Originally Posted by HDWill

Sure, if you're very careful and detail oriented, it's not a problem. But as far as the population as a whole...

An article in The Atlantic just came out discussing Trump's likely legal challenges to the election results, which will center on mail-in ballots in Democratic-heavy districts of swing states.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...oncede/616424/

"Mail-in ballots will have plenty of flaws for the Trump lawyers to seize upon. Voting by mail is more complicated than voting in person, and technical errors are common­place at each step. If voters supply a new address, or if they write a different version of their name (for example, by shortening Benjamin to Ben), or if their signature has changed over the years, or if they print their name on the signature line, or if they fail to seal the ballot inside an inner security envelope, their votes may not count. With in-person voting, a poll worker in the precinct can resolve small errors like these, for instance by directing a voter to the correct signature line, but people voting by mail may have no opportunity to address them."

Originally Posted by Steerpike

Those are some pretty reasonable examples of 'easy mistakes to make'. My formal first name is long and I always shorten it on forms; just today I got a 'flu' injection at Costco and filled the form out with my 'short' name. I do pay extra attention when dealing with passport applications, etc and I would be extra careful with an election ballot, but - a lot of people are habitual with these things. And then there's my signature ... I sign my name using the 'short' form, and I think that's the signature that they have 'on file' for me ... but I really can't remember! A 'reasonable person' would let my paperwork through as 'obvious' but if you were to get 'picky', things could get messy.

Originally Posted by Steerpike

Those are some pretty reasonable examples of 'easy mistakes to make'. My formal first name is long and I always shorten it on forms; just today I got a 'flu' injection at Costco and filled the form out with my 'short' name. I do pay extra attention when dealing with passport applications, etc and I would be extra careful with an election ballot, but - a lot of people are habitual with these things. And then there's my signature ... I sign my name using the 'short' form, and I think that's the signature that they have 'on file' for me ... but I really can't remember! A 'reasonable person' would let my paperwork through as 'obvious' but if you were to get 'picky', things could get messy.

Originally Posted by HDWill

Do some elections offices actually compare signatures on ballots to a signature on file? That would seem to be obviously way too subjective. Reminds me of retail cashiers going through the motions of comparing the signature on the back of my credit card to the one on my receipt. That hasn't happened in years.

Originally Posted by Jsmth321

I know my county in California compares the signature on file (voter registration card or DMV if you have a drivers license) to the signature on the envelope.

I know this because a couple elections back, they contacted me as they couldn't verify my signature, I had to fill out another form, and fax it back to them so they could verify and count the ballot.

Originally Posted by zzrmark

What is it with signature format in this country? It is my legal mark, if I want to use a line drawing of Pluto getting it on with Minnie Mouse as my mark (Disney permitting...) that would be my prerogative. It makes me cringe when I read posts on BE where people say that they had to include their middle name on official documents because USCISIS is asking for it, I have had the same stylised signature since I was in high school and I'm sure it has changed slightly over forty years but it's the mark I use and were I to insert Chulmondley-Mainwaring into the middle of it nobody would have any comparison to know that it was my signature.

Originally Posted by civilservant

https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/202...milley/167625/

Very well written letter here by a couple of former military officers to the Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs.

Originally Posted by Steerpike

Yeah, I had that same discussion when signing for a mortgage way back. They said my sig had to be 'my full name' and I tried to argue that a sig is a visual 'thing', not a literal set of words or letters, but they just said 'do your best'. Since I didn't expect them to reject the whole thing based on this, I sort-of ignored them and did my usual (illegible) signature, and moved on. But for a ballot, with Trump looking for issues, I do wonder what the standard of 'matching' is!

Originally Posted by HDWill

"Retired lieutenant colonel" = weirdo

If Trump refused to leave the White House, it would be up to federal law enforcement to remove him (Secret Service and/or FBI). The military would be wise to stay hands-off in order to avoid the appearance of playing politics or participating in a coup (as it would be viewed by the hard right wing).

Originally Posted by zzrmark

I wonder what, if any, charges are brought for a retiring occupant of the Oval Office if they have to be forcefully ejected from the premises?

Originally Posted by RICH

I logged on to the county election site and found interesting stats.

• Active Registered Voters: 9/25/20
• Democrat: 252,644
• Republican: 246,881
• Other: 201,985
• Total: 701,51

Originally Posted by zzrmark

I copied this off my email notification for the rest of the BE crew that has a white background and struggles to read white letters on it...

* Active Registered Voters: 9/25/20
* Democrat: 252,644
* Republican: 246,881
* Other: 201,985
* Total: 701,51

For reference the top figures are Pinellas county FL and bottom are Manatee county next door via skyway bridge!

And my county's stats:

• Republicans:116,456
• Democrats:82,657
• Others:70,129
• Total:269,242

Originally Posted by RICH

took me longer to figure out how to delete post!

Originally Posted by RICH

I saw a Biden /Harris lawn sign in the neighborhood today. Not that there are many Trump ones out there.