Arizona has passed Proposition 102, which would effectively ban Gay Marriages in the state – gaining 56% of the vote. However, Arizona voters rejected Proposition 202, which would see illegal immigrants being hired illegal.

California, which has two propositions, is still processing their results. Currently, Proposition 8 – which would ban Gay Marriage – has 53% saying yes and 47% saying no. Not all votes have been counted, with only 33% being reported. Proposition 4 – which would change its state’s constitution to make doctors report to the parents of a pregnant minor who wants an abortion – has 32% of all votes counted, with 52% saying no and 48% saying yes.

Florida, who is still processing its result, has also said yes in banning Gay Marriage. With 62% saying yes and 38% saying No.

For Affirmative Action – which prohibits governments to discriminate against or give preferential treatment to an indivdiual or group because of their race, sex or colour – Colorado has said no, and Nebraska has said Yes.

Washington voted on having Doctor-Assisted Suicide allowed, with that passing on a 58% to 42% result. However, only 43% of all votes have been reported.

Senate
Democrats – 54
Republicans – 40
Independents - 2

House
Democrats – 245
Republicans – 161

Source: CNN

Barack Obama has made history by becoming the first African-American to win the Presidential election, being the second Democrat in getting the role, second only to Bill Clinton, since 1980.

“Young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled, Americans have sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of red states and blue states,” Obama said in his speech.

In the results, Obama has won 338 electoral seats, with McCain getting 159 electoral seats. Currently, according to NBC predictions –

Obama – CA, NV, OR, WA, HI, NM, CO, FL, IA, IL, MN, WI, MI, OH, FL, VA, PA, DC, MD, DE, NJ, CT, RI, MA, VT, NH, NY, ME
McCain – AK, AZ, UT, ID, WY, ND, SD, NE, KS, OK, TX, LA, AR, MS, AL, GA, SC, TN, KY, WV

However, four states have not been decided yet, Montana, Missouri, Indiana and North Carolina. North Carolina has reported all votes, and it has left North Carolina tied between the two. Indiana, which has 99% reported, has Obama winning by 50%, and McCain 49%. Missouri, with 98% of the votes reported, has McCain in 50% and Obama 49%. Montana sees McCain 50% and Obama 47%.

Obama has managed to win his home state of Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania - nearing his target of 270 electorial college votes.

John McCain’s home state of Arizona is too close to call - meaning that according to our sources, they cannot predict a winner. However, according to results - McCain has 56% of the vote, with Obama on 42%; with 49% of all votes being counted.

NBC is projecting that Senator John McCain has won Nebraska and South Dakota. Nebraska has only 30% of all votes counted and South Dakota has 54% of all votes.

Nebraska
Obama - 46%, McCain 53%

South Dakota
Obama - 45%, McCain 53%

Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker has a new plan, and according to a pamphlet – he’s a Democrat. One problem though, he’s actually a Republican. The Marathon Blog has managed to get the pamphlet, and lists him among the other Democrat Senate candidates, except his rival – Ronny Musgrove.

Like all scandals, his spokesperson told TPM Election Central that it was the first time they saw it. The honest to goodness truth is this is the first time we’ve seen it.”

The image is below.

In an interview to The Weekend Australian, owned by News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch has said that Barack Obama could worsen the financial crisis if he implements his protectionist policies when he becomes president next week.

“For the past three or four years, some Democrats have been threatening to do things like put on extra tariffs (against Chinese imports) if they don’t change their currency,” he told the Weekend Australian. “If it happened, it could set off retaliatory action which would certainly damage the world economy seriously.”

Murdoch, who is a Republican supporter, has also defended Kevin Rudd’s policies on dealing with the crisis, saying that he “has acted very sure-footedly.”

Source: The Australian

Barack Obama’s campaign is reported to have collected $150 million in donations for the month of September, bringing his total collection of donations for the campaign to $605 million – a number unseen in politics. While no details have been released, a report must be submitted to the Federal Election Commission on Monday (or Tuesday AEDT).

The donations have helped Obama to set up offices to help get votes in competitive states, where it is unknown if either McCain or Obama will get the vote.

The number is possible, since Obama has not opted to use any government funding for his campaign. John McCain, his rival from the Republicans, has opted for it; limiting his spending to $84 million for September and October.

First it was blogging, then it was YouTube – now Twitter is now involved in the US’s presidential coverage, after launching its election website using the recently acquired Summize to showcase all the tweets made by users, along with specific filters for all both the Republican and Democratic candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama, while showing their own tweets in a special section.

It has also partnered up with Current TV to help in its election coverage, allowing the “tweets” to be displayed on-screen during the presidential debates.

After announcing Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, John McCain has managed to get ahead in the polls after a new opinion poll showed that he is taking the lead over his Democratic rival Barack Obama.

A USA Today/Gallup survey showed that 50% of registered voters would vote for McCain, with 46% choosing Obama; a turnaround from a previous poll taken just before the Republican National Convention - which shoed McCain trailing Obama by seven percent.

Source: The Age