The Zoogie People
15-09-2004, 22:01
Sorry for this being the third thread started about the same topic, but this has a different purpose from the first and second threads, which were for seeing the views of other NS nations, and clarifying the priorities of the characters, respectively.
This thread deals with the actual day of the election and its aftermath. I have OOC reasons for what I'm doing, and I'm going to try to explain this in IC, although some parts of it are going to be difficult...
For reference, the second thread (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=355105) and the first thread. (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=343560)
+ ---- 0|\/|6z0r 74|\/|3 45(11 4|@7!!!!1111 ------ +
Election Day
All across the expanses of Zoogiedom polls were opening, for Election Day was arrived. The primary candidates - the three that had emerged standing from the months of intense campaigning before, settled down with little to do but wait and twiddle their thumbs. The latest poll conducted with the three choices only indicated a near deadlock between two of them, libertarian Hanelis and centrist Barnsworth more or less tied at 40% apiece and socialist Fontair bringing up the rear with a little under 20%.
That had been over a week and a half ago, and everyone knew the tendency of voter opinions to sway constantly and drastically. It was still anyone's game.
Meanwhile, the media was having a field day covering the election, which had an expected turnout in excess of 650 million (the Zoogies are not politically apathetic; quite the opposite), and were reporting from all 36 provinces from the moment the first polls opened at 5:30 in the afternoon, and all the way up until the time they closed at 12:30. Most stations were buzzing prior to that as well, reporting on the most dreaded x-factor of the elections: those other thirteen candidates that were on most of the ballots. Whose votes would they take away from? Mark Hanelis himself had most cause for concern, as his libertarian support base was being gnawed at by another libertarian candidate, Nicholas Mikhanovich.
6:00
'This is James Courier from Phareus news. National polls currently show Hanelis ahead somewhat and in a surprising turn of events, socialist Gerald Fontair has not been playing much of a factor as he was expected to. The night is still young, however, and I'll get back to you with more at 7:30 with the first province reports.'
7:30
'This is Amanda Foulton from ZIN, and by far the most surprising turn of the night has been the lack of support that Senator Fontair has gathered so far this evening. Although he was behind in the earlier Gallis polls, with the x-factor of the other candidates and his eleventh hour rallies, he was expected to take as much as 30% of the national vote. That is not happening so far, as Fontair is struggling to reach the 10% mark, although he has improved from just over 5% in the first rounds after the polls opened. He has been levelling off, however, which could be a cause for concern.'
7:30
'James Courier back with the provincial updates. Out of thirty-six provinces currently we're going to be able to call four of them, as much more votes are going to be coming in later. So far we see three for Farnsworth and one for Hanelis; Senator Fontair has no solid victory margin in any province yet. The evening is still young and in most provinces there is no definitive call yet.'
9:30
'Amanda Foulton back here again, with a report on the voter turnout. Turnout so far has far exceeded expectations; as the voting goes into the second half the evening we have had far more than expected, and if we go on pace we could break seven hundred million voters, the highest turnout in recallable memory. ZIN is going to call right now seven states in Governor Farnsworth's favor, five in Mark Hanelis's favor, and so far one for Gerald Fontair, the Senator.'
10:30
'ZIN news reports; with just two hours remaining in the polls Senator Fontair has fallen hard. At one point earlier this evening he had around sixteen percent of the popular vote but has fallen significantly since then and has won only one province. This night has solidified into a heated match between Governor Farnsworth and Congressman Mark Hanelis; ZIN currently calls eleven provinces for them each while the remaining are too close to call.'
10:45
'James Courier here, again, on Phaerus News, with the latest updates on a side of the story tonight that has gotten less attention in the wake of the anticipated presidential elections. A significant number of Congressional chairs are up for grabs, and so far - going by affiliation rather than party here - libertarians and centrists have scored very high. Liberals are further down on the chain, followed by conservatives, and in another surprising development, the socialists taken another hit as they lose several key house seats and fail to win some of the expected ones. Phaerus calls twelve states for Hanelis and fifteen for Governor Farnsworth. Going by electoral votes, however, the race is more or less dead even, with only six electoral votes separating the two.'
11:50
'Amanda Foulton back again, and what a night it has been. Socialist parties have lost a stunning number of house seats and have only won two tonight, including losses in several favored seats. Centrists seem to have the majority, with libertarians, liberals, and conservatives not far behind. Again, for the first time since the Revolution, socialists have found themselves to be the minority, although they do retain the seats that are not up for vote tonight. It has been a stunning blow for the socialist parties as their candidate Senator Fontair has only won one state tonight and is currently struggling to retain over ten percent of the popular vote. With half an hour remaining, five key states are still too close to call. ZIN will call sixteen states for Governor Barnsworth and fourteen for Mark Hanelis, although the libertarian candidate has a six-point electoral edge.'
Excuse me for the ensuing blatant lack of creativity.
[i]Last updated 11:59
Province #1: Hanelis 44%, Barnsworth 46% [06 electoral votes]
Province #2: Hanelis 42%, Barnsworth 42% [18 electoral votes]
Province #3: Hanelis 39%, Barnsworth 42% [27 electoral votes]
Province #4: Hanelis 44%, Barnsworth 43% [13 electoral votes]
Province #5: Hanelis 43%, Barnsworth 41% [11 electoral votes]
Now, in a most evil and cruel manner (depending on how much you actually care, which I expect will not be much, so this is in actuality quite mild), I will not post the results or the victor of these five. For some a lot can happen in the last half hour (Province three is in a unique timezone, for instance, so it's actualy one and a half hours).
The outcome of these five will determine the winner and it can still go either way, though the centirst is down by 6. Also, I just realized that I mixed up the spelling of Barnsworth several times because I confused it with 'Fontair' (silly me) and I don't know if I fixed all of them.
This thread deals with the actual day of the election and its aftermath. I have OOC reasons for what I'm doing, and I'm going to try to explain this in IC, although some parts of it are going to be difficult...
For reference, the second thread (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=355105) and the first thread. (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=343560)
+ ---- 0|\/|6z0r 74|\/|3 45(11 4|@7!!!!1111 ------ +
Election Day
All across the expanses of Zoogiedom polls were opening, for Election Day was arrived. The primary candidates - the three that had emerged standing from the months of intense campaigning before, settled down with little to do but wait and twiddle their thumbs. The latest poll conducted with the three choices only indicated a near deadlock between two of them, libertarian Hanelis and centrist Barnsworth more or less tied at 40% apiece and socialist Fontair bringing up the rear with a little under 20%.
That had been over a week and a half ago, and everyone knew the tendency of voter opinions to sway constantly and drastically. It was still anyone's game.
Meanwhile, the media was having a field day covering the election, which had an expected turnout in excess of 650 million (the Zoogies are not politically apathetic; quite the opposite), and were reporting from all 36 provinces from the moment the first polls opened at 5:30 in the afternoon, and all the way up until the time they closed at 12:30. Most stations were buzzing prior to that as well, reporting on the most dreaded x-factor of the elections: those other thirteen candidates that were on most of the ballots. Whose votes would they take away from? Mark Hanelis himself had most cause for concern, as his libertarian support base was being gnawed at by another libertarian candidate, Nicholas Mikhanovich.
6:00
'This is James Courier from Phareus news. National polls currently show Hanelis ahead somewhat and in a surprising turn of events, socialist Gerald Fontair has not been playing much of a factor as he was expected to. The night is still young, however, and I'll get back to you with more at 7:30 with the first province reports.'
7:30
'This is Amanda Foulton from ZIN, and by far the most surprising turn of the night has been the lack of support that Senator Fontair has gathered so far this evening. Although he was behind in the earlier Gallis polls, with the x-factor of the other candidates and his eleventh hour rallies, he was expected to take as much as 30% of the national vote. That is not happening so far, as Fontair is struggling to reach the 10% mark, although he has improved from just over 5% in the first rounds after the polls opened. He has been levelling off, however, which could be a cause for concern.'
7:30
'James Courier back with the provincial updates. Out of thirty-six provinces currently we're going to be able to call four of them, as much more votes are going to be coming in later. So far we see three for Farnsworth and one for Hanelis; Senator Fontair has no solid victory margin in any province yet. The evening is still young and in most provinces there is no definitive call yet.'
9:30
'Amanda Foulton back here again, with a report on the voter turnout. Turnout so far has far exceeded expectations; as the voting goes into the second half the evening we have had far more than expected, and if we go on pace we could break seven hundred million voters, the highest turnout in recallable memory. ZIN is going to call right now seven states in Governor Farnsworth's favor, five in Mark Hanelis's favor, and so far one for Gerald Fontair, the Senator.'
10:30
'ZIN news reports; with just two hours remaining in the polls Senator Fontair has fallen hard. At one point earlier this evening he had around sixteen percent of the popular vote but has fallen significantly since then and has won only one province. This night has solidified into a heated match between Governor Farnsworth and Congressman Mark Hanelis; ZIN currently calls eleven provinces for them each while the remaining are too close to call.'
10:45
'James Courier here, again, on Phaerus News, with the latest updates on a side of the story tonight that has gotten less attention in the wake of the anticipated presidential elections. A significant number of Congressional chairs are up for grabs, and so far - going by affiliation rather than party here - libertarians and centrists have scored very high. Liberals are further down on the chain, followed by conservatives, and in another surprising development, the socialists taken another hit as they lose several key house seats and fail to win some of the expected ones. Phaerus calls twelve states for Hanelis and fifteen for Governor Farnsworth. Going by electoral votes, however, the race is more or less dead even, with only six electoral votes separating the two.'
11:50
'Amanda Foulton back again, and what a night it has been. Socialist parties have lost a stunning number of house seats and have only won two tonight, including losses in several favored seats. Centrists seem to have the majority, with libertarians, liberals, and conservatives not far behind. Again, for the first time since the Revolution, socialists have found themselves to be the minority, although they do retain the seats that are not up for vote tonight. It has been a stunning blow for the socialist parties as their candidate Senator Fontair has only won one state tonight and is currently struggling to retain over ten percent of the popular vote. With half an hour remaining, five key states are still too close to call. ZIN will call sixteen states for Governor Barnsworth and fourteen for Mark Hanelis, although the libertarian candidate has a six-point electoral edge.'
Excuse me for the ensuing blatant lack of creativity.
[i]Last updated 11:59
Province #1: Hanelis 44%, Barnsworth 46% [06 electoral votes]
Province #2: Hanelis 42%, Barnsworth 42% [18 electoral votes]
Province #3: Hanelis 39%, Barnsworth 42% [27 electoral votes]
Province #4: Hanelis 44%, Barnsworth 43% [13 electoral votes]
Province #5: Hanelis 43%, Barnsworth 41% [11 electoral votes]
Now, in a most evil and cruel manner (depending on how much you actually care, which I expect will not be much, so this is in actuality quite mild), I will not post the results or the victor of these five. For some a lot can happen in the last half hour (Province three is in a unique timezone, for instance, so it's actualy one and a half hours).
The outcome of these five will determine the winner and it can still go either way, though the centirst is down by 6. Also, I just realized that I mixed up the spelling of Barnsworth several times because I confused it with 'Fontair' (silly me) and I don't know if I fixed all of them.