Oprah Opts For Early-Voting, Has Voting Booth Meltdown (VIDEO)

Oprah Winfrey announced on her live show Friday that she took advantage of Illinois' early-voting laws and voted Thursday in Chicago - but not without a voting booth scare and near emotional meltdown.

"I was worried that there's gonna be such long lines, and I have a live show," Winfrey said, justifying her decision to vote early.

She waited 72 minutes to vote, only to have a near-meltdown in the booth.

"When I voted yesterday electronically, the first vote that you vote for on the ballot is the presidential candidate. It was my first time doing electronic, so I didn't mark the X strong enough, or I held down too long. Because then when I went back to check it, it had not recorded my presidential vote," she said.

She then simulated her meltdown, shaking and breathing heavily while stuttering out the words, "It didn't record my presidential vote."

Watch, and heed Oprah's advice to double check that your vote is recorded:

Read more info from Brad Friedman.

Comments

[DocKenny]

These rich celebrities don't even come close to paying their fair share in taxes.
Their Federal pay tax rate should be 60%
A 15% Imperial tax should be imposed for non-necessary everyday items, e.g. Private Planes, etc., Limos, Limo driver's pay, dinner tabs over $100.00, utility power bills over $250.00, houses valued over 500 thousand dollars, and the resale value of the house every year. Also, cars valued over $30,000.00, jewelry over $500.00, etc.,etc.,etc.,
If the rich truly paid their fair share in taxes, then maybe Americans could have Health Care.

[shanefish]

Actually, most celebrities say they wouldn't mind paying higher taxes. Did you forget that it was Bush who gave them more money?

P.S. I am not even middle-class and my gas bill in the winter is over $500/month. Am I rich or just getting the shaft from Dominion?

[DocKenny]

shanefish, don't you see my point???
How about $1,500.00 on the gas bill. Are you heating a mansion with precious resources? Do you fly around the country in a private plane? Come on man, don't you get it? Rich celebrities could pay an extra 20% to 30% more, but they won't ( but they should ). Paying taxes should hurt, just like us paying that $500.00 a month winter gas bill.

[bentax645]

What I meant to say (should have checked my orthography) was:

If the voting system does not improve in the near future, the USA may need to bring in International Monitors to over-see the election, like they do in Ivory Coast or Senegal etc.

What a scandalous state of affairs.

[loudspeaker]

It's already too late. They can make either one of the clowns win.

[bentax645]

If the voting does not improve in the near future, the USA may need to bring in International Monitors to over-see the election, like they do in Ivory Coast or Senegal etc.

What a scandalous state of affairs.

[enna]

The reason her vote wasn't counted is because she voted for Obama. The electronic voting machines are programmed to defraud the voter. Diebold makes them and is a huge contributer to the Republican party; those machines can easily be hacked to flip the votes. Just ask West Virginia voters...

[ObamaEdwards]

It is absolute CRAP, this country not having a simple paper ballot with pen to mark the vote, and people to count it asap like in Canada! We've had EIGHT YEARS to correct this problem, and it has not been addressed because the Republicans in Washington know this is the only way they can now maintain power. If this election is stolen, this country is going to come apart at the seams. This will not be like 2000 with everyone saying oh well, guess we can't do anything. This is a huge issue that deserves massive attention from media right now.

[Uber]

I agree. I returned to Canada to vote this year and was stunned to get a pencil and simple ballot. What, here in America, people can't write with pencils anymore? The whole thing is absolutely shameful. Long lines of people just to vote. In some parts of Europe, people get the day off just to vote! But here it is treated like a privilege, rather than a right. If Obama wins, I'm hoping that he gets to the heart of voting reform.

[bentax645]

I am a Canadian living in France and we also provide a paper ballot.

[Keatingfive]

Come November 5th C3 and his friends from the RNC will line up to take a bite of the $hit sandwich prepared by the American's who voted for change. Bon Appetite My Friends. lol

[Keatingfive]

C3yomoma will be looking for a rock to hide under after this election. I bet cha he won't be seen on this post come Nov 5th

[Bitsko]

I thought Ms. Winfrey had an aide do everything for her, including voting.

[panamaguy]

Dream on C3Momma...­.....Obama is going to be the next President. You better start getting used to it.

[writerforhire]

At least the meltdown wasn't from the fact that both candidates were on the ballot.

[c3momma]

Mort - don't you see. The big "O" is setting the stage for the Crying Tantrum the Democrats are gonna throw when Obama doesn't win. You know the whole "the machines and votes where tampered with" game they cry "foul" with when they don't get what they want.

[HurryUp1212009]

Sir, you are either 4 years too late or 4 years too early with your "prediction" of a Republican victory.

[GuyRC]

Who went to the supreme court to stop the recount in FL? Who cried foul? You got your 4 more years. Now you and the republican party are history.

[BUMbO]

You want a bunch of cry babies who whine about the media all the time, who steamroll over people who disagree with them, who don't even know constitutional law (see Sarah Palin and her misinformed idea of the media and her free speech), then look no further than the Republican Party.

[curly2]

Right on, Bumbo!

[ohdear08]

Why is every McCain voter a cynic?

[dare2tryobama]

It's not all of them but the ones that speak out are teh cynic ones. If there are others that feel different then they need to speak out.

[clduckett]

I'd sure like to know what magic powder you're huffing there, c3momma, if you honestly don't believe Obama is going to win (you could be just pulling our legs, although I kinda/sorta doubt it). Whatever your snorting, it's obviously impaired your ability to see reality, although I'm guessing that your reality is composed of "Republican reality" in that it entails equal parts magical and wishful thinking, epistemological denial, and the superstitious rejection of logic and the scientific method. Obama is going to win this election, without question. There are just too many people angry at the eight-years of the Bush & Company debacle driving this country into the ground.

[buddydave]

Oprah is worth a ba-jillion dollars. She should be allowed to vote 1,000 times.

[toocoldout]

Exactly. She's the one paying all the taxes.

[Mort]

I wonder why everything she does has to be about her. It couldn't have been simply doing her patriotic duty. Genuinely supporting her candidate. Gotta make mistakes, blow it all out of proportion and turn it into a media event. Most "normal" folks would rather not have the whole country know the idiotic things we do. But Oprah can't push a button right or read instructions and the world must stop and take notice.

When I was a kid, if I threw a huge hissyfit I got my butt smacked and sent to my room. Oprah does it and gets lavished with attention.

[DinSea]

Thank you! This is why I stopped watching her decades ago. Her & Bill Clinton in a room would suck all the ego oxygen from the the room, and keep on sucking from the next planet over.

[kikimae]

Who cares, don't watch...not hurting her one bit.

[huffyfan2]

Yea, I'm sure she's really hurting over that. BWAAAAAAAAAAA.

See the show is called "Oprah", when you get your own show you can call it your name and talk about what you'd like to.

[ohdear08]

She may have saved 1000s of votes by sharing her experience.

[faithnj]

Mort....I'm your mother. Now stop that hissyfit you're having over Oprah before I smack you on the butt. Nobody wants to hear it. Go to your room. I love you.

[thanos mom]

I think it was a genuine issue, MANY people on both sides are worried about the accuracy of electronic voting. Hackers abound, systems crash, there are a ton of potential issues just waiting to happen. I don't see why encouraging people to double check their vote is a problem.
If another election is stolen, THAT will be a problem.

[Rawkcuf]

One suggestion to prepare before you go out to vote:

Bring a folding chair, a good book and a bunch of snacks, and try to enjoy the wait.

Go with friends, have a party! Send out for pizza. The long lines don't have to discourage voters, we just need to go prepared to wait.

[DinSea]

Exactly! Make it an event - organize a caravan, take a card table & games. Take food & water.

REMEMBER WOODSTOCK... WE ARE MAKING HISTORY .. the world will be talking about how Barack Obama conquered the Clintons, restructured the bipartisan wedge-o-matic, and changed politics forever. Millions of voices cried out for this CHANGE & paid the price to cast their vote.

Nobody had any idea it would be such a historical event. We are still marveling.

[Toutlaguerre]

No doubt this is a ploy to get people to go out there and vote and make sure the presidential vote gets counted. I doubt Oprah is this dumb and if she is..she needs to move to the Russia Sarah Palin can see from her backyard.

[toocoldout]

Or there's a third possibility. The machines are actually rigged:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-friedman/oprahs-vote-lost-how-you_b_140026.html