Comments on: Voting Dogs and Democratic Fairy Dust

By: Hund

Hund — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:44:21 +0000

huge Democratic registration and GOTV drives have the semi-intended side-effect of canceling out a large number of Republican votes with illegal ballots

By: Hund

Hund — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:44:21 +0000

huge Democratic registration and GOTV drives have the semi-intended side-effect of canceling out a large number of Republican votes with illegal ballots

By: rosignol

rosignol — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 04:12:00 +0000

Provisional ballots are for registered voters who end up at the wrong precinct. They get to vote — provisionally — and those ballots are closely checked against the voter registration rolls.

They’re supposed to be, yeah. But that’s not what has been happening in King County, Washington.

Republicans are against provisional balloting because they allow more registered voters to vote. Period.

Wrong. Republicans are against allowing people who do not have the right to vote cast a ballot. Provisional ballots are one of the many ways that happens.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/241248_election19.asp

[...]

Irons and the GOP have hammered Sims over the elections department’s meltdown in the 2004 general election. The mistakes included overlooking more than 100 absentee ballots until it was too late to count them, tabulating hundreds of provisional ballots without the required verification of voter eligibility beforehand, failing to reconcile accounts of voters and ballots and losing track of voter signatures used to verify absentee votes. Hundreds of felons voted illegally, and votes were cast in the names of dead people.

By: kate

kate — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 02:43:00 +0000

Voter registration cards could have a picture just like IDs do. the cost is not great. Certainly worth it to help clean up elections. Precinct changes could be similar to year changes for autos- stickers.

By: Robert Schwartz

Robert Schwartz — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 22:02:00 +0000

Bring back the 40 shilling freehold, literacy tests, one year residency requirements and a minimum age of 21. Abolish no excuse absentee ballots, and voting before election day. All absentee balots must be filled out and signed without the presence of a party worker.

By: Todd

Todd — Wed, 03 Nov 2004 02:30:00 +0000

Why is it that these registered voters find themselve in the wrong precinct? Do they do this on a regular basis? It seems to me that it is the resposibility of the voter to inquire which precinct they have go to in order to vote. Thus we would not have any reason to have a provisional vote. Not to be rude to anyone, but I believe that if a registered vote repeatedly finds themselves in the wrong precinct, there might be a reasonable reason for this, they can not read or they have a comprehension problem. Come on America, wake up and read your local newspaper!

By: Spiney Widgmo

Spiney Widgmo — Wed, 27 Oct 2004 23:11:00 +0000

Disenfranchising a voter by denying then the chance to vote is worse because the voter knows he won’t allowed to vote therefore he feels bad.

If Velma Thompson has her vote cancelled by a hamster voting, she doesn’t know about it therefore she doesn’t feel bad.

Since feeling are the most important thing in the world, better a thousand hamsters vote than one voter be denied the chance to cast a ballot.

By: Will Wilkinson

Will Wilkinson — Wed, 27 Oct 2004 18:22:00 +0000

I want to emphasize to non-readers of my blog that I will be voting for the libertarian candidate, and that I hope Kerry wins the election. It is possible to make an observation or argument that is not motivated by one’s immediate political hopes. Just sayin’

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Oct 2004 17:59:00 +0000

Perhaps when Republicans can show millions of fraudulent votes to pair off with the millions of votes denied, then i could take this “moral equivalence” seriously. The law allows every citizen to register where they live, even students, Mexicans and blacks. And the law requires that they be allowed to vote, and that their vote be counted. Rich people have other ways of influencing policy besides the ballot, such as campaign donations, lobbying, bribery, etc. But poor people have one shot: Election Day. Anyone who knows any history knows whose votes get counted. Please stop pretending to be victims and just admit what you are doing: denying the ballot to citizens because you don’t like who they’ll vote for.

By: bitter mastermind

bitter mastermind — Wed, 27 Oct 2004 14:41:00 +0000

Provisional voting. You can vote without registering first, and I think with no ID check.

Oh jeez…

Provisional ballots are for registered voters who end up at the wrong precinct. They get to vote — provisionally — and those ballots are closely checked against the voter registration rolls.

Republicans are against provisional balloting because they allow more registered voters to vote. Period.

This isnt’s not some grand ideological stance on their part — if more potential voters were Republican, I assure you that they’d be screaming from every rooftop for required voting, extended voting, weekend voting….

Here’s the big difference: if more potential voters were Republican, I’d STILL be trying to get every potential voter to vote. I’d rather not see Republicans elected, but for me the principle of democracy is genuinely more important.