6 ms·

There were literally Russian-sourced bomb threats at several major democratic strongholds' polling locations in the last presidential election. https://www.npr.

• baggy_trough 1y ago
  Count me as one who strongly opposes mail-in and early voting because I believe it violates the sanctity of the voting booth.
  • alistairSH 1y ago
    Do you have anything beyond a gut feeling here? Several states do primarily mail-in voting and it seems to work fine.
    • baggy_trough 1y ago
      How would you know if it didn’t? The very nature of the problem means that it’s hidden!
      • nobody9999 1y ago
        >How would you know if it didn’t? The very nature of the problem means that it’s hidden! Even if it's at a polling place on the day of, it's still a secret ballot. As such, of course it's hidden. It's a secret ballot. What are you going on about?
        • baggy_trough 1y ago
          Absolutely, which is why I oppose mail in ballots. They don't have that property!
          • alistairSH 1y ago
            Not sure what you mean - every implementation of mail-in ballots I've seen has a doubly sealed pair of envelopes. It's no less secret than pushing a button in a booth. The ballot is physically checked (but not counted) upon receipt and an email/text/etc is sent to confirm delivery with no issues.
            • baggy_trough 1y ago
              I'm talking about the "abusive spouse" attack, which can take many forms. So the time between receiving the ballot and mailing it back is when privacy is easily violated.
              • ThrowMeAway1618 1y ago
                [flagged]
                • baggy_trough 1y ago
                  I think you are trampling curiosity right now.
                  • ThrowMeAway1618 1y ago
                    [flagged]
  • kristopolous 1y ago
    "sanctity of the voting booth"?! > More than one in five polling places have closed over the last decade, according to an ABC News and ABC Owned Stations analysis of data from the Election Administration and Voting Survey, the Center for New Data and the Center for Public Integrity. https://abcnews.go.com/US/protecting-vote-1-5-election-day-polling-places/story?id=114990347 https://abcnews.go.com/US/protecting-vote-1-5-election-day-p... This is after Shelby County v. Holder, and now states are shutting down polling stations to suppress the vote --- well you can no longer accuse them that in the courts, but it is clearly what they are doing. Just like how Alabama passed a voter id law and then closed half their DMVs, the ones in black neighborhoods. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2015/10/alabama-closes-dmvs-in-majority-of-black-belt-counties-passed-voter-id-law-in-2011.html https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2015/10/alabama-closes-d... There's no "sanctity of the voting booth" - shutting down polling stations and DMVs and then requiring people to visit the DMV and the polling station and making it intentionally more difficult for some people, this is all very very obvious and you can't hide it from me by waving a flag in front of my face. Here's the actual plan: Require in person voting, "protect" the polling places with armed masked goons working for ICE to "keep illegals from voting" and then call it freedom. Give me a break. Do you really think we're that dumb?
    • baggy_trough 1y ago
      Yes that’s right, the sanctity of the voting booth. The ability, and indeed the requirement, to vote in private so as to avoid all influence is an important value. Of course, one may prepare beforehand.
      • byronic 1y ago
        Polling places aren't open during a plurality of hours in which people who work irregular hours can vote -- the Alabama example above affected me personally but generally is true in most of the southeastern United States. We don't get the day off, there isn't a means of transport unless you already live in a city that provides "rides to the polls," and lines are often long and slow to move. I'm not saying that to deride your instinct here that a polling place being a private booth is kind of Cool™, just that providing accessibility (or, if I had my druthers, making voting _mandatory_ and giving everyone the day off to do it) sometimes requires we open the idea book and consider how we can make sure everyone who has the right to vote can do it.
  • platevoltage 1y ago
    Do you also oppose a federal election holiday? because pretty much everyone who opposes flexible voting options does so because they want less people voting.
    • baggy_trough 1y ago
      That is an uncharitable view. There are too many federal holidays, but I would support repurposing one, or voting on the weekend.
      • alistairSH 1y ago
        "Too many federal holidays" - we have 11, which is equal to or fewer than most of our peer nations. We generally get less leave overall as well.
      • platevoltage 1y ago
        repurposing one, fine as long as its not one of the "bank holidays" where retail goes into overdrive. Lower income people are more likely to be working on weekends, so no on that one. I believe that you'd need a constitutional amendment to change the day too.
        • baggy_trough 1y ago
          Well, now you're the one throwing up objections. As far as a constitutional amendment, no, you're wrong.
          • platevoltage 1y ago
            Yeah, I am wrong. I thought Election Day was defined in the constitution, but it’s actually federal law.
  • deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]