After this election I think we would be wise to push for "Vote By Mail" in EVERY State.

[Bandit]

Oregon has had it in effect for well over a Decade and everyone seems to Love it. Both Conservatives and Liberals think it is the cat's meow...No standing in lines or trying to find a parking spot, or finding time after or before work and NEVER having to run into that person you have been avoiding for so long...If Republicans are going to continue on their drive to suppress voting then we need to make some adjustments, and "Vote By Mail" seems to be just the ticket....I think it should be one of our top priorities.. Even if Obama wins this one, it is a sure thing Republicans will continue with their dirty tricks. We need to be one step ahead of them...One more thing, with "Vote By Mail" you are guaranteed a paper ballot...

[earthside]

1. A National Federal Election Law

The federal government has the power to legislate how elections for federal offices are conducted: President/Vice President; U.S. Senators; U.S. House of Representatives.

So, there should be a uniform registration and voting dates and times across the entire country.

Everybody, no matter what state they live in could know how to be registered (universal registration, same day registration, etc.), how the election is being conducted (mail-in; early voting days and times; election day and hours), and when federal results are released, i.e., no more Florida releasing results while California is still voting.

Personally, I would like to see election day moved to a Saturday and all mail-in voting (with provisions for the disabled community, and other special situations).

I suspect that most states would end-up running their state and local elections at the same time as the federal election.

It is kind of ridiculous that we have so many different rules and regulations governing how we cast our ballot for President of the United States -- the one office we all vote for.

[LisaL]

2. And what are you going to do when your ballot gets lost in the mail?

I think all voting should have a paper record, but I am not pushing for "vote by mail."

[randome]

9. Very good point.

Paper ballots are just as easy to 'lose' as electronic ones.

[LisaL]

11. And in emergency such as hurricanes mail will get delayed.

[renate]

27. there are tons of drop-off sites if you don't want to take that risk

You might still have to drive to drop it off, but you don't have to set aside an entire day to do it.

Voting by mail (or drop-off box) is absolutely wonderful!

[CreekDog]

29. you get a new one, I've been voting by mail for 9 years --it is awesome

It is SO MUCH more reliable than going to the polls on election day.

And if I wanted to go to the polls on election day, i can always just drop off my ballot there (which i've done).

[flamingdem]

3. I disagree. We can see that part of voting is the social aspect, the ritual of doing it together

Dems especially -- but we need to move towards a tamper proof reliable faster system

[Incitatus]

22. There's also the problem of long lines which can be made worse with long ballots.

I voted early today in Florida. I already knew what was on the ballot so it took me less than a minute to fill it out (I could see others were taking much longer), after I had to wait in line for 45 minutes. Some areas are a lot worse. If the ability to vote early was mandatory and extended, that could be a good solution.

[flamingdem]

24. I rarely wait more than 10 minutes, can't imagine dealing with those long lines

and I don't understand why they don't have the resources -- should be govt. $ no?

[Incitatus]

26. There were 4 people checking IDs and handing out ballots and maybe 20 voting booths.

This was at a public library. I was going to vote yesterday, but I saw the line and full parking lot and didn't think I would have time.

[easychoice]

4. a Federal system is long overdue

King County,WA. has a great mail in program.The Feds should use it nationwide.It is just the best.
Then they can control the whole process start to finish without stolen ballots and sideline distractions.

[LisaL]

7. There was a poster from WA complaining they still haven't got their ballot.

How is that for a great program? A week before the election and still no ballot (assuming that poster was telling the truth?)

[ffr]

5. But airmail gets lost/destroyed too

Case in point, a cargo plane destined for the troops in Afghanistan went down, taking absentee ballots with it. There's no telling how many ballots were lost (sad for the loss of the crew as well). Many servicemen/women may be disenfranchised because of this plane being lost.

It's not a bad idea though, given that most airplanes don't crash.

[Sadiedog]

6. I`m in washington State

and vote by mail and love it!

[LisaL]

8. When did you get your ballot?

[Sadiedog]

34. About 2 weeks ago. NT

[2Design]

10. Need to be postage paid envelopes - since they make the ballots bigger and bigger and some won't

have stamps

[LisaL]

12. In OH, none of the absentee ballots were pre-paid. People had to put more than one stamp on them.

Poor people might not want to spend money on stamps to mail their ballots in.

[Qutzupalotl]

15. In Oregon, we have drop boxes if you don't want to use stamps.

[Greywing]

21. We have same in Colorado

I just dropped mine off after work today.

[hogwyld]

35. Is voting in Oregon freaking awesome or what?

There's a drop box about a mile from my house. I've lived in 10 of the 50 states, and this is by far the best system I've encountered. It's really nice to have the ballot in front of you and being able to take the time to research the local candidates, especially the judges that go to the state supreme court.

[TwilightGardener]

36. Yep--you can sit at the kitchen table and google the

various amendments and candidates that you might not be familiar with, rather than being confronted with making an uninformed sudden decision in the voting booth.

[Qutzupalotl]

37. I love it. I voted from my recliner, voter guide in one hand, coffee in the other.

MUCH better than when I felt I had to rush due to people waiting in line behind me.

Oh, and I voted to legalize pot.

[leftstreet]

13. Middle class luxury, but bad for low income urban areas

Areas with high mobility rates, etc

There's nothing wrong with people voting absentee if they wish, but it should remain optional. Also, vote by mailers need to find out their state guidelines for opting out of elections. Some people are shocked to find they aren't mailed a current ballot because they missed a few elections.


Meh. There should be polling places on election day.

[Maeve]

14. I really like early voting in person

I've voted by mail for many years, but this time we went together (me, Hubby and daughter) to early in-person and I prefer the personal touch...and getting the "I voted" sticker! I will continue to do that as long as it is an option.

[Doctor_J]

17. Seems much easier to steal than paper punch card

I would bet the Repuke authorities would lose most of the votes for D's

[Honeycombe8]

18. But they can get thrown away, or get lost in the mail. ???? That's what worries me about that.nt

[RichGirl]

19. It would also be a....

much needed boost for the post office.

[robinlynne]

20. No. No. NO. dont have time to write, but that is the easiest place for fraud....

[SickOfTheOnePct]

23. No problem with vote by mail as an option

But I don't want it to be mandated, at either the state level where I live or nationally.

[Arugula Latte]

25. I'm in Oregon and we do love our vote-by-mail sytem.

[Upton]

28. I'm in Washington state and I love it too..

I always put our ballots in the drop box in town....which I did last week.

[ErikJ]

30. Oregon Right wingers want to get rid of Vote-By Mail

Last edited Mon Oct 29, 2012, 10:13 PM - Edit history (1)

I have read a few things saying they want to get rid of vote-by mail because they say it has lots of voter fraud. But the REAL reason is because it increases voter turnout so much more which makes it harder for them to win.
Knute Beuhler will try to get rid of it I think if he's elected.

[lumpy]

31. Mail in ballots are great for people who have no means of getting to the polls or

are unable to walk, bedridden, etc. Why not have both polling place and mail ins. Every effort should be made to insure that people can vote.

[Terra Alta]

32. Nah, I think I'd rather vote in person.

I'd be scared my vote would get lost in the mail(accidentally or otherwise).

I'd stand in line all day if I had to. At least then I'd know my vote got counted.

[eridani]

33. Only with adequate safeguards on signature validation

In WA, after the statewide hand recount of the 2004 governor's race, a law was passed requiring elections departments to contact people whose signatures didn't match once by mail and twice by phone. Also, you can check online to see if your signature has been validated.

Seniors whose writing changes with age are at a disadvantage, and also non-English speakers who may have trouble understanding what the signature notifications are all about. Some data indicates that people whose first language is not in a Roman alphabet have a higher than average rate of signature rejection.

IMO, even with most ballots mail-in, there should be a poll option for voting in person. In King County you can only do this by going to the elections department.

Hiring and training enough signature validators is a non-trivial problem. It is this step, not tabulation by optical scanning, which is the slow step. Also slowing the process is ballot duplication, necessary when a person corrects a ballot by lining through their mistake, causing it not to be machine readable. Also ballots getting damaged in the mail--not limited to shredding. Ink can transfer from a valid mark to other parts of folded paper, making random marks that cause machine rejection, due to storage conditions.