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Why Has It Taken California So Long to Count Ballots? Because All Votes Count

3 points by blondie9x 8y ago

briandear 8y ago
All valid votes should count. I just registered to vote in California and at the DMV there was a question about getting ballots by mail even if you intended to vote in person. While I know the intent of that, the reality is that you will inevitably have people voting twice. Of course only one of those votes would be valid, but what if they are conflicting votes? Which one has precedence? And voting twice is a crime, so should both votes be thrown out and the person arrested. Are counties cross-checking that someone moving from LA didn’t vote by mail with that ballot, then vote in person in San Jose? How many votes by mail were cast by people that received the ballot for someone else in the household? Voting by mail is such an easy fraud vector that it makes no sense to allow it. If you are overseas, vote at a consulate. Extend in-person early voting to allow for contingencies that prevent Election Day voting. There should be a voter registration number tied to a social security number instead of doing subjective things like “comparing signatures.” That voter registration number should be in a national database and validated on the federal level, something like e-verify for voting. When a candidate is up by 8% on Election Day and then eventually loses, and especially when that candidate is in the opposite party of those in charge — there is certainly some room for a reasonable person to question the system.
- wahern 8y ago
  > When a candidate is up by 8% on Election Day and then eventually loses, and especially when that candidate is in the opposite party of those in charge — there is certainly some room for a reasonable person to question the system More than half of Californians vote by mail, and the majority of those arrive on or after election day so they're not counted until later.[1] So, no, it's not even facially suspicious. I am skeptical of the new rule which allow someone to deliver sealed vote-by-mail ballots on the behalf of multiple people, but so are some legislators, including Democratic legislators. As I said, California is also continuing to improve auditing and other safeguards. Easier voting and the integrity of elections are not mutually exclusive. [1] For example, "In Alameda County only about 5 percent of vote-by-mail ballots arrived before Election Day." https://www.kqed.org/news/10347248/mail-in-ballots-will-soon-require-only-a-postmark-by-election-day https://www.kqed.org/news/10347248/mail-in-ballots-will-soon...

3 points by blondie9x 8y ago

All valid votes should count. I just registered to vote in California and at the DMV there was a question about getting ballots by mail even if you intended to vote in person. While I know the intent of that, the reality is that you will inevitably have people voting twice. Of course only one of those votes would be valid, but what if they are conflicting votes? Which one has precedence? And voting twice is a crime, so should both votes be thrown out and the person arrested. Are counties cross-checking that someone moving from LA didn’t vote by mail with that ballot, then vote in person in San Jose? How many votes by mail were cast by people that received the ballot for someone else in the household? Voting by mail is such an easy fraud vector that it makes no sense to allow it. If you are overseas, vote at a consulate. Extend in-person early voting to allow for contingencies that prevent Election Day voting. There should be a voter registration number tied to a social security number instead of doing subjective things like “comparing signatures.” That voter registration number should be in a national database and validated on the federal level, something like e-verify for voting. When a candidate is up by 8% on Election Day and then eventually loses, and especially when that candidate is in the opposite party of those in charge — there is certainly some room for a reasonable person to question the system.

wahern 8y ago
> When a candidate is up by 8% on Election Day and then eventually loses, and especially when that candidate is in the opposite party of those in charge — there is certainly some room for a reasonable person to question the system More than half of Californians vote by mail, and the majority of those arrive on or after election day so they're not counted until later.[1] So, no, it's not even facially suspicious. I am skeptical of the new rule which allow someone to deliver sealed vote-by-mail ballots on the behalf of multiple people, but so are some legislators, including Democratic legislators. As I said, California is also continuing to improve auditing and other safeguards. Easier voting and the integrity of elections are not mutually exclusive. [1] For example, "In Alameda County only about 5 percent of vote-by-mail ballots arrived before Election Day." https://www.kqed.org/news/10347248/mail-in-ballots-will-soon-require-only-a-postmark-by-election-day https://www.kqed.org/news/10347248/mail-in-ballots-will-soon...