2020 Election
#4591
Re: 2020 Election
"U.S. Appeals Court Sides With Texas On One-Per-County Ballot Drop-Off"
Can someone help me understand why this is a big deal? With mail-in voting, you but the ballot in the mail, so there are thousands of "ballot drop-offs" in every county.
Is the issue that many counties do not send postage-paid envelopes with the ballots? So voters have to pay for postage?
Can someone help me understand why this is a big deal? With mail-in voting, you but the ballot in the mail, so there are thousands of "ballot drop-offs" in every county.
Is the issue that many counties do not send postage-paid envelopes with the ballots? So voters have to pay for postage?
#4592
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 211
Re: 2020 Election
I did just realize however that a non-postal drop box would allow voters to drop off their ballots on election day, rather than 1-2 days prior.
#4593
Re: 2020 Election
As someone who worked as a postal clerk for a few months (in the US military), I know that the USPS is highly automated and efficient in sorting mail. Also the system has a ton of excess capacity, since first class mail volumes are way down from their peak fifteen years ago.
I did just realize however that a non-postal drop box would allow voters to drop off their ballots on election day, rather than 1-2 days prior.
I did just realize however that a non-postal drop box would allow voters to drop off their ballots on election day, rather than 1-2 days prior.
#4594
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 211
Re: 2020 Election
USPS is not quite as fast as it was a decade ago, because some of the regional sorting centers have been shut down (mail volume is like 50% of what it was a decade ago). But mailed ballots are only going 50-100 miles, not across the country. If you can't get your act together to mail a ballot at least a couple days before election day, again I'm not that sympathetic.
#4595
Re: 2020 Election
I'm honestly not that sympathetic. Absentee voting obviously takes more planning and forethought than voting in person. No one can just wake up on election day and say, "I want to vote absentee."
USPS is not quite as fast as it was a decade ago, because some of the regional sorting centers have been shut down (mail volume is like 50% of what it was a decade ago). But mailed ballots are only going 50-100 miles, not across the country. If you can't get your act together to mail a ballot at least a couple days before election day, again I'm not that sympathetic.
USPS is not quite as fast as it was a decade ago, because some of the regional sorting centers have been shut down (mail volume is like 50% of what it was a decade ago). But mailed ballots are only going 50-100 miles, not across the country. If you can't get your act together to mail a ballot at least a couple days before election day, again I'm not that sympathetic.
#4596
Account Closed
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: 2020 Election
How many of your states/counties have tracking of your ballots?
My county in California, I can check online and it will tell be when the ballot is received, and if it was counted, I can also fax in my ballot which is what I did this year. Too many delays with Canada Post this year, and adding in 2 postal systems increases delays, it took 4 weeks for a card to get from BC to California, where normally it takes about 10-12 days.
My county in California, I can check online and it will tell be when the ballot is received, and if it was counted, I can also fax in my ballot which is what I did this year. Too many delays with Canada Post this year, and adding in 2 postal systems increases delays, it took 4 weeks for a card to get from BC to California, where normally it takes about 10-12 days.
#4597
Re: 2020 Election
How many of your states/counties have tracking of your ballots?
My county in California, I can check online and it will tell be when the ballot is received, and if it was counted, I can also fax in my ballot which is what I did this year. Too many delays with Canada Post this year, and adding in 2 postal systems increases delays, it took 4 weeks for a card to get from BC to California, where normally it takes about 10-12 days.
My county in California, I can check online and it will tell be when the ballot is received, and if it was counted, I can also fax in my ballot which is what I did this year. Too many delays with Canada Post this year, and adding in 2 postal systems increases delays, it took 4 weeks for a card to get from BC to California, where normally it takes about 10-12 days.
#4598
Re: 2020 Election
How many of your states/counties have tracking of your ballots?
My county in California, I can check online and it will tell be when the ballot is received, and if it was counted, I can also fax in my ballot which is what I did this year. Too many delays with Canada Post this year, and adding in 2 postal systems increases delays, it took 4 weeks for a card to get from BC to California, where normally it takes about 10-12 days.
My county in California, I can check online and it will tell be when the ballot is received, and if it was counted, I can also fax in my ballot which is what I did this year. Too many delays with Canada Post this year, and adding in 2 postal systems increases delays, it took 4 weeks for a card to get from BC to California, where normally it takes about 10-12 days.
Anyone accessing my info can see my address and party affiliation. If they go into the previous elections section they can see that I voted in person for the presidential preference primary, that I mailed in my 2020 primary election ballot, and that it shows as having been counted. And by clicking on 'upcoming elections' they can see that I have voted by mail with one ballot, a fancy little arrow type numbered bar shows that my ballot was requested, sent and received, and is awaiting the fourth bar to be highlighted as counted. It tells me below the indicator bar that my ballot was received (at the elections office, which is where I took it as early voting centers aren't open yet) on Wednesday 7th October.
There is a section of 'important dates'. As below...
Election Day
Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Registration Closes
Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Early Voting Begins
Monday, October 19, 2020
Early Voting Ends
Sunday, November 1, 2020
....and below that a lovely picture of my local polling station (should I have chosen to vote in person on election day) complete with the address and date of the election.
Our county has been held up as an example as to how an elections office in Florida should be run, they even managed to successfully avoid the Florida fiasco of 2000 and had the rest of Florida taken note of the Supervisor's recommendations in 1999 they too could have avoided the mess that followed.
#4599
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 211
Re: 2020 Election
I read that Trump's postmaster has eliminated overtime for postal workers. The article also mentioned mail volume is down due to the economic slowdown. Even a big surge in mail-in ballots (spread out over several weeks) is a tiny percentage of what the USPS handles on a daily basis in terms of first-class and junk mail. Could mail be slower by one day in many cases? Sure.
#4600
Re: 2020 Election
Long queues for early voting in places. 7 - 11 hours noted. Why? Part of it must be a lack of actual booths when you get inside. Voting for the President, plus a Senator or Congress rep or two if they're up this year doesn't take long. If you have to vote for judges it can take quite a while. I had pages of them and if you do any background work on them at all you do have a lot of names to wade through in larger areas anyway. Still, there's no excuse for such long waits.
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54532189
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...box=1602591858
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54532189
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...box=1602591858
#4601
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 211
Re: 2020 Election
Long queues for early voting in places. 7 - 11 hours noted. Why? Part of it must be a lack of actual booths when you get inside. Voting for the President, plus a Senator or Congress rep or two if they're up this year doesn't take long. If you have to vote for judges it can take quite a while. I had pages of them and if you do any background work on them at all you do have a lot of names to wade through in larger areas anyway. Still, there's no excuse for such long waits.
#4602
Re: 2020 Election
I can go into our county's online voter system and pull up all sorts of info, marginally worrying in that all I need is my first and last name and DOB and confirm that I'm not a robot (with a very basic captcha that involves nothing more than checking a box to say that I'm not a robot!), so anyone can pretty much access anyone else's info with very little data about them.
Anyone accessing my info can see my address and party affiliation. If they go into the previous elections section they can see that I voted in person for the presidential preference primary, that I mailed in my 2020 primary election ballot, and that it shows as having been counted. And by clicking on 'upcoming elections' they can see that I have voted by mail with one ballot, a fancy little arrow type numbered bar shows that my ballot was requested, sent and received, and is awaiting the fourth bar to be highlighted as counted. It tells me below the indicator bar that my ballot was received (at the elections office, which is where I took it as early voting centers aren't open yet) on Wednesday 7th October.
There is a section of 'important dates'. As below...
Election Day
Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Registration Closes
Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Early Voting Begins
Monday, October 19, 2020
Early Voting Ends
Sunday, November 1, 2020
....and below that a lovely picture of my local polling station (should I have chosen to vote in person on election day) complete with the address and date of the election.
Our county has been held up as an example as to how an elections office in Florida should be run, they even managed to successfully avoid the Florida fiasco of 2000 and had the rest of Florida taken note of the Supervisor's recommendations in 1999 they too could have avoided the mess that followed.
Anyone accessing my info can see my address and party affiliation. If they go into the previous elections section they can see that I voted in person for the presidential preference primary, that I mailed in my 2020 primary election ballot, and that it shows as having been counted. And by clicking on 'upcoming elections' they can see that I have voted by mail with one ballot, a fancy little arrow type numbered bar shows that my ballot was requested, sent and received, and is awaiting the fourth bar to be highlighted as counted. It tells me below the indicator bar that my ballot was received (at the elections office, which is where I took it as early voting centers aren't open yet) on Wednesday 7th October.
There is a section of 'important dates'. As below...
Election Day
Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Registration Closes
Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Early Voting Begins
Monday, October 19, 2020
Early Voting Ends
Sunday, November 1, 2020
....and below that a lovely picture of my local polling station (should I have chosen to vote in person on election day) complete with the address and date of the election.
Our county has been held up as an example as to how an elections office in Florida should be run, they even managed to successfully avoid the Florida fiasco of 2000 and had the rest of Florida taken note of the Supervisor's recommendations in 1999 they too could have avoided the mess that followed.
#4603
Re: 2020 Election
My small county of 20,000 people has gone from 5 polling places to 1 this year. Delays will abundant if this is true everywhere. I shall be heading over after work on Thursday to vote early.
In GA we are becoming know for poorly managed election days.
In GA we are becoming know for poorly managed election days.
#4604
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 211
Re: 2020 Election
I suppose the main point of early voting in person is to benefit people who have inflexible jobs etc who just can't get away to vote on election day. So if you vote early just because you're really eager to vote, you could potentially make it harder for others (by adding to a long queue) who really need to vote early. But maybe there are some places where voting early is usually faster than voting on election day?
#4605
Re: 2020 Election
Personally I think if you can vote early you should. What happens if your car breaks down on election day? Or your kid is sick? Or a tropical storm is coming through? Or a pipe bursts?
Leaving voting to one day only is limiting the franchise IMO.
Here is GA it's 2 weeks of M-F and one Saturday. Plenty of time.
Leaving voting to one day only is limiting the franchise IMO.
Here is GA it's 2 weeks of M-F and one Saturday. Plenty of time.