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Comments:
Laura - 2004-10-17 22:08:09 I've seen the fear voiced in several places that absentee votes are *less* likely to be counted accurately. If there's fraud going on, absentee votes are much more vulnerable, because they're in your hands for a much smaller portion of the process, and they travel through many more hands.* * * * * * * * * * * * glenn - 2004-10-18 00:02:51 absentee vote = not a good idea = avoid it!* * * * * * * * * * * * Larry Kestenbaum - 2004-10-18 06:15:37 I don't think there's much chance of your absentee vote being deliberately mishandled. However, if there's a problem with your ballot, you won't be available to fix it, and the ballot may not be counted. For example, if you mail in your ballot, there are, I think, several places where you absolutely must sign your name. If you miss one of them, your vote isn't counted. The most common problem occurs in primary elections. If you mark your ballot in such a way that the counting machine detects votes in more than one partisan primary, your ballot will be rejected. If you're voting in person, they issue you a fresh ballot and tell you to do it over. But if you're voting absentee, they hit the override button, and only the nonpartisan section (judges, proposals) of your ballot is counted. The October 30 deadline is for people who are willing to show up at the city or township clerk's office during the day on Saturday morning before the election, apply for an absentee ballot, vote it right there, and turn it in. Actually, you don't have to wait until that final Saturday to do it -- you could walk in any time during business hours from now until then. If you're prepared to fill out your ballot right there, you avoid the delay and risk of loss of sending the ballot by mail. And the counter staff will be sure to point out any places you missed signing. How about a one-signature absentee ballot? Just a thought....* * * * * * * * * * * * raymond - 2004-10-18 07:57:29 Absentee voting is not a matter of whim nor is it allowed as a tactic to avoid inconvenience.
A registered voter may obtain an absentee voter ballot for an upcoming election if he or she:
* is 60 years of age or older
* is unable to vote without assistance at the polls
* expects to be absent from his or her city or township of residence for the entire time the polls are open
* is in jail awaiting arraignment or trial
* has been appointed to work as an election inspector in a precinct outside of his or her precinct of residence
* is unable to attend the polls due to his or her religious beliefs.
When my place to vote was moved to a church, I complained about having pictures and sayings of Jesus posted bove the voting booth. The township clerk told me to vote absentee. I remarked that I did not meet the requirements to do so. The clerk said to just pick any reason, nobody will check. I did not view my objections as "religious reasons>"I refuse to vote for a person who encourages others to commit voting fraud, yet I am uncomfortable voting against the person who counts the votes, especially if my name is written in several places on the ballot. Retribution is not unheard of in the township where I reside.* * * * * * * * * * * * Brian Filipiak - 2004-10-18 08:29:13 Hey. Not an excuse, but simply an explanation for the state of the CoY's web site... When Shannon Stumbo-Bellers left her position as Assistant City Manager back in May, it left the City without a "webmaster". Little was done in the time between then and now. With the hiring of the new Assistant City Manager, Bob Bruner, that role should (eventually) fall to him... but he's still getting his bearings on all of the tasks there are for him to be working on. Send your web site comments to Bob, at: [email protected] I hope this helps, Brian* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-10-18 09:03:13 Mr. Filipiak: It does help, and I'm flattered you stopped by--thank you for reading, and good luck in the council race--may the best person win in Ward 3. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-10-18 09:09:27 Raymond: Your objection was valid and could even, given W's fundy emphasis, be construed this time around as coercive. How intensely annoying. Never mind the separation of church and state, or the existence of about fifteen million other venues (schools) that could instead be used.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-10-18 09:28:56 Glenn: welcome to the blog! I'm curious to hear more of your thoughts as to why absentee is not the best choice. Murph: hmm, I guess I'm missing your point...it seems that absentee ballots are in your hands much longer; for example, one could leisurely take an hour or two to research each candidate online on the ballot, whereas at the polling place it's one-two-three-go, that's it. I have heard of the signature requirement being a bit tricky. I see no reason why absentee voting should not be a perfectly legitimate option to in-person voting, prohibitive rules or no. Except for one reason: the physical presence of voters at the polling place offers a good example of civic responsibility to any young-'uns there. * * * * * * * * * * * * tricia - 2004-10-18 13:30:40 I am voting absentee, and will actually be out of town on 11/2. I did part of my voting last night and while I haven't inspected it that closely, I can only recall one place that I have to sign it, and that's on the envelope where my name already appears. My name does not appear anywhere on the ballot. I'm going to take a very close look tonight when I finish though after reading the other comments here.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-10-18 13:37:54 Yes, I've heard about the signature snafu from other sources...perhaps a quick call to the city clerk just to confirm the # of signatures might be worth it.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura again - 2004-10-18 15:41:46 Hmm...now, that's interesting--I just learned from an NPR story that all of Oregon voters vote by mail. No polling places. Good thinking. Good way to save a ton of money.* * * * * * * * * * * * add your comment: |