What if we had an election without electronic voting machines?

[merrily]

24. I knew what you were quoting from. Is Simon supposed to be infallible? Even IF the exit poll that

was done was not a "rigorous" exit poll (as opposed to a lax exit poll?), it is not accurate to say NO exit poll was done, is it?

It's more of a poll conducted post-election within the Martha Coakley supporters and advisers to find out where the campaign failed.

Where are you getting all that? That is NOT what the article to which I linked you says.

An exit survey of Massachusetts voters confirms that “decreased turnout among constituencies that historically have voted for progressive candidates,” combined with a strong Republican performance among independents, delivered Scott Brown the margins he needed to win.

The poll, which was commissioned by “Women’s Voices, Women Vote” and conducted by Lake Research Partners (a firm headed by Martha Coakley’s pollster Celinda Lake), found that key demographic supporters of Obama (unmarried women, people of color, and younger voters) did not turn out in large numbers for Democrats. The Massachusetts turnout reflects recent trends in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections.

An exit poll was commissioned by women's group and done by a professional polling company. If the poll were not deemed up to Simon's standards for whatever reason, an accurate statement by Simon would have gone something like, "The only exit poll done was (a sloppy one, or a substandard one, or whatever disparaging description one wants to insert here). So, Simon's assertion that no exit poll at all was done is inaccurate, by my standards. It is possible that this poll escaped Simon's attention, since it was not commissioned by any media. In any event, I would never have made a flat statement that no exit poll at all was conducted.

Also, I am not sure what you mean when you say the 70% Dem majority in MA. Masachusetts is indeed very blue, but over half of registered voters in Massachusetts are registered unenrolled, the Massachusetts equivalent of independent. http://www.tauntongazette.com/article/20140722/NEWS/140729362 We do elect Republican Governors regularly, but there is no denying we are very blue state. However, I am not sure where a figure like 70% Democratic comes from because it's not coming from voter registration.

I followed this campaign and election VERY closely from inside Massachusetts--inside Boston, to be precise. I would bet my life that Coakley lost BIG.