Mail in voting, people, c'mon,

[cilla4progress]

this is stupid.

My state Washington has been doing it automatically for everyone for like 10 years.

Do I miss seeing the great woman elders at the election station and getting my i voted sticker? Sure. But so worth it.

[RandySF]

1. No shit

I was thinking the same thing.

[customerserviceguy]

2. I used to live in WA

and I always looked forward to the leftover Halloween candy the ladies at my polling place passed out.

Voting should be a social activity, it is an essential part of being an active member of a society.

[Wounded Bear]

3. We're seeing the down side of it tonight, though...

voting too early could invalidate your vote if the candidate drops out.

I have my WA ballot and will take care of it the next couple of days.

[Andy823]

23. This is true

I waited till after South Carolina and then decided, and sent it in. I love our mail in voting.

[llmart]

37. Michigan has just begun to allow anyone to vote an absentee ballot.

You no longer have to give a reason. There's nothing saying you have to fill it out and drop it off early and even if you do and want to change your vote (in the event someone drops out) all you have to do is ask for a new ballot. Your old ballot will be marked as a spoiled ballot and the tabulator will kick it out.

I love voting in the privacy of my own home.

[Brother Buzz]

4. I voted by mail in California...and I voted for someone who is not longer in the race

[Wounded Bear]

5. GMTA...see reply #3..

It's why I didn't do mine yet in WA. At least that is not a problem in the general.

[Brother Buzz]

6. But my ballot is not invalidated

My candidate is on the ballot, and it will be tallied. Only, it doesn't count for shit, I guess.

Plus, all the down ballot stuff is still totally valid, and very important to me, so there's that.

[ChazII]

16. Same thing here in Arizona

My candidate is no longer on the ballot.

[Retrograde]

7. So did I, and I don't regret it

I voted for the person I'd most like to see in the job, not the (currently) most popular.

Anyway, for me, Congress is the big race.

[Brother Buzz]

9. I don't disagree, but it will be interesting to see if it impacts the results

My congressional district is a safe blue lock, but there are a couple of other Congressional races I will be watching, and of course the CA 25 special election race. I suspect we won't have solid number for hours so I'm expecting a long night.

[unitedwethrive]

13. Same here...my family lives in a mail-in-only precinct

So we waited until Saturday to mail in our ballots. Who knew so much would change in the last two days?

[shanti]

15. Same

But hopefully Liz will give her delegates to Biden when she drops out. It's inevitable.

[Different Drummer]

21. Same for me here in Georgia.

DD

[Totally Tunsie]

8. Does VBM operate differently, depending on state?

In RI, once you receive your ballot in the mail, you fill it out and place in a medium-size envelope which you then seal. This envelope then needs to be signed, notarized, placed into the mailing envelope and returned.

You can verify online that your ballot has been received at the Board of Elections website.

Really just curious if all VBM needs to be notarized.

[Wounded Bear]

10. Similar here in WA, but no notarization, just signed...

we also have to designate a party in the primaries to help them pre-sort, I guess. Some folks complained, but hey, I figure they should pick a side for the primaries. None of that on the general election, of course.

After a couple of years, they made it postage free to try and boost turnout.

We also have a website.

[Totally Tunsie]

17. That makes a lot more sense to me.

For many who VBM, it's because they can't physically get to the polls, so how is getting to a notary any easier for them? Granted, no long lines, but they still have to get out. Plus, not everyone has access to FREE notary service, and some places charge as much as $10. (My bank will do it for free.)

We have to designate a party also. I should have mentioned we get a quick questionnaire in the mail first where we specify which party's ballot we desire.

[LiberalFighter]

20. not in Indiana

[Totally Tunsie]

22. Thanks for responding.

[mcar]

11. I've voted by mail in FL for years

It's now a big push for the FL Democratic Party. Voting is much higher when it's by mail.

Now I'm freed up to volunteer as a poll watcher on election days!

[moonscape]

12. I like the ritual of going to the polls and

voting and would hate not having that option. Of course polling places in my area are prolific so there are no long lines. I am in and out very quickly.

Yesterday a woman started talking to me as we were leaving and we stood outside for a while talking about our choices and politics. Great conversation and we ended up exchanging numbers so we could continue it over coffee.

Love voting in person!

[jeffreyi]

14. I voted by mail

And took cookies to the poll workers yesterday anyway. Great fun.

[BSdetect]

18. This is how to get low income voters to cast a vote.

Other than making election Tuesday a national holiday.

[maxsolomon]

19. Or moving it to Saturday.

There's plenty of ways to fix our voting, but there's one problem: REPUBLIKKKANS.

[Wounded Bear]

24. A lot of low income jobs require weekend/holiday work...

[maxsolomon]

25. Nothing is perfect.

Would you agree that turnout might be IMPROVED by Saturday polling?

[Wounded Bear]

28. Yes, it's not a "bad" idea, not trying to make the perfect the enemy of the good here.

We're on the same side. More voting is good.

[Caliman73]

31. National holiday, I think, is the way to go.

Something to highlight the importance of the act of voting.

That and pouring money into expanding access to polls and taking some of the hassle out of the process.

We see and we know that Republicans shut down polling locations in predominantly poor, urban, POC districts. they want to restrict access while Democrats want to expand it. Voting is a right not a privilege. It should be a civic duty.

[itsrobert]

26. California puts sticker in the mail.

Nt

[SoCalNative]

27. I vote by mail in CA

and have for over a decade. We always get the "I Voted" sticker in the package with our ballot.

[LisaM]

29. But a lot of people in Washington may have thrown away their vote.

I really do miss the polls (I'm in Seattle), but at least they made a huge step with mail-in voting by taking away the postage requirement, which really cheesed me.

However, I don't vote early, and I usually walk my ballot to the drop-off box, which is a luxury most people in Washington don't have, since there are far too few of them.

[VOX]

30. Plus, in CA, your mail-in ballot has a numbered stub; you can check receipt of your ballot online.

This should be standard everywhere, it eliminates any doubts about your ballot getting lost (or worse) in the mail.

[PufPuf23]

33. I'm in California, vote by mail, and have a "Voter's Receipt"

The Voter's Receipt has no number or anyway to tie the receipt to me (or any other voter).

I am in the outback of Humboldt county.

I preferred going to live voting at the elementary school, never any line to speak of and know a majority of other voters.

But 10 plus years ago, the county quit the voting station and vote by mail is only option.

[VOX]

34. I stand corrected. The ability to track your mail-in vote depends on your county of residence.

And I find it disappointing. I’m in Riverside County, and I know L.A. County also has a coded tear-off to allow the voter to track receipt of their mailed ballots. Guess the smaller counties don’t have this feature available. Thanks for pointing this out.

https://cavotes.org/vote/how-vote/voting-mail
Was My Vote Counted?
All valid vote-by-mail ballots are counted regardless of the outcome or closeness of any race. Some County Elections Offices invite voters to use their Web site to determine when their ballot was mailed and if their vote-by-mail ballot was received.

[PufPuf23]

35. That is fine, this is an informative thread. Thank you VOX.

Interesting to know that not only do I not get a useful receipt but don't even get an "I Voted" sticker.

[VOX]

38. Hang on to your "Voters Receipt" regardless.

In a worst-case scenario, it might prove useful, especially in a county with a population of 136,000+.

[lame54]

32. Our mail ins come with a sticker

[Maeve]

36. Being one of the "great woman elders" at the station

I also mail in my vote.

And Ohio has a system to tell you if your vote has been received and accepted (forgot to sign it once and they sent me a new ballot). Got the email today that I'm voted for the March 17th primary. (Oh, and Ohio also has 'Youth at the Booth' so we have HS seniors as well as little old ladies to greet you)