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you don't have to wait for hours in line or depend on e-voting machines with no paper trail. I love our voting system, but then again...I've never got to pull a lever.
Netroots Director for Oregon Senate Candidate Jeff Merkley. Kossacks Donate to Merkley Here!
by sarahlane on Tue May 13, 2008 at 10:06:18 AM PDT
[ Parent ]
I had a talk about this with my friend Bill Bradbury (Oregon Secretary of State, for those who don't know him) several years back when I told him what I thought were all the flaws of this system. His response? First he giggled. Then he laughed! Then he told me it would work.
And it does! I'm down to two quibbles. It's possible to mail your ballot in too late, to send it in with what you think is enough time for the mail to be delivered but for it to show up Wednesday, in which case you're out of luck.
The other thing that worries me is the lack of privacy in the family. I think it's too easy for people to sit around the table and all vote the same way, although they'd vote differently in a private booth.
I think these minor concerns are outweighed by the major improvement in voting percentage. It'll be exciting to see what level of participation we get to this year.
by Shahryar on Tue May 13, 2008 at 10:15:45 AM PDT
I don't think it dramatically increases turnout.
But I agree that it's an excellent system. And it also saves money, doesn't it?
by bdupree on Tue May 13, 2008 at 10:17:36 AM PDT
I thought it did...will check the numbers.
by Shahryar on Tue May 13, 2008 at 10:19:12 AM PDT
Several close friends of mine run the Early Voting Center at Portland's Reed College; I shotgunned the question to them and got the without-frills answer of roughly 5% or so. Nothing miraculous and somewhat slight, but not bad. Plus the other benefits, and it sounds good to me.
by bdupree on Tue May 13, 2008 at 10:23:03 AM PDT
Re-assessment
5% is interesting when you look at this:
Vote more often: 29.3% Vote the same: 66.6% Vote less often: 4.1%
So either people have the mistaken impression that they're voting more often or else voting patterns have returned closer to what they were before the novelty of vote by mail.
by Shahryar on Tue May 13, 2008 at 10:32:25 AM PDT
I'm pretty certain about my figure (by trusting the source), so it is fascinating that the perception is what it is...
by bdupree on Tue May 13, 2008 at 10:37:08 AM PDT
do you know how much money states have poured into those unreliable machines? A ton! I'm curious though if some states will get their money back considering the lawsuit against one e-voting machine company has finally been released from the DOJ seal and can now go forward. The whistleblower lawsuit asserts that the company falsified their security reports in order to gain federal funding.
by sarahlane on Tue May 13, 2008 at 10:52:53 AM PDT
Republicans the opportunity to deny registered voters the right to cast a ballot WITHOUT state-issued photo ID? Especially nuns. http://www.bradblog.com/...
For every difficult question, there is an answer that is simple, easily understood and wrong.--H.L. Mencken
by The Totalizer on Wed May 14, 2008 at 01:14:27 AM PDT
1st time voter locked herself in her room to fill out her ballot.
Of course, the "Yes We Can" YouTube video was blasting away at full volume on her computer. (almost had her convinced about Edwards when he dropped out of the race...)
8^)
Conservatism is a function of age - Rousseau I've been 19 longer'n you've been alive - me
by watercarrier4diogenes on Tue May 13, 2008 at 10:48:50 AM PDT
is OK by me, even if it is just a few points.
Gordon Smith must go.
by vard on Tue May 13, 2008 at 11:46:09 AM PDT
I never pulled a lever. In CA, and then later in OR, it was punch cards.
What I do miss, and it's the only thing, is the comraderie of standing with other voters, no matter their party, and then dropping my ballot in the box.
A ship adrift in a sea of rhetoric & recycled clichés.
by Terre on Tue May 13, 2008 at 10:27:10 AM PDT
I used to watch my parents do just that growing up in California. Although, you know what, I think I prefer this.
by bdupree on Tue May 13, 2008 at 10:29:01 AM PDT
That this is the FIRST year, since we started with the mail-in ballots, that I actually have another voter with me at home -- my son, and his first time.
:o)
by Terre on Tue May 13, 2008 at 10:31:51 AM PDT
My first election was the debacle of a California recall that first put the Governator into power. It was a massive ballot-by-mail at my college, and I had to spread the whole thing. The pity? I didn't have anyone to share it with!
Now, my wife and I can debate the pros/cons of various candidates as we vote. It's really quite fun. I'm glad you enjoyed filling it out withi your son!
by bdupree on Tue May 13, 2008 at 10:33:28 AM PDT
in NJ and NY - I've opted for in-person poll voting, optical scanner paper ballot, in WA (10% luddite group), but it's a pain. Here's why ...
NY and NJ have very few "public questions" as there's no intitiative & referendum there. On the left coast there are loads of them, such that I've needed to bring along an index card "cheat sheet" to keep track - mail in ballots work much better for those!
by newdem1960 on Tue May 13, 2008 at 10:41:38 AM PDT
where I used to live, we pulled levers. We stood in line with our neighbors and pulled levers and it was great.
In DC we stood in line and punched holes in punchcards.
I miss the civic ritual of "Election Day," but I love the convenience. And when you have all the crazy-ass ballot measures to deal with, vote-by-mail ROCKS.
by vard on Tue May 13, 2008 at 11:49:00 AM PDT
wide narrow
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