WE MUST VOTE IN PERSON!

[Indyfan53]

Last edited Thu Sep 3, 2020, 01:34 PM - Edit history (1)

I know many of us were hoping to vote by mail during this pandemic, but with Louis DeJoy sabotaging the post office on Trump's behalf, it seems too risky. Sorting machines have been removed, causing sever mail delays. It took two weeks for a birthday card I sent with a first class stamp to travel 10 miles. We cannot afford to have our ballots delayed and miss deadlines in battleground states. We also have the issue of first time mail-in ballots being rejected due to being filled out improperly.

Over the primary season, over 500,000 mail in ballots were rejected. That is scary, considering how Trump won states in 2016 by just a few thousand votes. If enough ballots are rejected, he could win in a landslide!

This piece in NPR makes a case why we need to rethink voting by mail this year:

[link:https://www.npr.org/2020/08/22/904693468/more-than-550-000-primary-absentee-ballots-rejected-in-2020-far-outpacing-2016|

Now look, if you are immunocompromised or are unable to get to a polling place, then a mail-in ballot may be a last resort. You might want to have someone drop it of at a drop box for you, if possible.

However, if you are healthy and can wear a mask, make the effort to go vote early in person. I don't mean vote early on election day, but on early voting days. Check the website of your local board of elections to see what your state's early in-person voting options are.

We must not let Trump win. He has already put us on a path towards fascism. If he gets reelected, the GOP will make sure we can never vote again.

VOTE IN PERSON!

[Kaleva]

1. No. I'm getting a mail-in ballot which I'll deposit in the drop box at the town hall after voting.

[Indyfan53]

3. If you get your ballot in time, go for it.

Otherwise, mask up and get in line.

[onetexan]

13. I like the dropbox idea if you're not voting in person. Don't trust the USPS mail at this point.

[lagomorph777]

46. Same here. But if the ballot doesn't show up, I'll mask up and vote in person.

Taking no chances. Taking no prisoners. Turd's gotta go.

[Doreen]

2. I am voting in person even though I am in Washington state.

October 16th for in person voting. I am not sure where but I will be there.

[pnwmom]

9. What's wrong with the drop boxes? That's what I always use. n/t

[onetexan]

14. Dropboxes are fine as long as they're in a secure place where tampering isn't possible.

[pnwmom]

15. It's a very large metal container at the entrance

to a local shopping mall, with 24 hour camera surveillance. But no one's going to mess with a box in front of the mall, with people going in and out, and they empty it at night.

Also, I can and do go online and check to make sure it got verified and accepted.

[onetexan]

17. Thats great to hear. Ive always voted in person except the runoffs this year.

[pnwmom]

19. I missed the polling place the first time around. After that I appreciated

being able to sit at the table and take my time filling out the ballot, especially with all the propositions we usually have.

[lagomorph777]

47. Never had the option to do anything but in-person before - rules are all new in VA; had to research.

I advise everybody to study the rules at your state's Board Of Elections (or equivalent). Also confirm you are still registered - lots of purging going on this year.

[CTyankee]

43. Mine is in front of City Hall. You can be damn sure it's secure and surveilled.

It's one of those times I am glad I live in the Democratic bastion of New Haven, CT.

[Doreen]

64. More time for it to get mailed to where it needs to be.

With our mail being slowed I want my vote to be there in time.

[pnwmom]

65. The Elections office drop boxes set around the counties bypass the US mail system.

And in King County the boxes get emptied every day.

[roamer65]

4. I will be doing the same as Kaleva.

Michigan actually has a fairly reliable voting system, unlike many other states.

Plus we now have a Democratic governor, SoS and AG. All women I might add.

[onetexan]

18. So glad MI has ladies running the state. They get the job done!

[JustGene]

20. As a kid

I heard the term "women's work", watched my mom, and saw it as tough goal.

[onetexan]

22. In deed, and as i always tell my kids, "A mother's work is neverdone", which doesn't just mean house

work. Mom is the primary nurturer. But besides being CEO of the home, mom also brings home the bacon & does everything else, not just for the family but for many women also for the community...backwards & in high heels

[JustGene]

24. And with 4 kids on half the money

[roamer65]

51. Yes they do.

Very prudent and wise leadership up here.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. A lot depends on where you live.

I'm in a state, NM, that has excellent early voting, and I've decided that's what I'll do. If I lived in a state without early voting, I'd probably go for a mail-in ballot that I could drop off somewhere. But some states do not have drop-off sites, and so if you live in one of those you must use the mail and hope it goes well.

[Green Line]

6. I'll do mail in drop box

I can do ballot tracking, it worked well in yesterday’s primary

[stopdiggin]

7. my reading has indicated that most of the rejected

ballots had to do with voters just simply not doing the proper thing.
(with some small number of unique areas that appear to have had actual systemic problems)

And while I don't want to bash on voters (and certainly don't want to disenfranchise any) -- the complexity involved in a mail in ballot is generally considerably less than an order for Ebay or Amazon. But -- if you find yourself just completely befuddled by the process -- there are 10-20 places in your town where you can ask for help. (I always recommend the library, but there's also AARP, League of Women Voters, half a dozen other civic organizations, any political or representative branch office, town hall, County Clerk, polling stations -- and probably the Post Office itself.)

[DFW]

8. Some of us are geographically challenged

It would be an 11 hour, 5000+ mile flight to my local precinct, and rather expensive. Absentee is my only option.

[Duppers]

10. Hubs & I are.

And we're both now in our 70s. Will wear our masks, gloves, and will keep a safe distance.

THIS election is too IMPORTANT.

[Mister Ed]

11. I'll be there to help.

I've just confirmed to the City Clerk that I'll be on hand to work the polls on November 3rd, COVID be damned. It'll be my first exposure to the public since last March.

[honest.abe]

12. You are overreacting.

The USPS is still functioning. Ballots correctly filled out and mailed will be delivered and counted. We are mailing ours. We don’t want to deal with the potential issues of voting in person.

[Sherman A1]

21. Agreed

Folks need to get mail in and/or drop off ballots done as soon as the show up and not wait. Turn around time is important and in many cases you are provided the means to track its arrival at the BOE.

[Squinch]

28. No, they're not overreacting. You should at least consider dropping your ballot off if possible.

[honest.abe]

32. All caps title demanding we "MUST" vote in person is overreacting.

imho.

[Squinch]

33. So a font issue made the statement invalid. Got it.

[honest.abe]

36. You do realize why Trump and the Republicans are trying to restrict mail-in voting??

It's because it makes voting easier and will allow many more people the opportunity to vote, which helps our side immensely.

Throwing out baseless negative comments regarding voting by mail only helps Trump and the Republicans. Many voters who can or will only do mail-in voting will think well wants the point of voting if my vote will just get rejected.

People should vote the way they feel most comfortable.

[Squinch]

37. You do realize that Trump and the Republicans are effectively sabotaging the mail?

And that hundreds of thousands of mailed primary votes were thrown out?

[honest.abe]

40. If there is actual evidence of legitimate votes being thrown out...

then an investigation needs to happen.

However, regardless of any of this, I would guarantee the increased number of votes provided by mail-in voting will vastly outnumber any cheating these fools attempt. That is why Trump fears mail-in voting. I am surprised you and many others don't get this.

[Squinch]

45. I guess 500,000 voters are just not as smart as you.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/rejected-mail-ballots/2020/08/23/397fbe92-db3d-11ea-809e-b8be57ba616e_story.html

Trump has already sabotaged the Post Office to suppress votes. It's done. The sorting machines are dismantled and gone. They aren't coming back. The guy running the Post Office has his marching orders.

We need a decisive victory ON election day.

[honest.abe]

48. A decisive Biden victory will include millions of mail-in ballots.

Despite those who insist its futile.

[LanternWaste]

61. Any victory by any candidate will include that qualifier.

Despite both its inherent logical fallacy and its irrelevance to the conversation.

[bluestarone]

39. I agree with YOUR response!

Especially if you happen to live in the states that machines have been removed!! They showed their hand on this, and we should take advantage of that! I'm saying this ONLY for those that CAN drop off their ballot in person! ( I know some can't and that's ok) Please we gotta be very smart this election for sure!!

[MissB]

16. I'm not going to vote in person

I live in Oregon which is a vote by mail state. There aren’t neighborhood polling places anymore although I could show up at the county elections office and vote in person but that’d be odd, since we are a long time vote by mail state.

So I’ll do the same as I do for every election. I’ll drop it off in the nearby county elections drop box on my way to the grocery store. A day or so later, I’ll get a text from the county elections office that my ballot has been received and accepted.

I could mail it in if I wanted. The state covers the postage. But since the county drop box is on my route, it’ll be just fine, as usual.

[Buckeyeblue]

23. I would say people should vote the way the normally do, if possible

If you typically vote in person, put on a mask and do so this year. If you typically vote by mail, do so. We just need to not flood the system with different types of votes. If that makes sense.

[Squinch]

29. This is probably the most sensible plan.

[uncle ray]

31. doing what we normally do is how we lose.

the effort to suppress the vote must be countered.

[Squinch]

34. If a state has always been mail-in, and is only mail-in, they can probably handle it. Most

states were not mail-in before Covid. So doing what we normally do would probably do the most to counter the suppression efforts. That is, voting in person where possible.

[RazzleCat]

55. yes I have posted and been slammed several times

I say vote in person unless the following apply.

1. Your state is a mail in state already.

2. You truly can't get out to vote.

3. (edit) if your polling place has no paper trail.

I do say lobby for vote by mail, but there are too many things that can go wrong with mail in this time.

1. disallow because of any nitpick item. Say you signed your voter registration John J Smith, but you signed your mail min John Joe Smith. If you have some one looking for a reason, they just got one. how about the handwriting does not match? How about they have an argument over post date vs arrival date. Yes I get that none of the above are reasons to disallow the vote, but this time they just might be. Please remember the hanging chads, and all the pressure that was placed by the right in that instance.

[Buckeyeblue]

59. I agree with you. That's why I'm voting in person.

If someone challenges me at the precinct, at least I'm there to defend myself.

[Retrograde]

25. Voted by mail for over two decades

and signed up to be a permanent mail boter as soon as California made the option available to everyone. It’s a tried and tested system- but you have to follow the rules. How come western states can do this with a minimal amount of fuss but east coast pundits act like it’s akin to a moon landing?

500,000 out of how many total primary votes? And how many rejections were lack of signatures or failure to fill put the ballot as instructed?

[beachbumbob]

26. Do do so, WE MUST HELP OUT AS POLL WORKERS and election judges, so start

signing up NOW

[Klaralven]

27. In NJ everyone gets a vote by mail ballot. Either mail it in or bring it to the polls on 11/3.

If you arrive at the polls without your vote by mail ballot, I believe that you will get a provisional ballot.

Governor Murphy Signs Executive Order to Protect Public Health by Mailing Every Active Registered Voter a VBM Ballot Ahead of the General Election

https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/562020/approved/20200814b.shtml

I don't think that you can expect to arrive at the polls and vote by machine the way you normally would. Not using the VBM ballot you received will cause election officials extra work to process the provisional ballot.

[7wo7rees]

30. More attention needs to be paid to Greg Palast and the work he has done.

James Brown Voted 568 Times
by Greg Palast from his new book How Trump Stole 2020 August 31, 2020
Listen to this:

You have people registered in two states. They’re registered in New York and in New Jersey. They vote twice. There are millions of votes in my opinion.

They vote many times, not just twice, not just three times. It’s like a circle. They come back, they put a new hat on. They come back, they put a new shirt on. And in many cases, they don’t even do that. You know what’s going on.
It’s a rigged deal.

I usually don’t quote guys who wear tin foil hats and get messages from another planet. But this is an exception: I’m quoting the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

Don’t laugh. Trump’s claim that millions of Americans are voting twice, a felony crime, is the principal reason Donald J. Trump won the presidency. Because, in the year before the 2016 election, 1.1 million of these felonious double voters were removed from the voter rolls.

Or, to be accurate, 1.1 million voters were removed because they were accused of voting or registering in two states.

https://www.gregpalast.com/james-brown-voted-568-times/

[GoCubsGo]

35. Unfortunately, my shithole state gives me no other choice.

I can't vote absentee without an excuse, and a pandemic is no excuse here. I cannot provide them with an acceptable excuse, so I will be shopping for an N95 mask for my trip to the polls. I hate this fucking place with the white hot heat of a thousand suns.

[mackdaddy]

38. Ohio has an in person election MONTH, not just an election DAY.

Early voting starts October 6th here in Ohio. My experience is that it is usually very short wait times and very few people around. At least no worse than the checkout line at wally world.

So I do plan on early voting at my county BOE office in the first couple of days of early voting.

My second choice would be to get the mail in ballot and put it in a drop box. If I could not get to one, I would do vote by mail, but absolutely as early as possible.

The main thing is to VOTE!

[LisaL]

58. I am assuming you live in a small county.

OH only allows one early voting place per county, regardless of the size of the county.
So for small counties it is way easier to early vote than for large counties.
Anyhow, I got a robocall from a Democratic party encouraging people to vote early, whether absentee or in person.

[Mike 03]

41. Probably a good idea. I am open minded about this.

I live in an area that hasn't been unduly affected by mail slow downs, and we usually get our ballots three or so weeks before election day. My plan was to fill it out immediately and put it right back in the mailbox to go out next day.

But I will keep alert for any reasons that I should change my plan and not vote my mail, as I have for more than a decade, and can either:

vote in person, or
drop my ballot off.

I'll keep reading posts on this subject for advice.

[JuJuYoshida]

42. I work for local government

and I can literally see the Registrar of Voters office from my own office so all I gotta do is walk across the way and cast my vote in person. Not everyone is lucky so get out to your poling place!

[Hotler]

44. I don't even know if Colorado has machines anymore.

We've been by mail or drop-off you years.

[ElementaryPenguin]

49. Vote in Person - get hacked by Putin - or Mail-in - and get sacked by DeJoy!

Some fine f*cking democracy (TINY d!) we've got working here!

[ecstatic]

56. Mailed in votes get scanned by a machine as well

So there's that...

Determining which method to use was nerve racking, but for now I've already sent off my ballot request. My county did an amazing job for the primaries and runoff, so I feel confident enough to vote by mail again for the GE.

[aidbo]

50. Ive been voting by mail for the last 20 years.

I’ll stick with it thanks.

[Pathwalker]

52. We'll drop ours off at the locked box in front of our local police station, that is

secured in a concrete base and under 24hour video surveillance. It worked just fine for the primary.

[musette_sf]

53. San Mateo County (CA) is all vote by mail.

I will complete my ballot, and I will go to the voting center to drop it off, just like I did in the last election.

[Retrograde]

62. All California is vote by mail this election

It's been a county option up to now, but for this election all registered voters will have a ballot sent to them.

I'm debating between mailing mine back and depositing it in a drop box: the drop box at city hall is only a block further walk than the post office.

[ecstatic]

54. He has now announced a wide scale vaccine rollout for 11/1/2020. I say

vote absentee and deliver the ballot to the drop box. That is the best bet, IMO. He's injecting pure chaos into every aspect of our election! Waiting until election day could be a catastrophe.

[LisaL]

57. I agree.

I got a robo call from my state's democratic party. They encourage voting early, whether absentee or in person.
I would not wait until the day of the election because we don't know what kind of tricks Trump prepared for that.

[Indyfan53]

63. If your state has early voting days, vote then

In my state, we have early voting locations in October. There are usually no lines.

[csziggy]

60. I just got a first class letter that was mailed to me July 9

Originally I thought it had been mailed on the 7th, but it was received back at the office that mailed it on August 27. Yesterday my husband picked it up from the office that mailed it. It is postmarked July 9. The office that mailed it is about one mile from the post office where my post office box is that was the address on it. The 5+4 zip code, my name, the PO Box were all correct. The office that mailed it is in a zip code that comes out of that same location.

It was marked as "unclaimed" but it was only first class, not certified or registered and did not require a signature. If it had needed a signature, there was never a notice placed in the post office box.

My husband and I had already decided to go to early voting in person. Usually the locations, days, and times are very slow at the polling locations. The last two primaries, we were the only people other than the poll workers while we were voting.

If we'd been considering voting by mail, this would have convinced me that this year it is not safe.