November 5th.

About 83% of the nearly 27 million adults in California who are eligible to vote are registered. And millions of Californians have already voted.

In her latest report on California’s voter registration, Secretary of State Shirley Weber — a local girl! — said a record 22.6 million Californians are registered to vote, which is 548,211 more than four years ago.

With nearly 2 million ballots sent out across San Diego, it will take some time to get the votes tallied.

The Registrar has released a timeline of when San Diegans can expect the unofficial results to roll in and how long it will take them to fully certify the election. Here’s what you should know:

8 p.m. on Election Day

The first dump of results will come just after the polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Night. No results will be available before that time. This dump will include mail ballots received before Election Day and results from people who voted at vote centers before Nov. 5.

By JW August

A lawsuit filed by an unhappy commuter on the State Route 125 toll road has an August 8, 2025 jury trial date. Superior Court Judge Robert Longsthreth has issued a ruling in the case that pits plaintiff Brandon Kelsoe, who regularly uses the toll road, against the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).

The ruling, tossing all but one of the claims, resulted in the case proceeding beyond the pleading stage which is considered the opening salvo between litigants.  A confidential legal expert source described the result as an “interim victory” for the Kelsoe team.  It allows the parties to conduct discovery to aid in future skirmishes.  Attorneys from each side declined  to comment about the judge’s ruling.

Kesloe is one of the lawsuits moving through the courts as the result of thousands of drivers on 125 toll road being charged incorrectly by license-plate readers or FasTrak transponders.  The problems revealed by the toll road fiasco triggered  a recent review by SANDAG’s as part of an effort to correct oversight problems within the organization.

By Marianne LeVine, Patrick Marley and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez/ Washington Post / November 4, 2024

Donald Trump, who blamed his 2020 defeat on false claims of vast election malfeasance, has spent much of the final week of his third presidential campaign trying to discredit the legitimacy of this year’s election.

His latest unsubstantiated claims could set the stage for an attempt to fight a potential loss not only in the courts but also by spreading falsehoods about the nation’s election systems. The former president and his allies have produced no evidence of widespread fraud or Democratic attempts to rig this election or the previous one, which he lost to Joe Biden. Election officials who have spent four years dealing with the fallout of his 2020 falsehoods fear his latest claims could lead to violence.

Ahead of Tuesday, Donald Trump is using five strategies to overturn the election, according to CNN.

The former president’s campaign team has placed “an intense focus on Pennsylvania” — a critical battleground state — the news outlet reports.

Per the report, “Trump has already claimed without evidence that his opponents are cheating in the state, both on his social media and at campaign rallies. At a Tuesday rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Trump claimed that the discovery of hundreds of suspected fraudulent voter registration applications in Lancaster County was evidence of cheating.”

The second way the GOP nominee is setting the stage for election interference, is through billionaire “Elon Musk’s misinformation machine.”

* Every Saturday at 10:30 am. San Diego Climate Mobilization Coalition Meetings November 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th.

* Every Saturday 10 am – 12 pm Peace Vigil for Palestine in Ocean Beach

* November 5th Tuesday VOTE if you haven’t already.

See OB Rag Ballot Recommendations here.

* November 6th Wednesday 12 pm – 1 pm Green Traveling:
* November 8th Friday 5:30 pm – 9 pm 4th annual Sails and Ales Beer Fest.

* November 8th Friday 6 pm – 9 pm Hands Across Borders” Global Community Gala
* November 10th Sunday 11 am – 3 pm Community Bazaar with local Palestinian /Lebanese owned businesses
* November 10th Sunday 9:30 am – 11 am   Coastal Roots monthly farm tour