Wondering how many are going to vote by absentee ballot

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luvflyin said:
Another proposal out there is making voting day a National Holiday so more people can get out and do it without waiting until after work.
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Up until I retired from my day gig in 2015, I always voted after work, in person. I still always vote in person. If there are true hardship reasons for truly not being able to get to an in-person polling location, then of course I support absentee ballots. Inconvenience, which is what we're talking about if the issue is being able to vote "without waiting until after work," exists in much of life. Many worthwhile endeavors are inconvenient. It's an "inconvenient truth." ;) If a person only intends to vote if the process is convenient, then I'm not entirely convinced that vote or opinion is worth much.
 
Juliet Hotel said:
So I think a better question is how would you feel about limiting a jury to only one day of deliberation before deciding if you're guilty or not?
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Illogical. The jury takes a vote when the evidence and arguments have been presented. The same should apply to voters, imo. Not before. What you're making an analogy to would be having the voters "deliberate" or "caucus" like in Iowa. I'm not a big fan of THAT. YMMV.
 
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dtuuri said:
Illogical. The jury takes a vote when the evidence and arguments have been presented. The same should apply to voters, imo. Not before. What you're making an analogy to would be having the voters "deliberate" or "caucus" like in Iowa. I'm not a big fan of THAT. YMMV.
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The solution to that would be to call an end to the campaigning, then start a couple of days of voting. We already call and end to it and commence a one day voting period. Why not commence a two or three (or more) day voting period.
 
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JOhnH said:
Don't Orthodox Jews work

The solution to that would be to call an end to the campaigning, then start a couple of days of voting. We already call and end to it and commence a one day voting period. Why not commence a two or three (or more) day voting period.
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I'd reach across the aisle for that. What about not allowing the deep state to release incriminating documents/reports during that time too? What if they didn't listen?
 
There are a couple problems already with the way we vote and report results. Multi-day voting is already a "thing" if we have mail-in ballots.

We have problems now with results being reported even before polls have closed. Florida, in the 2000 election, was having results displayed on the news and races called by networks even before polls closed in the panhandle, and it turns out that could have either saved or cost an election depending on whose side you were on. Some states in the west are dropped into insignificance by national races being called while they are still voting. After 2000 most networks said they wouldn't report results until after polls closed, but they really can't help themselves. Multi-day elections could mean multi-day results, and it's sort of a Schrodinger thing - peeking affect the votes.
 
Did vote by mail in the last primary for the first time. Efficient and painless. Our county was well organized with (IMHO) good security. Used the official drop box. Received notification that my ballot was received and validated. More than willing to use the same method for the general election.
 
Gary said:
Did vote by mail in the last primary for the first time. Efficient and painless. Our county was well organized with (IMHO) good security. Used the official drop box. Received notification that my ballot was received and validated. More than willing to use the same method for the general election.
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Did you have to apply for the ballot, i.e., you are living, or were you sent the ballot without requesting it, i.e., you could be voting dead or twice, like @cgrab?
 
JOhnH said:
I see the connection, but not the logic. I have always thought that election day should be a national holiday so that many people will not have to take time off work, which many cannot afford. Either that or make election day a Saturday. But making it a school holiday may well make it harder for parents, especially single parents to vote. They will be tied up taking care of their kids.
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When I was growing up, election day was a holiday so they could use the gym. Seems like it was that way in Colorado too, the last time I voted in person in the late 1980s.
 
EdFred said:
I can hit the voting location with a 6 iron from my driveway, so I'll just walk down there and write myself in like I have in the past.
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Maybe they can set up two bins, one for Trump and one for Biden and count how many balls land in each.
 
Everskyward said:
When I was growing up, election day was a holiday so they could use the gym. Seems like it was that way in Colorado too, the last time I voted in person in the late 1980s.
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School holiday for us, not general one. My wife found it convenient because the school she taught in was also our local polling place. The teachers still had to come to the building even though the students didn't.
 
flyingron said:
Maybe they can set up two bins, one for Trump and one for Biden and count how many balls land in each.
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NO! My (golf) balls always wind up in the place I least want them to be.
 
flyingron said:
School holiday for us, not general one. My wife found it convenient because the school she taught in was also our local polling place. The teachers still had to come to the building even though the students didn't.
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Should have specified. It was a school holiday only, not a general one.

As an adult, I almost always had a job that was unpredictable enough that I couldn't guarantee being home on Election Day. I don't remember having any problem getting an absentee ballot. Then the state (Colorado) went to allowing people to opt into being a permanent mail-in voter. A few years ago they changed to universal mail-in voting. California has allowed people to be permanent mail-in voters for a while. As far as dead people voting. My mom's ballot stopped coming after she passed. I didn't need to notify anyone. I'm sure the State has records. Her SS stopped immediately.
 
JOhnH said:
I have always thought that election day should be a national holiday so that many people will not have to take time off work, which many cannot afford.
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Lately that would not work for me. I'm on an island when working and can't leave for 3 or 4 weeks at a time.
MuseChaser said:
If a person only intends to vote if the process is convenient, then I'm not entirely convinced that vote or opinion is worth much.
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See above. I have always voted after work. Get off the boat and run directly to the poll. No chance to vote before work because I would normally leave at 4am. C-19 has forced me to work 3 or 4 weeks 7 days a week and live in a man camp. No more daily boat rides to work, I miss not getting home and seeing the wife everyday.
 
AKBill said:
Lately that would not work for me. I'm on an island when working and can't leave for 3 or 4 weeks at a time.
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There is zero chance that any plan will satisfy everyone. The goal is to give the most people an equal opportunity to vote.

In your situation, you would be eligible for a mail-in ballot, unless they quarantine your mail too.
 
JOhnH said:
There is zero chance that any plan will satisfy everyone. The goal is to give the most people an equal opportunity to vote.
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Not sure why you want everyone to vote on a single day, then. It seems that what would work best is a voting period of a week or two where people could choose to receive ballots by mail and drop off/mail them, or vote in person, either early, or on the day. If people are concerned about last-minute developments, they could wait. If people have made up their mind in advance or have schedules that make it hard to vote on a particular day, they could vote early.
 
Everskyward said:
Not sure why you want everyone to vote on a single day, then. It seems that what would work best is a voting period of a week or two where people could choose to receive ballots by mail and drop off/mail them, or vote in person, either early, or on the day. If people are concerned about last-minute developments, they could wait. If people have made up their mind in advance or have schedules that make it hard to vote on a particular day, they could vote early.
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And results should not be revealed until after Thanksgiving and all the votes are counted.
 
EdFred said:
And results should not be revealed until after Thanksgiving and all the votes are counted.
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Why should it be any different than it was before? I think they release results when the challengers couldn't possibly catch up. Otherwise the results are delayed.
 
"Hey boss, I just found a dozen boxes of ballots in the back of the van. You want I should count them?"
 
Everskyward said:
Why should it be any different than it was before? I think they release results when the challengers couldn't possibly catch up. Otherwise the results are delayed.
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2000 ring a bell? There's also ballots that haven't been counted yet in those "official" results. I recall seeing something about 25,000 uncounted (at least as of the Tuesday numbers) ballots from one state in the last election. IIRC it solidified a close state, but it could have swung it the other direction.
 
EdFred said:
2000 ring a bell? There's also ballots that haven't been counted yet in those "official" results. I recall seeing something about 25,000 uncounted (at least as of the Tuesday numbers) ballots from one state in the last election. IIRC it solidified a close state, but it could have swung it the other direction.
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In 2000 it was close in Florida, so results were delayed. Is this surprising? As far as 25,000 uncounted votes (is the just a rumor, or fact?), if they wouldn't have made a difference, does it matter?
 
Everskyward said:
In 2000 it was close in Florida, so results were delayed. Is this surprising? As far as 25,000 uncounted votes (is the just a rumor, or fact?), if they wouldn't have made a difference, does it matter?
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They weren't delayed. They were calling Gore as the winner of Florida before the panhandle precincts were counted. No numbers should be reported until ALL votes are in, from every state, from every method.

They were uncounted at the time of the reporting. The point is they could have made a difference. Using that same logic as long as a drunk driver makes it home safe and doesn't kill anyone it's OK to do it? I mean, it didn't make a difference, right?
 
EdFred said:
They weren't delayed. They were calling Gore as the winner of Florida before the panhandle precincts were counted.
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They made a mistake, so maybe they'll be more careful next time. It was corrected in the end, which is what I meant by being delayed.

EdFred said:
They could have made a difference. Using that same logic as long as a drunk driver and makes it home safe doesn't kill anyone it's OK to do it? I mean, it didn't make a difference, right?
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Wow, that was a strange analogy...
 
Everskyward said:
Not sure why you want everyone to vote on a single day, then. It seems that what would work best is a voting period of a week or two where people could choose to receive ballots by mail and drop off/mail them, or vote in person, either early, or on the day. If people are concerned about last-minute developments, they could wait. If people have made up their mind in advance or have schedules that make it hard to vote on a particular day, they could vote early.
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I don't recall ever saying I wanted voting in a single day, although I wouldn't have a problem with that if it was a national holiday. But I don't think it should drag on for weeks.
 
dtuuri said:
Did you have to apply for the ballot, i.e., you are living, or were you sent the ballot without requesting it, i.e., you could be voting dead or twice, like @cgrab?
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:D Pretty sure I'm still alive! :D

In our case, we did request the "mail-in" ballot on the PA Dept. of State website. The request does need to be validated with the county voter roll.
 
JOhnH said:
I don't recall ever saying I wanted voting in a single day, although I wouldn't have a problem with that if it was a national holiday. But I don't think it should drag on for weeks.
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But that would be a disadvantage for people who travel for work (presumably they will again in greater numbers sometime in the future). Just because it's a national holiday doesn't mean everyone gets the day off. It would also disadvantage people on vacation or people who need to be away from home for personal reasons.
 
Everskyward said:
When I was growing up, election day was a holiday so they could use the gym. Seems like it was that way in Colorado too, the last time I voted in person in the late 1980s.
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Probably just a School Holiday. What’s being proposed is a National Holiday. If ‘they’ say there’s to many already, get rid of Columbus Day. It’s pretty much useless anyway other than just a day off.
 
cgrab said:
The lines at Walmart are longer than the lines to vote. They don't seem to have a problem.
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When I lived in Colorado, Walmart was a ballot drop off location. There were never any lines. Probably the nicest Walmart around.
 
Everskyward said:
When I lived in Colorado, Walmart was a ballot drop off location. There were never any lines. Probably the nicest Walmart around.
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Colorado’s been vote by mail for about 10 years I think. Oregon and Washington are the other two.
 
luvflyin said:
Colorado’s been vote by mail for about 10 years I think. Oregon and Washington are the other two.
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Yeah! and they throw away all the republican votes.

we must declare = Democrat/Republican = it is marked on the outer envelope.
 
luvflyin said:
Colorado’s been vote by mail for about 10 years I think. Oregon and Washington are the other two.
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That sounds about right, but I'm not sure because even before they were universal vote by mail, you had the option to be a permanent mail-in voter, which I was.
 
If it's a national holiday, then the post office is closed and the ballots don't get delivered.
 
Some people can't resist... thread closed by MC vote.
 
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