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Pandemic and the General Election


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#1 johnfwd

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Posted 07 April 2020 - 05:59 AM

Not intending to be partisan or controversial here.  If the COVID-19 virus pandemic continues into the summer, the Democrats may not be holding a national presidential nominating convention.  I hope that's not the case because we have to have some normality in the upcoming electoral process. 

 

During a national crisis, the president is in charge, is credited if the crisis is abated or held accountable if it is not.  Trump may benefit from the coronavirus just as George W. Bush benefited in terms of popularity from the aftermath of 911.  Meantime, the "presumed" Democratic nominee for president, Joe Biden, cannot engage in mass-public campaigning and is left to giving online speeches in the shadow of Trump.  Fairly or not, this is the reality.

 

Wisconsin is an exception to holding a primary election today; other states have postponed their elections.  But Wisconsin has been harshly criticized for violating the social-distance rules and many fear that state will have a surge in virus-related cases.

 

What's going to happen if the pandemic continues into the fall?  Is the November general election going to be postponed--or even cancelled?  That would mean Trump gets a new four-year term without an electoral decision.  And some aspect of our democracy will be sacrificed to the pandemic, rightly or wrongly.  This may sound "alarmist" but it could happen.

 

I hope we get over this crisis by late June for the sake of the country and the democratic process of choosing a new president, as well as a new Congress and state and local office holders.



#2 renamerusk

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Posted 07 April 2020 - 10:28 AM

I would sincerely hope that the public will not stand for a first ever postponement or cancellation of a National Election. It has never happened and it will not happen in November.

 

Future primaries can be cancelled and the convention too.  The Democratic Party can declare it nominee as it did before the primary system was created.

 

There are ways to have an election.  Oregon has 100% vote by mail. Other states will follow if necessary; vote by mail is very popular. We used it during the previous elections.

 

As for Trump, I find it inconceivable that his unpreparedness to handle the Pandemic and his incompetent administering of the crisis has increased his popularity; if anything, Trump's popularity is flagging.  The nation and the world is now in a very deep recession possibly a depression; and the economy is tanking.  Should this continue through the Summer and into the Fall, how is it conceivable that Trump will be in a position that benefits himself?



#3 johnfwd

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Posted 07 April 2020 - 11:02 AM

I also thought of the alternative ways of holding the election--e.g., balloting by mail.  But that means has always been an adjunct to in-person voting, not the sole means.  It's possible to have electronic voting in isolation, if the technology and the logistics could be worked out.

 

Regarding the politics in general and Trump in particular, there is the "rally 'round the flag" moment that often gives the commander-in-chief a lift in the polls.  Aside from that phenomenon, there is the "don't change horses in midstream" electoral theory if the pandemic continues into the fall.  This would work for Trump if the public perceives he is handling the situation competently but it is continuing beyond his ability to control it.  Though he was becoming widely unpopular because of the Civil War, Lincoln got re-elected in 1864 principally (I believe) because the North did not want to "change horses" in the middle of that war.



#4 renamerusk

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Posted 07 April 2020 - 11:48 AM

There will not be, or will one be warranted, a great swell of rallying around the current occupant of Commander-in-Chief.  In actuality and what will be indicative is that you will have the vast majority of the public rallying around people of honor, such as the Admiral of the aircraft carrier, USS Roosevelt whose duty was relieved of his post  after calling for help for his Covid-19 stricken ship. Upon learning of the action taken by the Trump Administration, the sailor rallied to give their Captain a boisterous and long standing ovation as he disembarked from their ship.

 

The American People should not forget the way that the Military is being disrespected by the Trump Administration.

 

I hope that a greater majority of Americans have not come to a point where these past 3-1/2 years have become the normal.

 

Fort Worth Business Press - Navy boss resigns amid uproar over firing of ship captain | News | fortworthbusiness.com



#5 Fort Worthology

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Posted 07 April 2020 - 03:16 PM

What's going to happen if the pandemic continues into the fall?  Is the November general election going to be postponed--or even cancelled?  That would mean Trump gets a new four-year term without an electoral decision.

 

Just to be clear, that is not at all what would happen.

 

"The 20th Amendment, moreover, provides that “the terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January.” Thus, even if the election were somehow canceled, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence’s terms would still expire as scheduled — although, as explained below, the question of who would succeed them is devilishly complicated."

 

https://www.vox.com/...ion-coronavirus


--

Kara B.

 


#6 renamerusk

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Posted 07 April 2020 - 06:05 PM

You being a resident of the State of Oregon FWgy, just how simple is it to vote by mail there?



#7 johnfwd

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Posted 08 April 2020 - 06:38 AM

 

What's going to happen if the pandemic continues into the fall?  Is the November general election going to be postponed--or even cancelled?  That would mean Trump gets a new four-year term without an electoral decision.

 

Just to be clear, that is not at all what would happen.

 

"The 20th Amendment, moreover, provides that “the terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January.” Thus, even if the election were somehow canceled, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence’s terms would still expire as scheduled — although, as explained below, the question of who would succeed them is devilishly complicated."

 

https://www.vox.com/...ion-coronavirus

 

Thank you.  I stand corrected.  Yes, how you think voting by mail in Oregon is going?



#8 Fort Worthology

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Posted 09 April 2020 - 08:29 AM

Oregon has been *entirely* vote-by-mail since 1998 - it's not an optional alternative way to vote here, it's the entire voting system. It's extremely simple and convenient and as soon as we did it the first time after moving, it became utterly, completely baffling to me that the entire country doesn't do it this way.

 

A few weeks before an election, every registered voter in Oregon gets a ballot in the mail. You fill it out and either mail it back or drop it in an official drop box. And...that's it. It works really well. It's been working really well for years. It's popular and Oregon gets great turnout as a result.

 

In addition, as of 2016 Oregon also moved to automatic voter registration, via the DMV. As of 2016 if you get a driver's license or ID card or renew your existing one, you are automatically a registered voter. It moved from an opt-in process to an opt-out process. Once you get or renew that license you get a voter registration notice in the mail, from which point you have three options - quoting from the Oregon Secretary of State web site here:

 

  • Do nothing. You will be registered to vote as a nonaffiliated voter (not a member of a political party).
  • Choose a political party by returning the card. Joining a political party will allow you to vote in its primary elections.
  • Use the card to​ opt-out and decline to register to vote.​

--

Kara B.

 


#9 renamerusk

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Posted 09 April 2020 - 09:16 AM

OMG, that is democracy.  Vote or not vote; no one can complain.



#10 MorganRehnberg

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Posted 09 April 2020 - 09:18 AM

I used to live in Colorado, which also votes by mail now. It's incredibly easy and should be the standard method for voting everywhere. For local and state races, I actually had time to sit with my ballot and a voter guide to figure out who I wanted to vote for. Much better than trying to remember every local office while holding up other people in the booth.



#11 txbornviking

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Posted 09 April 2020 - 10:23 AM

 

Oregon has been *entirely* vote-by-mail since 1998 - it's not an optional alternative way to vote here, it's the entire voting system. It's extremely simple and convenient and as soon as we did it the first time after moving, it became utterly, completely baffling to me that the entire country doesn't do it this way.

 

A few weeks before an election, every registered voter in Oregon gets a ballot in the mail. You fill it out and either mail it back or drop it in an official drop box. And...that's it. It works really well. It's been working really well for years. It's popular and Oregon gets great turnout as a result.

 

In addition, as of 2016 Oregon also moved to automatic voter registration, via the DMV. As of 2016 if you get a driver's license or ID card or renew your existing one, you are automatically a registered voter. It moved from an opt-in process to an opt-out process. Once you get or renew that license you get a voter registration notice in the mail, from which point you have three options - quoting from the Oregon Secretary of State web site here:

 

  • Do nothing. You will be registered to vote as a nonaffiliated voter (not a member of a political party).
  • Choose a political party by returning the card. Joining a political party will allow you to vote in its primary elections.
  • Use the card to​ opt-out and decline to register to vote.​

 

 

" Oregon has mailed out about 100 million ballots since 2000, with only about 12 cases of proven fraud."

https://www.national...uring-pandemic/



#12 JBB

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Posted 10 April 2020 - 10:30 AM

County judge Glen Whitley and his continuous flip-flopping on church services is another solid candidate for a seat on the rocket to the sun.



#13 renamerusk

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Posted 10 April 2020 - 12:56 PM

Where was it, Georgia I believe that the residents in a small town attended the church funeral service for someone from within their community; and as a result 16 attendees contracted the Covid-19 and several fell ill and subsequently died.

 

Church is not a safe haven and if closely gathered inside of a small church, you stand a great risk of getting the disease.

 

About Tarrant County, it is worth considering that Tarrant County has tested and confirmed about half the number of Dallas County tested and confirmed in Dallas County, and yet Tarrant County is neck and neck in number of fatalities with Dallas County.

 

Tarrant County really does not know how extensive the Covid-19 virus is within its jurisdiction; how can Whitley be so whisy-washy?



#14 roverone

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Posted 10 April 2020 - 01:22 PM

It seems like the singing in churches is something that can magnify the problem, which of course makes sense: breathing more forcefully from our lungs, projecting, mouths open.  I expect if it could be visualized, a safe distance from a singer would be much further than from someone staying quiet (not coughing or sneezing of course).



#15 renamerusk

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Posted 10 April 2020 - 01:41 PM

.......that goes exponentially wrong for the choir.



#16 RD Milhollin

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Posted 12 April 2020 - 10:46 PM

Vote by Mail... Why not?



#17 johnfwd

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Posted 13 April 2020 - 05:26 AM

I wish a safe, secure, and affordable means of e-voting could be devised for the general election.  The Internet-based technology is certainly feasible and proven in minor elections.  As an attorney I'm provided an access I.D. to vote online in State Bar of Texas president and board of director positions, as well as our local bar association governing positions.  I imagine it's the same with organizations all around the country and the world.

 

For state-administered elections, once you've registered to vote, you're assigned an e-voting access password or code.  You are given a period of time to case your ballot.  The major concerns, I suppose, are hacking, identity theft, and affordability, particularly as to poor people who lack Internet access.

 

What if every registered voter was provided a temporary "voting pod" containing the ballot and Wi-fi access to the polling website?  Upon submitting their completed and signed ballot, the device is no longer operable.



#18 txbornviking

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Posted 13 April 2020 - 12:04 PM

I wish a safe, secure, and affordable means of e-voting could be devised for the general election.  The Internet-based technology is certainly feasible and proven in minor elections.  As an attorney I'm provided an access I.D. to vote online in State Bar of Texas president and board of director positions, as well as our local bar association governing positions.  I imagine it's the same with organizations all around the country and the world.

 

For state-administered elections, once you've registered to vote, you're assigned an e-voting access password or code.  You are given a period of time to case your ballot.  The major concerns, I suppose, are hacking, identity theft, and affordability, particularly as to poor people who lack Internet access.

 

What if every registered voter was provided a temporary "voting pod" containing the ballot and Wi-fi access to the polling website?  Upon submitting their completed and signed ballot, the device is no longer operable.

 

Estonia has come up with some clever ways of making e-voting safe and successful.

 

https://www.forbes.c...e/#71242d9f3b95

 

https://en.wikipedia...ting_in_Estonia



#19 johnfwd

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Posted 14 April 2020 - 05:48 AM

I didn't read the above pieces in their entirety, but I would say Estonia is "fortunate" for two major reasons:  (1) it's a small country; and (2) it has a national election system.  In both these characteristics Estonia is not a model for e-voting in the United States.

 

This is no criticism of Estonia.  In the U.S. we have state-administered elections, meaning a variety of balloting--and voter registration-- methods around the country.  These may be obstacles to online voting that our country must overcome.  Not to mention the security issues and the potential for fraud.  But the Internet knows no state boundaries, and so it could be the genesis for a national voting system in the U.S.  Whether that requires some changes in state laws or the U.S. Constitution I'm not sure.  But I would think most, if not all states, could agree to adopt a uniform voting system.

 

But, as I stated in a prior post, local and state organizations are using the internet for balloting on candidates for their governing boards.  So there's no reason why states can't establish online voting methods.

 

All this conjecture is probably irrelevant for the November general election.  Hopefully, the pandemic will subside by then and we can proceed with normal balloting on national, state, and local races.



#20 renamerusk

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Posted 14 April 2020 - 09:20 AM

.....as I stated in a prior post, local and state organizations are using the internet for balloting on candidates for their governing boards.  So there's no reason why states can't establish online voting methods....... All this conjecture is probably irrelevant for the November general election.  Hopefully, the pandemic will subside by then and we can proceed with normal balloting on national, state, and local races.

 

Once the crop has been harvested in the fall, we, the property owners,  can leave home after attending worship services on Sunday and begin our travel during the nights and day before the first Tuesday of November so as to cast our vote. 

 

Returning back to what is labelled as "normal balloting" is actually not in the best interest of election process; it is in the best interest of the 18th Century select privileged class.  But today, online voting is fundamentally for the modern select privileged classes and would create a lot of foreseeable and unforeseeable problems.

 

Without changing the Constitution as to when elections are held, the surest and safest way to protect elections from fraud is by paper ballots which can either be dropped off at post offices or at designated secured balloting boxes in schools, fire stations, hospitals, etc.

 

Our campaign season is too long and too expensive.  It is a industry fed by media's profit motivations, consultants, pollsters.etc.

 

Perhaps there needs to be provisions which incentives eligible voters to complete their ballot; and a provision which is punitive for not returning a ballot.  The choice on the ballot can be to make selection(s) or to select not to make a selection; but the ballot must be returned as it is required of us to follow an annual tax return.

 

As for conjecture, it is beginning to look more likely that because what public health experts and scientists are predicting as a one year minimal period before a vaccine is available, the States can receive federal funding to make it easier to vote by mail in the  2020 General Election.

 

The implementation model exists in Oregon and Colorado; and it should not be such a herculean effort to do follow them as examples.



#21 renamerusk

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Posted 15 April 2020 - 01:05 PM

I hope this isn't true; but it has been reported that those with health insurance could face huge medical bills because their insurer may be establishing a ceiling around the percentage of patients that a doctor in a network can treat to be able to remain within the insurer's network.

 

If you go to the emergency clinic and a doctor who is not in network treats you; you will be on the hook to pay a higher bill or the bill itself; and because in an emergency you will not know or care which doctor(s) treats you; you just one to be healed.

 

The 2020 General Election will be the opportunity for the voters to vote up or down for expanding/reducing health care coverage.



#22 Austin55

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Posted 15 April 2020 - 02:39 PM

Some interesting news, surely to be hotly debated. 

 

https://www.texastri...nd-mail-voting/



#23 bclaridge

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Posted 15 April 2020 - 07:23 PM

I didn't read the above pieces in their entirety, but I would say Estonia is "fortunate" for two major reasons:  (1) it's a small country; and (2) it has a national election system.  In both these characteristics Estonia is not a model for e-voting in the United States.

 

This is no criticism of Estonia.  In the U.S. we have state-administered elections, meaning a variety of balloting--and voter registration-- methods around the country.  These may be obstacles to online voting that our country must overcome.  Not to mention the security issues and the potential for fraud.  But the Internet knows no state boundaries, and so it could be the genesis for a national voting system in the U.S.  Whether that requires some changes in state laws or the U.S. Constitution I'm not sure.  But I would think most, if not all states, could agree to adopt a uniform voting system.

 

But, as I stated in a prior post, local and state organizations are using the internet for balloting on candidates for their governing boards.  So there's no reason why states can't establish online voting methods.

 

All this conjecture is probably irrelevant for the November general election.  Hopefully, the pandemic will subside by then and we can proceed with normal balloting on national, state, and local races.

If cybersecurity is a concern, Estonia has dealt with more than its fair share of cyberattacks for such a small nation.  To my understanding, they have faced several cyberattacks from Russia in particular (to note, Estonia was a territory/republic of the Soviet Union that became an EU and NATO member some time after the collapse of the USSR).  A cyberattack 13 years ago (in 2007), which occurred following the relocation of a Soviet war memorial in Tallinn, crippled parts of the country.

Needless to say, Estonia takes cybersecurity a lot more seriously than most of the USA.  It is very much ingrained in the culture there.


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#24 renamerusk

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Posted 15 April 2020 - 07:50 PM

Because the U.S. does not conduct one central election, but a collection of 50 states and territories that are then divided into thousands of precincts,  a cyber attack would have to be so broad and comprehensive that the attack would not likely be successful overall.  It could target special precincts, but that takes quite a lot of sosphisication.

 

The greatest treat to our election process is voter suppression, apathy, the demand made by the Election Industry (media, pollsters, campaigns) to have instant results.  There is a race by the networks to be the first to call an election and they often do so at 1 minute after poll closing.  I would just rather that the final results be made known after all the votes are in so that the voters in states where the polls are still open have had a chance to cast their vote without the networks declaring winners.

 

I think that the problem can be resolved with Snail Voting= vote by mail using paper ballots with paper trails.



#25 johnfwd

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Posted 10 July 2020 - 05:28 AM

We've discussed here a lot about the need for mail-in balloting as a result of the pandemic.  This article (Texas Tribune) in FWBP tells me we're in trouble this November if we can't staff polling places for this Tuesday's runoff election.

 

 

https://fortworthbus...er-coronavirus/



#26 renamerusk

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Posted 10 July 2020 - 07:58 AM

We've discussed here a lot about the need for mail-in balloting as a result of the pandemic.  This article (Texas Tribune) in FWBP tells me we're in trouble this November if we can't staff polling places for this Tuesday's runoff election.

 

 

https://fortworthbus...er-coronavirus/

 

 So yesterday, I had the first of two motor vehicle's inspection completed and today I will return to the County Tax Assessor & Collector Office; and after 5-10 business days I will receive my permit to be placed in the window of the vehicle.  How was this possible?

 

First, the MV Renewal Document arrived by U.S.Mail.  I filled out the information requested.  I drove our vehicle to be tested (local Toyota Dealer).  The test was completed and the results electronically forwarded to DMV in Austin.  A record of this registration will be stored and is accessible by the County Tax Assessor & Collector.  Today, I returned the DMV registration with check included to the County Tax Assessor & Collector office. Presto! Seamless! Done!  The moral of this story is that something like this is possible when there is motivation to do so.

 

The trouble that we have in Texas is simple: There is the motivation to suppress voting in this State.  Where the several states that allow voting by mail free of exemptions, the vote turnout is higher than the national average and the need for staffing at polling stations is lower.  This goes without needing to be said, but the public health risks are virtually eliminated.

 

Our runoff ballots arrived by mail 1 month and some days ago and allowed me to know who were on the ballot and to make my choice as I got to know the positions taken by each candidate. I filled out and returned my runoff ballot on July 3rd.

 

Like my DMV inspection and registration, I was provide options: in-person or by mail.  We believe that Vote by Mail is the most efficient and surest way for us to exercise the vote.  There isn't trouble unless there is a concerted effort to impede and eliminate multiple means of voting.



#27 Doohickie

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Posted 10 July 2020 - 08:24 AM

On the other hand, I have to say that anyone in Tarrant County who complains about the polls being crowded or too far away on Election Day needs to know that there were zero lines during Early Voting and there are dozens of polling places.  People need to understand that Election Day is over two weeks long.


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#28 txbornviking

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Posted 10 July 2020 - 08:43 AM

story in the star-t yesterday made note that so far in early voting only 5500 folks have voted.

 

5500! in a city of 900k, we have a serious, Serious, SERIOUS problem of non-participation.



#29 renamerusk

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Posted 10 July 2020 - 11:01 AM

It is a problem easily resolved: Add to the voters' roll every person 18 years and older and distribute ballots to them using account information held by utilities and phone providers.  You will reach well over 90% of the eligible voters.



#30 RD Milhollin

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Posted 14 July 2020 - 11:09 PM

It is a problem easily resolved: Add to the voters' roll every person 18 years and older and distribute ballots to them using account information held by utilities and phone providers.  You will reach well over 90% of the eligible voters.

The operative word here might be "eligible". Not every person over 18 years of age who pays electric and phone bills is eligible to vote. The Election Administration need to be more sophisticated than that! As discussed above, there are long-proven registration and voting systems in other states utilizing the USPS (a vital and required part of the national infrastructure) that is easier to protect from "hacking" than electronic systems. Early voting via the postal system (as in Iowa where I sleep most nights) works fine for me...

 

Sort of related: If schools were to resurrect the "Scantron" sheets for testing etc. this would in effect double as a way to educate future voters how to properly mark ballots. Paper ballots are an effective way to provide a trail for auditing close or controversial elections, and the Scantron technology is an inexpensive and accurate means for counting ballots.

 

As an Iowan who participated in the 2020 Caucus I can securely say: Don't use Apps for voting!



#31 Fort Worthology

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Posted 15 July 2020 - 09:47 AM

The operative word here might be "eligible". Not every person over 18 years of age who pays electric and phone bills is eligible to vote. The Election Administration need to be more sophisticated than that! As discussed above, there are long-proven registration and voting systems in other states utilizing the USPS (a vital and required part of the national infrastructure) that is easier to protect from "hacking" than electronic systems. Early voting via the postal system (as in Iowa where I sleep most nights) works fine for me...

 

 

*waves in Oregonian* Yeah, I just...it's surreal to see all the hand-wringing and accusations about how evil mail-in voting is when it's *so* common and routine and safe here.


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Kara B.

 


#32 renamerusk

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Posted 15 July 2020 - 10:26 AM

 

It is a problem easily resolved: Add to the voters' roll every person 18 years and older and distribute ballots to them using account information held by utilities and phone providers.  You will reach well over 90% of the eligible voters.

 

The operative word here might be "eligible". Not every person over 18 years of age who pays electric and phone bills is eligible to vote. The Election Administration need to be more sophisticated than that! As discussed above, there are long-proven registration and voting systems in other states utilizing the USPS (a vital and required part of the national infrastructure) that is easier to protect from "hacking" than electronic systems. Early voting via the postal system (as in Iowa where I sleep most nights) works fine for me...

 

There should not be any eligibility clause when it comes to voting.  Citizens will either choose to vote or not to vote as is their right. 

 

The use of eligibility is too easy a mechanism to put into action that the result is there is now a significant amount of the electorate who finds the nuisances that the administrative bureaucracy and politicians enact are too byzantine to overcome in order to vote.

 

Like at birth when a newborn is assigned a social security number, a system should be put into place to assign a permanent voting number which can be used in Statewide and Federal Elections.



#33 Doohickie

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Posted 15 July 2020 - 11:16 PM

Like at birth when a newborn is assigned a social security number, a system should be put into place to assign a permanent voting number which can be used in Statewide and Federal Elections.

 

There's a problem with that.  The right to vote depends on two things:  Proper identification of the voter (which your idea would take care of) and proper precinct.  If I had a permanent number but there wasn't a formal voter registration to go with it, I would pop back and forth across precinct, or even state, lines when voting, and vote in the races that are important to me. 


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#34 Electricron

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Posted 16 July 2020 - 01:55 AM

 

Like at birth when a newborn is assigned a social security number, a system should be put into place to assign a permanent voting number which can be used in Statewide and Federal Elections.

You were born in Texas, but moved to California. How will an at-birth voting card valid for Texas work in California. Would they on the west coast even believe your Texas card was valid? 

You would have to register in California. or any other state you might move to anyways.

In Texas, counties rule the roost. The government workers you register with work for the county. The people who count the votes work for the county. Not all counties in Texas have sufficient staff to provide dozens of ways to run an election. 

Whether you have early voting, no early voting, mail in ballots to absentees or mail in ballots for everyone, the rules and process should be set long before election day, not a the last moments. Most of the workers at the polling places are volunteers, which require constant training on the processes and rules that change what seems like every two years in Texas. It is a mistake to make last moment changes. There is always problems already, lets not make more problems. 



#35 renamerusk

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Posted 16 July 2020 - 09:26 AM

 

Like at birth when a newborn is assigned a social security number, a system should be put into place to assign a permanent voting number which can be used in Statewide and Federal Elections.

 

There's a problem with that.  The right to vote depends on two things:  Proper identification of the voter (which your idea would take care of) and proper precinct.  If I had a permanent number but there wasn't a formal voter registration to go with it, I would pop back and forth across precinct, or even state, lines when voting, and vote in the races that are important to me. 

 

Yes there are going to be problems, but the biggest problem about citizenship and voting is that Federal and Local Election are held at the same time.  This is a 18th Century decision which does not line up with the 21st Century.  Separating the two elections would be the modernization of the vote as oppose to the landowner, male only, wealthy voters that the 18th Century System was based upon.

 

There should be a Federal Registration Card which gives each 18 year old citizen a permanent registration number that allows that voter to vote when they have met the proper identification requisites.  The card would be valid for Presidential Elections, Senatorial Elections and Congressional Elections (4yrs/6yrs/2yrs) respectively.

 

At the Statewide and Local levels, voters will be given a State Registration Card which gives each 18 year old resident a permanent registration number valid for the length of a Driver's Registration Card.  To make it simple, the registration could be the voter's driver's identification linked to there their automobile registration or to a utility id that is valid dated 90 days before the election.  You could match up any of those ids and allow the person to vote. If there is any questions, the voter gets to submit a provisional vote which is eventually determined to be or not to be valid.

 

There is a rush to have instant results when an election is held. This rush is mainly to satisfy the Professional Vote Industrial Complex - cable news, pundits, pollsters, campaign managers who collectively annoys a significant amount of everyday people with the hourly revisions of the races.

 

I am sure that there are some details that will need addressing further, but the U.S. should be bringing its election processes into the time.  Many if not all European Democracies hold successful elections in a fraction of time and cost of a single election held in the State of Texas.



#36 renamerusk

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Posted 16 July 2020 - 08:19 PM

Governor and Mayors - Who is showing concern for others and who isn't?

 

https://fortworthbus...us-cases-surge/



#37 Doohickie

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Posted 16 July 2020 - 09:46 PM

 

 

Like at birth when a newborn is assigned a social security number, a system should be put into place to assign a permanent voting number which can be used in Statewide and Federal Elections.

 

There's a problem with that.  The right to vote depends on two things:  Proper identification of the voter (which your idea would take care of) and proper precinct.  If I had a permanent number but there wasn't a formal voter registration to go with it, I would pop back and forth across precinct, or even state, lines when voting, and vote in the races that are important to me. 

 

Yes there are going to be problems, but the biggest problem about citizenship and voting is that Federal and Local Election are held at the same time.  This is a 18th Century decision which does not line up with the 21st Century.  Separating the two elections would be the modernization of the vote as oppose to the landowner, male only, wealthy voters that the 18th Century System was based upon.

 

There should be a Federal Registration Card which gives each 18 year old citizen a permanent registration number that allows that voter to vote when they have met the proper identification requisites.  The card would be valid for Presidential Elections, Senatorial Elections and Congressional Elections (4yrs/6yrs/2yrs) respectively.

 

At the Statewide and Local levels, voters will be given a State Registration Card which gives each 18 year old resident a permanent registration number valid for the length of a Driver's Registration Card.  To make it simple, the registration could be the voter's driver's identification linked to there automobile registration or to a utility id that is valid dated 90 days before the election.  You could match up any of those ids and allow the person to vote. If there is any questions, the voter gets to submit a provisional vote which is eventually determined to be or not to be valid.

 

There is a rush to have instant results when an election is held. This rush is mainly to satisfy the Professional Vote Industrial Complex - cable news, pundits, pollsters, campaign managers who collectively annoys a significant amount of everyday people with the hourly revisions of the races.

 

I am sure that there are some details that will need addressing further, but the U.S. should be bringing its election processes into the time.  Many if not all European Democracies hold successful elections in a fraction of time and cost of a single election held in the State of Texas.

 

Motor voter works.  You don't have to change it.


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#38 renamerusk

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Posted 16 July 2020 - 10:20 PM

 

Like at birth when a newborn is assigned a social security number, a system should be put into place to assign a permanent voting number which can be used in Statewide and Federal Elections.

 

There's a problem with that.  The right to vote depends on two things:  Proper identification of the voter (which your idea would take care of) and proper precinct.  If I had a permanent number but there wasn't a formal voter registration to go with it, I would pop back and forth across precinct, or even state, lines when voting, and vote in the races that are important to me. 

 

 

  Would you really; really would you? 

 

 Voter Fraud has proven to be a hoax that the statistical data revealed.  For many people, finding the actual times it takes to vote is difficult; and finding what precinct you vote in and the polling station is hard work. Hop scotching to multiple precincts and signing your name to a legal document opens you to voter fraud and in Texas you go to prison.

 

 Now you have some politicians,notably (GOP) who are up to no good:

 

North Carolina :https://www.gq.com/s...-district-fraud

 

Kansas: https://slate.com/ne...dence-home.html
 



#39 RD Milhollin

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Posted 19 July 2020 - 11:46 AM

Keep it simple. Keep it safe. Vote by mail.






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