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> I hope nothing makes that necessary again I hope nothing makes it necessary, but I do hope it becomes commonplace. It's such a better experience to complete

> I hope nothing makes that necessary again I hope nothing makes it necessary, but I do hope it becomes commonplace. It's such a better experience to complete a ballot leisurely in one's own home, being able to discuss it with my own family and referencing a plethora of materials, than having to go out of my way to wait in line and have prepared everything ahead of time (and, hopefully, remembered it).

cdolan 2y ago
Serious question: Are you certain your vote was counted and not lost? I vote in person because I know when I mail things they don't always get where I intended them to be (and especially when there is a deadline in place)
- siger 2y ago
  At least NY lets you track your ballot online ("New York Ballot Tracker").
- anon84873628 2y ago
  I got a text message from my county telling me my vote was counted.
  - mirekrusin 2y ago
    Does it mention your response?
- palata 2y ago
  In my country, I can just bring the letter and put it in a special mailbox in the city hall in the weeks before the vote. I would trust the mail system, too, but that's beside the point. Just to say it works "asynchronously", too.
- comrh 2y ago
  In Utah I checked via state website on Election day
- psadauskas 2y ago
  I got emails from the county (Boulder County, CO) when they mailed me my ballot, when they received it, and when they counted it.
- SomeCallMeTim 2y ago
  In Colorado you get an email when they mail a ballot to you, another email when they receive your ballot, and a third when it's counted. Colorado came out way against Trump, though, despite having been a swing state in recent memory.
  - paulryanrogers 2y ago
    Perhaps folks moved from California to Colorado
- palmfacehn 2y ago
  Couldn't you similarly question voting in-person?
- tenacious_tuna 2y ago
  In my case I complete my ballot ahead of time and drop it in a ballot box, which are distributed around my city. Then I get an email from my county clerk when my ballot has been counted. I think the concern about things getting lost in the mail is reasonable, but is a separate issue; the mail system is supposed to be a highly trustworthy distribution system for sensitive documents. Hell, it's how you get your passport. That's why it's a state department (in the US, anyway) in the first place: it's an essential government function to have a communications channel with a given citizen. I've been concerned about cuts made to the USPS leading up to the previous election, both because of the obvious impact on the USPS's ability to handle election materials, but also because of the potential impact on the arrival of other essential, time-sensitive documents. (Not essential, but my mother's anniversary card to myself and my partner fully bounced this year, after three weeks in transit. We only live 130 miles apart.) My point is: threat models that center on the mail system somehow being unreliable are a valid concern, but missing the point.
anon84873628 2y ago
Don't you receive a sample ballot that you can fill out and take with you to the polling location?
aksss 2y ago
I don't equate easy with better. I miss the sense of community inspired by going to the local polling place and seeing your neighbors. It's a ritual that has value. Yeah it takes some effort, and if people want to make it a federal holiday, that's cool too. Mail-in ballots have so many more issues with them - lack of privacy (so more room for coercion and harvesting), they make auditability more difficult. Regardless of whether you think the relaxed voting requirements of 2020 led to widespread fraud, it inspired enough distrust that both parties should be advocating to bolster the reliability, auditability, and trustworthiness of the voting process, not decrease it further. The only thing that sucks more than losing an election is losing it under suspicious circumstances. Subject people to that enough times, and it doesn't lead anywhere good, regardless of your political team. Instead, create and enforce policies that improve trust rather than erode it.
Egregore 2y ago
How can I be sure that you didn't vote under a gun point or you haven't been bribed?
- Chilko 2y ago
  How can you be sure that any voter wasn't bribed?
  - Egregore 2y ago
    Usually bribers will want some proof, like a photo of your vote, when you go inside and there are election observers and you're not allowed to use your phone it's more difficult to provide that proof.
    - johnnyanmac 2y ago
      Occam's razor: what's more likely a) you get bribed by some external sweepstakes or ad or any which way to vote for a candidate you genuinely don't support. b) you in your home get hit by a vandal with a specific mission to make you vote for their candidate. Remember, this felon does not know when you get your ballot nor when you voted. Hell, which is more likely to be tracked down? The Musk trials will take months. that felon will be arrested before the week ends.
      - Egregore 2y ago
        I don't understand what is your point. a) bribing is more probable, happened by foreign country here this Sunday b) it's a lot more dangerous for the entire society, it's not a vandal in your home, if anonymity is not implemented by voting process, then the local gang leader will force you (and all your neighbors) to vote for him, at the date he will tell you and you won't be able to do anything as he will be in power after these elections and will make possible to fake future elections.
        johnnyanmac 2y ago

cdolan 2y ago

Serious question: Are you certain your vote was counted and not lost? I vote in person because I know when I mail things they don't always get where I intended them to be (and especially when there is a deadline in place)

siger 2y ago
At least NY lets you track your ballot online ("New York Ballot Tracker").
anon84873628 2y ago
I got a text message from my county telling me my vote was counted.
- mirekrusin 2y ago
  Does it mention your response?
palata 2y ago
In my country, I can just bring the letter and put it in a special mailbox in the city hall in the weeks before the vote. I would trust the mail system, too, but that's beside the point. Just to say it works "asynchronously", too.
comrh 2y ago
In Utah I checked via state website on Election day
psadauskas 2y ago
I got emails from the county (Boulder County, CO) when they mailed me my ballot, when they received it, and when they counted it.
SomeCallMeTim 2y ago
In Colorado you get an email when they mail a ballot to you, another email when they receive your ballot, and a third when it's counted. Colorado came out way against Trump, though, despite having been a swing state in recent memory.
- paulryanrogers 2y ago
  Perhaps folks moved from California to Colorado
palmfacehn 2y ago
Couldn't you similarly question voting in-person?
tenacious_tuna 2y ago
In my case I complete my ballot ahead of time and drop it in a ballot box, which are distributed around my city. Then I get an email from my county clerk when my ballot has been counted. I think the concern about things getting lost in the mail is reasonable, but is a separate issue; the mail system is supposed to be a highly trustworthy distribution system for sensitive documents. Hell, it's how you get your passport. That's why it's a state department (in the US, anyway) in the first place: it's an essential government function to have a communications channel with a given citizen. I've been concerned about cuts made to the USPS leading up to the previous election, both because of the obvious impact on the USPS's ability to handle election materials, but also because of the potential impact on the arrival of other essential, time-sensitive documents. (Not essential, but my mother's anniversary card to myself and my partner fully bounced this year, after three weeks in transit. We only live 130 miles apart.) My point is: threat models that center on the mail system somehow being unreliable are a valid concern, but missing the point.

anon84873628 2y ago

Don't you receive a sample ballot that you can fill out and take with you to the polling location?

aksss 2y ago

I don't equate easy with better. I miss the sense of community inspired by going to the local polling place and seeing your neighbors. It's a ritual that has value. Yeah it takes some effort, and if people want to make it a federal holiday, that's cool too. Mail-in ballots have so many more issues with them - lack of privacy (so more room for coercion and harvesting), they make auditability more difficult. Regardless of whether you think the relaxed voting requirements of 2020 led to widespread fraud, it inspired enough distrust that both parties should be advocating to bolster the reliability, auditability, and trustworthiness of the voting process, not decrease it further. The only thing that sucks more than losing an election is losing it under suspicious circumstances. Subject people to that enough times, and it doesn't lead anywhere good, regardless of your political team. Instead, create and enforce policies that improve trust rather than erode it.

Egregore 2y ago

How can I be sure that you didn't vote under a gun point or you haven't been bribed?

Chilko 2y ago
How can you be sure that any voter wasn't bribed?
- Egregore 2y ago
  Usually bribers will want some proof, like a photo of your vote, when you go inside and there are election observers and you're not allowed to use your phone it's more difficult to provide that proof.
  - johnnyanmac 2y ago
    Occam's razor: what's more likely a) you get bribed by some external sweepstakes or ad or any which way to vote for a candidate you genuinely don't support. b) you in your home get hit by a vandal with a specific mission to make you vote for their candidate. Remember, this felon does not know when you get your ballot nor when you voted. Hell, which is more likely to be tracked down? The Musk trials will take months. that felon will be arrested before the week ends.
    - Egregore 2y ago
      I don't understand what is your point. a) bribing is more probable, happened by foreign country here this Sunday b) it's a lot more dangerous for the entire society, it's not a vandal in your home, if anonymity is not implemented by voting process, then the local gang leader will force you (and all your neighbors) to vote for him, at the date he will tell you and you won't be able to do anything as he will be in power after these elections and will make possible to fake future elections.
      - johnnyanmac 2y ago