Originally Posted By avromark I voted at the advanced pole for my Federal election. Not that it counts in this thread much. Might as well exercise my right to vote. Even if in Canada we use paper ballots and have to mark an X in a circle. Not sure if I could handle it. All I can say is I was smiling and didn't have any grits that day
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Well, in the case of absentee ballots, the odds of them ever being opened up in the first place is low. If the number of absentee ballots received doesn't exceed the vote differential between two candidates, they go to the garbage can without being counted anyway. I guess if the race is really close, my ballot might be opened. In the circumstance where they are opened, there is an official from each party that stands there and challenges each and every ballot as they are opened so that the odds of them being counted diminish even further. Sometimes I wonder why I go to the effort of putting the thing in the mail. >>> I must respectfully call B.S. on this one. Could you provide a reference to this? Can you tell us which jurisdictions allegedly do this? In every election I'm aware of in the US, whoever certifies the results of the election does so by not only declaring the winner in each race, but the exact number of votes cast. Are you saying that these exact vote counts do not include absentee ballots if the margin of winning is more than the number of absentee ballots? If so, it should be very easy to find disclosure of this in the certified results (unless your further claim is that it's done without public disclosure). What you may be referring to, especially in terms of members of each party being present, is the resolution of provisional ballots, which is an entirely separate matter. A provisional ballot is cast in the case of someone showing up at the polls on election day, not being on the list of registered voters, but claiming to be a registered and eligible voter. In that case, they are allowed to cast a provisional ballot, which is then sealed in an individual envelope. In these cases, I can see how party members might want to be involved in the process in order to prevent various forms of election fraud by the other side. But even in the case of provisional ballots (which are a tiny amount as compared to absentee), it's my understanding that each and every provisional ballot is adjudicated after election day and is either counted and included in the certified election results, or disqualified. Counting the absentee and provisional ballots is one of the reasons that it takes weeks to provide certified results, even in jurisdictions that use electronic voting. Please don't spread urban legends of votes not being counted unless you can back it up.
Originally Posted By SuperDry Also, I must point out as a point of order that even if what Sport Goofy claimed to be true was true, it really wouldn't make any difference, as the only time a vote wouldn't be counted would be if it would not affect the outcome. The same could be said of any vote: if you're in a state that's clearly Red or clearly Blue, why vote in the Presidential election one way or the other, since your vote doesn't affect the outcome?
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy << Please don't spread urban legends of votes not being counted unless you can back it up. >> I've been voting absentee every year for the past 16 years. I've learned the ins and outs of the system in my county quite well. I know the people who work in the county clerk's office personally, and this is the system that they have related to me. I come from a relatively small city, so it's not hard to get to know people who are "inside" the system and learn what happens after your ballot hits the mail.
Originally Posted By SuperDry Can you disclose which county this is occurring in? Do they disclose this practice to the public? I'm sure the public would be very interested to know about this.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy It's been disclosed publicly before. Back with all the hullaballoo in 2000, there were articles in the local newspaper. Nothing really changed. There aren't enough absentee voters to make a difference, and the voters who are absentee are not in their home area for a reason -- they are busy working on other things and traveling all of the time to get involved heavily in local electioneering.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Can you disclose which county this is occurring in? >>> <<< It's been disclosed publicly before. >>> Okay, I'll put that down as a "No."
Originally Posted By WorldDisney I dont want to get in the middle of this, but I DO hope you are wrong Sports Goofy ;D. It DOES pain me even thinking my vote dont count even when at the end of the day one of them are waaay ahead to make little difference anyway. I dont care, I just want it recorded at the end of the day. And also, I thought about this a little more, how could they discount absentee ballots at all since there are sooo many other people and propositons to consider? We are not just talking about two candidates, we are talking a wide range of issues and other canidates to consider. Again, you might come from a very small time, so maybe its different, but I come from L.A. county and with California being the biggest state of voters and most likely issues, I imagine every ballot must be factored in....and should regadless.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy I understand that California is pretty different, since they have a very large number of absentee voters in comparison to the population that votes on election day.
Originally Posted By Mr X Seems like a pretty weird contention anyway, Sport, considering what WD and SD had to say. As SD mentioned, it'd be interesting to hear where you hail from (county, anyway) so more research on this could be done. As WD said, it's pretty impossible that they could blatantly "throw away" all the absentee ballots, considering the fact that they contain a lot more information than just who the person picked for president. Maybe you just heard a strange word-of-mouth urban legend here?
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Well, in the case of absentee ballots, the odds of them ever being opened up in the first place is low. If the number of absentee ballots received doesn't exceed the vote differential between two candidates, they go to the garbage can without being counted anyway.*** Considering WD's point about the fact that there are lots of issues to be counted on these ballots, this seems bizarre indeed. If true, I'd really like to learn more!
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy << As WD said, it's pretty impossible that they could blatantly "throw away" all the absentee ballots, considering the fact that they contain a lot more information than just who the person picked for president. >> The ballot I sent in this year had no identifying information on it whatsoever. It was a scantron sheet with a serial number. I presume that number is matched up in a database somewhere with my personal information? Otherwise, there wasn't anyway to know that it was my ballot other than the envelope I mailed it in.
Originally Posted By Mr X Sorry I wasn't clear. What I meant was it contains votes on other issues separate from the presidency (California has what, 12 propositions on the ballot?). Apologies for not being clear.
Originally Posted By DAR I thinking now of voting early. I work 7-5:30 Tuesday through Friday. The polling place near my house opens at 7 and goes until 8. I'm not sure I want to wait in a long line after working 10 hours. Since I'm off Monday I'll stop down to City Hall and vote.
Originally Posted By SuperDry I early voted on Tuesday. The line was about 15 minutes long which was nuthin' compared to the 2.5 hour line I waited in for the last day of early voting for the primary.
Originally Posted By Mr X Are they actually counting these votes, or just reserving them til election day?
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Are they actually counting these votes, or just reserving them til election day? >>> My understanding of 'early voting' is that the votes are not officially counted until the polls close on Election Day. But that's not to say that people directly involved in the election process can't see preliminary results beforehand. Even if they could, I'm not sure how much it would matter, since I think the demographics of early voters can be substantially different from those that vote on Election Day.
Originally Posted By Elderp In San Bernardino county all absentee ballots get put into the computer immediately, but they are not allowed to release any outcomes until election day. I don't know what happens in other areas.
Originally Posted By mele In my state, they seem to hide/lose ballots in various closets around town.
