Undecided voters do not request absentee ballots ...GRRRRR!

[SoCalDem]

KGO is all-election-all-night-long..

I am stunned to hear people calling in asking about their absentee ballots..

I cannot believe all the nonsense about when to mail your ballot (DUH..ASAP)..or whether to hand deliver it (HELLO!!! why not just vote in person, and ask for paper??)

Bernie Ward had a lady on who was wondering when to mail it, and whether the postmark pre-election day would legitimize the ballot, even if it arrived late..NO IT WON'T


I maintain, that if you are a savvy enough voter to want an absentee ballot, you KNOW WHICH GUY YOU WANT...don't be coy and play postal roulette with it.. Fill it out and mail it the same day you get it.. send it certified, so you get a receipt..

Truth be told, ANY way you vote can (and might be) tampered with..

Once that ballot is out of YOUR hands, it IS oout of your hands whether you mail it, scan and drop it into a box, press a button, or whatever..

We have FaithBasedVoting, and unless we want to do away with secret ballots (I actually DO..I am not ashamed or afraid to tell who I voted for), we just have to cross our fingers..:)(and hope that the Dem hackers are more cunning than the repube hackers-for-Jesus).:)

[soup]

1. and don't forget the postage.

Election 2004
'04 absentee votes require more postage
By Times Staff
Published October 26, 2004

The self-addressed return envelope that comes with a Pinellas County absentee ballot has two spaces on it, for two stamps.

But two stamps won't always cover the fare. Many absentee ballots need 83 cents - or more than two 37-cent stamps.

Florida Democratic Party officials are so concerned about the mistake that they've been reminding absentee voters by phone to put extra postage on their absentee ballots.

>snip<
In Pinellas County, Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark's office could not explain Monday why she printed envelopes that didn't indicate the right number of stamps.

Deputy Supervisor of Elections Joan Brock referred questions to a new spokeswoman, who began work Monday and could not be reached for comment.
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/10/26/Tampabay/_04_absentee_votes_re.shtml


According to the article, the post office will deliver the ballots, even short on postage, and the taxpayers will pick up the shortage. After that, :shrug: it's anybody's guess what will be done with them.

It's not just the voters, SoCalDem. Can anyone get anything right?

Referred to a new spokeswoman (great timing for a new employee- one week away from FL FUBAR 04) - who (naturally) could not be reached for comment.

:slammingmyheadrepeatedlyagainstthewall:

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. I voted absentee & handed it in.

My absentee ballot was automatic because I'll be assisting at the polls on election day. I opted to hand it in because I wanted to make sure it got into the right hands. When I arrived at the polling place, there was a line 50 people long. I was allowed to hop the line to hand my ballot to the front desk. When I handed it in, I told the lady I wanted to see where it went from there. She seemed confused, as if I was asking her to process the ballot. She explained they would not be opened until election day. I said I understood, but I wanted to see her take the ballot to its destination. She went around the corner (where I could not see her, but where she was in view to her co-workers) and she (I assume) date stamped the envelope. Then she walked the ballot and gave it to the supervisor of elections.

If I changed anything at all, I would recommend the Supervisor's office to have the date stamping in full view, also, any registering of the envelope should be in plain view and putting it in a locked box would be nice as well.