Through my voting life, voting has been an official thing. I had to register. I had to show up at the designated time. I had to go alone. I was forbidden from taking pictures of my ballot. I was not allowed to promote a candidate within the voting place.
These rules were enforced in the solidly Democratic Massachusetts where I have lived all of my adult life. These rules are designed with good reason.
You want to stop people from being coerced to vote a certain way. This is why you aren't allowed to take pictures of your ballot, or be accompanied. You also want to prevent people from "electioneering".
Now we are actually fighing about Drive Through Voting, an idea that 20 years ago would have seemed ridiculous. There are real problems with this, it undoes all of the protections that have historically been part of our voting systems.
And yet this has become part of our Partisan Yelling match... whether you support Drive Through Voting aligns very closely with your party affiliation.
maxdancona, are you saying that there are no provisions to prevent ballot fraud or illegal voting? Technology has gotten pretty good at establishing people's identity and linking it to particular documents. What's the difference between depositing your ballot in a secure drop-box from your automobile and walking up to a mail box and depositing your absentee ballot?
maxdancona, are you saying that there are no provisions to prevent ballot fraud or illegal voting? Technology has gotten pretty good at establishing people's identity and linking it to particular documents.
That doesn't prevent party officials from examining someone's ballot before it is submitted in order to ensure that they are voting for the "approved" candidate.
hightor wrote:
What's the difference between depositing your ballot in a secure drop-box from your automobile and walking up to a mail box and depositing your absentee ballot?
None. The same security flaws also exist with absentee ballots.
That doesn't prevent party officials from examining someone's ballot before it is submitted in order to ensure that they are voting for the "approved" candidate.
"Party officials" aren't allowed to thumb through absentee ballots, read them, and discard the ones they don't like. Not in my state, anyway. Two people, one from each party, are given a stack of ten or twenty ballots to count. They must both agree on the tally. If there is a discrepancy, an election official is summoned.
maxdancona, are you saying that there are no provisions to prevent ballot fraud or illegal voting? Technology has gotten pretty good at establishing people's identity and linking it to particular documents. What's the difference between depositing your ballot in a secure drop-box from your automobile and walking up to a mail box and depositing your absentee ballot?
Did you read my post? I explain the problem clearly. It has nothing to do with the bullshit you are saying
Go back, read my post, and then try to write a rational response.
It has nothing to do with the bullshit you are saying
Why the foul humor?
Quote:
Go back, read my post, and then try to write a rational response.
I read it the first time. You didn't bother to explain what "Drive Through Voting" actually is; how it works; what it entails – I gave it the most benign interpretation I could and connected it to recent attempts in other states to restrict the use of remote ballot boxes. How does DTV differ from the use of secure drop boxes to collect absentee ballots?
If you don't know what Drive Through voting means, you can google it.
The problem is that it changes long existing protections against voters being coerced, bought or otherwise influences votere in a way that used to be frowned upon by both parties.
0 Replies
oralloy
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Sat 17 Jul, 2021 08:06 pm
@hightor,
hightor wrote:
How does DTV differ from the use of secure drop boxes to collect absentee ballots?
From what I can see it doesn't.
It looks to me as if widespread use of absentee ballots is also vulnerable to the abuses that Max is concerned about.
0 Replies
hightor
2
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Sat 17 Jul, 2021 08:21 pm
@oralloy,
Quote:
But that doesn't mean we want them to be doing that with other people.
I don't think it would be an effective use of campaign resources. And what would prevent the very same "party officials" from showing up a day earlier and just coaching the voters on how to fill out their ballot and cast their vote – for the right people, of course. Shoring up prospective supporters, educating them, and making sure their votes are counted is the very purpose of the party organization.
Nothing would prevent it. And I would have no objections to them doing that.
If party officials aren't looking at the ballots before they are submitted, no problem.
0 Replies
Real Music
2
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Sat 17 Jul, 2021 09:37 pm
@maxdancona,
Quote:
Now we are actually fighing about Drive Through Voting, an idea that 20 years ago would have seemed ridiculous. There are real problems with this, it undoes all of the protections that have historically been part of our voting systems.
1. Drive through voting is just one method of casting your vote.
2. What specific protections are you claiming that Drive Through voting undoes?
1. I did read the ******* opening post.
2. That is the ******* reason, I asked you the ******* question.
3. But, if you want to continue being ******* rude and ******* obnoxious, then go ahead.
4. Or you can try being civil.
0 Replies
Real Music
3
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Sun 18 Jul, 2021 01:19 pm
@maxdancona,
Hightor had politely asked you Max:
What's the difference between depositing your ballot in a secure drop-box from your automobile and walking up to a mail box and depositing your absentee ballot?
0 Replies
hightor
3
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Sun 18 Jul, 2021 01:41 pm
maxdancona wrote:
If you don't know what Drive Through voting means, you can google it.
Yeah, okay:
Quote:
Drive-thru voting describes the method of voting in an election whereby completed ballot papers submitted by placing them in a drop-box. Drive-thru voting is an alternative to having voters go in person to a polling station, vote electronically via an electronic voting system, and postal voting. Despite the title "Drive-Thru Voting", the act can be accomplished on foot, but is most commonly practiced from a vehicle.
So the question remains; why is this such a threat? Ballots are only mailed to registered voters. Ballots are matched to lists of registered voters when counted.
maxdancona wrote:
You want to stop people from being coerced to vote a certain way. This is why you aren't allowed to take pictures of your ballot, or be accompanied. You also want to prevent people from "electioneering".
I don't see what this has to do with depositing an absentee ballot in a secure dropbox.
maxdancona wrote:
The problem is that it changes long existing protections against voters being coerced, bought or otherwise influences votere in a way that used to be frowned upon by both parties.
I don't see that it changes anything other than making it convenient for people to vote. A lot of states have closed polling stations in minority communities leading to long lines and ridiculously long wait times.
0 Replies
InfraBlue
3
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Sun 18 Jul, 2021 01:48 pm
In regard to possible coercion, DTV could easily be limited to vehicles with the only occupant being the driver who is voter.