4 ms·

This is important not only for the Presidential election (which is mostly a foregone thing anyway), but is a big boon to all the down-ballot races. Folks will h

This is important not only for the Presidential election (which is mostly a foregone thing anyway), but is a big boon to all the down-ballot races. Folks will have time to research other choices at home. More than that, main-in ballots go a long way towards reducing voter disenfranchisement. No need to wait in long lines (way easier if you've got a job that allows that!) or take time off work on a Tuesday. Honestly, there's no good excuse for all states not following suit.

holler 6y ago
> Folks will have time to research other choices at home. How does this have any relationship whatsoever to the way in which the vote is cast? People can already research to their hearts content without mail-in-voting.
- fossuser 6y ago
  Assuming you're asking in good faith it's a lot easier with mail in voting because when you get the ballot you can see all the names and search each category before choosing. It's easier than also having to find out what is on the ballot, searching, and then remembering each person when you go. I usually spend a couple hours at home voting and searching before sending the mail in, something that would be a lot harder to do effectively if I had to go in person.
  - chrisseaton 6y ago
    I don't understand - is it a secret who's on the ballot before you get to the polling station?
    - fossuser 6y ago
      It's not a secret, but it's not obvious and there are a lot of things on the ballot every time. It's a lot easier when you have the ballot in front of you as a reference.
      - chrisseaton 6y ago
        What do you think people were doing previously then, just voting blindly?!
        fossuser 6y ago
        Yes - if they voted at all. I suspect they either left options blank, voted by party, voted the name they heard somewhere, or voted randomly. At least for the positions they didn’t know.
  - holler 6y ago
    I understand what you're saying, but why not just mail people the ballot information ahead of time without actually casting votes? Let them pencil it in and bring it with them?
    - fossuser 6y ago
      They do that too, it's just a hassle. It's easier to do it when you can also vote at the same time at home.
    - phailhaus 6y ago
      If you're already mailing people the ballot information, what do you gain by asking them to then come in person to the polling station? It's an objectively simpler user experience. You're asking a lot of people to research ahead of time, make their decision, save that decision for election day, and then make time in their busy workday to go wait in line to vote.
    - disposition2 6y ago
      I like to compare it to taking a test based off of memory vs an open book test. And since this 'test' is something we want everyone to participate in (and give them the best possibility to make an informed choice), I believe mail-in ballot voting might be the best possible solution for voting.
- abrowne 6y ago
  If they know the race even exists… Even politically-interested friends often have no idea there are judges on the ballot, or if they do, which one they should vote for. And they can't fall back on party, since many of these races are officially non-partisan. I can go find a sample ballot at the MN Secretary of State website, but it's an extra step. I've chosen the "no excuse absentee ballot" a few times since Minnesota started offering, and this way I just have the ballot to look at, research and fill in.
  - pmiller2 6y ago
    It is also extremely difficult to research the records of judges, particularly those on lower courts.
    - hhs 6y ago
      If interested, there was a John Oliver episode on the process of how judges are elected: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poL7l-Uk3I8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poL7l-Uk3I8
_prototype_ 6y ago
I would only support mail in voting with voter id. The fact that you're so happy about this decision, regardless of the rampant voter fraud that will take place with no voter id is insane to me
- pazimzadeh 6y ago
  I would support voter ID if you could show that every US citizen of voting age was given an ID.
  - Alupis 6y ago
    That's a pretty easy remedy though, no? Just make a basic State Issued ID free of charge.
    - pazimzadeh 6y ago
      Sure. And as soon as it gets done we can all move on with our lives.
- untog 6y ago
  How would mail in voting even work with voter ID? Voter fraud has never been seen in any meaningful level in the US. Worries about it are a fiction concocted by those who would really rather as few people vote as possible.
  - Alupis 6y ago
    > Voter fraud has never been seen in any meaningful level in the US It's also a very difficult thing to track if there's almost no verification happening at the ballot box. It often gets tossed around that there's this very low level of fraud right now. The truth is we just don't actually know and have no meaningful way of finding out.
    - untog 6y ago
      So, we don’t know for sure if there is a problem at all. But we absolutely should stop people from voting safely in a pandemic in case there is a problem? What about every other method of voting? Do we know voting machines used across the country are safe? Why the sudden concern now?
skwb 6y ago
I am a permanent vote by mail voter in CA - I love it! I get to sit down, research the candidates, and make an informed decision. I remember there was a judge on the ballot, and he had been on the record for some very divisive political takes that I didn't think belonged in our court system. If it had just been me in the voter booth, there would have been a 1/n (cannot remember the number of judges) chance I voted for him at random. And if I can't make a snap decision, I can always think on it for some time. Best way to run a representative democracy IMHO.

holler 6y ago

> Folks will have time to research other choices at home. How does this have any relationship whatsoever to the way in which the vote is cast? People can already research to their hearts content without mail-in-voting.

fossuser 6y ago
Assuming you're asking in good faith it's a lot easier with mail in voting because when you get the ballot you can see all the names and search each category before choosing. It's easier than also having to find out what is on the ballot, searching, and then remembering each person when you go. I usually spend a couple hours at home voting and searching before sending the mail in, something that would be a lot harder to do effectively if I had to go in person.
- chrisseaton 6y ago
  I don't understand - is it a secret who's on the ballot before you get to the polling station?
  - fossuser 6y ago
    It's not a secret, but it's not obvious and there are a lot of things on the ballot every time. It's a lot easier when you have the ballot in front of you as a reference.
    - chrisseaton 6y ago
      What do you think people were doing previously then, just voting blindly?!
      - fossuser 6y ago
        Yes - if they voted at all. I suspect they either left options blank, voted by party, voted the name they heard somewhere, or voted randomly. At least for the positions they didn’t know.
- holler 6y ago
  I understand what you're saying, but why not just mail people the ballot information ahead of time without actually casting votes? Let them pencil it in and bring it with them?
  - fossuser 6y ago
    They do that too, it's just a hassle. It's easier to do it when you can also vote at the same time at home.
  - phailhaus 6y ago
    If you're already mailing people the ballot information, what do you gain by asking them to then come in person to the polling station? It's an objectively simpler user experience. You're asking a lot of people to research ahead of time, make their decision, save that decision for election day, and then make time in their busy workday to go wait in line to vote.
  - disposition2 6y ago
    I like to compare it to taking a test based off of memory vs an open book test. And since this 'test' is something we want everyone to participate in (and give them the best possibility to make an informed choice), I believe mail-in ballot voting might be the best possible solution for voting.
abrowne 6y ago
If they know the race even exists… Even politically-interested friends often have no idea there are judges on the ballot, or if they do, which one they should vote for. And they can't fall back on party, since many of these races are officially non-partisan. I can go find a sample ballot at the MN Secretary of State website, but it's an extra step. I've chosen the "no excuse absentee ballot" a few times since Minnesota started offering, and this way I just have the ballot to look at, research and fill in.
- pmiller2 6y ago
  It is also extremely difficult to research the records of judges, particularly those on lower courts.
  - hhs 6y ago
    If interested, there was a John Oliver episode on the process of how judges are elected: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poL7l-Uk3I8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poL7l-Uk3I8

_prototype_ 6y ago

I would only support mail in voting with voter id. The fact that you're so happy about this decision, regardless of the rampant voter fraud that will take place with no voter id is insane to me

pazimzadeh 6y ago
I would support voter ID if you could show that every US citizen of voting age was given an ID.
- Alupis 6y ago
  That's a pretty easy remedy though, no? Just make a basic State Issued ID free of charge.
  - pazimzadeh 6y ago
    Sure. And as soon as it gets done we can all move on with our lives.
untog 6y ago
How would mail in voting even work with voter ID? Voter fraud has never been seen in any meaningful level in the US. Worries about it are a fiction concocted by those who would really rather as few people vote as possible.
- Alupis 6y ago
  > Voter fraud has never been seen in any meaningful level in the US It's also a very difficult thing to track if there's almost no verification happening at the ballot box. It often gets tossed around that there's this very low level of fraud right now. The truth is we just don't actually know and have no meaningful way of finding out.
  - untog 6y ago
    So, we don’t know for sure if there is a problem at all. But we absolutely should stop people from voting safely in a pandemic in case there is a problem? What about every other method of voting? Do we know voting machines used across the country are safe? Why the sudden concern now?

skwb 6y ago

I am a permanent vote by mail voter in CA - I love it! I get to sit down, research the candidates, and make an informed decision. I remember there was a judge on the ballot, and he had been on the record for some very divisive political takes that I didn't think belonged in our court system. If it had just been me in the voter booth, there would have been a 1/n (cannot remember the number of judges) chance I voted for him at random. And if I can't make a snap decision, I can always think on it for some time. Best way to run a representative democracy IMHO.