So much for "Election" Day

[Hawkmoon]

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3607682.shtml#.VFduFlPwo1I

The objections to requiring people to provide positive identification when voting make sense ONLY to people who condone or promote voter fraud. And now comes this new trend toward "early voting." IMHO the whole thing just makes a mockery out of the concept of having a day set aside for elections.

My views are undoubtedly shaped by having grown up in a state where we have always had to show ID before being allowed to vote, so I don't see anything wrong with it. I don't consider it to be an infringement on my civil rights whatsoever. In fact, IMHO it's a protection of my civil rights. Each citizen is allotted one vote per election. If I only get one vote -- I really want my vote to be MY vote. I would be very upset if I showed up at the polls tomorrow and they told me that "I" had already voted three days ago.

We need to roll back the clock on elections:

• Positive ID and proof of citizenship required to register
• Positive ID required to vote
• Except for very limited, valid reasons, voting allowed only on election day
• Get rid of electronic voting machines and go back to "ancient" systems that can't be programmed to change votes

Elections in the U.S. today are no better than elections in the worst of the banana republics. It's a disgrace.

[MechAg94]

Registration to vote is way too easy.  3rd party registration shouldn't even exist. 

IMO, you should have to jump through a couple hoops to register and vote if only to insure the people voting are the ones who really want to.

[Scout26]

Neither of you, obviously, live in Illinois....

 

[brimic]

The objections to requiring people to provide positive identification when voting make sense ONLY to people who condone or promote voter fraud.

One all-encompassing group for those people: Democrats.

[KD5NRH]

• Except for very limited, valid reasons, voting allowed only on election day

Lines can get pretty bad as it is, but I'd like to see all of the time advantages go away:

• No tallies posted until all the votes are in - how many people stay home when they see that their candidate "has no chance?"
• National standard primary days - No more watching early-primary indicator states for the same reason

• Get rid of electronic voting machines and go back to "ancient" systems that can't be programmed to change votes

This could be done without eliminating the machines; have it print a fully human-readable paper ballot in duplicate.  One copy goes in the box, voter keeps the other, after comparing them to make sure the votes cast are the votes intended.  Machine tallies to be randomly spot checked against the paper, with paper being fully counted in the event of a recount.

[French G.]

I do not remember the talk about early voting when I was growing up. Someone is pushing that. Discussion of early voting tallies or exit polls should be illegal. All early voting should be on a sealed paper ballot to be opened on election day only.

[Tallpine]

We are on a permanent absentee ballot list and have been for quite a few years.  It's 25+ miles (about 40 minutes) to the county seat to vote.

Most of the off-cycle elections (bond issues, school board, etc) are mail-in ballots for all registered voters.

[AJ Dual]

Not so worked up about it. This election cycle if anything is proving that early/absentee voting is not a electoral weapon exclusive to the Democrats.

However, I'm popping my head into my polling place to look myself up on the book to double-check they show myself and Mrs. Dual crossed off as early voters.

[Hawkmoon]

All early voting should be on a sealed paper ballot to be opened on election day only.

Which is how absentee ballots have always been handled in these parts. I thought that's the way they were handled everywhere but it appears I was wrong (again).

[230RN]

I've been waiting for years for some schnook to suggest phone-in voting.  

Our sealed, paper, mail-in ballots have little ovals to black out for the vote.  I figured this was pretty secure, but then I heard about the Diebold voting maching fraud, where it would switch votes to Democratic candidates.  From what I can tell, the coding for the touch-screen areas allowed for a very large "touching area" for Democrats and a very small area for Republican candidates.  This accounts for their "calibration" errors.  Ha!

It suddenly dawned on me that our mail-in ballots must be counted optically by machine, and I don't see why the same nefarious Diebold-like technique couldn't be used for reading the blacked-out oval areas on the paper ballots.

"It doesn't matter who votes.  What matters is who counts the votes."

Or who designs the software to count them.

Terry, 230RN

REFs:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=17a35893da
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZON7RjSxTJg

[KD5NRH]

From what I can tell, the coding for the touch-screen areas allowed for a very large "touching area" for Democrats and a very small area for Republican candidates.  This accounts for their "calibration" errors.

The window-lickers needing an oversized target area probably also accounts for the mess around the toilet at the local TWC office too.