should we trust voting by mail?

[donsu]

wasn't there a problem with uncounted mail in? others found in the trash?

when do they get counted? and who counts them?

I'm leery.

[JuniperLea]

1. Good questions!

I'm curious to know as well.

My first concern is that I'd like to be part of the exit polls.

[havocmom]

2. WE have to take part in the counting or no method will be safe

[donsu]

3. and how do we know they even arrived - and if they arrived, where is

the arrival point. who receives them? are they marked as received? a daily tally kept? opened or not?

does each state and each district have it's own system? is it a nation wide system? who are the double checkers?

[benddem]

4. In Oregon

The ballots are received at the county clerks office. TWO persons (separately) compare the signature on the back of the envelope with the signature on the voter registration. If the signature appears to be different, the person is called to the clerks office and either submits a new registration or receive a new ballot.
All these steps are taken by one democrat and one republican
1) two individuals open the Outside envelope to ensure there is only one ballot in the envelope. Again if there is a problem...the individual is called.
2) two others separate the ballot from the inner envelope.
All the envelopes are counted and saved.
3) two look at the ballot, if the ballot has been inked or the pencil mark is too light, a special stick is used to make sure the ballot can be read.
4) if the ballot has coffee spilled on it or for some reason is unreadable...a democrat and a republican redo the ballot.
5) If there is a bigger problem, the voter is again called.
I've never heard of ballots in the trash cans. But it would be pretty tough for someone to pull one out and vote...and if two ballots are received from the same voter the voter would be called.
After all this is done, the chairs of the Dems and Repugs (and I think candidates) are called to the courthouse to observe a test count of the ballots.
I think this is the safest system imaginable...but if Democrats don't get off their dead buns and volunteer to be poll watchers or call the clerks office and apply to be election workers...we are going to continue to be skunked by the repugs.

[donsu]

5. thanks for this info - I knew Oregon seemed to have this worked out

pretty good but how about the other states

can Fl. and Ohio be trusted?

[Davis_X_Machina]

6. Postal ballots are not secret ballots.

The individual and the ballot he cast may not be connectable at the counting end, but they sure can at the casting end.

My scenario:

Pastor Dan at the Bible Believing Baptist Church announces that next Wendesday night, instead of Bible study, there will be a Ballot Night.

All the members of the flock are encouraged to bring their ballots to the church basement, where there will be a period of prayerful reflection before choices are made. Deacons and elders will be available to help the faithful with the difficult process of discenrment. At the end of the evening, as a convenience to the parishoners, Pastor Dan will run all the sealed ballots through the church's postage meter.

No advocacy. No "vote for X". No filling in of other people's ballots.

But a whole lot of coercion....

[pscot]

9. And where did you say this happened?

Surely it would have made the papers.

[Awsi Dooger]

7. I think Washington state is trying it this year

I read that somewhere recently. Not every county, but the vast majority of them.

I guess it's a case of emulating your neighbor.

[windbreeze]

11. YES...my county in Wa state

is all absentee ballot...and I HATE IT...since just a little after the last prez election...and it was the Democrats who pushed for this...
windbreeze

[liberaldemocrat7]

8. Yes, if civil servants control the process.

If civil servants control the registration process and the voting process we have not much to fear about corruption. The government invented the civil service to take away partisan elements out of many departments of government. I find it the point where voting gets taken over by the civil service. If good enough for the post office then it appears good enough for voting personnel.


Let the parties observe the counting but since everyone voted by mail, noone will suffer from voter suppression. With the counting of paper ballots no machine will switch votes to a prticular political party.

[Catchawave]

10. With all these voting problems in our

voter apatheic U.S. of A......I'm about ready for "purple finger" voting method as the simplicity is very endearing to me right now :hi:

[pscot]

12. Washington will vote by mail this fall

except for King County, the states largest. The county exec. and the council have been paralyzed by the recent recount victory of Christine Gregoire as governor. The Republicans launched all sorts of reckless accusations about voter fraud in King County. They got tossed out of court by a conservative judge, but it has since become a staple of what passes for thought in the wingnut community that the Democrats in King County somehow stole the election.

The best thing about mail voting is that you get your ballot a couple of weeks before the election so you have time to make informed decisions about local races and little known candidates for judgeships and such.

[KKKarl is an idiot]

13. Voting by mail...

may bring out the more progressive people to vote. The problem we have with progressives is that they way change but do not have the bring out the vote base like the repubs. It is so easy to vote this way. Yes it has it's problems, but it also has it's positives. I think in the long run this would be good for the Democratic party.