Why are absentee ballots OK and mail in ballots not OK?
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I don’t love the idea of making them universal like WA has done but during a pandemic it makes sense.
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@jon-nyc said in Why are absentee ballots OK and mail in ballots not OK?:
I don’t love the idea of making them universal like WA has done but during a pandemic it makes sense.
Ah... so masks work everywhere EXCEPT polling places. Is that it?
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No that’s not it at all.
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The point would be to reduce the risk as much as possible. Masks reduce risk, but staying away from crowds reduces it more.
Obviously, there's a risk of fraud, but there's a risk of fraud with absentee ballots, too.
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My understanding on this:
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Mail-in ballots do have a higher risk of fraud
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That risk is acceptable enough to offer absentee ballots
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Overall observed incidence of fraud is very low
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Still - the risks need to be acknowledged and addressed
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There's zero chance there will be productive dialogue on this
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I’d like an election result that was known right away. I would like votes to happen at the end of a campaign when all the “October surprises” have been addressed. I would like people to do their duty and show up at a polling place- pandemic be damned.
Otherwise why not just pick a party and that’s your vote and let the independents decide who wins. I suspect they are less interested in mail in.
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@Loki said in Why are absentee ballots OK and mail in ballots not OK?:
Otherwise why not just pick a party and that’s your vote and let the independents decide who wins. I suspect they are less interested in mail in.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/310586/americans-favor-voting-mail-option-november.aspx
“Most Americans Favor Voting by Mail as Option in November”
68% of Independents support voting by mail.
It’s the Republicans who dislike voting by mail, only 40% of them support it.This is not even hard to look up.
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@Axtremus said in Why are absentee ballots OK and mail in ballots not OK?:
@Loki said in Why are absentee ballots OK and mail in ballots not OK?:
Otherwise why not just pick a party and that’s your vote and let the independents decide who wins. I suspect they are less interested in mail in.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/310586/americans-favor-voting-mail-option-november.aspx
“Most Americans Favor Voting by Mail as Option in November”
68% of Independents support voting by mail.
It’s the Republicans who dislike voting by mail, only 40% of them support it.This is not even hard to look up.
Okay but it wasn’t even my major point.
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@Loki said in Why are absentee ballots OK and mail in ballots not OK?:
I’d like an election result that was known right away. I would like people to do their duty and show up at a polling place- pandemic be damned.
They make allowances for the elderly and infirm. Why not extend this to include other at-risk groups?
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@Jolly said in Why are absentee ballots OK and mail in ballots not OK?:
For a absentee voting, you show up at the courthouse or designated spot with ID in hand. You are checked against the voter rolls.
Then you are allowed to vote.
I am not sure about that. I have voted in US elections when overseas and never had to show in person.
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Here you apply by mail. It’s conceivable that they check my signature but I don’t know.
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@jon-nyc
Oregon is all vote by mail.
I suppose the checking of the signature is uneven.
We found out that my daughter's ballot was not counted, as the election official (white-haired lady at a table, as seen on TV) decided her signature was not her's, the ballot was returned to my daughter via the return address which I doubt most people even bother to fill out.I suppose there could be some mischief that could take place, as I don't trust any old ladies, especially if white haired.
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@xenon said in Why are absentee ballots OK and mail in ballots not OK?:
My understanding on this:
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Mail-in ballots do have a higher risk of fraud
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That risk is acceptable enough to offer absentee ballots
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Overall observed incidence of fraud is very low
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Still - the risks need to be acknowledged and addressed
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There's zero chance there will be productive dialogue on this
Good summary.
Also, I’m surprised we haven’t ventured into online voting yet. Maybe that’d be a bad thing...
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@89th said in Why are absentee ballots OK and mail in ballots not OK?:
Also, I’m surprised we haven’t ventured into online voting yet. Maybe that’d be a bad thing...
Abuse, fraud and corruption would be much easier.
But what matters is if one side or the other sees an advantage in the fraud.